CPE is over

Today was the official last day of my CPE internship. I have a few revisions to make on my final written evaluation, but the official clock hours and other requirements have been completed. Now I have a couple days before Katherine and her parents move here. Next week I will spend a lot of time with them while writing another essay for the NW MN synod and then leaving for Mexico for 3 wks. I'm looking forward to heading to Mexico, but it's not without some nervousness. When I arrive in Mexico City I have to find a bus to Cuernavaca and once I get there, call my host family and figure out how to get a bus to their house. I'm sure it will all be fine and be an adventure, but sometimes I wish I were traveling with someone. Maybe on the next 'international' trip.

Today I had the pleasure of hanging out with Elizabeth and Miceala once again - oh is it so fun to have them close. When I move to my apartment in September, we were only be a parking lot away.

How are all you ladies doing?

I'm a student again!

Hello friends! I am writing to you from our new residence at Luther! We are all moved in and, with the exception of my room, our apartment is all set up. The rooms were all bigger than I remembered, so its been a nice space to spread out and claim as our own. The neighbors are all VERY nice (very diverse in our hallway especially) and all very married.:) I just have to put on my strong armor and be ready for questions like "Is you husband a student too?" which I've gotten a lot already.

Micaela likes her school-she is there 1/2 days now and will go full time in September. They do lots of sprinkler days and playing in the sandbox. If I'm not careful she'll run into the apartment, plop down on the couch and sand will spill from her pockets, shoes, cuffs...so we bath a lot. :) Oh-the daycare is also about 12 feet from our door, just down the hall...its awesome!

My class is good, I'm struggling a little bit to study as much as I should-and I can't really go to study sessions on a regular basis b/c of the girl. But, so far I feel like I'm not a total idiot. I'm told it gets harder in about a week-so I'll let you know then!

Other than that-I'm enjoying seeing Scander's beautiful face on a regular basis and reconnecting with some high school friends down here. Matthew gets married on the 26th, so family will start descending into the Cities in a week. We've explored Como Park and Zoo, the library and we visit the playground right outside our building almost every day.

Mandy, I hope you're having fun in Maine! Breanna, hope you're resisting the urge to think about school, Shripes, Lindsey-where the hell are ya? , Amanda-how was the 4th party? Sarah-hi!

Love you all!

Elizabeth

California...

Oh wow, we had a great time in California. But, we did drive there and have some interesting times in the van, like when we were in the California desert and there was a giant traffic jam and the van started overheating. So, we had to keep the doors open and turn off the AC and just enjoy the heat. FUN!
Then, on the way home, the AC went out all together, so we had a warm, sticky drive home. Ewwwwwwww.
But, we stopped in Las Vegas on our way and stayed there for a night. If anyone is wanting to take a trip to Vegas anytime soon, I would recommend that you NOT go in the summer. It was about 115 degrees there. I do not handle heat well. At least it was dry heat.
Then, we did get to see Hoover Dam, which Chris was very excited about.
Then, we headed to our rental beach house for the next four days in Oxnard, CA (about 40 min. away from LA). At our house, we drank A LOT and walked to the beach whenever we got warm. But, we had a huge deck to hang out on, so we did. It was a very nice temperature here, at night it was COLD! We had to go buy sweatpants for both Chris and me. We had a nice grill, so we did use that for dinner one night, and then used up all of our other grill food at about 1 in the morning a couple of other mornings when Chris wanted to grill food for a midnight snack. What a crazy guy.
On our way back to MN, we stopped in San Francisco and stayed with a high school classmate of theirs...we saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Muir Woods forest, and then stopped in wine country for a little while. We were going to camp in wine country, but since we already knew the AC wasn't going to make it, Chris did not sample wine and drove us all through the night. What a nice boy.
We had a great time....here are a few pictures....

The Festival

Hi ladies! Here are the photos of the 3rd annual F'n Festival from William O'Brien State Park and Stillwater, MN. Good times were had by all! Friday night, the festival participants were Elizabeth, Micaela, Sarah, and me. We had a great time sitting by the fire, enjoying s'mores and good conversation. As you can see, Micaela enjoyed the s'mores quite a bit. :)

After a good nights sleep in our oh-so-comfy tent that was erected by the wonder-women Sarah and Elizabeth, we had delicious oatmeal for breakfast and then enjoyed a peaceful morning walk along the St. Croix. It was very fun and good exercise. Then we took a drive into cute Stillwater for some exploring and a picnic near the motorcycle epicenter of Minnesota (apparently). We had a great time looking around, enjoying the shops, and again having good conversation. We stopped in Marine-on-St.-Croix for some delicious ice cream on our way back to camp, and then we all (except Micaela) enjoyed a little nap in what was no longer a tent but a sauna. :)

Breanna arrived around 6:00 or so, and we all got to enjoy a meal together, which was GREAT. Elizabeth planned all of our scrumptious meals, and they were delicious. Micaela zonked out during our meal preparation as you can also see in the pictures. Wouldn't it be great to be small again and just sleep wherever you want? :) After our filling meal, we bid goodbye to Elizabeth and Micaela. The three compadres left decided to go on the same hike of the morning, but now with the evening sky. It was great.

Upon returning from our nice hike, we played some cards and then built an AWESOME fire. About 2 milliseconds after the fire was roaring, we heard sirens (as in weather sirens) going off. Hmmm... We figured out soon enough that a short trip to the park's interpretative center was in order as a severe thunderstorm was on its way. We had to kill our roaring fire, but we got to play cards for about 1/2 hour in the shelter, so all fun was not lost. Elizabeth managed to run into a storm on her way home, too, and ended up staying in a hotel in St. Cloud, but only until 3:00 in the morning. I'm sure that she can share her story sometime. :) Ahh, the things people sacrifice to make it to and from the festival. :)

After a rainy and a little bit wet night of sleeping, we awoke EARLY to a cranky kid in the site next to us. We enjoyed the fire that we missed the night before, as well as some very nutritious breakfast s'mores. mmmm.

We got to meet Lindsey and the adorable Addyson in Stillwater for breakfast. We enjoyed a throughly artery-clogging but delicious meal together before we all headed back to our homes in all crazy parts of the region.

