I am just going to do a quick narrative tonight to write about the past weekend since we didn't really get any great photos anyway. We spent last weekend (Aug 21-24) in Little Chute, WI- my hometown for my 20 year class reunion. We drove over on Thursday and spent time with my parents and brother and his family that night. On Friday we went to the N.E.W. Zoo with my parents and nephew, Trent. That night we all wentt to Quenchers in Kaukauna for a fish fry. I had never been there before. It was a little hole in the wall kind of place but the food was good and I sure miss a good fish fry.
On Saturday we headed over to see our friends' new home. Laura and Randy's new digs are beautiful and we had a yummy lunch with them and the kids enjoyed playing together. Saturday night was the big reunion bash at Gentlemen Jack's in Little Chute. I had a wonderful time with my dear friends that I stay in touch with and it was great to see those classmates that I truly hadn't seen in 20 years or at least in the last 12 since I moved away. If anyone wants to check out the reunion blog there are photos from that night along with updates from my classmates. lchs88ers.blogspot.com I got picked from the hat to play the "game show" so there is a photo of me doing that that (I won my round by the way!!) and another of me with my gal pals. It was a fun night!
For Labor Day we are headed up to the cabin and then it will be time to start thinking about packing up again for our final move. We have about 6 weeks until our new house is done. It's getting exciting!
-Vicki
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
First Kids Birthday Party
On Monday afternoon Brooke and Riley attended their first “big kid” birthday party. It was for their good friend, Nathan, who is in our playgroup and we have known him since he was a baby. He just turned 4! The photos below are of the kids arriving the party and of the whole gang. I only got a couple photos since I left the kids there. I went shopping—it was a highlight of my week! Katie, Nathan’s mom, was very brave to take on the whole gang. The kids played games, did an obstacle course, ate dinner, watched Nathan open his presents and had cupcakes. The theme was sports and Brooke and Riley loved the goodie bags on the way home. Most of the treats were gone by the time we got home. It was a fun time for all and a reminder of how the kids grow up so fast!
-Vicki
Dropping the kids off with the birthday boy!
The usual suspects...... :)
Monday, August 11, 2008
County Fair, Tot Shabbat, Swimming and the House…..
Well, another week is over and its Sunday night and I am just typing up the blog.
I’ll start with today and work my way back…
Today, we started the day early and headed to the Dakota County Fair to meet up with Bob and Loree. We arrived there at the same time with Bob following me into Farmington. We got to the fair early (9 AM) and most of the exhibits were not open yet so we started the day at the Farmington Bakery booth for caramel rolls and bear claws. Mmmmmmmmmmm…… We walked around the fair for a few hours looking at animals, exhibits, children equestrian and Dakota City. The kids had a blast as you can see from the pictures below.
We then stopped for lunch of fair food (hot dogs, french fries, Gyro, cheese curds, pronto pup and wild rice brat), then off we went to the rides. Brooke rode the ladybug ride (with Dora on its side) and then the big carrousel. Riley opted for the car ride and smaller carrousel. After the rides, we all had ice cream (either cone or malt) and then watched the tractor and car parade. Riley really enjoyed it. We headed toward the exit after stopping at a couple other buildings and the wild animal exhibit (fox, wolf, porcupine, skunk, potbelly pig, bobcat and more). Both kids were sleeping in the Trooper before we even made it to County Road 50.
On Saturday, we started the day going to Tot Shabbat. The kids did great with the torah parade and during the story telling part. The kids made Challah covers as the craft project. After Riley’s nap, we headed to Prior Lake to check out the new house. Now that they added plumbing, electricity and more, the doors are locked so we needed to get the key from the office. We took some pix of the place (see below). Plumbing and electricity is already in and they are still working on it. I am planning to meet with the supervisor in the next week to discuss some changes. Pulte does not like to make any changes and its difficult to get them to do anything outside the normal. That’s probably how they keep their costs low and on schedule for house closing.
After checking out the house, we headed to Cleary Lake “The Pine Grove Campground (Vissers camping site)” of Prior Lake. The kids had a blast playing in the lake. This will be our hangout spot in the summer since our new house will be located just across the road from the park. The park has XC skiing, rollerblade/bike trail, hiking trail, campground, swimming area, kayaking/canoeing and much more.
