Thompson's tornado

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day 2011 was a very wonderful, relaxing weekend. It started out on Friday night with my little 7 year old, coming home from school bubbling with excitement. She had a present for Mom all wrapped in green tissue paper and a handmade card with envelope. She wanted me to open it right away. It was a beautiful flower arrangement! What a nice gift. Yesterday, my hubby and sons dedicated the whole day to me and we did a whole bunch of yard cleanup. That was another wonderful present. It ended with s'mores around a campfire. Today Linda Griswold came for our meeting, brought me some more gifts along with the signed card my kids gave. My hubby took us out to dinner and stopped at a few of my favorite greenhouses on the way home. I love to browse and get ideas for my garden.

A lovely holiday weekend is planned.

2011-04-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

I am back in blog land for the moment. My hubby said he has been really missing our blog. So much going on in our life but we have no record of it. It has been months since we have had a weekend where we didn't have something going on on a Saturday. I'm thinking maybe it was in October of last year. Today was wonderfully free to relax and enjoy our home.
Every year we have religious holidays that I struggle with. Holidays that are of religious orgin that are legal holidays and big celebrations. Many of the traditions are wrapped around ancient pagen traditions that if it wasn't for google, we wouldn't even know those orgins. I celebrate Christ's birth, death and resurrection each day of my life, and wonder how Santa Clause and the Easter bunny got all wrapped up in that. Traditionally, don't celebrate these holidays the way others do and yet there crafts that we don't get to do other times of the year. Today the children and I dyed some eggs for the first time. The girls thought it was a great time and Drew even blew out a few eggs for Mom to color. Most of the eggs will end up as deviled eggs so I had to take a few pics so the girls record of the day we dyed eggs.

Hansen's house.

2010-11-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

My niece and family, Jen and Travis Oyler were home from Montana for a couple days, so last night we snuck up to Tammy and Bryce Hansens, to see them and celebrate Tammy's 40th birthday early. It was an awesome surprise. Tammy was surprised to see us. but was really surprised that Bryce pulled off the party without her having any idea. It worked out perfectly that their foreign exchange student needed to be picked up from her day outing 15 minutes before the party was to begin. I rode with her and when we came home 30 minute later the driveway was full of cars. To think she was planning a quite night with family.

2010-11-14T19:11:00.001-08:00

Fargo, ND Land O' Lakes Barbershop Contest

2010-11-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

On October 23rd Dale's two choruses competed to on the Land O Lakes District stage in Fargo. His West Allis Chorus "Heart of Harmony" competed an proved they are well worth the commute for rehearsals as they were the class A Champions and came very close to making internationals. I will post the video of their competions pieces for anyone that is interested.

Catching up with June! Week One & Two

2010-07-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

They were just a excited to head out on the following Sunday night to see their sis, and bro-in-law in Arvada. It was our first time to see their house that they bought last year. It is very compact and cute. Dale's sis Deb and Gary came up from California and met us there. We spent our time doing some projects for Autumn, me, gardening, Gary with a little help from Dale did some general maintenance work and put in a new light fixture.

The guys went hiking and the ladies went shopping. We all went down to Boulder and watched some street performers. There was the guy who put 3 kids(two of mine) in a 20X20X20 box and than put the himself in there. He also put himself folded in half though this small barrel. He definately had the most inspiring street performance that we saw.

Thursday we took the kids to Heritage Square Amusment Park. The older kids spent the most time on the grand prix cars and the little girls enjoyed all the other rides. Friday, Dale and I were off for a night in Colorado Springs. We did some site seeing in Manitou Springs Friday and spent Saturday site seeing in Cripple Creek.

Days fly by and turn to weeks, and thus our future disappears into our past. I started this blog as a way of journaling my history and if I stop, so will my recorded history stop. Time to update the month of June. The first week of June was busy with end of school activities. Field trips, awards ceremonies and the kindergarten circus. Chantel was the balance beam girl and unfortunately as cute as the circus was and as good as Chantel was, my camera didn't cooperate and the battery died and I only got the beginning on video. I embedded the video for those that want to see it. I went on a field trip with the kindergarten class the following Monday and the very same night left on a 3 week vacation to Colorado.
The first stop was to our annual church convention in Nebraska. It was real nice to get many precious things there and seen some special friends that we get to see there. It was incredibly rainy so I didn't take many pics there.The kids have a good time and always want to go back the next year.

The End of School is Almost Here!

2010-06-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

The school year is almost here. I can hardly wait and am so looking forward to having the kids around and the relaxing lifestyle of summers at the Thompson house. We go to bed later, get up later, eat breakfast when we are hungry and no hurry scurry trying to get everyone out of the house in shifts in the morning. I homeschooled for 15 years and can't say I have ever liked the school routine. Plus the elementary schools seem to think we have nothing better to do than attend school functions. The end of year stuff is extremely crazy and tonight was not exception with Chantel having a circus performance at 6:00 and Drew having an awards ceremony at 6:30. Dale drops Chantel, Summer and I off at the elememtary school, runs Drew and Beau over to the Junior High and races back for the Circus. Of course I discover that one of my kids unplugged the battery from the charger, so I started filming the circus to share and the battery promptly died. Chantel did an awesome job being the "balance beam girl" and the circus was extremely cute. I wish I was able to share more of it.My cell phone pics didn't really turn out well. The Circus concluded for us to race over to the other school in time to see Drew get several awards for Art and Outstanding student. Two more days of school left, a field trip to Circus World and another school year will be completed. Yay!!!

Remembering the Price of Freedom.

2010-05-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to create a blog to honor the men and women of the armed forces, who have paid the price to keep us free. Some have sacrificed their life, while others have sacrificed their youth and innocence. We thank them for what they have given up so we can have the freedom we have today. This memorial day I wanted to especially remember and honor my father, Ervin Lange who served 3 years in Africa and Europe during World War II. He survived gunfire, sand-fly fever and malaria to come home and raise a family, even though his innocence was lost in the war. He lived many years with the memories and left the tales untold. Years later, in a time of deep reflection, he was finally able to share some of the stories, that had stayed dormant for decades. I also wish to remember our cousin Rachel Bosveld who paid the ultimate price, in 2003 when she was the first woman from Wisconsin to lose her life in Iraq. I think those that spent time with Rachel said it best.
At the Heart of Harmony Chorus concert this spring, a segment was done to honor our nation's military. There were tears as the audience watched men and women who served stand to their feet when they heard their fight song. Pride was in their faces as they remembered what their military service meant to them. We were also proud as our good friend Wayne Lepak stood to his feet. Please sit back and enjoy this musical interlude while you remember those who have served to keep us free! Remember Freedom isn't Free.

Friday Evening Wedding.

2010-05-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

Our weekends are booking up fast this summer. Tonight we has a wedding of Eva Schmidt, a daughter of local family we have been friends with for years. We home-schooled our children and shared learning activities, socialization, and the highs and lows of life. This summer the two youngest daughters will be getting married. For Autumn and others who may be interested I will post the links here along with a few pictures. The first video is of the father of the bride singing
How Beautiful. Later the bride's brother and sister sang
When You Say You Love Me. Then there was the
bubbletime .