If Sarah were writing this, I'm sure you would find it all much for interesting. :) The festival, although small this year, was indeed a wonderful success. We all agreed that it is so refreshing to have great friends with whom no weird "small talk" is necessary. We can just jump right in like we're still living in close proximity to one another. This is a true blessing in life, and something we all should hold dear to our hearts.

I wish you all a great summer! I will try to check in as often as possible. I am not sure how much I will be able to post when we're in Maine, but I'll try if I get a chance at the humble Oakland Public Library. :) If anyone wants to send snail mail, our addy there is: 8 Goldenrod Lane, Sidney, ME 04330.

I love you all!!

Manders

Yay June!

Hey ladies...

First: The Camping. I am going to call and cancel one of the sites since its not looking like we need 2 sites. According to my calculations Scanders, Mandy and I will be there Friday night. Lindsey will visit on Saturday and then S, M, myself and Breanna will camp Saturday night. Correct?

Second: Micaela and I just got back from a trip to St. Louis. We met up with 2 girlfriends in St. Louis and we all witnessed our friend Jess (from Tacoma) get married! We took the train ALL day Thursday...the journey lasted 25 hours...5 hours longer then supposed to. Micaela was great on the train, the only bummer was in order for her to sleep well she took up both our seats and I spent quality time on the floor. But it was well worth it to have a sleeping child. I had a minor melt down when the taxi dropped us off at the wrong hotel at 2am, so we had to get another taxi to a hotel 20 minutes away. Then our hotel key didn't work and when I called the front desk he said we'd have to change rooms, I said, in my best peaceful and Christ-like voice "I will switch to the room right across the hall, but that's it! You come and fix this, I'm not hauling my child and our luggage another step!!!" Classy, right (it was 2:30am by this point and my arms were SO SORE from hauling our crap all over)

We slept, found our friend and saw the St. Louis Zoo..Micaela was excited, but equally scared of every animal. I made the mistake of wearing a dress and she tried to hide under my skirt with every new animal we saw. We saw the arch and other fun city sites. And the trip home was smooth sailing, timing was better and Micaela slept A LOT. Good times!

Now, I've started packing b/c we move in 1 month! AAAHHHHH! Enjoy the crazy picture of my child and nephew from my Dad's retirement party last weekend. Love you all!

friday doldrums

No Go....

Well ladies, I have decided that I am not going to be able to make it to the F-ing Festival. I just can't make it work - I can't travel that far with three toddlers! I'm sorry and I hope you thoroughly enjoy your time!

thinking caps on...it's a race!

So, I am getting my message ready for Baccalaureate next Wednesday, and they want me to come up with a hymn that goes with my message. I am basing my message on 1 Tim...Do not neglect the gift that is within you...so, I am telling them what gifts they have as a class and then telling them to use them in the future for good purposes. Let me know if you think of a great hymn that would go with that.
Ready........GO!
P.S. No word on the new job yet.
Love you, bye!

mandy...

I am posting on "little-miss preggers" behalf. Mandy will HOPEFULLY be camping Friday night and for sure Saturday night. Julia will probably not be on this little adventure so Mandy will actually be able to complete entire sentences and is very excited about that :)

So, if Scanders and Mandy can camp Friday night...I'm game. If not, I'll stay in the City Friday night and we can all meet up Saturday morning.

There is a small chance I may have to leave Saturday night-I'll check in with the powers that be (a.k.a my Pastor).

Saturday camping for me

Hello...
I will camp Saturday. P.S. I have an interview in Lake Crystal today (that is the town I live in)...how nice!

I would be able to camp Friday and Saturday, but won't camp Friday alone (yes, I'm scared of the dark). Its just a very long drive and a lot of work for one night camping.

I have an email from Amy saying she would try to make it.

That's the report from here...

Making a plan....

Ok, so I'm trying to get a plan here. That weekend is coming together for me! I'm off early Friday, so that stress is gone. Kevin didn't flinch when I told him I would be away for part of our anniversary, so that stress is gone. I have the entire following week off....so, if my kids don't sleep in tents, that stress is gone too! he he.... My biggest stress is getting the kids on Saturday....yikes! It looks like an hour and a half trip from St. Cloud to Stillwater, does that sound right? So, Elk River to St. Cloud, then to Stillwater - those of you from down there, what kind of a trip am I looking at here? Tell me to buck up and make my hubby give me money for gas! :) Anyway - who IS all going to camp for sure? Has anyone heard anything from Becca or Amy? Sarah A camping? Elizabeth, Mandy, Breanna? Can't wait to meet Addyson!!! Is anyone camping Friday night too, or just Saturday night? Keep me posted!

Procrastination

A quick weigh-in as I'm procrastinating on my papers: I can get my hands on two tents. One is my own (10x10) and the other is my mom's (a 2-rm cabin tent). I haven't asked her if I can use it, but I'm sure she'll say yes!

Amanda - Come!!! But, at the same time, don't give into the peer pressure if can't do it. You know your limits.

You can do it!

That's what Micaela says when we're biking up hill "You can do it! You can REALLY do it!" You can do it, Amanda! Elk River to Still Water is less than an hour...so not exactly across the state :) If I can help in anyway, I think Micaela will just be driving from EGF to Stillwater on Friday, so we can put extra kids in the car, caravan...whatever!

I have a tent (on order) that sleeps 4 people, if its nice I'm fine putting the kiddos in a tent and sleeping outside too. I might do some checking b/c wouldn't it be fun to rent a HUGE tent...I'll see how much that is! Might make putting kids to bed easier (or way harder).

This is coming up so soon...3 weeks! Micaela and I are going to St. Louis in 2 weeks for a friend's wedding, so I'll try to make sure we've got all the details taken care of prior to leaving.

YOU CAN DO IT EVERYONE!

Howdy

Amanda, you have to come! It is already going to be a sparse crowd I have a feeling. I do have a tent that my lovely bridesmaids purchased for me and Chris. I have not used it yet, but would be happy to bust it out for the festival. The only problem is, I don't know what times I will get there because I am going to the Guthrie that day.

As for how far ER is from SC, it is about a half an hour...not too bad. But, we are camping in Stillwater, right?

Well, on other notes...congrats on the new thing growing in your tummy, Mandy. I hope someone (Becca, Amy, Mandy) can produce a boy, that would be good. As for me, I am more in the Sarah and Sarah camp...not quite ready yet. But, I have been married for one whole year now!

