cascade

Several posts ago I wrote about how O was enjoying watching the large trucks in front of our house doing construction.  Here are some photos of the new and improved Cascade Avenue: 

view from in front of KFA building looking toward our house

same as above, but facing west

mounds of dirt are now inserted in the boulevard to root the sapling trees

the roundabout at corner of sixth and Cascade

turning onto sixth street from Cascade

view from Barb's house of the new roundabout

I think over all this is a good change and that traffic will be positively impacted.  The scheduled opening of the street is mid-October.

As I was riding home for lunch yesterday, crews were installing street lights.  They looked very energy efficient and classic.  Our entire family is enjoying the ability to drive on it with no traffic interruptions. 

greenwood twins

On Monday, I got home from work and discovered brother and sister dressed as twins.  I don't think they even noticed before I told them they were twins.  As a side note...the lawn and all vegetation is parched!  We are in desperate need of rain!

sweet 16

16 years ago today, Thomas Matthew Blomgren made his appearance in the world.  His parents were beaming the day I went to visit them in the Redwood Falls hospital.  It was a great day and it's been an amazing 16 years. 

Happy Birthday, T!

eggs

So our sweet little family additions--Merida Grace, Sweet Pea and Riley James have been busy earning their keep.  They have produced 3 eggs in the past 3 days.  Two of the three eggs were used in Brad's latest bread baking.  DELICIOUS!

sk8er

The Olson and Thibodeau girls met for lunch yesterday in Woodbury and proceeded to go skating at the FunZone.  K started on skates and then went to rollerblades as skates were kind of tricky.  She was whipping around the rink before the end of the day.  She does start iceskating next Saturday, so I think she is ready for the challenge. 

I thought I was going to be really sore today as it's been a few years since I've been skating (I didn't attempt rollerblades), but I totally feel great today!

a win!

The yellow Wildcats posted their first win of the season.  It is so nice to have a taste of success.  Blocking on the O line was really great and a couple of the boys were key play makers.  Anders was so pleased and it just made Saturday all the better.

style

Our lovely Kathryn has a high interest in hair dressing and I have a high interest in people playing with my hair, so here is a photo session of my most recent style intervention by KGO

Before

A comb over--so relaxing!

finished product--side pony

crisp

This word has so many meanings--it brings to mind crisp fall mornings, which today is.  Our furnace kicked in for the first time this morning.

It brings to mind a warm apple crisp, one that I hope to be creating in the next few weeks with the apple harvest in progress.

Lastly, it brings to mind the crispy fall leaves that are now littering the ground.  AOK are looking forward to raking the piles and making the crispy leaves crackle. 

50...50 years old!

Happy 50th birthday to the dynamic duo--Kent and Kurt Blomgren!

Also, Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day.

rrrrr mateys!

school photos

This weekend I received the digital files for our two elementary aged kiddos.  Here they are:

Anders grade 5

Kathryn grade 1

Pretty spiffy kids!  I just wish I had a digital image of Grandma B in first grade because I see a strong resemblance to Kathryn Grace in the background image.

home farm

a converted rabbit hutch with primer only. 

with full paint job and a storm door that will keep the girls warm in the winter

sweetpea in her nesting box

This weekend, we picked up three additions to our backyard farm.  Sweetpea, Merida Grace and Riley James.  They are finding a nice new home that Brad constructed. 

milestone

My twin brothers celebrated their 50th birthday yesterday with my parents hosting a lovely party in their honor. I am just realizing how I regret not snapping a photo of my siblings and I  and my children with their cousins.  I know Kim was doing a lot of photography, so hopefully she was able to get some family shots. 

In attendance:  the birthday boys--Kent and Kurt, their parents, Vivian and Clarence, their siblings, Kyle, Cory and I, their aunt Jeanie, their cousin Chuck with his family Carol, Cameron and Ciera, Kent's family, wife Brenda and daughters Anna and Abby, Kurt's family, daughter Jenna and sons Vance, Stuart and Ross, Kyle's family, wife Kim, sons Adam, Kyle Jr. and Ryan and daughter Liana, Cory's family, sons Thomas and Evan and my family--husband Brad, sons Anders and Osten and daughter Kathryn. Cousin Trenton was under the weather so he and his Mom, Joan weren't able to attend. 

30 people to toast the soon to be 50 year olds!  Grand day for all.  Fun conversations, game playing and great food.  Thanks Mom and Dad.

My parents are THE best hosts in the world.  I am hoping their skills will transfer themselves to me in the future ;). 

cousins K & C playing together

identical i-phones and cases

Kent's new job as spokesperson for Just for Men hair dye

Kurt enjoying his kisses and new cup from nephew Ryan

reviewing the Sesame Street characters

Some of the gifts given were:  subscription to the hometown paper, hair dye, a bag of 50 marbles, cards, 50 kisses, pint glasses saying "50 never looked so good", Pulitzer Prize winning books and CDs with the top song of September 19, 1962 (their birthday) Sherry by the 4 Seasons.  But by far, the best gift was the party itself.

Happy Birthday, Kent and Kurt.

starfish

How O is spending his days...

Happy Happy Friday Starfish Families!

It has been a long, crazy, adventurous, fun week with your children! We wrapped up our All About Me theme today with the book "My Happy Heart."  This book talks about what makes a little boy's heart happy and each child had a chance to share what makes his/her heart happy, too!

We wanted to take advantage of the nice weather this morning so we went on a walk. It was only our third walk of the new school year, and the kids did awesome! We sang songs as we walked such as "ABCs," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Days of the Week," and "Twinkle Twinkle."  The kids really enjoyed being out and about on campus and were not shy about saying hello to the college students passing by. We saw several squirrels and had fun counting trees and bikes. One of the highlights of our walk was the "tunnel" we walked through by Rodli.  Miss Laura and I let the kids run around in a grassy patch between Centennial Science Building and the University Center. Racing was a favorite activity!  Your children ran A LOT today! On our walk back to the center we talked about the weather, what day of the week it was, and that tomorrow is a stay at home day. The kids and teachers alike had a great time on our walk!

