Highlight the ones you've done.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars. (len has too)
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower. (len has too)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyworld. (we've been to disneyland does that count?)
8. Climbed a mountain. (len has too)
9. Held a praying mantis. (len has)
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (scrapbooking..)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables. (my parents did) (len has)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. (len has)
21. Had a pillow fight. (len has..with me!)
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick. (len has)
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb. (len has)
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse. (we both have seen part of one)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. (len has too)
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. (len has)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community. (both have)
36. Taught yourself a new language. (sign language)
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied. (len says sure)
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (len has too..no ropes tho for either of us)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (len has too..with me of course!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. (len has been snorkeling)
52. Kissed in the rain. (len and i of course)
53. Played in the mud. (len has too)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater. (len has)
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class. (len has)
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. (len has helped his sisters)
62. Gone whale watching. (len has..i'm jelous)
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check. (NSF-both have done that)
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (len has too)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial. (len has)
71. Eaten caviar. (len has)
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square. (len has)
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. (len has)
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper. (len has too)
85. Read the entire Bible. (not front to back) (len has too)
86. Visited the White House. (len has)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (both of us have fished..but i've never prepared them)
88. Had Chicken pox. (len has too)
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one. (my grandpa) (len has too)
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone. (who doesn't) (len does too)
99. Been stung by a bee. (len has)
100. Read an entire book in one day. (len has too)

Robins

Len and I were watching a little news clip online about robins and learned something kinda interesting. Growing up we used to watch the birds at the feeder, read the birdbook together on different birds we saw, and sit in the woods just to listen to the birds tweet! We always found the robin quite entertaining, especially in the spring getting the worms out of the ground. This news clip was saying that many robins "stayed" this year and didn't leave. It was saying that they don't always leave--they go as far south as they need to and then don't go farther.. and this year they "stayed" in MN. There is enough berries for them to eat this winter. They go from meat eaters in the spring to berry eaters in the winter. I always thought those birds migrated and came to MN in the spring!

This childhood poam I used to have memoried came to mind after hearing about the robins.. this poam says it all..they don't fly away!(at least not every winter)

Poor Robin

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor Robin do then?
He'll sit in a barn,

To keep him self warm,

And hide his head under his wing,

poor thing.

Winter un-blahs

St. Paul Winter CarnivalLen and I at the ice sculptures

Fat guy taking a nap in the tropics or so he dreams but he really forgot he was in MN and froze into ice.

A guy sinking in the mist of sharks..ready to kill a big one jumping out of the water..like it will do him any good..haha.

Landmark Center..its really historic (and tall)!

Mr. Potato head is missing an arm and an ear...

one of my favorites..a pig on a tractor!

Train Model Museum

You can see the big doors that the trains went into this building..it used to be a shop for the trains.

A model train speeding by..

Mickey's Diner

We finished off the night at Mickeys Diner..quite the experience! It is about 5 feet deep total..you sit facing the kitchen on bar stools while they cook in front of you. Its an old train diner car-over 70 years; its on the national historic whatever; and its really popular-there's a list of stars (lindsy lohan..), singers (tim mcgraw, faith hill...), govenors (arnold s..), writers (garison keller)...and many more that have been there. Not sure what they saw in it, but like I said an experience!! Food is really great so do go!-If your not clasterphobic, insane over cleanliness, speediness, and perfect service!!!

We went back to the train musuem at night. They have a special event going on for a limited time where they turn on blue lights to represent moonlight. They turn on the train lights, interior lights of trains, buildings and street lights.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Ever had a REALLY good laugh?? Well according to this picture, I was going full speed hysterics! I don't know what made me laugh (besides len) earlier but I was laughing so hard I could hardly breath--it didn't help when len thought he should do CPR on me:P Purhaps I'll live a few more years over it-thats what they say about laughing anyways. Once in 1st grade I got an award for the BEST giggle:) I think I'm just naturally easily entertained.

If we had a video of me laughing i might have just put it on here..everyone could laugh and gain a few years...hahahah.

Getting organized!