A couple weeks ago, my brother graduated from Concordia and I got to see Elizabeth and Micaela....it was so fun! But, I still can't believe it has been 5 years. My first 8th graders are graduating in a matter of days. I am feeling old.

Keep the conversation going! See you all soon...that is actually really soon!

Struggling....

I'm struggling with scheduling the weekend of the festival....I have to work on Friday and I'm leaving early for this DAMN concert I have to chaperone my husband for. How far is Elk River from St. Cloud? Here's my hang up - I need to pick up my kids on Saturday morning before the festival, but really don't want to be driving all around the state that day. I also realized it's our anniversary that weekend...so, please talk me into coming anyway - I'm struggling with what to do. I want to do it all, just can't figure out how! What's the story with tents? Does anybody have tents or are we renting or what? We have a screen tent, but I wouldn't sleep in it!!! It keeps the mosquitos off your supper though.....oh, heck, I do want to come! I'm just a little nervous about camping in a tent with three kiddos. So - we'll keep in touch of course!

Green with Envy

Hello ladies! I must say that I am EXTREMELY green with envy at reading all of these posts regarding the F-ing Festival. How fun. And how absolutely depressing that I won't be able to be there. You all suck. (HAHA Just kidding! :)) Mandy - Congrats on the new little one on the way! Scanders - I'm still with ya in the "No Kids" stage, so have no fear! :) Seth and I do have some fun news, though -- WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is in Marshall and we close on the 30th of May. We are SO EXCITED. It is in the older part of town where there are big tall trees and nice neighborhoods and I have found out since we bought it that I already know some of our neighbors! We are, at long last, moving on to that next stage in our life -- being in debt for the next 30 years! :) HAHA - Seriously, we are super pumped. It will be great for us to be back in Marshall and we're looking forward to having our OWN HOME, our OWN LAWN, our OWN STUFF!! Anyway..I don't have much else to contribute, but I wanted to update all of you on the exciting news in our lives. I miss all of you and would love for you to come check out the house whenever you can - there will be TWO guest bedrooms (since there aren't any of our own kids around!) and there's even a second bathroom, although one of them will probably be designated the BOY bathroom for Seth. :) Anywho - I will stop blabbing..love you all and MISS YOU..Sarah

Yay!

I will book the sites tomorrow-for Friday and Saturday night? Who can be there when? I think Micaela can do Friday and Saturday...

I will then send an email out to all the address I have (the evil power of facebook makes it easy to contact the women we haven't heard too much from).

I will do some talking to some people at church, I think a couple large tents would be really fun, I found a small tent hard to put little ones to sleep...but yes, we can work on who will bring what later.

I'm excited...the 3rd annual festival is drawing near!!!!!

let it be...

Ok, the Backstrom's have a plan! Yahoo! We are heading down to Elk River Friday night for the concert and staying at a friends house in Elk River. Saturday morning, Kevin is going to ride back up north with another friend who lives north of us, and I'll stay in the Elk River area (after retrieving the kids from sis-in-law in St. Cloud) and camp with all ya-all! We would prefer not to haul the camper that far, considering Kevin would not be able to help with the tear down, so the problem is that we do not own a tent. But, those are details we can work out later. So, Elizabeth, I think you should book it. Would you agree it would be nice to have input from all those who have not inputted their inputs yet? But, I'm up for this latest plan! I'm sorry it didn't work out to be here - maybe some other time! We're always up for a hoe-down here! Or just some grilled pork chops! I'll keep checking here for updates!

input

I, too, looked a little bit at Lake Maria State Park...I'm not sure if they have sites which accomodate Rvs or not so we'd want to check that if Amanda were bringing her trailor. Oh and Amanda, nice try by trying to put me in charge via a blog entry. Unfortunately it's not going to happen this time because I've got five papers and a test left to do before the semester ends in a week and a half. :)

Mandy - CONGRATULATIONS!!! While I'm a little weirded out that so many of my friends have children, I do think it's wonderful. I told my mom and she was just as excited as I was!

An idea

Okay, I did some searching for places near Elk River-that seems like a nice central location, no one has to drive over 5 hours. Lake Maria State Park looks lovely and they have sites available for our weekend in June. Shall I book the sites? Here is some info about the Park...(in case you go searching and notice that they do have camper cabins for rent-I checked and they are booked for our weekend)

Address
11411 Clementa Ave NW
Monticello, MN 55362

Phone
(763) 878-2325 Business 1
(763) 878-2620 Fax

State Park offer backpack camping, cabins, group camp sites, hiking trails, horseback trails, picnicing, fishing, interpretive programs and displays.
Type of Accommodation
Camping, State Parks

Directions to Accommodation from Nearest Town/Intersection
From Monticello, CR 39 west to CR 111 to Park entrance. Follow State Park signs.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rates
Daily Camping Rates: $12

Additional Rate Info
Group camp $50/night or $3/camper - whichever is greater. Camper cabins $35.

Dates Year Round
Availability Reservations: www.stayatmnparks.com or 1-866-857-2757.

South it is!

Guess what - my dear husband, even after telling him of my plans for that weekend, has made more plans for me! We're going to Elk River on Friday for a David Allen Coe concert. (don't ask - I don't even know what he sings - but Kevin's in love!) So, perhaps a destination down there would work out better anyway! Our concert is on Friday night, and I don't think Kevin was too thrilled about rushing back up north Saturday morning - so, let's put Scanders in charge! he he.... We'll just make something work! Congratulations Mandy - I think you mentioned getting sick of sex anyway - and that's not good! :) We're very happy for you - a boy would be good! Wish we could hear from Breanna, Becca and Amy - HINT HINT. What is everyone's plan? We'll keep in touch! Love ya all!

Location, location, location

Hello friends!

1. CONGRATS to Mandy and David! I'm really hoping for a boy, we need some balance. Maybe I'll bring Isaiah to the festival just to spice up life :)

2. I think we should consider camping a littler farther south. I camped at Norway beach last summer and that was a nice spot. Maybe Scanders would have some good south ideas. Even if its without a camper, we're tough and can do it! Maybe we can even have a rain site just in case.

Thoughts?

Hang in there ladies-we'll get this figured out!

Elizabeth

December 8, 2008

Guess what? :) That little baby up there is 6 weeks, 3 days old, and as of today is 9 weeks old with a heartbeat of 170 beats per minute. Isn't that amazing? Oh yeah, and its in MY BELLY!!!

