Marley & Me - 2nd Edition

After seeing the movie Marley & Me last week, I realized I had a younger, minature version on my hands at home.... Ria and family are always asking "how's Hazel?" to which I usually give a response causing their next statement to be "you don't like her very much do you?" Katelyn and Kennedy came to spend the night last Saturday and make the trek to Buffalo with us the next day and got a first hand experience of why I respond the way I do! The pics give a teensy indication to their own agony with the little rascal....Being awakened by the little furry beast, trying to hide so she doesn't claw your eyes out (yup that's Kate's skinny little butt sticking in the air with her head buried in her pillow), having Hazel fake "oh I'm such a calm puppy" on the car ride so she could ride on Kate's lap and finally even wearing KATELYN the dog lover of all dog lovers out!

Come Rain, Shine or Blizzard

Didn't get your Fargo Forum this morning? Call this man. After a 12 hr. bus trip to Fergus Falls yesterday with the Fargo High Swim Team, Richie left for the Forum at 1:00 AM this morning to get his 130 carriers out with the Sunday Forum. This is him coming home at 11:00 am...after digging out several carriers and a few neighbors along the way. All he wants for Christmas is some snowpants and a face mask. He called his Mom in Mpls. to tell her he'd never seen anything like it. She told him to come home. Good thing they shut down I-94 or he'd be heading southeast.

Road Trip

Alot of the time life with Richard is like taking a kid to the toy store for the very first time. His prior 50 yrs. has been pretty much filled up with nothing but work, work & more work. Give the man a new wife with 2 adult married children and 7 grandkids and 3 doggies, move him to Fargo and his world is forever changed. Now every time I get him to venture outside his small tunnel world and try something new, I'm the one ending up shaking my head and grinning on the sidelines. For instance, last Saturday he took his first ever extra-curricular bus trip with wrestling kids from Fargo.... to what he thought was the end of the earth...Grand Forks ND. They gave him a flat nose bus, only 1/2 a tank of gas, and loaded it up with over 70 kids and told him to head north. What's funny is to listen to his stories of the experience....cuz he forgets that I've been doing that for the last 25 yrs. of my life! I drove up there to meet him and take up some of his wait time and had to chuckle while he told me "ya know the moms bring food into these tournaments... they bring these great big crockpots of sloppy joes and then sell these fantastic home made bars for only 50 cents"! I swear the man has been living under a rock his entire life before me. Anyway, I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Carter play his first "road trip" hockey game at the Ralph Engelstad arena on the olympic sheet of ice. What fun was that for him! Sunday we got up at 4:30 am and trekked on down to Buffalo to attend the Elton G'kids Christmas program at their church. This was Richard's 2nd ever kid's Christmas program and once again he was amazed at how the little ones could memorize their lines and songs. I was amazed at how when I handed the Big E my car keys to play with during the service he looked up at me and said outloud plain as day "I drive your car Grandma?" How can someone not even 2 talk like that? Delaney and Jillian sang a cute duet and it was the bestest, as were their adorable dresses and sparkly shoes!

Happy 50th Ishaugs!

So my sister e-mailed looking for pics from my trip to Jamaica on my blog....... so now that my recovery is sorta complete, guess I'll try and talk about it.

My dad always talked about taking his kids and grandkids to Hawaii together someday. The closest he ever got to completing that dream was gathering them all up in his RV on a hot day back in August of 1992 and heading south down to Valley Fair, as his life was cut short just a few short months after that. I can still remember him lining us all up in the VF parking lot outside his RV and handing us each $15 for snacks during the day, telling us there was more if we needed it.....he'd be waiting at the nearest park bench people watching since his bum leg didn't allow him the ability to walk all day around Valley Fair and he wasn't the kind of older man to let us push in him a wheel chair around the park. I also remember him saying "what the hell" as he made the decision to board the Cork Screw ride... much to our surprise. When he got off he'd lost his glasses from the pocket of his shirt when the ride went upside down...even though, he seemed so happy that day to have us all together... enjoying the day watching his grandkids go from ride to ride. I never quite understood why until I had grandkids of my own, and have always had that same desire to take them on a trip all together as he did.

