7th Grade Football

7th Grade Football was a bit rough this year. Brandon made the team only to learn that in 7th grade they have TWO teams. They constantly switch the players between teams to give them a chance to play different positions and to keep the skill level even. The players had it rough with winter coming so soon this year and they froze their little tushes off! Literally! I think Brandon lost about 5 lbs just shivering!
He had a blast AND got number 80 which is his all time favorite. He did have to sacrifice a lot to be in football though, and that part he didn't like so much. He had to give up Bass lessons, Civil Air Patrol for 3 months and any hope at a social life. With practice every day, it didn't leave much time for much else. We'll see if he plays next year. I think it will be a tough decision between the sport he loves and all the other stuff he loves!

Cole's New Buddy

Cole's got a new buddy from our neighborhood and his name is Horse, oh, I mean JAKE. He's a full blooded Great Dane and Cole thinks he's just the best thing ever! So do the KID boys! Too bad they only come in Extra, Extra LARGE, cause he's the sweetest!

Philly Beef-Stuffed Sandwich Roll

PHILLY BEEF STUFFED Sandwich Roll
1 cup Red , Orange or Yellow bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, divided
1 packages (10 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust
8 ounces thinly sliced deli roast beef
8 oz thinly sliced American cheese
1 Egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
Pre heat oven to 400°E
chop bell pepper and onion. In Frying pan heat oil over medium heat until hot. press garlic into oil, add bell pepper, onion and ½ tsp oregano leaves, cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender. Remove Pan from heat. Unroll 1 pizza crust onto lightly floured surface. Using lightly floured Dough and Pizza Roller, roll out crust to 12" x 9" rectangle. Cover with the cheese, beef, and vegetable mixture to within ½ of the edges of dough.

Starting at longest part, roll up rectangle similar to jelly roll. Place rolls, seam sides down, onto Baking Stone. In small bowl, combine egg white and water; brush onto Top of dough. Sprinkle with the remaining oregano . Bake 20-25 minutes or until bread is done through. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Serves 8

Back in the Saddle - School Begins

Well it's that time of year again where School begins and Mom does the happy dance, or sad dance, whichever you prefer. I was HAPPY this year, because the kids were thrilled to begin school again. School means Football, Friends, Girls, and new lockers for Brandon. Tyler loves new teachers, Girls, chess club, and new friends.

What can I say, yes, for MOM it means no quarreling over wii games, movies, who sleeps with the dog, and what's for dinner. Ahhhh, whoever invented this school thing deserves a nobel peace prize. It's peaceful all day, and night because everyone is back on schedule, out of the house by 8am, and in bed by 9pm! Gotta love it!

College for my Kids!

Brandon and Tyler had FUN while I was gone in Seattle. They went to a program at Moorhead State University called, “College for Kids.” Tyler was enrolled in Young Rembrants and learned all about the styles of different artists through the ages from surrealist Salvador Dalí, to pointillist Georges Seura.



He marveled at the different styles and made sculptures, paintings, and shadow boxes depicting the different art. SO inspired he came home and made this mural on our driveway that lasted over a week! Wow what fun to see his little mind on overdrive!


Brandon was enrolled in “Young Architects” where they studied the architecture of the Moorhead campus in detail. They learned terminology, how to recreate angles, and made a 3-d replica of the entire college! Brandon's building had high pitched roofs and he did an AMAZING job recreating every intricate detail! Hmm, analytical thinker, definitely...but he can translate that into 3-D images in his head. SO far beyond even my comprehension!

Harry Potter at Midnight

I promised Brandon that THIS year we would see the Harry Potter movie on it's opening NIGHT. We got our tickets a week ahead....ALL the theaters were SOLD OUT the night of the event and 1000's of people showed up to view the newest movie, The Half Blood Prince!

Brandon and I arrived an hour and a hal

f early and already the parking lot and surrounding lots were full. We ended up parking in the mall across the street. There were festively dressed and costumed patrons getting into the spirit of the movie, radio stations giving away stickers and prizes and plenty of younger and older patrons just patiently waiting for their number to be called so that they could enter the theater.

We missed our number being called so we got into the theater a full 15 minutes after they opened the doors. All the upper seats were filled and we sat in the 2nd row from the front. Waiting for over an hour and daring not to leave our seats for fear of not getting them back, Brandon and I played games on my itouch. Scrabble kept us busy and listening to the conversations around us kept us wanting for the movie to start even sooner.

The movie did start after about 20 more minutes of technical difficulties, but it pleased all the viewers who oooh'ed, ahhh'ed, and boooo'd their favorite characters. Not as detailed as the book, the movie left much out, but it's viewers who have grown up with the cast of main characters, were just as excited by the personification of their favorite book series brought to life on the big screen.

With the wow factor of the midnight premiere and a special evening spent with my ever growing-older son, it's a memory I won't soon forget! I had a blast!

Coke Bottle Glasses

We took Brandon to get new glasses and the optical store made them out of regular material (some type of glass) verses the thinner/lighter plastic material.