So sorry I haven't gotten back to you about this whole frolicking festival thing. Needless to say, I've been a bit exhausted at night, and that along with the nauseousness that worsens sometimes at night, I haven't been really up for sitting at the computer. TV and a couch is way less taxing. :) Here's my input... If I'm being totally honest, I'm not sure that I'll be able to make it all the way up to the northland for the festival. I love you all so dearly, but we have about three longish trips in the next month before we head out to that 1300 mile Maine drive, and with the price of gas, I'm not sure that we can hack it. I will do my best if camping up there works the best, and it sounds like we have a lot of great options to make it fun and comfortable up there... but I can't promise anything. I would be more likely to make an outing in the Cities, which cuts my drive in half, but I know adds immensely to the travels of some of the rest of you.
So, that is my input. Please take it with the knowledge that I want you all to do what is best for the WHOLE group, and I will work with what the decision is. OK? :)

I am buying time from "Daddy" right now who is giving Julia a bath after a really long day at work, so I'm going to head up and relieve him. I'll check back here as much as possible and I'll try to get back on any questions in a more timely manner. The nauseousness is easing a little bit, so that is helpful. I actually cleaned for the first time in about 5 weeks yesterday. Those of you who lived with me know that that is a crazy long time for me not to clean. And I didn't care one bit. :)

Anyway, I love you all!! My blessings on you making the festival decisions. You are wise and incredible. :)

Mandola and little one cooking inside. :) Maybe a boy for our estrogen-heavy group ?

5 years ago

Some of us graduated five years ago today. I never imagined I would be where I am today. If the past five years have gone this quickly, what does that say about the upcoming five years and beyond?

Camping Update

I called the state park yesterday, and the site that has electric hookup, there are 4 spots left, none of which are next to each other. I talked to the park ranger dude, and he said we can all hang out at one site during the day, but as far as sleeping, we have to split up and sleep with only 1 camper or 2 tents at each site. Not a huge deal. Otherwise, there's another site without electricity that is closer to the swimming beach that is wide open. We have a camper, and I think it'll be useful with or without electricity....

Another option - there's a little resort outside of Pelican called Leisure Lane that I'm going to check out! It's on Prairie Lake - a very kid friendly beach. I'm checking into things - MANDY, LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK?!?!?! I'll keep you posted!

Amen!

Let it be so...I think as soon as Mandy (the one who has to travel the farthest) give us her blessing on the location, you should book it Amanda. Either your house, or the camping site-I'm up for either (as we learned last year, we need no grand location to have a really good time).

Mandy-if you want us to go farther south-don't be afraid to say so.

And I hereby swear not to talk about children the whole time :)

Love you all!


Elizabeth

LET'S GO CAMPING!!!!!!

I want to go camping!!!!

I think Maplewood or Amanda's would be good and I think we should plan on the second week in June!!!

More thoughts....

After I posted the last little bit, I got to thinking - having it hear would be a lot easier, with all the little ones anyway - but I thought of some more amenities available here - we have the grill, screened in porch, hot showers, we could take the kids for a nature walk :) - just some thoughts. Camping does sound like fun too - I need YOUR FEEDBACK!

Are we camping or what?!?!?

So - word has it that the 2nd week in June is the weekend for the festival! How many are up for a little camping? I would be more than happy to line something up - and if it's near us, Kevin will help set up the camper and all that good stuff! I'm picturing all the ladies and lots of tots in Maplewood State Park. It's near Pelican, and it has TONS of walking trails, a nice swimming beach, playground equipment, etc. It would be a good spot for our group of people. I'm going to call today and see if anything is available for that weekend. I won't book it yet, but we should soon if it's something we want to do! The only negatives are that each vehicle would need a state park pass, and I'm not sure how much that costs, but it adds to the expense for the weekend of course. OR - we could set up the tents in my backyard! HA HA!! Just kidding! Or if camping is NOT what everyone wants to do, that is totally fine too - but Elizabeth is right, we need to get rolling! I would be happy to offer my home to guests too! We have a big yard, lots of room to run, giant swing set that Kevin built from High Line poles, we have a slip-n-slide, a little swimming pool, chickens for chasing and all sorts of fun stuff for the kids. So - what's the plan? Please give us feedback - or, Elizabeth and I will start making harassing phone calls! :) Talk to you all soon!

The festival

Just a quick note tonight...I haven't updated my preferences on the site Elizabeth set-up (which is cool) because I don't know my schedule at all for this summer. Since I'm doing my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) this summer, I have to make myself available to their schedule which includes weekends and evenings. I won't know until the end of May what my schedule will look like for June and definitely have no idea about July. August is out because Matt and Sarah will be moving here the first weekend and then I'm hoping to spend the rest of the month in Mexico working on my tan. I hope everyone is well. Has anyone done anything fun during spring? At least, some of us have experienced glimpses of spring - some of you are still facing winter.

The Festival!

Hey ladies,

According to our Doodle Planner, its looking like the 2nd weekend in June is still the best...however, many more ladies need to place their votes! Here is the link again in case you missed it...

http://www.doodle.ch/gw2p992aw8q6ihun (you can also go back and edit your vote if needed, little link on the far left)

I know I need to get my June schedule figured out and I'm sure others do too, so if we could move on this-that would be great! See y'all soon!

Elizabeth

Can you identify?

I'm not asking you to identify what the frozen contents of this Ziploc bag are, but I would like to ask the question. A few days ago I thought it would be a good idea to thaw something from the freezer for a few meals this week. Among the ice cubes and frozen vegetables I saw a cool whip container. Knowing it wasn't cool whip, I wondered what it could be. It was eventually identified as soup but I didn't know where I got it. Then tonight I was assessing what else could be thawed from my freezer, and noticed a ziploc bag (picture above is not actual evidence, but remarkably close to what I saw). What's in this bag that has tinfoil surrounding it? Upon further inspection, I realized it was frozen ham from Easter. Do you ever find yourself unable to identify freezer items? Perhaps you're doing the logical thing, which my mom taught me to do, and you label everything and put a date on it so that even when there is nothing but freezer burn you know that it was pig's feet at some point.

smart and funny

Hello again! My pastor emailed me some definitions from this new book he just got...its a great way to think about "church-y" words! Enjoy!

absolution A series of words that, when spoken to a repentant sinner, result in that sinner's complete forgiveness - much to the chagrin of the self-righteous.

atheism The personal choice to be at the whim of earthly powers because you can't stand being at the whim of God.

