Next... Hanna's 4th Grade Program

The 4th grade classes at Ellen Hopkins combined and presented a wonderful performance for Veteran's Day in November. In one of the songs they listed all of the presidents, including President Elect Obama. (Thus why the kids where following the elections so closely - they needed to know what name to sing!) Another one listed all the states, complete with 50 kids holding visual aids. And a wonderful song remiding us of our great country and all of the sacrifices that have been made along the way. Among the wonderful songs was a very impresive display of cooperation. The kids sitting on the floor all have different sized sound tubes. When the tubes are hit they make a certain note - Hanna was part of the low C group. The music teacher, Mr. Olson, used the large screen in the middle to direct the kids as to who needs to hit their tubes when. On top of that, the screen only held about 2 lines of music, so there had to be someone flipping the slides at the right time so there wouldn't be any pauses in the music. They all worked together beautifully and the song - and the performance - turned out great.

Still catching up - Brigit's B-Day - She's 3!!!

Brigit had quite the birthday this year. It started with celebrating with Grandma and Grandpa Risdal and the family at Chuck-E-Cheese. Pizza and games were enjoyed by all.














Then she had a birthday party at our house with her friends: Libby, Emma, and Jocelyn. She had a flower party complete with games. Thanks to big sister Hanna for planning and organizing the fun!










Finally, she got to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa Lubitz and the family when Mom and Dad decided to go hunting for the second weekend. Grandma found a huge cupcake with about 4 inches of frosting, just for Brigit. It took her 4 sittings to finish it!

Catching up - Deer Hunting...

Deer hunting this year was a little frustrating. Because of the markets, everyone decided to plant tons of corn. And what is a deer's favorite food? CORN!!! Needless to say we had a hard time getting them to move. Also, it hadn't frozen hard and the ground was pretty mushy, so there goes walking the fields (which would have been nearly fruitless anyway, but at least you feel like you are making an effort.) We did end up with 6 deer for the group. Not our most successful year, but better that getting skunked...wait, that did happen. My cousin from Florida came up hunting this year again. As usual, he walked up to his stand and flipped over a large cardboard box used for a windbreak. Well, a skunk had already decided that he like the windbreak too and was hiding inside it. The skunk didn't like being exposed and sprayed him in the face and all over his front. He said it was like getting sprayed with mace. Ouch! So, for the rest of the weekend, he and all of his clothes reeked! Even the wheeler he rode smelled for a couple of days.











The kids came with us for second weekend of hunting. They worked on a mural with Grandma...

Brigit made rock angels - as you can see, there was not much snow yet.

I'm not sure what was at the bottom of Grandma's barrel, but they sure were occupied with it for a while.

Finally, Judd taught them how to play 52 pick up. Brigit supervised. I can't believe we haven't taught them this wonderful game before this, but better late than never, I suppose.

Overall, it was a great time had by all. Can't wait for next year!

Catching up - Halloween...

Here are some Halloween pics. Of course everyone had a great time. Brigit was the most eager to get back out there after a short break. Judd & I were pirates (as if you couldn't tell), Hanna was a cheerleader, Xander was Batman, and Brigit was a flower.

No Empty Chairs Temple Trip

Our ward has a goal of no empty chairs at the Temple every so often and we decided to attend in October. It is always great to go to the Temple, especially when they have arranged child care for you! We had a wonderful time and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves, too. They are too young to go inside, but they still enjoyed a stroll around the exterior with us.

After some coaxing, we even got them to pose for a picture.

O.K. - Maybe we bribed them with a standard Risdal picture, but the end result was what were were going for.

Hey, Judd, what are these??

