Rail Run during St. James Railroad Days Celebration

Beginning of the 1/2 mile race....end of race...still going strong! Morgan is really loving running. This was the farthest distance all-at-once that she has run. Way to go, Morgan!

4 Mile Run: A great beginning...front row....a fantastic finish in 29 minutes!!
To the right of Cory, his left, is Kris Kross. She is the coach for cross country and she has encouraged Cory to give it a try. He has been training with her on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights...they run 2-3 miles. He is learning what "pacing yourself" means as he is used to doing short, fast sprints. We are very proud of him...and, all truth be told, his mother was just happy he came across the finish line alive!!


Shirley, my very dear friend, and her daughter, Emily did the 4 mile walk tonight. They are all smiles on the way out and even more smiley at the end...although it does seem that Emily has taken off her very dependable flip flops...guess walking barefoot was way more comfortable..right, Em??!! They did a great job and I am so proud of them! Maybe next year I will join you......??????

Maren, the forever fan. She is always willing to come along and be a cheerleader to her family. I admire her spirit and spunk. I caught her relaxing on the old rail car by the lake and just had to snap a shot of her. She is a great sport and I love that she supports her brother and sister in their running....Morgan begged her to run, but it was a no-go this year. She did make a comment about next year though. We will just have to wait and see....now it is in writing!

I have a Job

On Thursday, June 19, I accepted a 2nd grade teaching position at Winfair Elementary School. I signed a one year contract on Monday, June 23, and was able to pick up school keys, see my room and make plans on Wednesday, June 25. It is all happening so fast and is so exciting!! Next week Jeff and I will be going over to measure bulletin boards, check out the school, and bring with all the terrific graduation presents I received to see how they will fit into the room! My dream is here, it is real, and I love that my family helped me reach my goal of becoming a teacher! I can't imagine any greater feeling....other than getting married and giving birth! Please come visit me in my classroom any time!

It's Fishing Season

It's fishing season and boy! are we having a great time! Jeff bought himself a little fishing boat two summers ago and he is really enjoying it...well, we all are...but mostly Jeff. Morgan is the best fisherperson in the house, next to Jeff. She learned yesterday how to bait her own hook and take off fish! (She is one up on her mom as I do not enjoy taking fish off the hook.) We have found that night time fishing is best because the fish come up to feed and we can see the ripples in the water. We have found some "favorite spots" on St. James lake...Morgan is convinced there are only fish in those few spots...what a girl!! These were the two largest fish we kept last night. There is enough for lunch. We did get up this morning at 6:00 a.m. to fish, but they weren't biting very well. Jeff said we needed to be on the lake by 5:00!! Now, that is a little nuts for me and I felt I was being pretty generous by getting up at 6:00. We are going to go back out tonight....want to join us?????

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Jeff! We celebrated by staying home for the day and letting dad do whatever he wanted.....oh, I guess every day is Father's Day! (JK!!) Ben had to work in the morning and brought home his dad the above cake....it even has a mini computer on it! Jeff bought himself a new lawnchair...one with an attached cover that is his shade. Don't ever ask to see his legs....blinded by the light!! (Of course, he is not so fortunate as to spend the summer at the pool like his children and wife!)

Family Fun Track and Field Night

Tonight was Family Track and Field Night at the High School Football Field. Morgan started out trying to do the high jump. Her first try, she tried to jump over it like a hurdle....that was interesting! This was a better "form" shot. Then she ran...and did she run! She ran the 25m, 50m, and 200m (tried to sign up for the 100m, but was too late). She was fast enough to earn a first place finish in all the races! I was so proud of her and she wants to run the 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 next Tuesday! I will be exhausted just WATCHING!!!!


Cory...I always have trepidations in my heart when he wants to run. I worry about him but I know I have to let him make his own decisions too. First he ran the 400m and that is the photo near the finish line. Jamie is in track and beat him both times, but Cory was a close second. (Cory also ran the 200m.) He said his heart hurt after the second race, but by the time we walked home he was feeling much better. I think we will be having a return visit next week!!

Three Generations

June 10, 2008, Grandma Dawn, Mom Kari, and Baby Josephine are together again! It is a good thing Dawn lives so close to Glenwood so she can spoil her granddaughter...and daughter! I am sure Kari will appreciate the help as they are closing on their house tomorrow and will be able to start moving in this weekend. Wow!!

A New Niece!!!!!!

Josephine Ann Eastgate was born on June 9, 2008, at 10:02 p.m. to Kari Blume (my niece) and Jason Eastgate (her soon-to-be-husband). They are so excited!! She has a small red heart on her forehead and they say she was kissed by an angel. My sister, Dawn, was there for many hours waiting for the baby to be born and called with excitement at 11:30 to tell me that it was all over and that she was cuddling her granddaughter! Boy! A granddaughter! She IS old! (Just kidding, Dawn!) We are all thankful that Kari is doing well after her C-Section! Congratulations to the Eastgate Family! We can't wait to meet your daughter!

The Stensrud-Eubanks Family

Kaden, Kiley, Jase and in this one: Kaden, Jase, Isabella

Isabella LuRose at 2 months old.....cute awake or sleeping!

Jase....being the cute ham that he is!

Tonya is blessed with beautiful, sweet children! Kiley is a step-sister that is so sweet that everyone that meets her falls in love with her! She is a terrific young lady! Jase is such a ham and makes me laugh! He can get so silly! I love this picture she sent me with the sunglasses on the tip of his nose! That is so Jase!!!

Isabella is already 2 months old...what a pumpkin! She is getting so big!

Kaden is a smarty-pants and I am amazed by him. What great children!

