October 31, 2008
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Becky says I don't have enough pictures of her on this blog...so here you go "Sissy"!
I have always said bad things happen in threes...and here is proof once again. First Dan's car quit working, then he toasted the truck and now the chip in my windshield is cracking! I was driving home last night from Kayla's cross country meet and met a semi, which kicked up a rock and it hit the windshield, made a small chip. I emailed the insurance agent this morning, told them about it and they said the repair guy would call me to fix it. Great...fix the chip, no cost to me. Now this afternoon I go to the car and notice the chip is already cracked the windshield! GRRR! Now I will have to replace the windshield and pay the deductible. Not a good thing! Bad things happen in threes, so at least now I am done...for awhile anyway!
Well the stressful part of our day is over and the results are...Becky made it in to test on stand-by so will be able to apply with Early Decision at Northwestern...yippee! Kayla did her try-out for All-State Band and made it...yippee! All-State Band is a huge honor and we are very proud of her...only 264 of the over 5,000 kids that try out state-wide make it.
Tomorrow is a very stressful day at our house...Becky is going to try to get into the ACT test on stand-by and Kayla is trying out for All-State Band. Now that Becky has determined Northwestern University is where she wants to go to college she has to take the ACT test again with the writing option, she didn't do the writing before but NU requires it. She has also decided she wants to apply with Early Decision, which means she will find out in December rather than April whether or not she is accepted. Early Decision materials have to be turned in by November 1st, so she has to have the ACT with writing taken by then. Since the only time they are offering the test before November 1st is tomorrow, she has to go to Storm Lake and be on stand-by, which means she is hoping someone will not show up to take the test and she can take their place. She may or may not get in. It would be great to know in December if she is accepted at NU, so I hope they can get a place for her tomorrow.
I will be with Kayla at the Storm Lake high school tomorrow as she tries out for All-State Band. She has been taking private lessons since school got out last summer and is really hoping she will make it. Normally her band teacher would take her, but she just had a baby a week ago so I get to go! There will be 10 people trying out with the bass clarinet for 2 open spots, it is a very tough competition. Only 12 bass clarinet players from the entire state will be in the band. She has been practicing and practicing, so I hope she makes it. There is also an alternate position, she would be happy to even get that. Her private lesson teacher is one of the workers at the school tomorrow, so she is going to help her warm up...which is good because I would be no help with that!
So, cross your fingers that everything goes well tomorrow! We are hoping for two successes...i will let you know!
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Brian at Kayla's cross country meet...he wasn't sure if he wanted me to take his picture, so made a weird face. Typical Brian.
I have decided I am not going to answer the phone when Dan calls at noon anymore. Last time it was his car, this time it was his truck. He called and left a message that he was having some trouble so I called him back and his exact words were "I was having some trouble with the truck running a little rough so I wanted you to be alert in case I needed help, but now it doesn't matter because THE TRUCK IS ON FIRE!" WHAT????????????? Apparently when it started running rough he stopped and opened the hood and discovered it was on fire! He called 911 and it was routed to Pocahontas, even though he was in BV county, so they had to route it over to BV, so that took a little extra time. A semi truck stopped and the driver had a fire extinguisher so he tried to put the fire out, most of it was out and then they threw gravel on it to stop the rest of the flames, but that made it worse. By the time the fire trucks got there the truck was pretty much burnt completely, it didn't take the firemen long to put it out. The pictures above are of the inside of the cab and the truck from the front...it is toast! Once Dan realized the cab was going to burn too he took all the valuable things out so he didn't really lose anything, other than the truck of course! I was just glad the fire trucks got there before the fire reached the gas tank, that could have been bad. One of the fireman is also the local tow truck driver, so he came back and towed the truck home for us. We had just replaced the front tires a few weeks ago, and of course Dan had just filled up with gas in the morning, none of those things could be salvaged. When I saw the truck I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry, but I guess it is better to laugh. No one was hurt, the truck can be replaced, Dan can't.
Brian called with an interesting story today. Last night he was in his roommate's bedroom playing video games and the roommate went outside to get a pop (they have a pop machine just around the corner from their door, so he didn't lock the door) and when he came back in he had a really strange look on his face. Brian asked him what was the matter and Jordan told him a half naked man had just walked into their apartment and gone upstairs. (They have a two story apartment, with the living room, kitchen, bathroom and Brian's bedroom upstairs). At first Brian didn't believe him, but then Jordan convinced him the guy was there so they went upstairs to check it out..and sure enough there was a guy wearing nothing but a shirt...passed out in Brian's bed! Neither one of them knew quite what to do (I would have called the police) so they decided to go outside and see if anyone was missing a naked guy. Sure enough, as soon as they went outside a guy came up to them and asked them if they had seen a guy walking around with no pants on...the boys said yeah, he is in our apartment! So they all went upstairs, got the guy awake and spent the next ten minutes arguing with him that he was not in his brother's apartment. Turns out it used to be the brother's apartment. The friend went to get another person and those two got the naked guy out of the apartment. Interesting way to spend your evening! The joys of college...
