Winterama in Glenwood, MN, was a BLAST!!! First of all, we went because my brother, Todd, the Vice Commodore, and his wife, Carrie, the First Mate, were going to jump into a big hole in the lake which they call the Polar Plunge! I was there to protect and watch over my niece, Annika.....just in case. But, all went well as you can see by the pictures. They also had a lot of activities for the children to do. There was turkey bowling (which, yes, they used a real frozen turkey...a small frozen chicken for the wee ones to throw), putting, nickel pick-up off the ice, washers, and a ring toss game. The kids had a blast! Ben won 1st place in the turkey bowling, Cory won second. Cory won first place in the washer game. Morgan won a bottle of pop in the ring toss. Maren and Morgan picked up a lot of nickels and were given a small coin purse to put them in. Cory and Ben both signed up for the minnow eating contest. (Yuk! says mom.) Ben thought he would bite their heads off so they weren't alive....his strategy did not work. Cory just threw one in at a time (rules) and swallowed. He ended up tying for second place. Overall, the boys won $125 in chamber bucks, restaurant coupons, and an ice fishing pole! They didn't expect the prizes so it was a nice surprise for them. Thank you Todd and Carrie for a terrific day and thank you, God, for the beautiful weather! It was totally awesome!!

Ben has received his class ring and it looks really nice! His birthday is in September so the stone is a bright blue. He has his name on one side and a football player on the other side...hope this means he is a true football player and will continue to play throughout high school because his mom loves to watch his games!

Jessica and Cory are ready for the dance! But....wait....Jessica is not happy that she can't see Cory's eyes. A request for a haircut is in place, and voila!, the second picture shows the trim! Now the happy couple is ready to roll! They enjoyed a nice dinner at the Hickory Inn with other couples, drove around in a limousine which was provided by the parents of one of the girls that is good friends with Jessica, and then headed off to the high school to enjoy dancing and laughter!


Alayna and Ben are ready for the dance too! Doesn't Ben look great in his new duds?? The second picture includes friends of the couple, Megan and Collin. Collin's date wasn't ready so she didn't get in on this photo op! Alayna and Ben make a mighty fine looking couple! They also had a great time at the dance!

This is Cory enjoying his cupcake the afternoon of his 15th birthday! Yum! It is from Schmidt's Bakery because he wanted Pumpkin Pie for his birthday dessert. I feel everyone should have a little cake on their birthdays! He is very excited about taking his permit test this next Wednesday.

Cory is really like basketball this season. Here he is "catching some air" during practice. I also got him to agree to a photo shoot afterwards. I really enjoy watching his team play and I hope he continues to play for many years to come. They had a hard game tonight, but they kept the lead and ended up winning against Martin County West.

The New Chef

Ben had to make a meal for a Health class this trimester. He grilled pork chops, made real mashed potatoes, came up with the meal plan by himself, and did all the work himself. It was really nice to have a night off from cooking! We now have proof that he knows how to plan a meal, cook the meal, and clean up afterwards! We will be requiring it of him more often! His meal turned out really good and it tasted as good as it looked!

Basketball Beauty

We have a new basketball player in the house! Morgan goes to basketball practice with other little girls on Saturday mornings from 10-11:30. This morning I caught her in action!! She is already learning how to use the backboard to make shots and knows that she has to push hard to get the ball all the way up to the net! She says she really likes baskteball, except they have to run when their team doesn't "win" by making 10 baskets faster than the other teams! She is a good sport though and I look forward to many years of watching her play!!