From June 6 - 8 the Malakowsky sisters spent fun-filled days together at Jenny's get-away! The white building was built by Mitch, Jeff's brother, and it is large and so nice to stay in....especially Friday night when the wind would have gladly taken a tent for nice ride to Wisconsin! There are 2 windows on every side except the front where the ladies are sitting on the patio that Mitch added last year. To the right of where that building is, they have a camper that houses a full size bed, couch, eating area, kitchen area, and a bathroom.....thank goodness for the bathroom when we were drinking so much.....water!!! A great time was had by all! We have been doing girl get-togethers for three years and we always enjoy each other's company. It is so nice to have five women around when it is time to clean up....it was done in no time!! Thank you, Jenny, for having us all up there and to Mitch for letting us take away one of his "get-away" weekends! I look forward to the next get-together!

Whew! This is a doozy of a blog post and I am praying that it works. Camp Nickelodeon, was called Camp Snoopy, was our destination of choice on Monday, June 2, 2008, after we looked at the forecast and saw "thunderstorms" for the entire day. (Valleyfair was our first choice as the girls have not been there yet.) We thought the kids would be disappointed.....boy! were we wrong!! They had a blast!! All five of the children (I am including Jeff in that grouping because he acted like a child!!)!! I have so many pictures...these are just a few...I was the "pack mule", carrying everyone's things and watching them have a blast...which helped me really enjoy the day! I love seeing my kids getting along and smiling and laughing! It was great! I would recommend this place to anyone...the price is good for a whole day of riding, the lines were VERY short, the favorite ride was the bumper cars....smash and bash!!...and everyone enjoyed it, plus the weather was not a factor. Fun was had by all!!

May brought a class field trip to the Sioux Falls Zoo for Morgan, her dad, and her 2nd grade class. It was a long drive there and back, but so worth it! The rhinoceros was only one of the fabulous animals that they saw. Morgan said her favorite was the anteater because he was fast, his tongue was long, and he was eating lots of ants while they watched. She had a great time with her classmates. They had a beautiful day to travel and enjoy the scenery.

We will be returning to the zoo over the 4th of July weekend when we have a family reunion at my brother, David's. We are looking forward to it! (Sioux Falls also has a way-fun-cool-awesome outdoor water park that we are going to try to enjoy...weather permitting!)

I have the most fabulous friends! Shirley Coleman, Connie Petersen, and Donna Wyatt pulled me into a "meeting" and told me all I could do was "nod". They had a party in the works and I was to sit back and enjoy......and boy did I enjoy!!! It was fantastic! They even pulled in ALL of my friends to help serve, make food, clean up, etc. so it was definitely a group effort. Even the bell choir that I am in made bars for the event! The graduation party was held on May 10, 2008 from 4-9....well....a little longer than that! We had out-of-this-world food, the decorations were beautiful...daisies on every table...and the company couldn't have been better! I am so blessed to have such caring, loving, organized, party-planning, sweet, wonderful friends. My heart was so full that night that I thought it was going to burst! Thank you, my friends, for always being there and supporting me every day!

Morgan was a little bit proud of her mommy and wore my cap and medallion for hours that night. She now "owns" the robe and has become the judge of our house. It is quite cute.

And, of course, I cannot thank my husband enough for putting up with me, pushing me out the door to get to school or to go study whenever I was low on energy, helping with the cooking, cleaning and laundry, carting the children where they needed to go, and listening to my stories upon stories about people he had no clue about but was polite enough to listen. We have our days, but he is the best husband for me. We are both excited for the day that I can actually say that I have a job....even more excited than the day that we could say I was an official teacher! Jeff has stood by me through it all. He deserves half the diploma, along with our children that really pulled together and took care of each other when I was unable to.

May 9, 2008, the Pinning Ceremony at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Mr. Harlan Gorath, my University Supervisor while I was student teaching, was the one to officially pin me saying I had completed my education and could now graduate in the teaching field. He was a superb supervisor and always encouraged me to do my best.

May 10, 2008, Graduation Day! Michael Meeker became my closest friend at MSU,M, even though he is half my age. He is a great role model to all boys and men and I am so proud to call him my friend. We both graduated Summa Cum Laude so we were able to walk together. Michael already has a job as a 2nd grade teacher in Austin and he will be a fabulous teacher and those students are so lucky to have him.

Graduating was such a thrill. I wasn't going to "walk", however, my dad talked me into it. I am so glad that he did. It was a tingling experience and almost surreal. My husband, Jeff, my children: Ben, Cory, Maren and Morgan, my dad and his wife Laura, and Mike and Shelly all came to see me get my diploma. I heard Shelly yell, "Go Teri." as I crossed the stage. They were sitting in the perfect spot so I could "show" them my diploma as I crossed the end of the stage. One of the greatest parts of the ceremony was receiving my diploma from Dr. Prenn, a professor that helped me realize that Reading is the area I want to do a Master's Degree in. Her class was amazing and I felt that she was there to guide me on the right path.

Even though it took me a full 10 years to graduate (I started the journey in 1998, we were blessed with Morgan in 1999, I returned to MSU in 2005) and there were many ups and downs on that path, it was so worth it. I realized it most when I was student teaching. I had six weeks of full time student teaching which were wonderful. My cooperating teacher let me try whatever I wanted and I came to realize that if a lesson "bombs", I just needed to pick up where I left off the next day. Being in the front of the room, or in the middle of a circle of students, or walking down the halls, or being in an assembly hall, were all the experiences that helped me realize that my dream of becoming a teacher was a dream worth purusing. My advice....follow your dreams, even if they seem crazy at the time, because we only have one life and we need to fill it with our dreams.