Bible A book that Christians believe is so holy and inspired that they almost never read it for fear that it might draw them closer to God and neighbor or change their lives in some other inconvenient way.

Canon Not to be confused with a large weapon (this canon only has one "n"), the canon is the list of books comprising the authoritative, written Word of God - which sinners often use as a large weapon to bash each other.

Laity Those people who don't need special degrees, titles, clothes, or roles to know that they are called by God.

Love Not a thing that is blind but the act of actually seeing the needs of others and of putting their needs higher than yourself or your needs.

Martyr A person who would rather die than allow you to help make dinner.

Member (1) One who joins a group in order to avoid expectations of participation; (2) God's partner in mission.

Ministry An office instituted by God for work in God's world, the holders of which often spend too much time in their offices.

Pastor/Priest A sinner who is so aware of the power of sin in his or her own life that he or she feels called by the Holy Spirit to announce that God loves sinners.

Perichoresis The attempt to describe the numbers "three" and "one" without using math.

Predestination The extremely disturbing idea that God actually knows what God is doing.

Reformation A revolution within Christianity that started in 1517 and is either still happening or needs to happen again, depending on whom you talk to.

Religion A system of beliefs and practices that is meant to nourish a life of faith and a relationship with God, which often causes despair and drives people away from God, for the sake of good order.

Revelation Reason's embarrassing brother-in-law who married into the family and is often the source of awkward pauses in the conversation at family meals but who brings things to the table that nobody else can.

Simultaneously Saint And Sinner Being at one and the same time who you think you are and who you really are.

Sin (1) Why people suck, (2) How people suck

YHWHTh Hbrw nm fr Gd, whch w dn't xcly knw hw t prnnc bcs th vwls wr lft t

thankful...

for some reason the random topic of Scander's and Breanna's posts make me so thankful to be friends with some of the most thoughtful, intelligent and forward-thinking women on the planet. You all are awe-inspiring!

B-I've been jammin' to that CD you made (at Christmas time maybe?) and don't think I ever said THANK YOU for that. I'm trying to convince Micaela the 'Dancing Queen' is the greatest song ever...it'll take a few more attempts. :) But I look great dancing in the driver's seat, so that's what's important...right?

Um, its been a REALLY full, long day and I'm so tired...so excused my random babbling. Love you all!

e

SIGG

Yes, Sarah, I had also heard this..only I read it in Glamour magazine, so I don't know how credible they are. But, I bought a SIGG water bottle and I like it. It is made from recycled material too. BONUS!
Peace out homies.

Nalgenes negatively impact health!

Nalgene use is hazardous, what?! A friend told me about this today and I was shocked. I knew that continued use of ordinary 'disposable' water bottles such as Ice Mountain or the generic brand was not good to reuse, but Nalgenes? They're hip, cool, and everybody's got one. (Okay a lot of people have them). Apparently there is a chemical that is released in the plastic that can have an impact on the brain as well as reproductive hormones. This is also the case for baby bottles. Matt told me read about it and they purchased new baby bottles, but I didn't think it would apply to my beloved Nalgene seven years. The chemical released is BPA, which is espeically prevelant if bottles have #7 on the bottom. Check out the article link as well, which gives more details about certain numbers on bottles. I would also caution against the solution of always buying new Aquafina bottles because the amount of plastic used to make disposable water bottles for the USA would fuel hundreds of thousands of cars for a year. (I know an odd comparison, but it's equally environmentally detrimental.) Oh, and of course if you go to Nalgene's website they will say that #7 plastics are okay and BPA free. Hope you don't carry stock with plastic #7!
Stay informed!

http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/realmoney/articles/plastics.cfm

Please Pray for Pelican

Hi ladies - I write with some very sad news. You have maybe heard on the news that our high school band was in a bad bus accident this morning. My cousin Nichole (a junior bridesmaid in my wedding if you remember her) was in the accident, but thank God is fine. One small scratch. Others were not so lucky. One girl was killed in the accident. Her name is Jessica Weishair. She was in 9th grade. And though I didn't know her personally, I can't help but keep thinking about the fact that she's "Kim and Stacy's daughter". (family friends) And I think of all of you who have daughters and myself - and what it would be to lose a daughter. Unthinkable. Love those little love bugs with all your heart - and when you want to put your head through a wall (like I sometimes do) because they won't listen or cooperate, just stop and think of life without her. Unthinkable.

Hi Friends

Wow...it has been awhile since I have blogged, but I guess no news is good news. I feel like the time has flown by this winter, and I am so so so so so glad it is spring-like finally. Although, I hear that northern MN today will still not be spring-like...sounds more snow-like.
Well, let's see...not much has happened here, it has been a beautifully relaxing year so far. We are getting news from the superintendent in our district that we need to be cutting lots of money this year. Who knows what is going to happen...scary.
Other than that...Chris and I and some friends are going to northern CA in the end of June. That should be very fun. Tomorrow, Chris and I are going to the Twins game.
So...it is fun to hear from you all. Talk to you soon!
Breanna
This is kind of a random blog, but I just woke up...forgive me.

Hey Beauties!

Hello friends! I am SO glad March is over! Lent and Holy Week were much harder for me this year...not sure why, I think it was more personal than the actual tasks being any harder or time consuming. I'm still working on the middle school musical in EGF, but that's over in 2 weeks...yahoo! Otherwise-I'm daily challenged by my very argumentative 2-year-old-it took 5 tries to get her to bed tonight! And everything I say, for example "It's time to eat dinner!" is answered by "No, it is NOT time to eat dinner" and that is her response for everything I say! My mantra is "Its just a phase, its just a phase..." :)

So-at work I use this online meeting planner a lot-I have musicians fill it in so I know who is available from week-to-week. I thought it might help us land on a good weekend for the Festival, I agree that if it needs to be moved for the optimum amount of women to be there we should do that. I set up the Doodle to include all weekends in June and July (the dates listed are only Saturday-I figured you will all assume that the weekend could include Friday and Sunday too)...so fill in your info and we'll see what we get! :) http://www.doodle.ch/gw2p992aw8q6ihun

Hope we hear some more updates soon! Blog traffic has been light ladies!