On Friday, I had my 3 month appointment for my eye surgery. Everything went well and they said my eye sight was 20/20. I went blading afterward and my legs were feeling good after the St. Paul Inline Marathon the previous Sunday. I thought I was moving quickly until another skater came flying by like I was hardly moving. I’ll have to get some 4-wheel skates with 104 mm wheels. They are huge compared to my wheels (84mm).
Well that its for the past week, this week most of Japan is on vacation so my workload should be lower and only have 2 teleconferences versus 3 calls. Next weekend, we are going to grill out with our neighbors Mike and Teddie and their 2 boys (Jack and Nick).
Have a nice week!
Swimming at our new backyard park!
We met a new friend at the fair!
No, we're not at Sharky's in Venice, Florida!
The duck was soft!
Brooker the queen of the Ladybug ride!
Riley "Nascar" Spieler
House Pix!
The Birds Nest of wires!
The back of the house.. Who will do the windows?
Future amusement room in basement!
Grandparents/Guest Room!
Master Suite!
Future kitchen and pantry in corner!
Thats it folks!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Gramma and Grampa Vissers, Lakefront Days and Road Rash
Just like "Snakes on a Plane", "Kids on a bus"
Well, this blog spot will be shorter than the past two blogs.
Gramma and Grampa Vissers came into town last Thursday and left on Monday. Last Thursday, Vicki went out with her Call Girl friends for dinner at Macaroni Grill and I brought the kids and Grandparents to Lakefront Days (Prior Lake). They were offering free ice cream, face painting, music, and crafts. We got to the park and found no spaces left so had to park downtown and walked uphill 1 mile in the 80+ degree weather to the park. They had shuttle buses but we didn’t see the buses until we were almost at the park. At the park, we all enjoyed ice cream and I met 2 city council members since I am applying to be on the PL Natural Resources Commission starting in November. The kids got their arms painted. Brooke got the Little Mermaid and Riley got a fish. On the way back, we took the shuttle bus back and the kids set next to each other. They thought it was great and reminded them of the Disney bus in Florida.
On Friday, I met Vicki and the whole family at lunch time at the Shakopee Pulte development to show them the model version of the house. Wayne and Carol liked the house and thought it was pretty big. Afterward, they headed out for lunch. That afternoon, I planned for a happy hour with some co-workers at BW-3. We had about 15 people show up and had a great time drinking beer, eating food and playing trivia. Following the happy hour, I swung by the house to pick up Vicki for a friend’s 40th surprise party. This friend was at the happy hour and already had a buzz when he got home and was totally surprised. I had spoken to his wife a couple weeks back and I was helping her keep him out while everyone showed up at his house. She had an excellent spread of food (Mexican buffet), dessert (cheesecakes, cookies) and drinks (Margaritas and beer). We had a great time drinking and eating with my close work friends.
On Saturday, we split up with boys going with me and girls going with Vicki. Vicki and the girls went to Linen N Things, Toys R Us, Michaels, and Kirklands. The boys went to the bike shop, farmers market and Sam’s club. We all met for lunch at Godfathers. Afterward, the boys went to the new house and walked through all the rooms. The windows are in and all the framing is up. That night, we sat on the deck, drank beer and ate a light dinner after eating godfathers for lunch.
On Sunday morning, I left at 5:45 AM for St Paul for the Inline Marathon. This is the 5th year that I did the race and wanted to move up from the open category to advance to get a better time. Well, the race didn’t turn out as planned. I started in the back of the pack and before we got to the 1 mile mark, some skater hit my boot and I crashed. I landed on my left leg. I shook it off and got up but my legs were shaky. I couldn’t hold an edge and my boot was loose. I had to stop and tighten the boot and then my feet went numb since the pavement was really rough. I skated with a guy in his 60’s but he wasn’t into drafting so I couldn’t find anyone to break the wind for me. On the second lap, I had to pass open skaters and it was chaos. Around the 15 mile mark, I got stung by a bee on the ear. It really hurt. Well, I finally finished and struggled up the big hill at the end. I went to the medical tent and they bandaged up my road rash. I had some on my lower leg and my the upper thigh/butt. My ego was hurt more than my body parts. I finished 15 minutes slower than I planned. Oh well, I’ll be back for next year and go faster.