So, way back last January when the Ishaug family called me up to say they thought of me as one of the family and were booking their trip to Jamaica, and would I please go along....I decided to say yes, partly to honor my father in doing something with their family he never got to do with his. DeLyle and Marlene were only children and had 3 daughters of their own, so rather than have the usual 50th wedding anniversary gathering at their local church, their dream was for their entire family to take a trip to the Carribean together. Hence, my Thanksgiving was spent trying to eat goat & ox tail rather than turkey and mashed potatos and paddling in the ocean watching the Macy's Day parade on the big screen of the cruise ship docked across the bay rather than watching football in Ria's living room.

I knew I was in trouble the minute the plane landed... and the runway was as close to the ocean as Jim's house is to Lake Lida....the waves from the jet skier that cruised by pretty much splashed right up on my window of the plane. I was uncomfortable. Well actually, I knew I was in trouble at Hector when they put that label on my bag and said it was already "overweight". It only got worse. The first stop of the bus on the ride to Ocho Rios was supposed to be at what they called a cute little roadside diner...I was hoping to get a Coke... instead what I got was several offers to buy some fresh mary jane and a first hand view of the plant it came from. The sun never came out the entire 7 days...I never took a dip under the water in the pool and the ocean had such creepy, crawly things in it everyone who went swimming there ended up in the nurse's station. The humidity in the rooms never got below 90%, the room had the most minature collection of ants I've ever seen, and the food? well...let's just say I ate alot of fruit. There were 29 of us who went....ages 3 to 76. and every single one of us hopped on that sailboat, headed out to the deep sea and consumed alot of rum. It took me almost a week to feel the the floors beneath my feet weren't still moving as I walked. It was an 18 hr. day to get back home.. I sat in row 15 from Montego Bay to Memphis and due to the stormy weather, the entire plane from row 17 back barfed on the way back... they had to borrow our barf bags...you can imagine how fun the plane smelled.. they closed down the bathrooms. Wally, the oldest of the group, cut his hand and the emergency fire dept had to show up at the Mpls. airport, firetrucks, sirens and all to stitch him up. Wally is also the person in the pic below who the lifeguard is rescuing as he's drowning from going off the water slide .....while we all just stand and watch .....yes, Wally who's 76, has one lung, a stent in his main heart artery, and skin cancer decided for some fun he'd try out the water slide...yup, that pretty much sums up the entire trip. I think taking the grandkids all to Valley Fair next summer sounds like a better idea :-)

and Hazel makes three.....

Dinnertime around our table looks a tad bit different these days....her father has decided she should get to join us...I suppose next he'll let her have her own dinner plate and water bowl... as of yet, she doesn't get to taste any ham & scalloped potatos like Richie, but she does enjoy the view and end of the day conversation :-)

Never Say Never

and some said he'd never be a LEFTIE!

A Sister

This picture just warms my heart. It's Jillian and Delaney about to approach "Chuckie Cheese" for a photo op. I watched from behind as Jillian reached out to grab her bigger sister's hand. I couldn't resist taking the pic cuz' I've seen these 2 sisters do this before when one was apprehensive about something, and it touched me. To me, it's what having a sister is all about... comfort.... security... someone who's got your back no matter what....made me think about my own sister and how she's been there for me many times in the messes I've made in life...I was the older one, supposed to watch out for the younger one...yet it's she who's had to be there for me way more more often. We are 19 months apart my sister and I.... these two sisters are 21 months apart. So much ahead of them to encourage one another about, pray for one another about, keep secrets from mom and dad but tell each other about.... Hope I can hang around to see them both grow up and continue to take pictures like this :-)

Paaar-taaaay!

It's 3 times the fun when you all celebrate your birthday at once with Chuckie!

The Best

Ever since we moved in and enjoyed the view from the deck, I've told Richie that this tree was going to be something I truly enjoyed in the Fall... and finally it did just what I thought it would do!

Replaced!

Looks like I've been replaced.....Richie finally found someone who would crawl in with him when he retires each night at 7:30....

P E R F E C T ! ! I'm off the hook......

Thanks Hazel Nut!

The weatherman said.....

it was only supposed to be snow "showers" sometime on Sunday. So after a suddenly planned, rapid trip to Mpls. on Saturday with the trailer Gregoires loaned out to us, I awoke to this on Sunday morning. We left at 7am on Sat morning and returned at 11pm Sat. night driving back into that gusty North wind...taking us 5 hrs with this loaded trailer....When Richie got home from the Forum at 8 on Sunday morning, he tried to wake me to alert me about the snow outside...but I continued to snooze...not really believing him... how dumb was I when I looked outside my belongings were covered with snow... and yes, Ria - the little antique bench is going to be yours :-)... finally!

