odds and ends

Just some random pictures of what we have been up to in the past few weeks. Dave went paintballing with all the guys and thought it would be a great idea to bellycrawl across the field to take somebody out. Well he had the last laugh when he wound up with tons of chigger bites all over his body! Anyway, you can see the tons of tomatoes we got from our garden this year! my goodness... and this was the second picking. We ended up with over 100.

We are also refinishing a dresser... this has changed from my weekend project to my summer/fall project.

Here is our whiteboard... Dave is getting a little excited for deer hunting season...

And lastly, hanging out at Jer's football game. Dave really likes to be the center of attention!

Dave's Birthday

A few weeks late, but better than never! We celebrated Dave's 29th Birthday with his family a few weekends ago. Dave loves cake... especially Kim's cake and he really wanted Dan to know just how tastey the cake was!

Northern WI family Adventure

So our family decided to risk another vacation together... and we actually went up almost exactly to the same place as last time! I think we enjoy spending 6hrs in a car together... Thanks to Rob and his generous Aunt, we spent a few days on the largest Apostle Island of Madeline. On the way up, all 5 of us kids, and the little bean, took our car up to our land, and then on to spend the day at the Porcupine Mtns. in Upper MI. It was beautiful up there! Diddy loves taking car rides with the little bean, and says, " Kona can sleep on my pillow whenever she would like, I just love dogs." :) Anyway, we hiked and Jake and Dave biked and then we drove to Ashland, spent the night, met up with the rest of the fam in an overloaded minivan, and drove to the ferry and across to the Island. We saw black bears and snakes and deer, so Dave was in his glory. This was a lot of fun, and I think I got a little tan so even I was happy!

Boston- Maine Trip

boy what a trip out East was! I think we went everywhere we possibly could. I started out in Hartford, CT visiting an old friend, and then took the bus to Boston to meet up with the rest of the fam. After a long walk around the city, suitcase in tow, I finally met up with everyone! Boston was very cool. We toured the downtown, Quincy Market, took a graveyard tour and ended at the USS Constitution, our personal favorite. Then Steve, Mo and Dave and I went on to Plymouth, saw Plimoth Plantation and Mayflower...had some winey chowder and traveled to the metropolis of Waterville, ME to see Dan and Jo. We spent the weekend hiking and kayaking in Acadia National Park on the coast and it was a lot of fun. It was a great opportunity to see the east coast, so thanks Dan and Jo for inviting us out!

Spring/Summer Projects

It seems like we never stop doing projects. Mostly this is my fault I suppose. I happenend to mention one day how cool it would be if we added a stone patio off the deck for our grill and firepit, and wouldn't you know Dave was out there like the next day with an axe cutting out the lawn. He is very handy and loves to work outside! Perhaps I should have moved the laundry room outside. :) Here are some pics of his project and the house...

Memorial Day

My whole family got together for Memorial Day this year at my mom's house. My grandpa was there and it was a wonderful time of sharing testimonies, food and bean bag toss!

That same weekend we celebrated my grandpa's birthday...and took one bad family photo!

Noodle graduates

Party at the Taylor's house for Noodle's graduation.... A few words from Dave on the festive celebration: "the food was awesome, it was a lot of fun, best of luck to Noodle. And he pities the fool who picks a fight with her" I think there was something else he said about loving the tea party he had with Ben...Anyway, Mo had some fetish with everyone's feet that evening, so you will see all the latest in footwear displayed here.

Post-Op and Pasta

Okay, waaaaaay overdue for a blog update. Time for some more uplifting blog postings! Here are a few pictures of me after the sugery and you will notice Kona was by my side every minute. :) Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve drove down and cooked us a wonderful pasta dinner and left enough sauce for 3 months... Dave just finished it all last week! And, of course, enough cookies for the neighborhood! So very thoughtful and sweet. Jake and Katherine also brought us over food as well... thanks to all...

