Family Sledding

Several years ago, my dad cleared a large hill of rocks and trees and smoothed the thing out. He bought a snow groomer and installed his version of a tow rope. He loves to ski and wanted the grandkids to learn how to ski. He purchased boots of various sizes and lots of skis and poles. It's been a treat for me as I love to ski and this is free. On a few occasions we've had most of the family together to enjoy the hill. Today was just us minus Erin and Tom and my brother and two of his kids. Regardless, there was fun had by all. Of course there was a campfire to warm ourselves as well as dogs to roast and German chocolate cupcakes to celebrate my dad's birthday. The weather was finally cooperative and around 30 degrees. Hooray! Never thought that would feel so warm!!!

Cami getting ready to go sledding. I love her "pockets."
She loves the snow and sledding.

Tim took a digger and landed in the snow laughing.

Ben was so much fun to watch. His smile shows how much he enjoyed himself. Before he started sledding, he was running up the hill, letting his sled go and chasing after it. That was a show in and of itself.

Cami doesn't appear to be enjoying herself, but this was toward the end when she was getting tired. Most of the time she giggled all the way down the hill.

Clint had a great time. He was still going after we shut off the tow rope.
Andrew got a quick lesson from Dad on how to run the snowmobile. He only got it stuck once.

Cami loved to ride the snowmobile with her Papa.

Dad and I were the only two souls who would put on skis. I love to downhill ski. I don't especially like the tow rope, but it sure is a lot nicer than hiking back up the hill.

Basketball, basketball and more basketball

In the past few weeks we've had tons of basketball games. Erin is in the middle of her season. They've been struggling to put 4 good quarters together in one game. The games are pretty close and they seem to lose in the last few minutes of the game. On Friday night they were in Tri-County and then on Saturday morning they headed back to Almond for a make-up game. I went to the Saturday game with some friends. The girls played a hard game and lost it in the 4th quarter again. Good news was that Friday night's game was a victory!

I love watching my children compete on whatever field of competition they happen to be on. If you'd ask me what my favorite sport is, my answer would depend on what season it is and what my kids are involved in. Of course if you ask me what my favorite is to play, it would definately be volleyball.

Andrew's regular season was over in December but Mr. Zobeck wants these young guys to get as much experience as they can. So, he and Scott are coaching the Jr. High boys and taking them to tournaments. Actually, parents, meaning the Olsens, Cerveny's and us are driving the 7th grade team to the games. Two weeks ago we were in Almond all day long and this past Saturday they were in Gillett. They lost a lot but gained valuable experience. Each of the games was very close except for when they played Sturgeon Bay. Andrew's report to me was that the guys on that team were HUGE!

Andrew going after a loose ball. He's really pretty good at creating the jump ball situation. He's scrappy that way. Must be from living with 3 big sisters. He's had to learn it to survive.

Contemplation

I love this picture of my kids. I put it up as the wallpaper on my computer and it makes me smile each time I see it. Silly kids. You know what else I love? The fact that the sun is shining and I have a warm house and the temperature outside is not in negative digits.

I watched the swearing in of President Obama this morning. Regardless of my feelings of any of our presidents, it really is a solemn moment. Still, I'm glad I'm not out in that wind standing in the cold in order to say that I was there. I've got a better seat at home and I'm way more comfortable.

We really do live in a land that is blessed. I surely feel it in my life.

Calm and Cold

The past few days have been very interesting in our home. On Tuesday Tom went to work with his dad and Erin and Andrew went off to school. The most wonderful thing happened afterward. I was all alone in my house. There were no other people here. It was so calm and peaceful. I didn't do anything special other than enjoy the solitude. One day I will look back at these busy days with a house full of people and miss all the bustle. But for this day, it was heavenly to have the house all to myself.

Below is the thermomether that sits on my windowsill in the kitchen. The top temp is for the outside and the bottom is indoor. Seeing how it sits by a window, the indoor temp is never quite right. Of course it's probably right for the very spot in which it sits. My house in general isn't that cold.
I think this may have been our high temperature today. I woke up this morning just before 5am with this same thermometer reading -15. Yikes, that's cold!!! I cancelled seminary for today already on Monday. I figured my wonderful students didn't need to be out in this type of cold. One would think that I would be able to sleep in and enjoy my warm bed but not so. Today I was up and out in the cold by 5:25 on my way to Shawano to pick up my dad. He had an appointment in Green Bay at 6:45 and I volunteered to go with him. Good news! The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with his heart.

Happy anniversary to us!

Our engagement picture. Look how long Pat's hair was. Now he gets impatient if it's long enough to touch the top of his ears. I look young, but he really looks young.

Taken outside the Washington DC temple on our wedding day. It was cold and damp. Sitting on that marble bench didn't keep my backside warm either.

Taken at the Chicago temple after the Kryshak wedding in 2000. This was just prior to our first year participating in the City of Joseph pageant. I didn't like the beard and neither did Pat.


Outside the Salt Lake temple. Every couple should have their picture taken by those doors.

On the "beach" (notice it was all rocks) on Washington Island in August. This was in the evening just before sunset. It was cool as you can see I was in a sweatshirt. It was a wonderful overnight vacation for the two of us. The perks of older children is being able to get away without them.

Today, January 11th is our 26th wedding anniversary! It doesn't seem like it is possible that we've been together that long. It wasn't very long ago that we were just a couple of kids without two nickels to rub together. We didn't have anything but love to live on, or so it seemed. Pat will spend his day building the kingdom in the stake with meetings and such. I guess I'll see him sometime in the evening. Our first anniversary was spent apart as well. Pat had left the day before on a trip to the west coast (he was an over the road truck driver) and got sick. My dad, or was it my brother, left him in a hotel in Dodgeville. I was at home with our newborn daughter. It wasn't quite what I envisioned for an anniversary. But then, considering that I had given birth only three weeks earlier, I don't suppose I was in any mood for a romantic evening out. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The Return of the Routine

A new year has arrived and I'm back to the grind of everyday life. Erin and Andrew started back at school today. Andrew lucked out and had only half a day as he had an ortho appointment. Erin is back at basketball practice and her leg survived the first day.

Sammi left for Rexburg on the 1st. The house is very much quieter without her here, but I know she's where she needs to be. We've done some work to make sure she'll get her scholarship money so she can actually take classes. I'll miss her not being here, but am comforted in the fact that she's supposed to grow up and make mature adult decisions.

Pat is back to work everyday and I'm back at teaching seminary each morning. I sure missed my youth. The Gresham Ward has the greatest youth in the entire church. I hope every seminary teacher can say the same thing. I sure love those wonderful teenagers!

Good news! Clint begins his new job as Officer Gourley on the 19th. He's pretty excited and so is Clare. She's looking forward to actual paychecks coming once again. Who knew money could be so important?

I know a lot of people are glad to have 2008 over. For me it was just another year. The only bad part was the gas prices for most of the year and the beating our 401k took. At this rate, Pat will be able to retire when he's about 80! I look forward to the possibilities 2009 will bring. Will we have a wedding in the family? Will Clare and Clint finally get a place they can call their own? We hope so for their sake. A few things are certain. Erin will go away to school (can it be so?) and a second grandchild will be brought into our crazy family. What's not to love?