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. :(