Here is the Slide show

Summer Time Activities kick in Gear

2010-05-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

Tis that season again. Wedding,graduation & vacation season started off with the Hope Lodge Gala dinner in Marshfield. It was a fundraiser for what is currently the only Hope Lodge in Wisconsin. Hope Lodge, Marshfield, is a place where cancer patients stay for free while undergoing treatment for cancer. The fundraiser started with a silent auction and hors d'oerves, followed by a dinner and a live auction. It was real amazing to see 4 tickets to a Wisconsin Badger game go for $3350.00. It was wonderful to see the people with abundance open their hearts and wallets to help a program that provides for people in great distress. This program is dear to our hearts as our dear Uncle Roy and Aunt Audrey spent many nights there with Uncle Roy's cancer.

We have a wedding this weekend. Graduations memorial day weekend and the following week and vacation after that. I should have plenty of blogging material. I just need to take the time to post it.

Kids say the darndest things.

2010-04-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

.....and then there is Chantel who started off the day in a real mood this mornng. The icing on the cake was after she refused breakfast and shut herself in the bathroom. I hear a bunch of wailing going on, so I opened the door. There she is on top of the counter, looking at herself in the mirror and wailing while she is brushing her hair. I calmly asked her what the the problem was. Her reply was " I'm having a bad hair day." Now mind you this is a 6 year old. I am guessing the teenage years will be a real treat......(not)

Fun and Music

2010-04-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a little time for us to get away. Dale performed with his barbershop chorus in West Allis and we were pleasantly surprised when some of our friends from that area showed up. We were back home for Sunday and had a chance to catch up on the relaxation and a had a little chat on the phone with our friend in Kiev.

Wrestling

2010-04-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a big weekend with wrestling for the boys, barbershop contest for Dale and the best of all, special meeting on Sunday. Some of the family members have been requesting some video of our events so I will post them our link them, which ever works. Our younger boys saw that there was a old-timers tournament and convinced Dane to put on his headgear and kneepads one more time so they could actually appreciate his skills, now that they are old enough to understand. He had two matches and one both of them. One was close and was against a practice partner of one this years state champs and Dane won 2-1. The second match was against Jordan Hermann who was an all southeast conference winner this spring. That is the match I have on video.

Dale's West Allis Heart of Harmony 1st in their Land O'Lakes district contest. They had higher numbers that they have had in the past and are real hopeful they can qualify for internationals in the fall. He really enjoys singing with this group of guys who really love the competition.

Summer in March.

2010-04-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

We have just finished the most awesome March ever in Wisconsin history. Unseasonably high temperatures and and beautiful dry spring. Now we are waiting for the rain to come and green everything up. Daffodils are blooming and tulips are on the way! I have some really nice pictures of our weekend with Autumn and Phil who were home from Colorado.
Beau place 3rd in wrestling at USA Wrestling State Kids State. Dave and Virgina Goodlaxson joined us in Madison for Friday night and Saturday. We came home for Sunday and celebrated some birthday's. We appreciated the family time together and were sad to see Autumn and Phil go back.

Dale did a wood floor and built a staircase this week. One of our former customers did a people search on Dale, as he wanted more work done. Suddenly two more of our former customers want things done to their floors also. It should make for a nice summer. Check out the pics of the stair case in progress and the finished product. Blaise was home on spring break so we trained him at the store. He caught on amazingly fast and was by himself for four days. We will be glad to have him this summer so we can take a vacation. This meant that I was up in Marshfield all week. I am so happy to be off today, because my hubby worked so hard to get done, so I could spend one day with my kids on spring break.

Beautiful March, 2010

2010-03-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

The weather has been terrific for March. Unseasonably warm, balmy and dry and we will enjoy every minute. Yet, we know that all beautiful weather is not good for us. It won't be too long before we will be crying for rain as it is necessary for planting and bringing forth new growth. I think I just had a lesson there. My crocuses have dutifully sprung up with an early sign of spring. We have had as big a social life as we have had working life lately so not much time for blogging. Every evening is full. We are looking forward to Autumn and Phil coming this weekend so we a looking to be getting together with some people. Drew took 4th at a National Wrestling Tournament held last weekend. Drew also took first at the Art Olympic competion so will be going to State on April 9th. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of his sculpture of a soldier before it was entered into the competition. It probably had something to do with him finishing it late the night before it was due. I was sleeping when he finally got it finished.I hosted a small dinner party the other night at my in-laws new house. I had water problems so it was nice to have an extra place to go to. Fortunately, our water issues were easy enough to fix on Monday.

The Ides of March arrives along with Spring!

2010-03-14T20:01:00.001-07:00

Yay, it felt very spring-like today. The kids were playing on the swings, playing soccer and riding bikes. We had another big weekend. Friday night was a big birthday bash for Dave Ramsden's 50th birthday. I only got one picture of the old boy with red eyes but it will have to do. Notice his healthy birthday cake as he has a gripe about how unhealthy birthday cake is. We had a great time getting together with the group of former 1970's teens. LOL. It was just as much fun 30 years later, as it was then. It was encouraging to see the growth in their lives and realize that many of us still have the same goal. Uncle Milton Ramsden had a 75th birthday today, also. Beau wrestled yesterday at Regionals and placed 1st so will be heading to WWF Kids State tournament on March 26th. Dean and Kathy Ramsden had their annual rook tournament this weekend so we went down and spent last evening there when we were done with Saturday activities. Our day today was awesome with two meetings and just vegging the rest of the day. Neither Dale or I get to do that very much. This post was written on the 14th and never posted so it is a little old.

A nice quiet Saturday...........

2010-02-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year, where I have to buckle down and do some serious bookkeeping so we can get our taxes done. I don't like this time of year at all but am grateful that I have that deadline to actually catch everything up once a year. Today my family is of playing while I am working so I will post some photos from last October when Autumn and Phil were home. Notice that we even get the son-in-law in the act of making Sunday dinner. Than there is the male bonding time on the couch in 2009. Don't forget, Chantel pretending she is Hannah Montana, so Beau had to join her as a backup singer.
Next Tuesday my youngest and oldest children, will have their birthdays and will be 6 and 27 respectively. This will be the first time in a long time that we have not ate cake for both of them at the same time. Happy Birthday, Kent and we are sorry we don't get to celebrate with you this year! We have a lot of other things going on on Tuesday so we celebrated Chantel's birthday on Thursday night with one set of grandparents. We will probably have another small celebration next Wed. so the birthday will last longer. If this allows me to I will post a video of Dale's chorus singing at the funeral of the wife of one of his barbershop friends. The quality of the video is not so good as I was in the back of the room and it was my little camera but the sound wasn't bad considering it was in a sound deadening funeral chapel. The hubby who is a very good friend of Dale's, sang with the chorus, and I think it was a really good release for him.