Love to you all,

Elizabeth

A Wonderful Visit!!

Hi everyone!! How are all of you doing? Amanda, I have been thinking of you and how things are going being a working mom. How is your job? Are you enjoying your time away from mommy-land?
Speaking of mommy-land, Julia and I had the greatest visit up to Lake Park to meet Addyson Olivia Laux this week. An added bonus was getting to see Elizabeth and Micaela, too!! How exciting. Addyson is just the cutest little button, and of course, Lindsey is going a great job being a mommy. It was so fun to hold a little baby again!! :) Our visit was short and sweet, and now we're back in Wisconsin where the reality of going back to school tomorrow is not really very exciting at the moment. :)
Mr. Louie Lauer joined us for Easter last weekend!! It was soooo fun. He was on his way home from Gettysburg, PA, where his brother is currently living, so he made a pit-stop here on Friday night and we got to see him until Sunday afternoon!! It was so much fun. Louie is the same old Louie you will all be glad to hear. :)
So, the F-ing festival date that we have set is really the only one that will work for me, but that doesn't mean that you can't change it! As much as I'd love to see all of you, we should pick a weekend when MOST of us can come. Elizabeth had the idea to set up some sort of doodle or something on here so we could all give input... we'll have to see what that is when she gets to it, but it sounded helpful. :)
Well, not much else is new here...no news on the baby front here, which is sort of starting to bother me, but I am trying to be patient. I'm sure God knows what he's doing. :)
Anyway, I wish you all a great week!! Hopefully we'll be refreshed by the signs and smells of spring!!

Love you all,
Mandola

p.s. How strange/weird/freaky :) is it that like EVERYONE we know that is a Hoyum 7 mom has had girls? FUN, but a little weird, don't you think? :)

Not a good student.

I said Scanders taught me to add pictures, I never said I learned anything.

Set in Stone?

Is the weekend of June 14th for the F'ing Festival set in stone, or could that be changed to accomodate Miss Boerboom? What about the 7th? And, Scanders gave me a lesson in adding pictures to the blog - so here is my newest angel! (six months old already!!!) I'll add more next time I unload my camera!

P.S.

ONE MORE THING!

Mandola! The song "Falling Slowly" is one of my new FAVES!! I didn't realize that it had won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards!!! It is so amazingly beautiful and I could just sit and listen to it over and over again (ok, so sometimes I do because it is very comforting! :)). I have not yet seen the movie, but am looking forward to the next time we actually go to the video store so that we can rent it!

Thanks for the song, dear!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

Love,
SarahB

News from the southwestern corner of the state!

Hey all...

I haven't had anything too exciting to write as of late and therefore have just enjoyed reading more than writing in the blog...I do, however, have some news (both good and bad) to share with you.

The good news first: Seth got a new job! A GREAT job! He is now a Regional Sales Representative for USBank in Marshall and will be covering the Great Plains region, meaning we'll get to travel to exciting places like Iowa (ok, maybe not so exciting!) all the way down to Texas (SLIGHTLY more exciting!). There's more to the story surrounding how he came upon this position (he was approached by someone who currently works in that particular dept. who strongly suggested he apply b/c he would be a great fit!), but it gets to be very long and probably boring, so I'll just leave it at that. One of the reasons that this is very exciting is because it gives us a little bit more room to work with financially in the event that I would like to find a new job (SOON WOULD BE WONDERFUL!) and also in the case that we purchase a home..something we've been looking more seriously into recently.

The bad news next: I must admit that I've been procrastinating on telling you all this because it is indeed very sad. Seth and I will be in Estes Park, Colorado the weekend of June 13-15 for his best friend Jason's wedding. Jason and Lisa are some of our dearest friends (Jason was a groomsman in our wedding and he and Seth have been best buds since junior high) and Seth will be a groomsman in the wedding, while I will be singing for it. We are both SO excited about heading down there to be there for J and Lis, but I am SO INCREDIBLY SAD that I will not be able to be at this year's Fing Festival. :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:( I am not really even sure what else to add to this..I am just so sad and disappointed and I'm not sure that there's even a way to convey this over the blog. Just know that my heart hurts knowing I will not get to see all of you....:(:(:(

Other than those things..I LOVE keeping up on everyone's news with the blog..it's so great to read about the things going on in all of your lives! (I know I say that all the time, but I MEAN IT!) I think of each and every one of you often..I love you all so much.

SarahB

Chicken BBQ

Hello Amanda and all the ladies,

Here is the BBQ Chicken recipe from the F'n festival 2007! I'm almost certain I found it online and probably used a converter to get the recipe for a large group, because these are huge amounts! So, use your judgment if you're not serving this for many, many people. :)

6 chicken breasts
4 1/2 c. ketchup
9 TBL brown sugar
3 TBL Worcestershire sauce
3 TBL soy sauce
3 TBL cider vinegar
3 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

mix all ingredients in crock pot, add chicken last. cook on high 3-4 hours, then shred/cut chicken (I remember mandy and I thinking shredding the chicken would have been easier doing before it got all messy in the sauce, or you could just serve whole breasts)

And in response to Amanda's email-I think the camping sounds lovely! I did a camping trip with some friends over Labor Day and with some online sign-ups it was easy and no one had to bring a lot of stuff/food. I don't think location will be a problem for us either.

I brought Micaela into Urgent Care (after a VERY long day at church) because she has pink eye and a nasty viral cough and runny nose...gross! So, we're having a slow morning so I can decide about taking her to day care or not. Mandy-I told Micaela that Julia is using the potty and somehow she thinks I said we are going to Julia's house...we've had a few temper tantrums about that! :) I told her we'll see Julia when Lindsey's baby comes...hurry up baby laux! Scanders-my emotions are frustrated...Lent cannot be over soon enough for me, just a lot of miscommunication and mistakes (mostly, mine)! I actually really like Holy Week and then I feel like I can finally breathe come Easter. 2 more weeks....

Leap Day

Preface: It's after midnight and I've just had a fair amount of beer, so if I seem less coherent than normal, you will know why.

This week has been filled with lots of different emotions. School is fine, but I'm struggling with being excited with being purely academic. I continually look for more ways to have balance in my life (b/n school and the 'real world').

This week a friend from Kenya brother died. She's here and he's there, I can't imagine what it would be like to be so far away. They've uncovered that he was chemically poisoned...how awful!