Our Loss

Some of you may not have heard that God decided to take our baby from us a few weeks ago. I found out Monday during my 16 week check up when the dr. and I discovered there was no heartbeat. After double checking with an ultrasound, I went home to share the bad news with the rest of the family. The next day, our good friend and neighbor Gen, helped us find a doctor in town who would perform the operation so we would not have to go to the abortion clinic as recommended by my doctor (now ex-doctor). Anyway, graciously Dr. Manas took me in and started the process that evening. I had an amnio and we are having the fluid tested to determine what went wrong after 14 weeks. On Wednesday I was admitted to the hospital for surgery and was there 7 hours! I went under and was really glassy eyed and groggy when I awoke, but Dave was there the whole time. He has been a great support to me and I am so thankful for him! So has all our family and friends who have sent cards, and food, and food and tons of flowers and plants! It is so nice and comforting to know so many people care for us and we appreciate all your kind words and prayers for us. We are not too discouraged although a bit grieved at the moment, for we know God makes no mistakes and has a better plan for us. We are comforted knowing He is merciful if there was a problem with the baby to take it now rather than later. Thank you for your support, and once I heal in a few months, we will just try again!

Sunday Lunch with the Whole Family

For Easter (Resurrection Sunday) lunch this year we had both sides of the family. We had ham, lamb, potatoes and berry pie! It was very tasty. Maureen entertained us with songs from America's past, while everyone had a chance to goof off together.

Dave's Job and Reconnecting with old Friends

A few weekends ago, Dave had to work at the Rkfd Airport loading a military tank onto an aircraft. At first he thought it was an actual military tank, but found on upon arrival it was actually a large tank. Nonetheless it was a huge tank and really cool! Here are some pictures. And on another note, at lunch that day an old friend of ours from way back when we were little kids came up to visit; Charity! Last I remember, she borrowed my fushia swimsuit to run through the sprinkler with us and never returned it! hmmph!

Dave's Newest Project

It is time to update our blog. Dave has started on a new project: a patio off the deck. He has been working on this for several weekends and I have a few pictures to show you his progress. It is going to be very nice to grill on when he is finished. If it would just stop SNOWING perhaps we could move forward on installing our patio doors as well. Dave is very proud of moving his big rocks.

Go Bears! Superbowl Party

So, we were totally jazzed for the Superbowl this year! Okay, maybe just me because I am a bear fan. But Kona was really excited too! We went over to Steve and Maureens where we ate chicken noodle soup, doritos and cheese! yummy! Too bad the Bears lost. :(

Happy Holidays!!

From one family adventure to another. Christmas Day, Dave and I, will the little bean, went over to Steve and Mo's house to have dinner and family fun with the whole family. Dan, Jo and Issac were in town from Tacoma!
Issac is now a bit past 1 year old! He is toddling everywhere. Mo was in her glory of course. We had a nice time opening gifts, Steve got the biggest present of all, a new gun safe, and then a scrumpious dinner of prime rib...great job Mo! Kona tried to play with Scarlet and Issac, but neither were interested.
Tuesday night Dan and Jo came over for dinner, and then we went to Bob and Melissa's house for dessert and High School memories.. Booby Bob!
The next Saturday, the whole family crammed into 2 cars and went into Chicago to see the King Tut exhibit and prowl the streets of the Windy City. It was really neat! My fav. though was spending the afternoon in the Macy's building... We had a little bit of an issue getting across Michigan Ave. at one point when we tried to go under the street on the pedway, got totally lost underground for around 15 mintues, and then came up about 4 feet from where we orginally started! good grief... I love Chicago!! Don't you Dave??

Family Ski Trip!!