2010-01-16T19:07:00.001-08:00

The Fourteen Days of Christmas

2010-01-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

2009 Holiday season was very busy. We didn't plan anything big but spent our vacation running here and there trying to fill the time. We had a awesome holiday season even though bad weather changed some of our plans. Christmas eve. We didn't go to the parents because of bad weather. Instead we got together with some of our friends at a motel in Plover. We did have a good time. Sunday we headed to La Crosse for a large wrestling tournament. It was awesome and Wisconsin Rapids again proved they are one of the top teams in the nation by out scoring their nearest opponent by about 270 points. Considering, that it was a 56 team tournament that was quite a feat. We got home at midnight on Wed. and turned around to go to Prairie Farm by the Hansen's and spend some quality time with my two nieces and their families. They had a large New Year's get-together at the school for New Years Eve. We came back from there for Sunday and spent Sunday and Mom and Dad Thompson's Wisconsin Rapids house. They both had siblings there for the weekend so we got to have a little visit with the aunts and uncles also.I have a lot more pictures but had to send the laptop away for repair, so will upload more when I get the software I need to upload directly from my camera. Keep checking back for more pics later.

2010-01-07T19:43:00.001-08:00

Let's see......Christmas rush already?

2009-12-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

We December is upon us and with it an increase for a few weeks of our shipping. The good news is, that we have become much more efficient with all us having 3 or more years with experience at Christmas time. The worst line we had today was four deep which is very minimal for Christmas time. The above pictures are of us at the end of a long week. We all fell asleep before we made it up to bed on Saturday evening. Drew snapped a picture. I had to chuckle as Chantel and I fell asleep first, and when I woke up at 11:00 PM, no one else had made it up to bed either. Looks like someone was kind enough to tuck Daisy in, though.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

2009-11-26T19:50:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed our time at my in-laws new Wisconsin Rapids home. Yesterday I had a wonderful surprise when my cousin Caroline stopped into the store for a visit. She was on her way to visit her family, and they were staying at the motel right next door. I was thrilled to see her. Today we had a small crowd as none of my married nieces could make it, Autumn & Phil were missing along with a brother and two sisters-in-law. We did miss them. It was a good thing we had so many kids. It is still a party even if people don't show up. Nineteen was a small crowd and I made way too much stuffing. I will post a few pics for those of you that couldn't be there.

2009-11-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a lot is going on, life is exciting and then there are the other times. Life is busy and other than work and the day to day tasks, there is not a lot of excitement. We need those times to catch our breath for the roller coaster ride ahead. The last 2 weeks have all work and not much play. When there are people without work, we won't complain. We had a great weekend with Autumn and Phil, two weeks ago. Dale missed out on a lot of it, because his barbershop harmony choruses had competition. They placed 5th and 7th, so out of 21 groups, both choruses had a respectable finish. The fifth place group, was a 24 man chorus competing with 60+ man Choruses, so really that finish was more than respectable. I didn't attend so I could have some one on one time with my oldest daughter. That was wonderful!! The kids had a great time playing board games and Uno with their BIL and sister. Those kind of games haven't been played in a long time so it was new fun, again!

Looking forward to the next 3 weeks.

2009-10-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

We had awesome days at convention, but were fully tested with sick kids in the following three weeks. There wasn't much for pics to post with kids looking at the toilet, lying in bed with high fevers, and the worst of it was Summer had hives from head to foot for 10 days.The pictures of Summer were before her hives peaked. We had two trips to urgent care and 3 to the doctor. Finally we are better and are looking forward to Autumn and Phil coming home this coming week. Dale has his district barbershop competition and the kids have vacation at the end of the month. I am looking forward to it all.
I spent yesterday making good on a promise that I made to a friend of ours 3 years ago, two months before we bought our second store. It was to scrapbook a wedding album and I had no idea how life would change for me in such a short time. I just spent the whole day getting it done so that I could finally give it to these friends. One more thing off the check list.
Our kids had fun carving pumpkins his week. Dale saw some huge pumpkins at festival and just had to buy some. He was going to help carve them but only did half of it. I wound up helping the little ones cut their drawing out.
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Awesome Family time.

2009-09-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

We had some awesome days at our annual conventions. We were real happy to have a little family time on the weekend of Menominee. It was beautiful weather and the scenery with the leaves turning was wonderful. All the wealth of spiritual help we received was the highlight of our weekend. It was really nice to see friends from far who were able to make it back, and that included our Autumn and Phil. We had a little family time when we went out for lunch on Sunday.

Happy 25th Birthday, Autumn.

2009-09-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Twenty-five years ago we had our first darling baby girl. It is hard to believe that much time has passed. She was our favorite daughter for a long, long time so she had to learn to keep up with the boys. We have many precious memories of those years so I am going to share a few pictures. P.S. Autumn, I did get this done before midnight...it's 11:37 PM. ;)

Life's changing.

2009-09-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a very strange day. For the first time in 26 years I sent my littlest one off to school and was left at home all by my lonesome. Also for the first time in 15 years, I now have only four kids living at home. To all you younger moms, tied at home going stir crazy.....remember this too shall pass. I had 15 years that I was able to be there for my kids, homeschool and all and I am grateful for those days. I do miss them and yet am looking forward to a different phase of life now. Our business has absorbed so much of my time that the fun went out of homeschooling for me. The little ones are enjoying school and the older ones needed the discipline of it so in the fall off to school they go. Fortunately I do like the school system here, so that made the decision a lot easier.

Happy 29th Wedding Anniversary to my darling Hubby!

2009-08-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

Wow. Twenty-nine years today!! It really has been a dance! I have to say, it has not been dull or boring. We both look forward to the new adventures ahead.

2009-08-07T21:25:00.001-07:00

2009-08-07T20:19:00.001-07:00

On to August........

2009-08-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

July went by in a blurr. We so busy, it was a shock to find out that I had about 500 pics to download to the computer. Needless to say there are a ton that need to be deleted. I take lots of pics to get just the right ones, but it makes a lot of work to delete them. The 3rd weekend of July is always the state waterski tournement which is a time to enjoy the water, the grace and the beauty of state water show skiing competition. The teams lay it all out as they are trying to compete to go to national which is this weekend in Janesville. Mad City won the tournament again with a terrific show. We are always looking for visitors to come and spend a weekend with us that weekend as it is a really good time. Mark your calenders for next year.
One Sunday afternoon we took the kids to the Yellow River where they could catch crayfish to their hearts content. Last Sunday we took them to the Sandhill Nature Center for a hike and a tower climb. We work hard all week but try to enjoy what we can of our short summer on the weekend.
One of our more recent treats was a trip up the Chain of Lakes by Waupaca. Dale has a friend who he sings with, that has a home on the chain. We took his pontoon boat up the chain of 7 lakes, had a very nice dinner together at the other end and returned via the chain back to his home. It was very relaxing and a nice break from work.

Jeske Family Reunion 2010

2009-07-29T05:04:00.001-07:00

I have scheduled a Jeske Family reunion for July 3rd 2010 for those of you who want to plan ahead. If anyone want the details, email me or sign my guestbook.

