2012 Week 30

Week 30 was this: 

Art Camp

School Garden Club (Made fridge pickles)

2012- Week 29

Blah, I'm way behind.
Week 29 was this:

2012- Week 28

1. Our house is coming along.  The roof is complete and so are the gutters.  We also have lots of new electric.  We have an electric fire alarm system in several rooms, new outlets, a couple new fixtures. And all new windows.

2. We decided to host a foreign exchage student next year.  It has been on my list to do for a while.  Since I will be working in Prairie again next year I don't forsee any big trips or anything and we will be around for a while school year to do this.


3. Tuesday's work was grand.  I attended the 4-H outdoor outing at Wylusing State Park and brought Bryce and Link.  We took Link on his first canoe ride, which he really enjoyed, first fishing outing, which was a little too boring for him, and the whole family's first geocaching adventure.    The lookout point where the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi is in there.  It is the most gorgeous view of Prairie that I have ever seen.

4.  It rained.  Hallelujah.

5. Bryce and I took turns going to the Opera House to see "The Last Five Years" which our friend Cheri directed and her husband and friend, Erin, acted in.  I'm glad I chose the night I did because I got to see Jackie and Terry Jessen.  Jackie is my confimation sponsor (which means more to me than my Godparents).   I haven't seen them in ages.  It turns out that Erin, who I have never met, is their granddaughter.  The musical was good, nice singing and everything.  Bryce and I both thought the author of the play could have done more character development of Cathy and focused less on the asshole he is/was.

6. Sidewalk Sales at Whimsy Market went well.  My fingers are crossed I can pull this thing together before the end of July.  Moving way too fast.  Link spun the wheel and won $25 chamber bucks so they gave them to me.  I bought a swimming suit from my own store.  Andrea's clothing room has amazing new clothes at great prices and all sizes.  It is truly great having her.

7. Sunday we went swimming at the pool.  This was actually our first time in Elkader.  Last year we just waded in the blow up pool.  We had lots of fun and the song selection was fabulous.

8. I have a couple of deaf students in my art class, which is making me work on remembering some sign language.  I can't believe it has been almost 8 years since I last used it.  I have forgotten so much, but at least one of them is appreciative for me trying.

9. I'm having fun making decorations for Link's superhero party.

10. I guess the last time I was on blogger it didn't save my stuff.  I don't remember what I wrote for number 10.  I was also surprised this wasn't posted last Monday.  Whoops.

2012- Week 27

Link holding up a used blank bullet this cowboy gave him.

 1. Link and I went to the Hole in the Sock Gang in McGregor.  We got some lunch to go at the Blue Gill Cafe (C+) and ate in the shade as we watched the show (C+).  It was the first show of the season and they are all volunteer so I am trying not to be to critical, but they could really use a basic script (even if they wrote it themselves) and a director.  This cowboy improv thing just wasn't really working.  I would go again with kids as long as it stayed free.

2. My own garden produce is ready.  Radish sandwiches are awesome.  Radishes, cream cheese, scallions, toast, salt and pepper.

  

3. Finally got the pool blown up and it has a hole in it that I can't find.  Link was excited to jump in and play but he wouldn't get his butt wet so he stood the whole time.  Mostly moving the ball around the pool the by pouring water on it. 

4.  I finished reading The Working Poor: Invisible in America.  It is great, I quote it often and I recommend it to everyone.  Started reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  It's ok.  I am having a hard time laughing at zombies now that there are these bath salt incidents.

Blitzen Trapper opened up for Wilco.

5.  We took the family up to Rochester on Monday night for dinner with the Hoskinses (my cousins) and then they watched Link as Bryce and I went to the WILCO concert I won tickets to.  It was cool to sit in a section of people who had one tickets from the Decorah radio station since it put us with locals we didn't know who shared the same tastes.  Since I already provided links for Wilco when I won the tickets, here is a link the Blitzen Trapper who opened for the band, that I really love as well.
http://youtu.be/-Go8yeUSV4g

6. Marge gave me my first hot stone massage.  It was incredable.  As soon as she gets her license I am going to recommend her to everyone.  That was my favorite so far. 

My sister in-law Vahida with VIP Bruce Braley during the parade.  She was very excited.

7. We spent Independence Day in Independence, Iowa at Dustin and Vahida's.  We missed the parade since we were not aware that it was at 9 but my family didn't since they were walking with our state senators.   My mom's all about VIPs.  We went to the park and bought a booklet of tickets, but couldn't go on a single ride since they were all blow up rides and the heat made the plastic unbearable for Link and Diana's feet and hands, but everything else was great.  The music, watching the relay races, the fireworks.

8. On Saturday we went to Dani and Todd's for Arlington Days.  They had hired a musician to come, but they were not able to, so there was a slip and slide and volleyball instead.  Thus I was totally unprepared but still managed to play pretty well in a long skirt.  We lost by two doing rally score up to 28.   My cousin Liz came down with her family.  It was nice to spend time with them since Wilco concert night we hardly had more than an hour. 

9. I've been working a lot of the skatepark this week and fund raisers for it, like the Mississippi Mud Run.  Check out our facebook page  http://www.facebook.com/#!/PdcSkatePark and website http://pdcskatepark.org/

10. We went on an extra long walk down Pony Hallow trail Sunday morning.  Then Link and I went to the Moore house to work on wedding shower details for Amber and had a great meal with them.  Amy and Rex's oldest daughter, Sierra, graduated this year and is taking some time to live with her birth mom who is now off drugs.  They are all a little worried about how it will affect her future choices, but she is also 18 so they are open to the choices she needs to make.