We went to pick them up and they weighed over a POUND and over 15mm thick!

At some point the person making them must of said to themselves, "hugh?"

I just had to take photos because they were so comical!

The store realized their mistake, and gave us new lenses the next day. Too funny!

Drunken Cow paints Fargo Flood

Many of you know of my love of Roz the artists who paints under the name Drunken Cow.

Well I saw this picture in the paper during the flood.

It was taken from a boat on the water by a local photographer. I though it was so profound because in the photo all the people are working together to save their city.

I commissioned Roz to paint "God working through the hearts of His people" and she finished it!

I'm so excited! She put all of us in the painting!

Now We'll always have a reminder of how God helped us save our city and also to commemorate our first year here in Fargo!


(There are magnifying glasses and the word faith in front of the painting on display, but they are not part of the painting. You can't quite tell that from the photos)

Tyler LOVES Lutheran Camp!

The picture from the car ride home (on the bottom right) says it all. He had a BLAST and was too tuckered out to talk!

Brandon's BFF Matthew visits Fargo!

Letting loose a jewelry secret

I came across this AMAING little tool and I can't help but share to all my jewelry making friends.

20 gage wire of any substance easily bends into the french hook earring shape.

Weather you like this style or the one below, this tool is idiot proof and makes matching earrings in just seconds.  NEVER by the expensive french hooks again!

If I sound like an infomercial, so sorry, I'm just totally excited to share this amazing new tool!

Happy earring making!

http://www.gossamerwingsdesigns.com/ear-wire-maker.htm

Tyler's at camp

Well, my little guy went off to camp this week. He's at a little Church camp nestled as an island in the middle of the Detroit Lakes. FUN! Well at least I hope so. No letters from him yet, but we email him letters daily through 'bunk mail' and they print them out for the campers. If you'd like to send him a letter, just email me and I'll forward it on. The day we got there it was pouring down rain and after a small plank crossing to his cabin, Tyler found a comfortable bunk and called it 'home' for the week. They assured me that the weather was to clear up the next day, and then I got this picture of Tyler with all his campers in the bright sunshine, so I guess their predictions were true!

Poor Cole has been missing his 'boy' this week. He's made a little pile in front of Tyler's door with things that he might have forgotten in his absence. There is one stinky old shoe, one dirty sock complete with caked mud, one drum stick from Tyler's Rock Band game and one tiny Turtle from last week's VBS. The Turtle has made it's way to various places in the house because the dogs carried it around all week like a Teadybear, but eventually at some point in the day, Cole lays it atop the little pile in front of Tyler's door and just sighs. It will be a glourious day when his 'boy' Tyler returns and the running, jumping, chasing, and tug of war begin again. We are just not so fun as a little boy-littter-mate!

Mosaic Composite Photographs

Ok, all you techies and non-techies here's a free Mac application that is FUN to use!
http://homepage.mac.com/knarf/MacOSaiX/Download.html
It's called MacOSaiX and it takes photo's from your events folder or other folder and makes composite mosaic photographs while overlaying them onto an existing image.

Here's a sample of some I've done: (click on them to see the photo's within the photo)






The only draw back is that it takes a long time to compile and takes quite a bit of memory to create. I set mine to 'go' then just left the computer alone for an hour and came back to save it. Also when you save it, pay special attention to the inches or pixels it's saved as. If you only want an 8x10, make sure you enter the size or you'll have 25mb of storage wrapped up in a poster sized photo! On the other hand if you WANT a poster sized photo for a graduation or wall art, it's amazing the quality you can get out of this tiny little program!

Happy downloading!

Snow in June!

Click HERE to watch the SNOW video! Amazing!

The Fly Hunter

The FLY HUNTER Video

Cole spent over 30 minutes hunting this fly around the sun room. He was very serious at his job, but just couldn’t stand the tickle the fly made when it touched his nose or fur. It was hilarious to watch the first time, but now, thanks to Brandon’s filming we get to enjoy it again and again!

Southwest Crock Pot Chicken

Southwest Crock Pot Chicken
Cook Time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup bottled thick and chunky salsa, your favorite
5 or 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or tenders (about 2 lbs)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Preparation:

In a 3-1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix together the black beans, corn, and 1/2 cup of the salsa. Top with the chicken breasts, then pour the remaining 1/2 cup salsa over the chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and white throughout; do not overcook or the chicken will be dry. Sprinkle cheese on top; cover and cook until the cheese melts, about 5 to 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.
Serves 6.

Art and Nature

While visiting the Peace Gardens just inside Canada, I marveled at the birch tree lined pathways through the gardens. It was just like I was Alice and had stepped into wonderland through one of my favorite artist's paintings. Mandy Budan is an artist who lives in Pickering in Ontario, Canada.

She paints beautiful landscapes, and below is one of my favorites!

Can you see how I would have been awe-struck by the real-life version of one of my favorite paintings....Like Alice in Wonderland only reversed! I had only ever seen the 'fanciful' version until last week when I saw the 'actual' version in reality!

What a trip!