Iowa State played Nebraska in football today and once again lost! The final score was 35 to 7...I swear, if winning a game was a cold ISU still couldn't catch it! But, even though they are losers, I still love my team!
Thursday afternoon Dan brought home three kittens, they spent the night in the dog house and were all happily eating when I left for work Friday morning. Dan went to Storm Lake Friday afternoon and they were all sitting in the dog house, but when I came home that afternoon none of them were around. Saturday morning still no fuzzers. We searched the entire farm and found no sign of them, so assumed they had run into the cornfield and had gotten lost. This was the second set of fuzzers that just disappeared, we had gotten four from Keri and they just disappeared one day too. We were disappointed because we only have one fuzzer, Scrawny, and had wanted more. Then, the neighbor girls from down the road drove in the lane this afternoon, so I went outside to see what they needed and they had two of our fuzzers! They had found them sitting in the ditch across from their house and since Kayla had told them that if they ever had extra cats we would take them, they brought them down, not knowing they were our lost fuzzers. So we figured at least we had two of the three back that was better than none. They were hungry and cold, so were happy to be back! Then, Dan saw something in the yard out by the road, and sure enough, it was the third fuzzer, cold and scared, looking for his friends. We were so sure we would never see our fuzzers again, but they found their way back home and now we are a four fuzzer family again. Kayla is going to name them but I just say they should be named Trouble #1, 2 and 3!
I am currently listening to my new (new to me anyway) washer do a load of laundry...in my new laundry room!!!!!!!!!!!! The excitement!!
Beware! Strange and scary things happen at my house!
Leon the Neon (Becky's old car, Dan's current car) is dying. He needs a new fuel pump and to get poor Leon running the repair guy wants $500! Leon is not worth that much money, even with a full tank of gas! So we told the repair guy we are just going to take Leon home to die...but really Dan is going to fix poor Leon himself and try to get a few more miles out of him. Leon has been through a lot since we got him...Becky put him in the ditch three times and Dan did it once, but he is still a good car and other than the problem with the fuel pump, he runs great. It is too expensive for Dan to keep driving his truck, even with lower gas prices, so Leon will live again! Dan will have to drop the fuel tank to replace the pump, which will take some time. Naturally this had to happen during harvest...besides the fact that Dan has a job to finish for the guy up the road and get my washer and dryer installed! He will have a busy few weeks...I think I am glad I have to go to work everyday and won't be home to hear the "frustration" he will be experiencing!
The girls and I went to an auction at Marathon yesterday...I was going for the washer and dryer. Of course there was tons of stuff there, and of course I ended up buying more than I intended. I get the fever of the auctioneer! I ended up with a really nice desk for Dan, to replace the old computer desk that was falling apart, a bedside table with drawers for Kayla, a picture for Becky, some crock bowls for me, some blankets for the cold upstairs and most importantly...the washer and dryer!! No more laundromat for me~as soon as Dan gets them hooked up that is! We have decided to put them in what is now the "office"...we are going to move the desk into Brian's old room (surprise Brian!) and make the office the new laundry room. It will take some plumbing and electrical work, but I am so excited to have the laundry on the main floor! I will also have to do some rearranging in Brian's room...he only uses it to sleep in when he comes home, I have been told many times he will not live with us anymore, but I will keep the bed for when he visits. So the office will become the laundry room and Brian's room will become the office. Big changes at my house!
Update on ISU and Baylor game...ISU lost, big time! :o( Home game this weekend...maybe they can win for once!
Went and watched Kayla run in cross country again this morning, she did super! Came in second on her team and 28th overall with a time of 20:57...her best time yet. She has one more meet next Saturday and then will be done for the season, so she is finishing strong.
ISU plays Baylor today, so I am hoping they can get a win in! Last week they lost by two points in a very close game...they were ahead 20-0 at half-time but lost their mojo in the second half.
I have to get some cleaning done, and of course the never ending job of laundry. The girls are helping Dan put some cement in for a guy up the road. It is a cool day, the perfect weather in my opinion! Brian says everyone he knows headed home this weekend, but he is staying in Ames...has the whole apartment to himself. He will come home in a few weeks for Thanksgiving, if not before. I hope to go visit him for his birthday if he doesn't come here. Less than a month and he will be 20!
New thing...every Friday I am going to post a random photo. I have so many cool pictures, this way I get to share! Granted, most of them will be of the kids...but if a mom can't brag about her kids who can? Here we go!