Our family thought it would be a great idea to all drive up 6 hours to the tip of WI in the middle of winter and go skiing. Of course all the girls were a bit sad as we preferred a family vaca somewhere warm for goodness sake. But the guys were totally excited. We rented a condo at Big Powderhorn, packed a ton of fleeces, all my scarfs and coordinating hats, long underwear, wool socks... things I never pack when on vaca... vaca should be tank tops! Who's idea was it to leave at 4 am anyway?? Not mine. And we had to leave the poor little bean. 6 hours and 3 potty breaks later, we get not to a snow covered, winter wonderland, but a slushy mess! The guys went skiing anyway, and us girls just sat in the hot tub... the one that belonged to the condo next to us as our's was broken!! Needless to say it didn't get fixed til 2 hours before we ended up leaving. Oh well... thankfully Friday night brought a beautiful snow fall and we all got up and put on our boots, hats, snowpants and etc. Sat. morning ready to take off. Mom, Christie and I stuck together and found out that Mom is terrified of the ski lift!! She made quite the exit off the bunny hill lift as she rounded the corner at the lift exit, then jumped off and landed face first! I subsequently peed my pants at the sight of that. Once at the top of the hill, we girls had NO clue which slope to go down. There was nothing marked, and after at least 30 mintues of inching our way up an incline to a map, which offered us still no clue, we picked a slope and snow plowed our way down. We all ended up on our butts, and later found out it was a fairly advanced slope!
All in all, it was a fun time. Mom will probably never go again, I fell a million times, Dave, of course, was awesome and hung out on the black diamonds with the other guys the whole time. Jer learned to snow board, Dad threw out his back trying new tricks, and Diddy and I mastered every green slope and then advanced ourselves to a few blue ones!!

Random things....

So, I thought I would post a few random things that have happened in early winter. First, we thought we would show you our ghetto patio door. It is SOO cold by this back door we have fixed it up Loves Park style. Heaven forbid we go out and get a storm door or something!

And the second picture is the result of me, Keri, trying to get a bit too much accomplished in the morning before work. Dave had already told me I was only allowed to get myself ready in the morning after I left the sliding glass door open ALL DAY. But, I thought it would be a good idea to start baking my yams for around 45 mintues before I went to work so I would only have to bake them another 15 when I got home. Too bad I forgot about them and they baked ALL DAY in the oven... like for at least 8 hours. ooohhh stink!!

Dave's Deer Hunting Rebuttal...

Keri has been officially FIRED! She no longer has the right to speak of the matter of hunting. Yes I did shoot a big buck while hunting in Wisconsin and found nothing but big puddles of blood. I also some how managed to have my rifle sling strip out of my 7mm sending it barrel first into the mud, and then crashing scope first into a big log. On a positive note I did improve my tracking skills and learned that four shells are not enough and scopes SUCK! That's why I am switching to an AK-47 with a thirty round clip. I have officially declared war on the deer of Wisconsin. This gun is designed to be fired dirty and with an endless supply of bullets. PERFECT!

Another Deer and Gourmet Dinner at Aunt Kathy's

While I was participating in Black Friday with the rest of Rockford at 7 am in the morning, Dave was back in his favorite spot looking for more deer to fill our freezer. He got a poor mama doe around 7:30 am, and even got Erick Beard to help him load it in the truck!


Saturday we had the pleasure of a wonderful meal at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's beautiful home on Lake Michigan in Racine. According to Dave, the ribs were "awesome!" the best we have ever had.

It was great to see the Taylors, the other Dave Solverson family, Warren, Lanie and the Johnson clan. We are sad for all those who missed out!

Thanksgiving Day

Another Thanksgiving at our home. Another Martha Stewart turkey that was very tasty!! Thank you to all who brought a dish to pass... and to Ann for making the most fabulous Candied Sweet Potatoes even though she was sick. Sorry we didn't leave you any Ann... oops! And who will forget the Green Beans... Definitely NOT Jacob who sang his own praises for the better part of an hour. How exciting to have dessert for the first time at Christie and Robs! I think we have a tradition started! Dave, Jacob and Olivia played multiple rounds of matching, and according to her, "creamed their butts
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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, partly because it is the only holiday we celebrate, but mostly because it is so great to be surrounded by those you love and because the day really makes you reflect on all the Lord has blessed you with. And also... "love to eat turkey..."