It got put together a few weeks ago but I finally got a picture of it! Its a great place for all those standing picture frames we got as wedding gifts! Most of the things on this shelf were wedding gifts! Now if your in need of a shelf like this I have to say its a really nice shelf for stuff. You just have to have the paicience to put it together - it comes in lots and lots of pieces!

Laundry Day

Off we go to the laundry room down the hall....
I remember doing something like this when i was like 5..hahah.

Growing up on a farm.....

Though farm life isn't always easy and not always perfect, I truly believe that a farm is a wonderful place for children to grow up on. Children have many learning experiences on a farm that they don't learn anywhere else. As you grow older you realize the effect a farm has on your life naturally and spiritually.
One of the most wonderful things about the farm is time..time seemed endless. We had time. We were rarely rushing to go places that we needed to be "on time" for. We were always busy and there was never a day wasted, in a way. But I feel that on the farm we didn't take the time to do as much spiritual things that we should have done..read the Bible together and pray together. This makes it harder to learn to make time for this..plus learn how to do it. But I do have good memories of my parents that that showed us good examples..seeing them pray and reading nearly every day..which they continue to this day of course:)
Another good memory that gave us so many spiritual lessons is the crops. We were involved in the daily development of crops. The thawing in the spring, the plowing, the planting, the waiting and waiting and finally harvest time. With each "step" there were many things that needed to be prepared for this step to be accomplished. You can't plow the field without having a fine-tuned tractor and plow...you can't plant till you have bought the seeds, and you cant harvest without the harvest being ready. Now with all that you have to be patient. We knew as kids that rain, hail and wind could wreck the whole crop. We could feel the effect a ruined crop..we knew that all that preparing and working couldn't stop a storm. So it is spiritually..there is so many little steps to prepare for the future but we can't predict or stop the future.
Taking care of animals is a huge memory of the farm. Just like taking care of crops, animals take even more diligent care. It was a daily thing to make sure they were fed, milked (the cows), clean, and healthy. I loved taking care of the cats on the farm. They had a big part of helping the farm..killing the mice. However we still had mice:P I remember once watching a mother cat give birth to 4 of her 6 kittens.. the cat's mother was there with her arm around her daughter as she gave birth..quite the bond! Several times I would watch calves being born and watch them till they knew how to stand to their feet and nurse their mother. I remember teaching the calves how to suck on bottles..quite a feat! I remember sitting in the little shed talking to the chicks and holding them in my hands till i was sure they wanted a drink of water. Then I'd set them down by the drinking can so they could have a drink. I remember feeling the pain of a cow as dad gave cows a pill the size of a hot dog..sticking that big pole down their throat to drop the pill down. And I remember brushing the cows with a thick wire brush..one cow in particular would lean into it..she loved it! Perhaps this is why I'm in childcare..I love giving that special touch of care! Spiritually, learning to take care of something alive makes you more aware of taking care of yourself, and others. Every day we keep learning more about we need to be doing for ourselves to better serve God. And every day we are faced with the fact that we need to encourage others and help them along this way as well.
I guess this is all for now.. really there is a lot..and its hard to share them all tonight:) have a goodnight:)

Hide and Seek

Len and I babysat my nephews and niece tonight so that my brother and his wife could go out to eat for his birthday! First we fed them supper (they talked a lot about a teacher that fell down at school and had to go to the hospital). Then they each had a list of stuff to do, and we told them after they did everything on the list we'd play hide and seek. It took a couple hours for them to finish all the things on the list but we turned it all into fun. Aeden had about 30 vocab words to learn. I hated vocab words as a kid! After going though all the word cards with him and the meanings we took the cards and made a crazy story with them all. The words go with a book that hes reading in class and it sounds like its rather distructive (stars crashing into earth or something like that).. so the words were mostly all "bad" things and they were rather long! He's only in 5th grade but I didn't know more then 5 of them. Later they had a treat of icecream and pie and so we were joking around using the words in the vocab.."who inhaliated the pie?" Then they got to play a few rounds of Hide and Seek! Len and I discovered how it makes the house rather peaceful and quiet and you can actually go over 20 seconds on the counting as you hide together on the stairs:P They all had rather good spots..it was fun! When their parents got home we were in the middle of the game and told them that we had lost their kids!! Well..just about!