This one is of Becky and Kayla and their "gang"...taken this summer just after they finished filming the movie they wrote.
Last night Kayla and I went to church to help with the Vespers committee, which I am on this year. For those of you who don't know, Vespers is an annual supper the church puts on for all the ladies as a kick-off to the Christmas season. So last night we made the party favors and discussed the decorations and food. Halloween isn't even here yet and we are working on Christmas! I also stopped at Wal-Mart after work yesterday to get some things for Kayla's Y-teens secret sister and thought maybe some fun Halloween socks would be good...but no such thing was to be found. I could find Christmas socks, since the "outdoor area" is now filled with Christmas trees and decorations, and I could find Halloween underwear, but no socks. Halloween underwear?? In my opinion, it is way to early to have Christmas stuff out...who buys decorations for Christmas while they are still waiting for Halloween to come? People who are organized and plan ahead...so annoying to those of us who aren't like that :o)
An article was written in the paper about the school's choice to join 8-man football this year, rather than wait until next year when they don't have a choice. Apparently everyone in the district read this article and is hopping mad about it. How dare anyone insult the great sports team! What was the writer thinking? He must be an idiot who knows nothing about sports! Quick, cancel your subscription to the paper before he writes more insulting things about our beloved team! Okay, I just have to say...grow up! It is only sports, the school could have waited another year to join 8-man and really, who cares anyway? Crazy world we live in.
On my way to work this morning, just driving along minding my own business, when my cell phone rang...it was Dan calling to tell me that Leon (the car) had died at the hog house near Newell and I needed to come get him. Okay, not a problem, let me go to work and let them know what is going on and I will be on my way. So I continue to drive and the phone rings again, once again Dan. Now Leon is running fine and I don't need to come get him. Okay, great! Get to work, there about a half hour and Dan calls again. Leon has died at the gas pump in Newell and this time it is not starting again, but he is getting a ride to the hog house by Fonda, so can I come get him there? Road trip! So I explain what is going on to the boss and head to Fonda, get Dan and take him home to get the truck, then back to work. Great way to start the day!
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Another crazy weekend, I swear I am gone more than I am home...yet the house doesn't stay clean! Saturday morning I went to Pocahontas to watch Kayla run cross country, she was a little apprehensive about running because she has been having problems with side pain, but she ended up running and finishing the race. We came home and looked up solutions for side pain on the internet and discovered she needs to eat more bananas and oatmeal...she has requested banana cream oatmeal. Later in the afternoon Dan and I went to Algona to watch both girls perform in the Algona Band Day competition...the marching band performed and they ended up with 4th place in their division, they were less than a point from the 3rd place winner. (Kayla is on the left side of the picture above, with Becky directing). In between running yesterday I managed to get a couple of loads of laundry done and made a dent in the cleaning. Sunday Kayla had to go to Sioux City for a All-State band audition workshop. Becky and friend Haley went along and all three girls spent the afternoon with a friend that graduated from L-M last year and is now attending Briar Cliff. I spent most of the day doing laundry and cleaning, but also got the chance to get out the Halloween decorations. I have been meaning to do that for a week now, but finally got the chance. Dan has been working on the combine all weekend, so he has been kept busy too. There is never a lack of things to do on the weekend!
Maybe he should quit college and become a model?
As everyone knows, I was raised to believe in God, go to church and pray. I have lived my life doing those things, but quite frankly, pretty much did them by habit. Lately though, there have been a lot of things going on in my life that have been very stressful. I would say a little prayer once in awhile, again, out of habit. But then, things started to turn around and I got to thinking, are my prayers being answered? Is God really listening? The more I thought about it the more I realized that yes, He is listening and answering...and doing it quickly! I have now gotten to the point where I don't let things get me down...no more sleepless nights worrying, I just turn all my problems over to God and let Him have at them! You know the saying "let go and let God"...I am consciously doing that and I have to be honest, it is fantastic. No more do I pray by habit, I talk to God and let him worry for me. Now don't get me wrong, not every problem is solved the way I think it should be, nor is every problem even solved. I also keep in mind "God helps those who help themselves", I think that is very important. But the major things I worry about are made easier, and I attribute that to God listening and helping me out. It is a good thing.
Happy birthday to my super dad! He is 73 today and doesn't act like it...which is a good thing! There is no way he will read this on the computer because he is totally computer illiterate, but that is okay, because I know mom will show it to him. Dad is that guy that sits quietly in his chair while the rest of us talk and talk and talk. He is not ignoring us, he is listening to every word and caring about what is going on. He listens to his wife, his kids, his grandkids and his great-grandkids and puts his family first, above everything else! Dad is great and we all love him and wish him many more happy birthdays!