2009-07-14T20:30:00.001-07:00

Bay Beach with the Kids

2009-07-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

July 7th, while I was off with Lynelle Sandon, Dale took the kids to Bay Beach Amusement Park. That is always a good time with the kids riding amusement rides until they are sick and tired of it. Lynelle and I met up with them at lunch so she could see the family for the first time in three years. After Bay Beach, Dale picked up an icecream cake and took it to Grandma Lange's to celebrate Summer's Birthday with Grandma.

Our summer is flying by!

2009-07-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

My older daughter reminded me that is has been almost a month since I have posted. I wish I could say that it was because I have been spending my summer in my garden and haven't been on the computer. Unfortunately, I have been putting a lot time and effort into our shipping business, so a lot of time has been spent indoors. As proof I offer a mini slide show of me actually working. My niece Avery Hansen was in the hospital in June for a bad asthma attack. She got some good medication and is doing really well for the first time in a long time. They flew her into Marshfield from Rice Lake and she was in ICU for several days. Tammy and Bryce were real happy with the care she received, so we like to hear postive feedback on our largest local medical facility. Summer had her 8th Birthday on July 7th. We had a little birthday party for her among all our busyness.

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Independance Day! Our July 4th weekend was full. Thursday evening we went down to Kelly and Rachel Jeske's campsite for supper. Friday evening we went for a potluck and Dean and Kathy's followed by Shermalot Waterski Show, and took Dean's boat and Kelly's pontoon out on the lake for a front row view of the fireworks. Saturday was spent doing some work around the place and running errands. We did enjoy the Wisconsin Rapids fireworks, as usual were fabulous on Saturday. Sunday we were in Lyndon Station and came home for a little R & R. Monday, I went up by Door County to pick up Lynelle S. who was with her family for the week. We spent the day together and spend the night at the Fonders' in Milwaukee. Tuesday morning I raced home to do a small birthday party for Summer. And the merry-go-round keeps going...

2009-06-27T21:40:00.001-07:00

Life without Kids

2009-06-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, two weeks without kids. When one has been busy with kids for 26 years, it was a real shock to be with only one grown child hanging around home. Here is a small sample of what we've done to keep ourselves busy.
Week 1:
Monday -Spent the day traveling home from Antioch. Shipped home a $30 package of convention clothes from Kearney as Phil and Autumn had our van, kids and all the sleeping stuff. We had clothes and 5 people to fit into a Ford Focus and not enough room for what we needed. Got home at 12:30am on Tuesday:
Day two: Discovered we had two suitcases left over after everyone got their stuff out of the car. Dale had loaded two of the Jelineks suitcases along with all ours. Oh yes........ Tuesday started witha chiro appt and headed to checked on our Marshfield store,we visited my niece Avery Hansen who was us in Marshfield Hospital after a bad asthma attack and Uncle Roy Papendorf who is having cancer treatments.
Day 3 Checked our other store and did some shopping.
Days 4 Painted house in living room. Dale is missing the kids.
Day 5 Among other things moved the chairs for gospel meeting. While eating grits, Dale states that he misses his grits girls.
Saturday: Dale and I spent the day in the Dells. We went and got as old-time picture taken in the Dells. What and experience!! We got there and they asked what kind of background we wanted. I thought the car was cool so picked that for the background. I totally missed the fact that it was an 1930's gangster theme. They get Dale all decked out in picstrip suite, red shirt, white tie. Than they pull out the dresses in my size, tell me to put one on. It was a spaghetti strap sheath with fringes HMMMMM... I walk out of the dressing room they throw a feather boa around my shoulders, a feather thingee on my head and to top it off, a nice 3ft. long string of pearls around my neck. "Ah....do you have anything a bit more conservative." Dale's eye were about popping out of his head. We found something slightly more conservative, and they put me on the hood of the car, and while they are posing Dale, I am pulling the high slit in my skirt together. I think I am ready for the picture and they plop a revolver in my hand, hand Dale a Tommy gun and start snapping pictures. It isn't bad but I don't think I want to post it on the internet. LOL
We visited Mt. Olympus, got tired of the crowds and wound up visiting Devils Lake, Mirror State Park and Natural Bridge State Park. By the way, I didn't plan on hiking Devil's Lake trails and wound up doing them barefooted. Dale said we will have to go back with the kids.....and than again maybe not. He admits he would be a nervous wreck when they decide to hang over the edge at Devils Lake.
Sunday: Meeting, Father's Day dinner and more meeting and moved chairs back.
This week: Monday work. Dale says " I really miss my kids"
Tuesday work. Dale-"The whole month will be gone by the time I see my kids"
Wednesday- Work, meeting, snack at Dean & Kathy's. Dale- "I don't like my kids being gone at all.....not everyone is like you and can be gone and not miss anyone."
Thursday: Work- Dale "I hate missing almost a month of my kids life." Get the picture?
Friday- Work 7:30am-9:00pm Come home, nap on deck in swing, while Dale's on the computer. Turn around and fall into bed. One long week. Oh and more about the kids. Today- spent some time at the Ramsden Reunion, came home, did some work and posting to blog. And now the comments about the kids are coming more urgently...like every hour. What a Dad!
I will post pics next chance I get.

2009-06-19T14:02:00.001-07:00

2009-06-19T13:50:00.001-07:00

2009-06-18T22:04:00.001-07:00

What's been going on?!!! It's been a month.

2009-06-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, lets see... Dean & Kathy R had a Rook tournement the last weekend of May. It was a ball and I will share some pictures. We had a sing on Saturday night and no one wanted to quit singing as it was so beautiful. I spent a lot of time working in my gardens as I increased the size of one by 100 %. It is so much fun now because I have lots of periennals that I can just dig and make more gardens. If anyone need some, just let me know. Right now I have some hostas and orange daylilles that need a home. Than I needed to catch up on bookwork so I could go on vacation. We just got back from Antioch, NE convention. We took 3 others in addition to our children, with us this year. Rebecca Halfacre, Zach Ramsden and Linda Griswold. We didn't get to see Mount Rushmore as it was hiding in the fog. We did get to see a lot of friends old and new at Antioch. All that we received there fill us with a very thankful spirit. It was really special to see some workers that were in my part when I was a child. Eleanor Sandoz and Sara Starns were in my part when I first professed. Clinton Goff was there when I entered my teen years. And Alfred Broady was there when Dale and I were just starting our family. I will post some pics from our trip and convention for your enjoyment.

2009-05-26T18:13:00.001-07:00

School is almost out!! Yea!!!!

2009-05-26T17:42:00.001-07:00

Spring is flying by and I am so excited that school is almost out. I really enjoy having a more relaxed structure in the summer and look so forward to it. I think I homeschooled too many years (15 to be exact)and dread school routine. I like the fact that we go to bed when it get dark and if the kids sleep in that if okay.
I spend so much outside when it gets nice out which is why I have not posted to my blog in a month. Wow, that is hard to believe but I can see it in the yard. I have increased the size of my gardens again to a litany of complaints from my kids about taking all their yard so they don't have anyplace to play soccer. I tell them to go play in the street. :) For those of you who may wonder at what kind of a mother I am, it is really not that bad. We live on the end of a cul de sac which does not have a lot of traffic. Grass does not grow well here without a lot of attention so I would prefer to give that attention to flowers. This year we have to mulch, so that is a lot of work. Saturday I worked in my gardens all day and than went and worked in the gardens at my in-laws new house. They have lots of nice perenials, so now I have more gardens to work in.
Memorial Day we attended the Elderon picnic. We had a great day of visiting and the kids loved the softball game they played. There was a nice size crowd and I'll share the pics on a photo show.