On Sunday afternoon, we went back to the new house to show it to Vicki and take pictures. Well after taking the first 3 pictures, the batteries in the camera were dead. So now I have to go back there this week to take more pictures. We grilled out last night and took it easy and watched Enchanted. The kids loved it.
Now it’s Monday and writing the blog.
This week we are planning to go to the county fair, Tot Shabbat and take it easy.
Stay tuned!
Gramma and Grampa Vissers came into town last Thursday and left on Monday. Last Thursday, Vicki went out with her Call Girl friends for dinner at Macaroni Grill and I brought the kids and Grandparents to Lakefront Days (Prior Lake). They were offering free ice cream, face painting, music, and crafts. We got to the park and found no spaces left so had to park downtown and walked uphill 1 mile in the 80+ degree weather to the park. They had shuttle buses but we didn’t see the buses until we were almost at the park. At the park, we all enjoyed ice cream and I met 2 city council members since I am applying to be on the PL Natural Resources Commission starting in November. The kids got their arms painted. Brooke got the Little Mermaid and Riley got a fish. On the way back, we took the shuttle bus back and the kids set next to each other. They thought it was great and reminded them of the Disney bus in Florida.
On Friday, I met Vicki and the whole family at lunch time at the Shakopee Pulte development to show them the model version of the house. Wayne and Carol liked the house and thought it was pretty big. Afterward, they headed out for lunch. That afternoon, I planned for a happy hour with some co-workers at BW-3. We had about 15 people show up and had a great time drinking beer, eating food and playing trivia. Following the happy hour, I swung by the house to pick up Vicki for a friend’s 40th surprise party. This friend was at the happy hour and already had a buzz when he got home and was totally surprised. I had spoken to his wife a couple weeks back and I was helping her keep him out while everyone showed up at his house. She had an excellent spread of food (Mexican buffet), dessert (cheesecakes, cookies) and drinks (Margaritas and beer). We had a great time drinking and eating with my close work friends.
On Saturday, we split up with boys going with me and girls going with Vicki. Vicki and the girls went to Linen N Things, Toys R Us, Michaels, and Kirklands. The boys went to the bike shop, farmers market and Sam’s club. We all met for lunch at Godfathers. Afterward, the boys went to the new house and walked through all the rooms. The windows are in and all the framing is up. That night, we sat on the deck, drank beer and ate a light dinner after eating godfathers for lunch.
On Sunday morning, I left at 5:45 AM for St Paul for the Inline Marathon. This is the 5th year that I did the race and wanted to move up from the open category to advance to get a better time. Well, the race didn’t turn out as planned. I started in the back of the pack and before we got to the 1 mile mark, some skater hit my boot and I crashed. I landed on my left leg. I shook it off and got up but my legs were shaky. I couldn’t hold an edge and my boot was loose. I had to stop and tighten the boot and then my feet went numb since the pavement was really rough. I skated with a guy in his 60’s but he wasn’t into drafting so I couldn’t find anyone to break the wind for me. On the second lap, I had to pass open skaters and it was chaos. Around the 15 mile mark, I got stung by a bee on the ear. It really hurt. Well, I finally finished and struggled up the big hill at the end. I went to the medical tent and they bandaged up my road rash. I had some on my lower leg and my the upper thigh/butt. My ego was hurt more than my body parts. I finished 15 minutes slower than I planned. Oh well, I’ll be back for next year and go faster.
On Sunday afternoon, we went back to the new house to show it to Vicki and take pictures. Well after taking the first 3 pictures, the batteries in the camera were dead. So now I have to go back there this week to take more pictures. We grilled out last night and took it easy and watched Enchanted. The kids loved it.
Now it’s Monday and writing the blog.
This week we are planning to go to the county fair, Tot Shabbat and take it easy.
Stay tuned!
Brooke's "Little Mermaid"
Riley's "Fishie"
Eric's "Roadrash"
House pictures.... Now we have a shingle roof and more....
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