Catching Up

Women of Faith Conference in St Paul, MN  October 21-22.  Celebrating my mom's birthday together with thousands of other women!  The first day we sat up here to avoid the steps.  Then we sat on the floor for the rest of the event.  Up close!!

 Happy Birthday Mom!  Diet coke ($4.75) and popcorn ...  her favorites!

 Debbie, Darlys, and Hazel Holm in our seats on the floor.

 

Grandma Sheri with Garrett Lee Palmer.

 Matthew, Heather and Garrett on his Dedication Day.

 Working hard with play dough.

Wayne and I took a weekend away to Minneapolis early in November.  Finally got to see and eat at our friend's bakery and restaurant -- Sun Street Breads.  Awesome!  It was refreshing and restful to visit friends and family, eat some nice meals, and generally wind down for a bit.

Took a walk with LeAnne and Martin and appreciated the lovely weather. 

What a treat for November!

 Aubrey made a picture for LeAnne and Martin. Yup, you are right.  It's a crocodile.

It was a good week.

The Latest

This past weekend we enjoyed a visit from Mom and Dad Jensen.  They finally found their way down to Tea.  Now that they know the way (or can find it after a detour -- just kidding Mom!)  we hope they can come visit again.  DeAnn, Becca, Ashley, Cammie, Wesley, and Mason were all in town on Saturday and so we met them for lunch and a visit.  I was pretty lazy with the camera so only have a couple of pictures.  

We took Mom and Dad to the farmer's market and Falls Park where we rode the trolley through downtown Sioux Falls and back to the park.  The weather was super!!

On Sunday afternoon Travis, Lisa and Aubrey came out for lunch and a visit.  They had just returned from Aubrey's birthday trip to Omaha Zoo.  The family tradition of Grandpa reading Dr Suess was shared with great-granddaughter with a reading of "Hop on Pop."  Since her daddy reads Dr Suess to her often, Aubrey was "reading" the book along with Grandpa!

Otherwise we're keeping busy with work, church and volunteering.   One of the areas I volunteer with at church is our Faith in Action committee.  This past month I coordinated a collection of plastic bags that were donated to a group who was knitting and crocheting them into sleeping mats.  The Good Samaritan Center in Sioux Falls will be giving them to the people they serve.  Later this month our committee will be hosting an "almost sleepover" with kids from church.  They come for an evening of activities and fun, but the admission fee is a pair of pajamas. The pjs will be donated to the Children's Inn, where kids often arrive with only the clothes on their back.  Should be a good project and a learning experience for the kids.

Another week, or two .....

What an awesome September!! 

We have enjoyed some bike rides, grilling out, and generally being outside.  

At the end of August we attended the Lutherans Outdoors Quilt Auction up at Joy Ranch.  We had such fun (we got to bring Aubrey along with us!!) and picked up a lovely quilt that was created by the quilters at South Canyon Lutheran Church in Rapid City. The pattern is called Winged Nine patch.  The auction raised over $32,000 for the Lutheran camping program in South Dakota.

Today, Sept 11, was Rally Day at the church. The place was buzzing!!  The kids came for the start of Sunday School and then sang for the call to worship at the 10:45 service.  Holy Smokes that's a lot of kids!  We will be having a Wednesday worship service starting this week, so that adds a little more work for the preachers :).   

I think it will be a good addition for the congregation and a great option for people who occasionally have to work on Sundays (like me!).

 

Another week, another adventure!

Today Aubrey and I went to the Sertoma Butterfly House & Purdy Marine Cove. We saw hundreds of beautiful butterflies and then looked at lots pretty fish and other sea creatures.

We were given a laminated sheet with pictures of all the varieties of butterflies. So we looked for them and matched them on the sheet.

One of Aubrey's favorite things - matching.

She sees sea shells. :)

"I hear the ocean."

Growing up too fast.

Adventures with Aubrey

What a fun day today! Aubrey and I started the day with our weekly visit to the library. What a book lover! Today we picked out books about the farm, a puppy, spiders, and the wind. Then we drove down to Falls Park and hopped on the trolley for a ride around the loop in downtown Sioux Falls. What a fun (and free) opportunity that Sioux Falls offers!

