Happy Halloween

Our little goblins are here. They were going to go trick or treating but they have no costumes. They were going to hand out candy, but they are watching NOVA. I guess we get to feed them, expend extra gas and miles, and not get credit for an overnight stay. It's more work for me. Kurt will be doing dishes.

We all got flu shots today. Luck had it that the flu shot clinic was the same day as Halloween so we were able to get them vaccinated. I hope it works!

I withdrew from my accounting class. It was kicking my a**. Missing a week of school didn't help either. I still have plenty to do with my remaining 14 hours of class.

Icky

We survived the trial. Three very full days. Kurt in the courtroom and me in the f*&^)(*ing hot hallway. Now we wait.

We each have upper respitory infections. Different strains. Different meds. Thanks, kids!

We went to Ryan's first birthday party yesterday. It was fun to watch him explore frosting and get his first taste of sugar. He's such a sweetie. It was WAY crowded in Ms. Marn's house. It made me very thankful we've moved out of our itty bitty Waterloo house.

I missed an entire week of school. I need to study and get back into the groove today.

A Little Behind

We've had too much going on for me to take time to blog. I've got tests in all my classes this Friday, OCTOBER 13TH! All the profs said they were sorry, but I don't think they meant it. So here's what's been happening around here:

• Fred came for last weekend. We haven't seen him since June.
• All the kids went to a hayride and weinie roast last Saturday. The 70 degree weather was perfect for it!
• We all went to see Antigone at Theater UNI. It was a modern adaptation and very well done. Christy especially liked it.
• We had $1 sundaes at McDonald's afterward
• Conference cross country is tomorrow afternoon. I baked 2 doz brownies and am prepared to work in the concessions stand
• Kurt and I had our first big fight. It was a DOOZIE!
• My printer died...at least the portion that prints black ink. Thought it was a bad cartridge. So now I have $70 worth of ink and no printer it will work in. Joy.
• My severance ran out and I'm officially on the dole
• My car needs $2200 in repairs
• I have a math test due Friday, too
• It's snowing outside!

Guilty!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061005/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_life_regifting

An Ebay Find

I occasionally do Ebay searches of my and Kurt's hometowns just to see what it will turn up. A few weeks ago Kurt's came up with a 1955 Legion Cookbook. We bid on it and won (imagine that!?!). It arrived today. Kurt is going to be VERY excited. It's got recipes from his maternal grandma and his aunt in it. I think there may be a couple of other relatives, too. The names sounded familiar, but I'm not well acquainted with the "outlaws" on his side.

Dubuque Dubuque

Saturday we took a family day and went to Dubuque. The weather was lovely, Alex didn't have a cross country meet, and Kurt had found $60 worth of travelers checks when he was cleaning out a box.

We went to the Fenelon Place Elevators which is billed as the world's "shortest, steepest incline" via a train. It goes up the side of a bluff where there is then a beautiful 3 state view. There was a busload of screaming kids when we got there, but we stayed anyway.

Following our ride we boarded the Spirit of Dubuque for a 1 1/2 hour river cruise. We steamed up river to just below the lock and damn, turned around, and headed south to the Julian Dubuque Monument. Along the way we saw piles of coal and road salt, a bald eagle, some spectacular homes, a nunnery, and several barges. The sun came out and made the water glisten. Nick, of course, was a bump on a log, but Alex and Christy really enjoyed themselves.

After the boat ride we decided to drive to the Julian Dubuque Monument and check it out. It was quite the adventure! The way wasn't clearly marked so we got to see quite a bit of the country side. Hwy 52 heading south is pretty "Deliverance"-esque! We had less than an 1/8 of a tank of gas so we headed back to town. We eventually managed to find the place. It has spectacular views, a free viewing telescope, and lots of fresh air.

It was getting late and the herd was hungry. We called some friends in town and has dinner with them at a local Mexican restaurant. There was a strolling guitar player along with lots of warm chips and hot salsa. It was a great end to a great day.

When we got home Christy said she had " a great time" and she hoped Sunday was just as great. I'm afraid she was sadly disappointed.

Fenelon Place Elevators 

Rolling on the River 

Julian Dubuque Monument 

Growth chart

Kurt measured the kids again and the results are in!

Alex - holding at 6'.
Nick - 5'7 and 1/2"
Christy - 5'2 and 1/2".

So am not yet the shortest (but I will be soon!)

This and That

Been busy with school so this hasn't gotten much attention. We attended Alex's Cross Country meet last Saturday. He did pretty well with the hilly course and strong winds. He had another meet yesterday. He said he got 39th (out of how many I don't know). Tomorrow we have school conferences for him and Kurt has to go to Davenport. Friday night we have the Parent's Meeting/Dinner for Cross country. Saturday is the 1st Annual Brew B Q. www.celebrateindee.com We're hoping the weather will be nice for it. I had a test on Tuesday and got one back on Monday. Ugh. Last night was book club. We read THE GOOD WIFE by O'Nan. Shockingly, everyone had read the book. Next month is IN COLD BLOOD. That's the second day of our trial though so we may be too wiped out to go.

The pool picture is from our vacation at Kurt's brother Greg's house. The other one is from the murder mystery dinner we got for a wedding gift from my parents and sister and brother-in-law. (I did it by the way!). It was and the Lion and the Lamb B & B.

Who Dunnit Dinner 

Vacation Revisited 

Heading for the Finish 

Our Mustang 

Crop for the Cure

Saturday was the long awaited event. It was the "Crop for the Cure" Day. Marnie, Jen, and I (plus Jen's sisters, Steph and Roni, whom I hadn't met before) were a few of the 100+ women scrapping booking and raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. All together the day raised $16,000+ for breast cancer research. All of us won door prizes except Ms. Marn. I got my Washington, D.C. scrapbook started (and finished)! I also did some pages of Ryan. I work in an smaller format, 8 x 8, while they were all doing 12 x 12. I got 29 pages done in 12 hours! Marnie did 9 and the others did considerably fewer. They however spend a lot of time planning and replanning. I just tend to slap things down on there. It was a lot of fun.

Mom and I rode to DSM together since she was going to babysit the munchkin while we cropped. He is getting soo big and verbal. He stands and walks along things. He likes to be naughty and check to see if you are paying attention. That kid can army crawl VERY fast if there is an open door. He's a sweetie.

Unfortunately, once we got home it's back to the books. I don't know what in the hell I am doing in my accounting class and my first test is on Friday.

Scenes from Washington, D.C.

Sushi - YUCK!!!




Wet at World War II Memorial



Kurt with Washington in the Palm of his Hand

Korean War Memorial

The closest Kurt will get to the Moon - Touching a Moon Rock

At the Capital