One of my housemate's dad went into the hospital on Tuesday, and it looks like he's not going to get better. Their diagnoses are inconclusive at this point, and she is feeling unsure if she should travel home or not. Like me, her parents went through a divorce at a young age and she (like me) still struggles with some of the issues around that and the relationship with her dad.

On the flip side, I had the best time in a long time from 7-10 tonight. Because it's Leap Day (who really notices the extra day?), Student Services planned a campus wide Game Night. Staff, students, and faculty convened in the library to play a variety of games from Cranium to Catch Phrase to Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Pictionary, Taboo, cards, Bingo, Scattergories, and more. It was such a fun time! I think I will try to intiate this event more than once every four years.

Where have your emotions been? Do tell! Take care my wonderful friends!

Gall bladders, sunburns and blizzards...oh, my!

Hello my friends! I just got back from a week-long vacation in Austin, TX where my dear friend Annie lives. The adventure began before I even left-the plan was to pack on Tuesday night and leave Wednesday after work. Well, Tuesday I wasn't feeling well and all day I had this pain in my stomach that was getting worse and worse...after putting Micaela to bed I drove to the ER to find out I was having a gall bladder attack! After an ultra sound the Doc. said I had to have it out and I fell apart...then he said "Calm down, you can go to Texas and have it out when you come back!" So, with strong drugs in hand...I went home. Mandy and Scanders..the ER just isn't the same without you.

In Texas Annie had all these great ideas of fun things to do-we did a yoga class in a coffee house, took a Brazilian dance workshop, went to the Obama Rally, hit some really fun bars, took a hike, watched a really bad movie in a bar-movie theater (so cool!) went kayaking on Town Lake in 80 degree weather (that's where the sunburn came from), ate at all the best local spots (we both avoid franchise dining at all costs) and most wonderfully I reconnected with my amazing Annie. Annie and met in kindergarten and have been B/F/F ever since (yes, we still use that term) I think had I gone to visit her 2 years ago we would have been too different and not enjoyed the same kind of things. But, God has so lined the stars of our lives up-because this was just the most amazing trip with the most amazing friend. The travel home was a disaster with a blizzard in Chicago delaying my flights, so I didn't reach Minneapolis until 2am. Matthew came and picked me up so I slept in his attic for a few hours so I could drive home. This wouldn't have been so awful except I hadn't slept or eaten and there were SQUIRRELS running through the ceiling right over my head. He assured me they couldn't get in, but nothing is comforting at 4 am when you just want to sleep.

So, yesterday picking up Micaela after not seeing her for 6 days was the MOST FUN THING IN THE WORLD! She gave me the greatest, longest hug and continued to hold me hand or hug me all evening long. Sigh...I'm in love.

I hope you've enjoyed my story. I also will cast my vote for the camping in June! Sounds perfect! Love you all!

Elizabeth

Recipes

I love to cook and I love to try new recipes! (and lucky or unlucky for you, I love to share them!) I've had a fun couple of days and wish to pass the recipes on to you ... maybe this will be something I can contribute to the blog from time to time....call me Martha! :)

Chicken - Rice Taco Toss

1 lb chicken breasts, chopped (raw)
2 Tbls butter
2 C water
2 C Salsa
1 Can Whole Kernal Corn, drained
1 pkg chicken flavored rice

Saute the rice in the butter until golden brown. Add - water, salsa, chicken, corn and season packet from the rice. Bring to boil, simmer 10-20 minutes, until rice is tender, chicken is cooked and most of the liquid is gone. (cover for the first 10 minutes, then uncover to evaporate excess liquid)

To serve - place a small bed of shredded lettuce on each plate. Top with chicken mixture - then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped tomato and guacamole or sour cream and finish off with crushed corn chips.

The whole family loved it!

Then - when your sweet tooth kicks in - you HAVE GOT to try this super healthy and DECEPTIVELY DELICIOUS muffin!

1 pkg lowfat brownie mix
3 cups All Bran Original cereal
2 1/2 Cups water
1 1/2 t baking powder

Soak the cereal in water for 5 minutes. Add powder and brownie mix and mix well. Place in paper lined muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. These are delicious and only 120 calories, 1.75 g fat and 3 grams of fiber!!! Wahoo! Happy cooking everyone!

Congrats Amanda!

Congratulations on the new job, Amanda! Sometimes some of the best things just fall from the sky, or through the telephone.

Tomorrow will be the fourth day of the new semester and I'm already behind on my reading. This is not something I'm particularily proud of, but it happens. I completely misjudged the amount of reading I have due tomorrow for my pastoral care class (160 pages instead of 80, yes that's twice as much). And the funny thing about it is that we haven't even met as a class yet, tomorrow will be our first day. I've noticed that's common practice however. I'm not sure if that's a grad school thing, or something unique to the institution I currently attend.

Friday I had an interesting experience with a friend from Nigeria. He asked me to bring him to Brooklyn Park (a NW suburb) because he had accidently purchased two different sizes of shoes. I agreed that I could drive him and asked if he knew where it was. This is how our conversation went:
Sarah: Do you know where it (the store) is?
Festus: You don't know where Brooklyn Park is?
S: Yes, I know where it is, but where is the store?
F: Oh, you just go to Brooklyn Park, and it's right by the traffic light.
S: Do you know which traffic light?
F: Yeah, it's the second one.

Fortunately I got on the right street with the right set of traffic lights, and we were able to find the African market that was tucked away, bearly noticeable to those no familiar with the location. However, once inside I became aware the small store was frequently visited. I imagine there were 25-30 Africans there knowing exactly what they wanted and I was the lone white girl poking my nose around at all the different items. The afternoon with Festus progressed with some more unique experiences that I believe can only be had with an international individual. It's invaluable to be able to have the continued experiences with people from different cultures than our Western society which is so dominating.

In response to Amanda's proposal for camping at the Fing Festival, I'm all for it!!! I'm really for anything because I just like hanging out with all you lovely ladies as long as children is not the only topic of discussion. :)

How's everyone else doing?