Welcome Spring!!!

2009-04-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung!! It isn't real warm but the flowers are blooming, I am turning over the dirt to make greater gardens and we are almost through the birthday cake until July. Yeah!!! We have birthdays once a month from January through may and we get really sick of cake. Beau, who made a quick entrance into this world with his Dad and mom's friends as witnesses, turned 12 last week. Next year he will be in junior high. Wow.
Now for the gardens. All winter I hibernate. When spring time comes it is time to plant. It must be because I came from a long line of farmers and peasants. Every year my kids cringe as there is a little less yard to play ball in and a little more gardens to get in the way. Dale has these fantasies about having a nice big vegetable garden, and I really get sick of fighting the weeds and the wild life. I decided that I am digging my flower garden bigger, moving the daylillies and irises to the outside and planting Dale's vegetables in the middle. My thinking is that the daylillies get pretty thick and will minimize the weeds. Wish me luck with this endeavor.
Oh yes and what would life be like without our latest Chantel picture! Again discovered when I download my pics.

Conversation with a five year old.

2009-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have heard that some parents have to get their teens in a car alone to have a decent coversation. I had a real interesting conversation with my five year old today.

Five year old: Mom, I have 3 boys that are in love with me. I am beautiful and the boys like me. (Mom's thinking that we need to work on a little humility here.)
Mom: Oh really, who are they?
Five year old: Brennen,the boy at the playground and Chloe's friend. They want to marry me. (pause) The boys all want to marry me.
Mom: How do you know that?
Five year old:Brennen kissed me on the cheek. The other boy wanted to.
Mom: How do you know that?
Five year old: I made him blush.(Long pause.)Mom, when I grow up what if I can't find anyone cool to marry? (Apparently the 3 candidates were not acceptable.)
Mom: Well you might be a worker and then you won't have to worry about it.
Five year old: I think I will pray that God will send me someone cool to marry.
(Mom is about choking with laughter by now. I think the worker alternative was not acceptable either)(There is another pause)
Five year old: Mom, I wish we had stars to wish upon. ( It looks like we need to pull out all stops at this one)
Unfortnately this conversation came to a halt as we arrived back home. I really wondered how it would have continues. For future husbands, the above picture is what this beauty queen looks like.

Two weeks since my last post.

2009-04-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

It has been two weeks since my last post and what at whirlwind it was. Between visitors, work, taxes and a trip to Rogers, AR and Wichita, Ks., there wasn't a whole lot of time to sleep. We seem to have gotten into the hauling small freight business. We had a doctor from Marshfield who was moving to Wichita, Ks and didn't have enough stuff to put on a semi, but too much too big of stuff to ship via a carrier. We provided him a reasonable alternative, by loading his stuff in our extended van and hauling it down there. At the same time, another doctor had a recumbent tandem bicycle that he sold and as unbelievable as it seems it needed to go to Wichita. So we packed the van a little tighter and added the bicycle to the load to make the trip a bit more profitable. We made a weekend of it without the kids, and spent Friday traveling ariving in Arkansas Friday night. Saturday we spent with Rick & Lyn Sandon at her moms relaxing, visiting and digging some perennials to bring home.Sunday up to Wichita for the night with Rick and Lyn, and Monday unloaded and back to Wisconsin. Tuesday, I worked at the store all day, had sp. mtg visitor for supper and the night. Wednesday and Thurday I spent preparing for my accountant, with the big appointment. With our business, we never are sure how the taxes are going to come out so taxes are a stressful time for me seeing it is like an evalation of what I have done all year. I want a fair tax!!! We had some friends for dinner last night and today I am ready to vegg!!!!! We are off to Eau Claire for the night and sp. mtg. tomorrow. Hopefully next week is a lot more calm.

Hello to all my blogging friends!

2009-03-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

Just a little update on what is happening here. You will not see any creative and exciting updates, but I will try to update you on our lives regularly as time permits. We are extremely busy with life, trying not to let the recession get a hold of us. I am selling insurance for the 65+ age group now. It is exciting and I hope will reap benefits in the future. It is one more thing on my list of things to do, but I am happy that God has given me the health to do what needs to be done.

We had a fun time on Dane's birthday as we had some longtime friends over to celebrate. We had a key lime cake in honor of a St. Patricks Day birthday. I have never mastered the art of cake baking so they usually looka flop but taste pretty good.

March Happenings

2009-03-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

Our little Clown

Birthday Pie for Dane.

Watching the brothers wrestle.

Sleeping away the tournament in the bleachers.

Beau, second place state qualifier

We had a busy weekend with weigh-ins for state tournament on Friday night. Following that we went to Dale's parents for the night to celebrate Dane's birthday with them. It is hard to believe our Dane will be 22 on St. Patricks Day. Saturday was spent with the boys at the tournament and Beau wound up placing second to qualify for Kids State tournament. Drew wrestled tough in a large,tough bracket but came up short in qualifying for state. It probably didn't help that he and one of his sisters got really sick after and are home sick yet today. Wisconsin winters are usually followed by nasty bugs and we are having our turn right now. Last night both Dale and I got a half of nights sleep. Such is parenting.

Pics from a quiet weekend.

2009-03-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

We had our first quiet weekend in weeks and it really felt good. This weekend, Wisconsin Rapids won their 18th state high school wrestling title. We have no kids in the high school program right now, but winning state titles never gets old, so we took the kids out of school a little early on Friday and headed down to Madison. We had at room at a motel with a awesome swimming pool, so between matches, we relaxed by swimming at the pool. Later in the afternoon we shopped at Westtown mall and I am very happy to report that there is no recession in Madison. The mall looked like Christmas time and where I was trying on clothes, there was a line of 6 people waiting for a dressing room. We got home on Saturday evening and had wonderful fellowship yesterday. The rest of the day was spent just vegging and did it ever feel good! Oh yes, the picture of our dog, shows that this wussified dog knows how to stay warm on a cold morning. I found her laying as close to the heat as she could get when I went to clean up the mess left from starting the fire. :)

February Birthdays

2009-03-03T19:10:00.001-08:00

A long whirlwind weekend.

2009-03-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy time with Autumn and Phil arriving home from Colorado on Thursday eveing. Of course, we stayed up visiting every night trying to catch up on the past months. Dale's parents arrived along with Kent on Saturday night and we had a big family birthday bash for Kent and Chantel who turned 26 and 5 on February 23. That was followed by a big Thanksgiving style dinner, that included all of the above, and my brother Harry's family, my mom and Megan and Dan Seiler. Later Jamie and Kevin White family joined us for the rest of the afternoon.

California and back in 8 days.