It's Official

Meet Hazel Nut Elton Wyman. She had to be registered at the vet today, hence she needed a name. Hazel because she reminds me of that Hazel lady that used to be on a TV show when I was a little girl...can't remember which one, but they just sorta have the same face...... Nut because I like hazelnut flavored coffee....the Elton Wyman is not hypenated so she can use either as I do....Elton when she's crabby at Richie and doesn't want to be Wyman anymore, and Wyman when she wants a new identity! She officially weighed in at 2.3 pounds. The vet was amazed at her calm nature and said she was perfect in every way. She's officially claimed her favorites.... Richie over me, (hummmm....) the big fluffy pink blanket to sleep in, the wicker chair that used to be mine to watch TV in, doing her job over by the air conditioner unit so no one can see her, rawhide bones with bacon strips wrapped around them, and loving to run upstairs so we have to come get her as she is too small to climb down. She gets her official "newborn" photo shoot at the famous rialee photography studio this weekend, and it looks like she's in the family now. From everything I've read about her breed, she's known to be a great watch-dog, and needs early socialization skills....so stop by and meet her. She's a keeper!

P.S. Hazel wants to congratulate Miss Emme for graduating from puppy class with flying colors last night! Way to GO!

Happy Birthday to Me...

Throw yourself an impromptu birthday party, have your daughter take her four kids to the Mall afterwards, take the kids to a pet store right at closing time, show them like the cutest puppy ever, have them call you crying at 9:30 PM cuz they already can't bear to leave that puppy behind so bad, and this is what you get for a birthday present from them! Richie and I have now become parents to an adorable little girl....as of yet (24 hrs. later) un-named. As you can see, she fits right into the palm of his hand, which he feels is right where she's meant to be. We made it throught the first night rather unscathed. I guess never say never huh Johanna? Now we need help with just the right name... ideas?

Proud Momma!

At the Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony of her new venture, I realized that as her mother, I should have known she was destined to go out in life and make her dreams happen way back when she was only 2 and I would try to get her to nap in the afternoon and she'd stand right back up after laying her down in the crib and scream at me "momma, you det me outta dis crib wight now!" As you can see by my photo-taking, she didn't get her skills from me, but she did learn one thing... an adorable simple black dress is a girl's best investment! Congrats to my fabulous daughter Ria on the fullfillment of her vision.

The Bestest

One of the things I miss about doing my early morning route in Chaska (I know, I can't believe I even used the word "miss" in the same sentence as paper route) was the harvest moon.... I used to really like the wee hours delivering out around Lake Bavaria so I could stare at the full moon, the stars, and the twinkly lights of the mega planes making their way towards MSP Int. at 5 AM...so after Richie woke me up at 5 AM this past rainy Monday morning to come down to the Forum Depot to help him out with the 8 routes he had carriers not show up for (yes, the Forum needs to start penalizing these carriers for just not showing up) I realized it was that time of year again. So, the last two mornings I've been getting up extra early just to sip some mint hot chocolate, turn on the fireplace and sit and watch the harvest moon. Ya gotta love this time of year don't ya?

It's All about the Treat!

So last Saturday was National Carrier Day sponsored by the Fargo Forum where they held a pizza party, prize drawings and gave everyone free tickets to the Bison Football Game. Since Tim and Ria were off to Pittsburgh and I had Grandma duties for the weekend, I thought the G-kids might enjoy going to the game with us. When I had asked them about it a couple of weeks ago, I got this sorta quiet, stare-down from Carter - (aka "are you stupid Grandma?") and a sheepish "well Gramma, we're not really big Bison fans ya' know" (aka "you should know by now we only love the Gophers") from Cooper. They agreed to go however... and with it being a sell-out crowd in the FargoDome, I thought that maybe once they got there with all the festivities and crowd excitement their attitude would change.... ahhhhhhh... WRONG AGAIN GRANDMA!!! The top picture is of the game.... marching band, loud music, standing room only cheering crowd, fireworks and stadium-sized blown-up football helmet with smoke coming out of it....the entire stadium was on it's feet with football frenzy... and I looked over at the 3 grandkids and what were they doing? Yup, the picture says it all... 20,000 people standing around them screaming and clapping and there they were....sitting down eating the treats Richie bought them...not a clue what what all the excitement was about. I had to pull a Grandpa Art and start betting them quarters on the game....I lost...as did the Bison.