Next week our theme is Apples! We will explore painting with applesauce, cutting open apples and using magnifying glasses to examine the seeds, and much more! I'm looking forward to another fun-filled, active week with your toddlers! Have a wonderful weekend!

lefty?

At the breakfast nook table this morning, O decided he needed to sit on a real chair and eat his cheerios.  I noticed he was using his left hand to self feed.  Not the first time I've noticed, but the first time I am making note of it.  We will see how he grows and develops--2 of his uncle's are lefties.

in the photo, he switched to his right hand...perhaps ambidextrous?

happy birthday

Our college turned 100 yesterday.  We enjoyed a celebration with 4 sheet cakes and 9 gallons of ice cream.  It was enjoyed by many students and staff from across campus. 

I'm thinking the strawberry cake will be served at our house in the future.  It was so delicious!

wheels on the bus

Last night as we were nestling into our little routine of teeth brushing, pj donning, reading and turning out the lights, O started singing a familiar tune of "The Wheels on the Bus".  All the words weren't there, but he was precise in it's tune.

We then sang a few stanzas of the favorite preschool song and  made a connection between home and school that O and I found very special.

This morning on our walk to the CHILD Center, what did we see? A line of six school buses turning from Cascade to Crescent--another really cool discovery.  O's little hands, feet and voice were thrilled with the sight.

it goes without saying

what happened 11 years ago today.  My life has gone on, I have lived a full life since that day.

My heart aches for those whose lives were forever altered either with the loss of their life or the life they once knew with the loss of ability or loved ones.

I WILL NEVER FORGET.

11 years ago today:

1. Brad, Anders and I hopped into our Geo Metro at our apartment on Woodruff Avenue in Idaho Falls at 6:45am
2. We dropped off our firstborn son to his first day of daycare.  I didn't cry until...
3. I filled out my new employment paperwork for my job at Stylart in Rexburg, Idaho and the HR person asked if I was sad and then started tearing up
4. I spent the day learning about my new job responsibilities and calling my new customers
5. I met my friends Blair and Betty who worked with me in World Class Customer Service
6. I met my friends Ida Jo and Heather who worked in Customer Service
7. I was able to visit Anders for my morning, noon and afternoon breaks
8. We met sisters Norma and Irma who were incredible caregivers to Anders at Appletree Learning Center, which was located in the parking lot of my work building
9. Brad and were able to enjoy lunch together at the company he was leading, Hortense B. Hewitt--just steps away from Appletree Learning Center
10. Anders was smiling from ear to ear after spending time playing with new toys and new friends
11. Our family arrived home at 6pm and spent the evening with Ibby as she was living with us at the time

My, how it seems like just yesterday.

friends in a small town

It is so wonderful to be home spending time with friends.

On Friday evening, Sharyl invited the crew over for "Redneck Movie Night".  She rented a projector from the library, put a sheet up on Alex's playhouse and we watched "the Sandlot".  K ended up losing her shoes in a game of chase around the house (we found last night while stopping by during a bike ride), O kept climbing into kids' laps and snuggling and A enjoyed running around with his buddies.  Brad and I had fun catching up with friends.

Saturday was Anders' football game and we were able to visit with others and observe while his team lost 6-0.  He was heartbroken, but it was soon remedied as a friend came over in the afternoon to spend the night.  I went out with some friends to the Art on Kinni.

Sunday was Sunday School, naps, watching the Vikings win, going to Yo-Jo's, bike ride to visit friends.

I LOVE MY TOWN and friends.

tomatoes part 2 & 3

Tomatoes part 2 & 3. 

My friend, Steve, brought in 4 five gallon pails of tomatoes for my canning purposes last week.  The net result was 10 quarts of tomatoes packed in juice and 11 quarts of tomato juice.  I am really enjoying the plenty of the garden and preserving the plenty for use this looooonnnngggg cooooollllllddddd winter. 

It was 52 degrees this morning and my blood is still adjusting to the cooler temps.  I'm thinking negative temperatures are going to need lots of layers of clothing this winter. 

labor of love

We had a lovely Labor Day weekend with the Olson's

arm painting with Grandma and Uncle

uncle's poo arm painting

brother's restoring a boat

Grandpa and Grandson watching/singing to Celtic Woman

fishing with Grandpa

list of the girls likes

baby O singing Happy Birthday to Grandma

enjoying the decorations from Grandma's cake

the boat that got away

first day

So, the first day for Anders in fifth grade and Kathryn in first is in the record books.  They both enjoyed their day very much. 

Kathryn's ailment seemingly disappeared, but she was very tearful at home about having a blue plastic folder verses her classmates having blue paper folders.  The supply list indicated a preference for plastic folders so that is what we picked out at Shopko, but I guess Kathryn doesn't want to be different from her peers.  She is staying with her plastic folder--life is full of going with the flow.

Here are photos of the youngsters...Anders was up very early and Kathryn woke after I left for work. 

on Tuesday when she got to meet her new teacher

warm welcome from Mrs. Altenburg

Kathryn and Megan reunited with big sister Emily

Fifth grader on Wednesday morning

Eager first grader on Wednesday morning

feeling icky

Kathryn and Anders are heading to their first day of the new school year.  When I left this morning, Kathryn tried to tell me she was feeling just great, but she had a tummy ache last night, slept very poorly with waking and wandering looking for me and a slight fever.  I know she is very excited to be a first grader, so we will see if she convinced her Dad that she was well enough to go to school.