2009-02-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

We had a unexpected trip to Califorina last week. We had a heirloom antique clock that had to go to on of the family members and were told by every trucking company around that if it was theirs they wouldn't put it on a semi. It was to big to ship with our regular carriers so for the right price we said we would get it there. Amazingly we had the money a day later and two days later left for California with our van, kids and the clock. It was going to the exact town where LaRon Ramsden lives so when we got there he helped us deliver it. Our trip was a little nerve wracking getting over Donner's summit between highway closures. We had to stop and by chains and had about 40 miles of road going 10-30mph with chains over the pass. The clock got there safe and the owner was not expecting it as he had just got home from a vacation. On the way home we stayed a night in Lakewood, Co where Autumn & Phil live. After a brief stop to look over our former Air Force base where we were stationed when Kent was a baby, we went to Kearney for a weekend with our friends the Jelinek's. We drove like crazy to get the clock out to California, so it was much more enjoyable to take a little more time in getting home. We were really happy to be home after 4450 miles yesterday. Life is never what we expect and this was certainly one of those occasions.

To our children

2009-02-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

There is joy in having a family and bittersweet moments as well. The advantage of a large family is that one appreciates the younger set so much, because the reality of how quickly it passes. Goodtimes and bad so quickly are gone just to leave fleeting memories. This evening Dale and I were checking out blogs and stumbles a link that brought tears to our eyes. It reminded us of the way it is when the children leave the nest. It isn't always pleasant but truly a necessary passage to adulthood. I want to dedicate the link to my kids who have made that transition and left us with wonderful memories of the years that we shared.

Working at the store today.

2009-02-05T11:37:00.001-08:00

I am working at our new store today while Dale goes and makes some sales calls. I probably won't be on very often as it is tax time and I have some serious goals about getting that big job done sooner this year than last. That means my fun time, (blogging, facebook, etc.) is going to be severly curtailed. Thanks to those of you who stop in to give me a word of encouragement now and than. Maybe I can get my hubby to update the blog once in awhile. Don't hold your breath.

Awesome wrestling match!

2009-01-29T23:09:00.000-08:00

We had a very enjoyable evening after a hard day of moving and working with tradesmen helping to the final touches on our store. Tonight was a big showdown between Wisconsin Rapids and Wausau West, teams that are ranked # 22 and #23 in the nation. It was as good as was billed. Wrestling in a gym full of fans from all over the state of Wisconsin, the match was decided after two hours, by the final match of the evening. Wisconsin Rapids, with 4 senior wrestlers, won by one match over a team with 12 seniors, eight of whom are rank #1 in the state. The final score was 25-24 and was worth missing some sleep over. For all the details check out the link on my links. Tomorrow is the final moving day and the day that we move all the electronic equipment and set it up at our new store. Yippee! Maybe nest week I can get some sleep. Oh yes, Drew had a wrestling match earlier today and won that handily also.

We just keep moving!

2009-01-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

We have been very busy with our day to day activites, the boys wrestling season and moving our Stevens Point store, and with Dane going back to UWSP, we haven't had any extra time to work on the move. Dale and I have worked some long hours going over in the evenings after work to put stuff together. Tomorrow is our last big chance set set up the sales area. The final push on Friday evening is when we move all the computer equipment, and get it up running for Monday. In our free time LOL we have been watching our boys in their wrestling season. They have done well and Drew will probably be up for an award at the banquet in two weeks. I will post a short clip of one of his matches. I will be adding pictures to the slide show as our move progresses so check back often, as it will not be a new post but there will be addional pictures. Please excuse my lackluster posting, but after 10:30 pm there is not much steam left in me. I tried posting the video but it didn't post so will that another time.

Life is continually moving!!

2009-01-27T20:57:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday, Dale ! Post #2

2009-01-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

How does one put fifty years in a few words. Perhaps, I can start out with blessed. Fifty years spanned living in numerous homes from in Wisconsin, Florida and Denver. Fifty years spanned jobs from delivery man,drapery installer, salesman, airman, millworker, woodsman, farmhand, floorman, and business owner...and I missed a few. Fifty years spanned seeing loved ones pass on and the joy of delivering a new born. High moments of success and low moments of failure. Mostly fifty years spans a life of love, laughter, joy sharing and nuturing. Sharing and nurturing our eight children and others that have lived with us through the years. Dale, we are so glad to have had you and look forward to the coming 50 as you just keep getting better!

Happy 50th Birthday, Dale!!!

2009-01-19T10:38:00.001-08:00

Coming soon!!! Dale's 50th Birthday is Monday.

2009-01-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

Dale's 50th birthday is Monday. Leave him a birthday greeting here, on Facebook or at his email dl_thmpsn@yahoo.com . More later.

Early one morning....

2009-01-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

Early one morning I was working in the kitchen and the girls come down and start playing. Summer has taken an interest in the piano and she starts plunking away at the piano. She starts plunking away at the piano and before I know it, she has a song I recognize. She says, "Mom,look I can play number 98." I walked over there and I was quite amazed because she can't read a note. Yet she figured out the tune. I just caught the tail end on the camera, but you can see that it really happened. Oh yes, and the second picture was just too funny not to share. I caught Chantel playing with my camera today and when I went to upload my pics guess what I found.

New Year's Eve 2009

2009-01-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

We had a very nice New Year's get-together with Dean and Kathy Ramsden. We started with bible study which was really nice as most of the group made it in time. Afterwards there was food, fun and fellowship. A great time was had by dogs and humans. LOL Just enjoy the pics.

Mt. Olympus, Wisconsin Dells

2009-01-02T18:02:00.001-08:00

2008-12-30T20:24:00.001-08:00

Christmas Holidays 2008

2008-12-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

We had a very fun and interesting Christmas holiday. We shut down the stores December 24th and December 25th so we could have a little family holiday. We spent a very relaxing time at Mt. Olympus resort in Wisconsin Dells. They have a new indoor amusement park so the children took turns using the waterpark and the amusement park. We took Dustan and Kenyon Erickson along with our family we were joined by the rest of the Erickson family, Jo and Greg Holewinski, and the Dan Paquette family. A few of us met Greg Bouton and his family, in Minneapolis for Sunday so it was nice to spend some time with them at the Mall of America after meeting. Oh yes, I got stuck at the top of the Giant Ferris Wheel for about 15 minutes. I guess it was a plus to get some good overlook pictures. It was nice to be able to spend a little time with friends at Gorden Beyer's in the a.m. Erickson kids have been back with us since Sunday so it has been a busy and noisy house. Tomorrow is New Year's eve at Dean Ramsden's after bible study. I will just post some slide shows and let the pictures do the talking. There hasn't been much blogging in case you haven't noticed. :)

Ho,Ho, Ho

2008-12-16T05:23:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time in the shipping business. We have been amazed how efficient it has been this year. The weather has contributed to the normally huge shipping days, being very manageable. The two Mondays that were supposed to be our biggest days, we had a huge snowstorm and yesterday it was bitter cold with a high of 1 degree. I actually went to the store once and even that day Dane could have managed by himself. The traffic is more steady, the computers are running awesome and the employees are experienced, so the makes things run well. I monitor the traffic from home via camera, so I can go where necessary, if I am needed. When I don't have to go it is a good thing, as I don't get behind in the bookkeeping end. I will post some scenes from yesterday.