Back at the park we unpacked our picnic lunch and enjoyed the beautiful weather! Fed a gopher, climbed on rocks, and ran around on the grass!

"Where's that gopher?"

Finish Line MS 150

Wayne crossed the finish line in Sioux Falls at 1:00 pm. One hour less than his ride to Madison!! He is hot, tired, and sore but so happy that he rode and finished. He's already pre-registered for next year's ride!!

Sorry for the delay in posting... our internet was down all afternoon. :(

Day Two MS150

It's almost 7:00 am and the riders are getting ready to start the return trip from Madison.

Wayne reports that he is fine, legs are are sore, but he expects that will get better once he starts riding. Looks like great weather for the ride today.

More from the MS150

All along the route there were rest stops with food and drink. The riders were encouraged to stop at them all and "refuel." So at each rest stop Wayne was able to text me with his progress. All along the way he kept saying he was having a good ride and having fun.

Travis, Aubrey and I drove up to Madison to meet him as he arrived at the finish line for the first half. Finally at 1:55 pm we saw him round the corner! He was tired and hot and said the last stretch was hard but he made it!! Volunteers handed him a cold wet towel right away!

Then the riders were treated with more food, massages (if they wish), a hot tub, and lots of cheering and encouragement. This evening there was a banquet and then hopefully they will have a good night's rest and start out tomorrow morning at 7:00 am for the return trip!

MS 150

Well today is finally the day!! Wayne departed the start line at 7:15 am this morning for his 150 mile ride. When we got up it was raining, but by the time we got to the starting area it had quit and we were treated to a rainbow. At the start the temp was 71 degrees, mild winds in a good direction, and the air was full of excitement.

And he's off!!

He has been sending messages from rest stops along the way and sounds great. He says he's having fun and its been a great ride so far. I'll post again this evening and report on the finish up in Madison.

The Latest

Like everyone else we've been spending a lot of time indoors trying to tolerate the heat. Lots of reading and watching a few movies. This past Sunday was our 35th wedding anniversary and we appreciated all the good wishes and cards. We went to the Harry Potter movie to celebrate.

Wayne continues to ride his bike most days, despite the heat. He's preparing for the MS 150 ride on August 6 and 7. His fundraising is going well, but he isn't letting up! Get in touch with him if you want to make a donation.

I was offered (and accepted) a new position in my department at work. The new job will give me more hours and I'll work the morning shift (5:00 am - 1:30 pm). I'm looking forward starting the new shift at the beginning of August. Even with the additional hours, I'll still have time for my day with Aubrey once a week!

When Aubrey was here this week, it was a little too hot for playing outside so we made a fort under the table. Grandpa had to peak in and play a while too. Lots of fun. She and I have been going to the library the last couple of weeks. We go for Story Time here at the Tea Library and following story time they have some activities. I made her a little book bag and she has learned how we check out books and then bring them back the next time we come "so other children can read the books"

Victoria June 2011 -- part three

Here is the last installment of photos of our trip to Victoria. These are of various day trips or excursions. As you can see we had wonderful weather and exceptional hosts!!

Here we are at Merridale Ciderworks - western Canada's largest cider producing orchard. After our self guided tour we enjoyed a light lunch and tasted 6 varieties of hard cider.

Eric and I are checking out some artisan bread at the Moss St Market in Victoria. Also at the market - local produce, locally made soap, artisan cheese, and much more.

Downtown Victoria hosted free music for the Jazz festival.

A panoramic shot of the St. of Juan de Fuca. Looking south from Beacon Hill park at the Cascade Mountains in Washington state, US.

Sunning our legs.

More fun at Beacon Hill Park.

While walking around downtown we heard fun music from these guys. Slim Sandy and friends. The accordion player is David P Smith, who Eric plays with in the band David P Smith and the Euphorians.

David and Judy Gislason arrived in Victoria on the Sunday evening before we left. It was nice to see them again and have a nice visit.

Eric and Kristy live in an unusual but lovely home. You can see that at one end it is fairly narrow and gradually gets wider and wider!