Our 30 gallon fish tank has been through quite a bit in it's short 4 month life at our home. We started in July with 4 danios - Quickfin, Coolie, Sparkle, and Lunch (the last one is Brigit's). We then developed a brown algae problem followed by a "wonderful" green algae bloom. Because of the green algae, we could barely see the tower at the opposite end of the tank. In between the brown and the green we added 3 platies and 1 plecostamus - Sunset, Ice, Pumpkin, and Spot. Spot (the plecostamus) did wonders for the brown algae and anything else he decided to eat. Well, the 4 newcomers developed Ich within a week and started to die off one at a time, starting with Ice, then Sunset, followed by Spot. Before Pumpkin could die, we used the return policy at PetCo and brought him back for credit towards the next fish. After that disaster, the danios didn't seem to be phased so we decided to treat the green algae and stabilize the tank before trying to add any more fish. We added an algae killer, removed the carbon filter, and covered the tank with a heavy dark blanket 24/7. We only got to look at the fish when we fed them. It seemed to be working. The water was clearing up. We were almost ready to remove the blanket - and the live plants needed some light before they died too. After removing the blanket one day, I noticed this little "thing" clinging to the side of the tank. Then I saw another, then another. I asked Judd what his guess was and he didn't have any more insight than I did. We thought they kind of looked like baby fish. (Quickfin did look like she has lost a little weight.) So I did a little research online and found out that we have 3 females - Quickfin, Coolie, and Lunch - and 1 male - Sparkle a.k.a Bob. We quickly sucked the fry into container to see if we could raise a few of them. Each day we removed the blanket there were a dozen or more stuck to the side of the tank. We rescued (fry are the danios favorite meal!) as many as we could until we had at least 3 or 4 dozen in our container.

Over our experiment's life we are down to about a dozen and a few of them are getting quite big. Maybe by Christmas we will be able to let them into the rest of the tank.

Let's go back in time...School started!

I'm a little slow the last couple of months, so I am going to try and catch up over the course of the next week (maybe even today!)

Back to school - It was the standard back to school morning - and it was raining. They actually have only had a handfull of days since school started that it was warm enough to go in shorts.

Xander was excited to start school again and see his friends after the "long" summer. Hanna was excited as well, even though she was trying to "fake" an attitude. (Don't worry, she has perfected the attitude!)

If Dr. Seuss was a Mom...

I was up to my elbows in spaghetti sauce when this little ditty came to me...

The Germ Battle
By Marie Risdal

It is day two
And sets of sheets four…
Do I really need
To say any more?

From sniffles to snuffles
From hacks to big coughs,
When do I get
To have a day off?

I’ve scrubbed and I’ve rubbed,
And I’ve hosed the place down
With ev'ry cleaning solution
They sell in this town.

But after the work
Is all said and done
My battle with germs
Is finally…..

AAAHHCHOOOOO!

Won?

Last attempt at vacation...

We decided to take Labor Day weekend and go and visit my folks in Thief River Falls, MN. We had a great weekend of a few projects, relaxing, wheeler rides, and plenty of outdoor fun. I have to say, the yard has changed quite a bit since I was growing up, but Mom has done a great job with the gardens and trees. Thanks to my little photographers (and digital cameras!) I have a few pictures to share.

First - what happens when two kids lock themselves in the van with the camera...maybe some day they will learn not to leave evidence, but for now I can deal with it.
Since it is Hanna's mp3 player that Brigit is using, I'll let you figure out who is behind the camera.

My main photographer and some of her handywork...

I got to enjoy Mom's gardens up close as we identified and marked quite a few plants. I figured since it was my children who came up with handfuls of plant markers and said, "Look, Grandma! See what we found in your gardens!", it was the least I could do.

If you look closely at the upper right hand side of this picture you can faintly see the driveway. 15-20 years ago you could see the whole thing! I remember walking straight across this area to get to the bus and the trees were still twigs as big as my finger.

Mom does such a great job with her gardens and plants. I guess I can see where I get it from. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Lubitz for the great weekend!

Memory Lane

My sister-in-law, Patti, started this on her blog and I thought I might give it a try. Be nice now...

If you're reading this, please leave a comment on this post of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you, and I'll come post a memory about you. If you don't have a blog, I'll leave a comment here about a memory I have about you.

I'm not always good at getting back right away, but I'll do my best with this one. Anyway, have fun with this. I think this could be fun!

On your mark... get set... comment!

BWCA - Pics First, Story to follow...

Marie setting up "home". Judd itchin' to go fishin'.








Judd chillin'....before more fishin'.



Some of the local wildlife...


Yes, the spider is eating the dragonfly.

These ducklings swam around the lake quite a few times while we were there. We could even tell how much they had grown by the time we left.

This one is kind of hard to see, but it is a giant spiderweb. It started over two feet above our heads and went all the way to the ground. The span was about the same. We never did see the spider that made it.
Some flora and fauna....

One of the portage trails. Wild Iris' were just getting done blooming.

The mushrooms seemed to facinate most of the group. "Fairy Mushrooms" was a favorite name. You almost half expected a fairy to land on one or a gnome to walk up next to it.

On the way home....

Eric, Brittany, Marie, Judd, Katrina, and Matt

Matt & Katrina making the last breakfast.