New Store Location!!

2008-12-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

This post is for those of you who are interested in our new store location. Dale and I went over today and took pictures as the build out is completed, so we can get an idea of what the new store will look like. We are so full of excitement with the new location, feeling that all the business traffic and high visibility in that area is certain to boost our business. The pictures include the new sign that is installed, looking to the front door on the outside, and looking from the front of the store to the back of the store, and the back room.

Christmas Sing-outs!

2008-12-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

This a busy time for us with Christmas shipping, sports and barbershop sing-outs. Monday, Dale and the boys had their first sing-out at the large veterans complex in King. They had four stops and to see the joy on the faces of the men and women that served our country in their youth was so precious. At the first stop there was some side entertainment as a bat was in the building and dive bombing some of the singers as they entertained the residents. (See video) The people at the home insisted that was the first time they ever had a bat there. At the second stop, when the group sang Silent Night there was a lady who just wept. Summer noticed that and guess who got emotional at the next stop, when they sang Silent Night. I looked down and there is Summer just sobbing. She managed to pull herself together enough to enjoy to pizza buffet that came later.

Thanksgiving weekend 2008

2008-12-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous weekend. It was very busy, and started with a lot of my family, Dale's parents, and a friend were here Thankgiving day. Friday night we had a birthday party/engagement party at Dave Ramsden's house. Brennen White turned 4 and Dave and Bonnie Sampson got formally engaged. Dave did a formal proposal in front of the combined families which was really special. He gave her the ring! The first one was a hula hoop. She had to do the hula hoop before she got the real ring. Saturday, I spent bookkeeping preparing for Sunday when the Friday night crew gathered at our house for lunch, dinner and more parlor games. Pictures speak louder than words so I will post the pics and let them do the talking.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-27T17:20:00.001-08:00

From the annuals of Thompson Family History

2008-11-21T05:19:00.000-08:00

I promised a story of life in the Thompson Family. We have many funny and interesting stories. Dane was always the quiet child. Never too much problem. As they say, still waters run deep and Dane was always highly competitive. Our all time funniest story was the day that Dane decided to fly.
I always had a really relaxed attitude toward the kids playing and fortunately we didn't have any serious mishaps. One day the kids were entertaining themselves by taking their bikes over homemade ramps. As kids do they, have to get a little more air as the day goes on. Kent came up with the brilliant idea that they would take a quarter inch piece of plywood and prop it up to the picnic table and jump that. He takes his bike gets a little speed, runs the ramp and nicely sails over the picnic table. Wow, that was easy. Now it's Dane's turn. We live on a cul de sac, so Dane decides he will start at the end of the street and really get some speed on it. So he start pedaling like crazy. His hair is pasted back, he has an intense look of concentration on his face and he is flying! Then he hits the ramp. The board gives in the middle and it propels Dane into the air about 6 feet above the picnic table. He looks down, eyes widened in fright, lets go of the bike and drops out of the sky about 20 feet beyond the picnic table. Fortunately the only damage Dane received, was a very bruised shoulder. That was the day Dane discovered flight.

Surgery was successful and uneventful!

2008-11-19T05:19:00.000-08:00

Summer is going into surgery to have another tube inserted in one of her ears, so our day will be spent in Marshfield. Kent will be taking care of Chantel at the store for us. Not a lot of exciting things going on here right now, so I will have to delve into the annuals of Thompson history for some anecdotes to relate.

Just when you think you've seen it all.

2008-11-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

When people are the parents of 8 kids, by the time you get through the first four, you feel like you've experienced so much that there is nothing new. Oh yeah, guess again. Last night we had a all timer. I am pretty lenient and allow the kids to cook and use the kitchen pretty freely. Last night when one child asked to bake some bicuits, I said sure and nonchalantly sauntered upstairs to have a discussion with my husband that isn't interrupted every 2 minutes. Knowing this certain child, after a certain length of time, I told Dale to yell down the steps to make sure the biscuits were not becoming scorched, as I could smell that they were done. So one of the other kids, goes to check on the biscuits. You can imagine our horror when that child calls up the steps. "The biscuits look great, but the pan is in a puddle." We race downstairs to find beautiful biscuits, sitting on the rack, and melted plastic all over the oven. Our darling child had grabbed out one of my beautiful plastic serving trays that just happened to be stored with my cookie sheets, to bake the biscuits. And we thought we were about to have a nice relaxing evening. Oh by the way, if that ever happens to you, a chisel works great at taking hardened melted plastic off the bottom of the oven.

Preparing for winter!!

2008-11-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

Winter in Wisconsin is like death and taxes. It happens whether you want it to, or not. We are over the moon that the barrel of oil price keeps dropping, but continue to prepare for winter by cutting up wood, in our spare time. About 3 years ago, we made a awesome investment by buying a fireplace insert on ebay to heat our house. That insert has been a lifesaver and really takes away a lot of the pain of being dependant on gas to heat the home. We have Amish who give us a really good deal on slab wood. We just have to haul it home and cut it up. Last year we were cutting wood in the snow, so this year, Dale is determined to to be a head of the curve. Half of what you see in the above pictures is now in our garage.

We Voted!

2008-11-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful country this is. Every year we have a opportunity cast our vote for the direction we want this country to take. This year we chose our candidates, with a lot more prayer than we had in the past. Perhaps it is because it was more real to us that the changes enacted by the next president, could change the whole direction of our country. Perhaps it is because wer ealize that even when we cast our vote, it is the Lord who selects kings and rulers for his purpose. Our thoughts go to a vote that is not being cast this election. Grandma Draheim came by herself to this country as a 13 year. Her mother had left her the year prior at her daughter's encouragement, to come to this country and marry her widowed brother-in-law. Life had been so desperate after WW I, that when the opportunity to come to this country was presented, it had to be acted upon. Even if it meant a marriage of convenience. They had to be married a year, before the daughter could be adopted and brought to this country. Hence the 13 year old's journey alone,to Chippwa Falls, WI. She came to this country not speaking a word of English, and never really understood how she made it across the country by train, except that she had a slip of paper attached to her coat and people just kept sending her in the direction she needed to go. Grandma loved this country and what it stood for, the freedom, the opportunity, and did everything in her power to become a good citizen. She learned to speak flawless English, and never wanted to hang on to the German way. As soon as she could, she became a citizen. She always valued the opportunity to vote and to have a say in the direction of the country. When one grows up under repression and poverity, you never take freedom for granted. Please take this opportunity to exercise that right that is given to us. Kingdoms rise and fall, and we do not know if our children will have that privilege. Value it.

2008-11-03T07:52:00.001-08:00

Halloween at Hansen's

2008-11-03T07:11:00.000-08:00

A lot has been going on so my blogging time has been majorily cut. The last couple weeks our focus was on negotiating a new lease for our Stevens Point store. We are excited to announce that our store will be moving 5 miles to the south to a new Plover location. It is in a brand new building in a high traffic area, which should help that store really take off. The amazing part of it all, is that the new landlord came to us and offered a honey of a deal, because their market research told them, they needed our kind of store in their new development. They offered us free rent until our current lease expires, so that we could not turn it down. Hopefully their market research bodes well for our business. We will keep you updated on these changes.