Changes

Hello all! I know I haven't written in a very long while - but, here I am now! Life in Erhard is very exciting these days! First to update you on the offspring - Ella is in preschool this year and is loving it. Her teacher refers to her as "the little mother" - apparently, she's quite a caregiver to her classmates. She's four and acts fourteen - saying things like "it's like totally your turn dad" when playing Sorry with her dad. And oh - "whoa baby - way to go dad!" Also, while playing games with dad. She's a great help around the house - she's begs to wash the dishes all by herself. Don't be too jealous - I don't have a dishwasher, so she's the closest thing I have to relief in the kitchen! :) Oh, Marie - there's something about Marie. That kid is the funniest bunny in bunny town! She talks up a storm, but at the same time she has this real quiet goofiness to her - she's mischief all right! When the house gets quiet, mommy PANICS. Seriously. And baby Grace is growing up too quickly! She's rolling and getting her first tooth as we speak.
Now - on to ma and pa. Kevin drove 22 hours in a truck with three buddies to Texas to hunt wild boar. Yikes. He was gone for 10 days and had a WONDERFUL trip! Many a stories came home with him - however, no pig. On the other hand - my husband is currently locating a very special taxidermist. One who could mount an ARMADILLO. Yes - I am the proud owner of a Texas Armadillo! And some people think we're just a bunch of rednecks here east of Erhard!
And as for me - I have some major changes taking place in my life. Last Monday - I received a phone call informing me that a bank in Pelican was interested in interviewing me for a position as a personal banker. At first I sort of laughed, because I have it pretty good right now home with the kids and teaching lessons. But - after much MUCH deliberation, I decided to interview for it and they offered me the job. After much MUCH more deliberation, I accepted it! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So - long story short, I'm going to be done teaching lessons at the end of this month and start at the bank on Scanders birthday. I don't know 100% that I'm ready for this, but it's too good of an opportunity not to at least give it a try. I'm ready to stake a claim as a woman and not JUST a mom - being a mom is the most important thing in my life - but to able to separate myself from that and the puke that I have running down my back 10 out of every 12 hours each day is something that I'm ready for. So - this is an adventure that I'm very excited about! Big changes here!
My other big change is my adventure to capture health! I have discovered a workout video that I absolutely love and has got me walking my butt off! It's Leslie Sansone - walk away the pounds! I have to say, it has worked wonders, and it's really fun! I've walked about 200 miles in my home since Grace was born! It's helped me to lose all the baby weight, but even more importantly, I know I'm doing something for my health! I have so much energy and I feel so good! I encourage you to try it! The best part - Ella does it with me - so she's learning the importance of exercise! She has fun doing it - and likes to think she's better than me at marching in place! It's great!
Anyway - I need to get my butt off to bed! I hope all is well with everyone - it's fun to check this blog out from time to time and see what everyones up to! We are looking forward to the F'n Festival too! I know I'm still fairly new to this whole thing - but I have one thought to share! What about a seriuos campout? Like, hit a state park ( there's a great one right here! ) - we have a camper and we could teach the kids to pitch a tent! I'm talking - cook our meals outside with all the bugs and coon and roast marshmallows before bedtime! You probably are cringing at the thought, but if you're not - let me know! :)

Once

Hi girls!  

   Okay, so last weekend, David and I saw the movie "Once" and it was so good.  I had never heard of it, and at first I was crabby that he came home with some weird movie but it was GREAT!!  The music is incredible.  I KNOW that all of you will love it, so it is now your assignment to go get this movie.  :)   If you YouTube the words "Once: Falling Slowly"  you will hear my favorite song from the whole movie.  It makes me want to cry it is so beautiful. :)   WATCH IT!!

   Okay, that's it.  I hope that all of you Minnesotans are going to caucus on Tuesday.  I did it last time and it was FUN!! :)  It might seem a little scary, but its cool to hear what people think.  I encourage all of you to try it.  You will learn something! :)

Okay, those are my two plugs for the night.  I love you and miss you all.  Watch the movie. 

Love,

  Mandy

    

The Vonderful Visit!

Hey beautiful babes! Today in East Grand Forks it is -15, but with windchill it feels like -32! There is an advisory to not go outside for long periods of time...WHO LIVES LIKE THIS? So, I'm holed up with Micaela all day today...yikes. We had a great time travelling to Packer-land with Lindsey. I was nervous for the long drive, but both ways were easy and went pretty fast! I borrowed a DVD player for the car from a friend and I have to say it saved my life! After the sun went down we just popped in a movie and had smooth sailing.

It was very fun to watch the 2-year olds bonding-here are a couple more pictures. Its really sad we didn't get any pics of the three grown up girls! :)

So, in our many hours in the car, Lindsey and I were brainstorming about the F'n festival. And here was our thought...what if we did like a Como Park/Zoo party? And then get a couple of extended stay hotel rooms (With a pool) near by? It would mean a little more $$ but if we filled the rooms to capacity, it really wouldn't be so bad. Then we'd have enough room for everyone, and kitchens for cooking if needed. We'd have kid space...and more importantly NON-kid space and there would be no planning/pressure on anyone.

That's just one idea-if someone would like to plan something more eleborate...that could work too!

Okay, time for lunch! Hope you're all staying warm! Mwah!

e

The Vonderful Visiters :)

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post a quick one here and show you the fun times had by all last weekend here in Green Bay. :) Elizabeth, Micaela, and Lindsey made the rediculously long trip out here and we had a great time!! Micaela and Julia got along so well. They had fun playing, as you can see. They pretended to be puppies, chased Elizabeth into the bathroom, make brownies, and laughed and laughed. Their conversations were something to listen to. :)
Anyway, I hope that you are all doing well!!! It is going to SNOW her tomorrow, enough for a potential snow day. I'm crossing my fingers. :) Have a great rest of the week. Are you going to cheer for the Packers this weekend? I am! Don't knock it! Its exciting!! :)

Love you ladies very much,
Mandola

Looking back, looking ahead

Looking back:

I had a nice time in St. Louis, MO visiting Matt, Sarah, and Katherine. I think I shocked everyone when I told them I didn't want to have kids. No, I wasn't going for the shock effect, but it's interesting when everyone thinks that it's a common goal to have children. It's good to clear the air. This however doesn't mean it might not happen some day. I did have a lot of fun with Katherine; I look forward to their move to MN in August and my potential move to St. Louis in May. (I'll keep you updated.)

Looking ahead:

The 3rd annual Friends, Fun, and Frolic Festival falls on the weekend of June 13-15. Mark your calendars! We had a great turnout last year and we can only hope for just as much action this year.