We Loved Ronald!

We had a great event at Rheault Farms yesterday helping families learn the importance of spinal health. Even though the wind was a tad strong, and the air a bit nippy, we had a great turnout and I'm in love with Ronald McDonald who flew in from the Twin Cities. He was a great entertainer with the kids, and gave us a full 3 hours of the best of what he represents in America. It's amazing how kids are drawn to him, and one little boy all of 2 yrs. old just stood there in awe saying" I really like you" over and over again! Kate and her friend helped us out dressed as clowns, even walking in the MHS Homecoming Parade in full costume to hand out flyers about our event. Now, IF only we could get everyone to understand that spinal health is not about the pain, rather about removing interference from the central nervous system so the body's innate intelligance can heal the system naturally without drugs, surgeries and other interventions and by removing the interference the central nervous system can run all of one's organs as efficiently as possible... much like a car tune-up. What I struggle with in this industry is all of the phone calls I get when it's too late and people are suffering with pain and expect a "quick-fix".... kinda like a "McDonalds' Drive-Thru" type of treatment...when if they kept their spine maintained all along all bodily systems would run smoothly! At any rate, we did our best to educate the public about the wonders of chiropractic and hopefully, Above and Beyond Chiropractic will become a household name in the FM Area!

Who's THAT Girl?

Dr. Liz is hosting a Kids Day America event this Saturday at Rheault Farm here in Fargo, where we are hoping for a turnout of 300 - 500 kids. We are offering free spinal screenings, pediatric dental screenings, Photo ID & fingerprinting by the Fargo Police Dept and heck, I even got Ronald McDonald to make the trip up from Mpls. to be with us....Realizing we'd need extra help, I asked Katelyn and one of her friends to dress up as clowns and help us hand out balloons and act as greeters. So tonite, I picked Kate and Hailey up to do some window shopping for clown costumes...as Dr. Liz also wanted them to walk in the MHS Homecoming Parade on Friday afternoon to hand out flyers about our event! We didn't purchase any costumes, BUT Miss Katelyn made a purchase of her very own!!!! She's planning on wearing her new "do" to school tommorrow, dressed as a boy... hummmm..... I thought Halloween was still several weeks away!

Tim Jr....

With Mom at the Junk Bonanza and Dad with C & C at their soccer game, poor Kennedy had to settle for old Grandma at her soccer game on Saturday morning. Off in the rain we went, and as she sat in the seat beside me with that hat on I glanced over and saw a glimpse of another person about 16 yrs. ago that I remember hauling to a soccer game..her father! Thinking I'd sit in the car to watch the game so I didn't get wet, Miss Kennedy had other ideas and brought along an umbrella for me! So wet we both got while her team WON 11 - 0....Kennedy spent the 3rd quarter in the goal and did a GREAT job...she scored two of the team's goals so to keep up with her cousins Delaney and Jillian we had to go celebrate...too cold for the Dairy Queen so off to McDonalds it was! I see alot of that type of morning in the future with Sweet Lou...she really has her Dad's love and "form" for soccer!

Junk Bonanza

I took Georgia along on the annual Junk Bonanza trek this year...Wouldn't ya know a squirrel got ahold of a transformer somewhere down in Plymouth and the entire cities of Plymouth and Medina were without power for 2 whole hours! As you can see, it didn't stop us! We're living proof...You CAN shop in the dark :-)

Real Weekend

For the first time in years, I didn't have flowers this summer. So while I striped those living room walls, Richard watched his rain clouds and planted mums in the one whiskey barrel we brought up from the cities. We made some headway in unpacking boxes for the garage storage shelves...(yes mother those are the dishes you wrapped one by one just a few yrs back to get me to Mpls.) and I'm amazed Richard kept his mouth shut about my "having way too many dishes". This move, he was the one that lovingly wrapped each piece in newspaper, cuz he knew my way of doing it would be to just lay them in a box and go. We also took in a Redhawks playoff game on Friday night which was a total bore...although we did sit right next to Ryan Kelly of MOJO 104 so that provided something else for Richie to "watch". She certainly likes to entertain the crowd with her dancing in the aisles and her 2yr old son Elijah creating a whirlwind. I was surprised by one thing, that skinny girl actually does eat. I thought gals like her only ate in private....but she downed two whole hotdogs in a matter of minutes right there in front of us -- I just sat there eating my mini-donuts, feeling them go straight to my hips, and wondering why all women were not created equal.