This weekend we went up to the Hansens. Bryce was gone hunting out west, but we had a great time with Tammy, kids and Tammy's mother, who I hadn't spent much time with in the last 25 years. It was great to be together, as Laurie was my sister-in-law for 14 years of my childhood. Friday night we went to the Prairie Farm Halloween festivities. Sat. I stayed with the little girls while Dale took the boys to a wrestling tournement, and Tammy and Laurie took her boys to a basketball tournement. Drew took champion so it was a good day for him. We had a lovely meeting yesterday and after lunch we headed out to Eau-Claire for supper with Blaise. Everyone was excited to see him again.

Dull days are gone!

2008-10-26T18:23:00.001-07:00

We had a few quiet weeks after convention and the rest was good. Now we are gearing up for busy times again. This weekend we spent in a motel in Appleton while Dale had Land Of Lakes district competition. Their group did decently, considering their director is very new and has had no barbershop background. They placed 7th out of 17 chorus'. Not the first place like last year but they had positive feedback from all the judges on their potential. We ran into one of the friends at the competion that we never met before. Some of you might recognize him.(See picture) Cleon's group took champion and are going to international competition. They are one of the top groups in the nation, so it wasn't a shock that they qualified for internationals.

Projects and more projects!

2008-10-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

We have been doing a lot of work on our house. The last few weeks we have been replacing windows and moved our girls from a queen size bed to twin beds. One of our girls, is a real wiggler and when the other one started taking blankets and sleeping on the hardwood floor, we knew something had to be done. The window project is still in process, so I will just post the pics of the redecorated room. Here's a glimpse of what it looked like before. It is a fantasy room for a little girl, with all the pink. Look how well they slept their first night!

55th Harvest of Harmony Concert

2008-10-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the weekend for Dale's annual barbershop concerts. Our Saturday was huge as we got up early, and cut in a larger window for our living room. We got it in, but not finished, before leaving for the concerts at 12:30 pm. We didn't have time to finish the window so I will post a pic or two when that is complete.
The concerts were great and had a nice turnout. Everyone was impressed, considering that the new director took over the beginning of April. The district competion is in Appleton in 3 weeks so I will probably upload to competion songs after that.

UPDATED: Conventions, funerals, and unexpected guests.

2008-10-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

Three conventions, four funerals and unexpected guests have kept me away from my blog, and others blogs. In the past four weeks, for those of you who are far away and may be interested, four of our elderly friends have finished this life. Harold Brockhouse, Olga Draheim, Otto Jeske and John Van. We were not able to attend all the funerals but our thoughts were at each one. We had 1 day and two conventions and four days at Menomonee. Grandma died in between, so by the time we got to Menomonee we were physically exhausted. Dales sister Deb Magsam and family flew in from California, and Autumn and Phil returned from Colorado for the funeral so we tried to fit as much into the 4 short days that they were all home that we could. We had a huge shipping day at one of the stores, so I had to work one of the days that they were all here. It was good to see relatives, including my niece Jennifer from Montana, who was home with her family for convention. This week I was resting up and catching up on all that got neglected in the office the last 3 weeks. I will post a few pictures. The large group picture in the Thompsons at Marion conv. There will be one of Deb & Gary and family, bonding in 2008,:), Cousin Kyle with his little cousin who he met for the first time, and the pall barrers at Grandma Draheim's funeral. It was the tallest group of them that I have ever seen. Dale is 6'5" so check out for yourself how the others compare. They are all cousins of Dale.

Hello blogging friends

2008-10-03T19:58:00.001-07:00

In Loving Memory of Olga Draheim 1916-2008

2008-09-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today our Grandma Draheim passed away peacefully in her sleep. She will be missed by us all and will always hold a special place in our heart. Her kindness was outstanding and her love for God and his kingdom was phenominal. These last years have been hard on her when she started to lose her memory but she bore it with grace and we are glad that her time was done, before she forgot the memory of those the closest to her. At 92, her life was full and blessed. I am including a picture taken at Autumn and Phil's wedding with with my mom (on the left),one of her dearest friends.

This one is for Maxine

2008-09-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

It is amazing what I will to so I don't have to do bookkeeping. Look at this shiny sink. :*)

Bookkeeping on the deck.

2008-09-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

It is such a gorgeous day, I could not stand the thought of working inside so here is my compromise. Thank goodness for the laptop which I gave my husband for his birthday. That is a big joke around here. I guess I can look forward to getting a new mitre saw on my birthday. Oh well, these things are useful to us both. I need a mitre saw so I can have some trimming done in the house. Oh yes, Dale told me to post a picture of him working, to show who has better working conditions. LOL It won't be as clear because I took it over the internet.

Happy 14th Birthday, Drew and Clayton !!

2008-09-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

Our Drew is fourteen years old today. His buddy, Clayton Ramsden will be having his fourteenth birthday on Monday. Happy Birthday to both of the boys!
Please check out the then, and now pictures above. Notice Drew tasting Claytons nuk! The children are growing up so fast it is hard to fathom. I guess with Blaise leaving this year, it has been a real reality check. If we would have stopped with four kids, that part of our life would have been over. We are prepared to really enjoy these next years with the younger children. This evening there was only five at the table. I am learning to cook less as I have been having way too many leftovers. Another time of adjustment, I guess.

Beautiful fall weekend.

2008-09-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

The weather here truly feels like fall even though it is not official yet. We worked on our project all Saturday. Yesterday we went down to Lyndon Station for the morning, had lunch in the Dells with Dave and Brenda Cameron family, and attended a wedding of some long time friends in the late afternoon and evening. Oh yes we did kill a little time at the Tanger Outlets where the kids burned off some energy. We got some cute pictures so I will post a few.

What do we do when life gets ho hum?

2008-09-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

We remodel our bathroom.

Ho hum.......

2008-09-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

Summer in gone and with it all the fun and excitement. It is so amazing how fast it goes. Autumn and Phil are in Colorado. The kids are back to school, Blaise is off to college, and I am trying to catch up on that which I neglected this summer. I have just a little time to get organized before we go into conventions. Dale and I enjoyed the anniversary without the kids. We kept it simple and went to the fair. Central Wisconsin State fair is by far the best fair is Wisconsin, if you exclude State Fair. The exhibits are fabulous and draft horse events are amazing to watch. The most amazing to watch, was a 10 horse pyramid. The single lead horse in out front, followed by two, three and than four right in front of the carriage. It looks like this The lead horse needs to listen attentively for the command so keeps his ears turn towards the back. Dale and I really like animals so it was our idea of a good way to celebrate our anniversay getting our farm fix. Of course, Dale tried to convince me that I really do need a have a dairy goat herd. I do enjoy the goats, but I grew up with 40 cows to feed and milk, and know that dairy goats would really keep me tied. Now we are on to some canning. Tomorrow it it tomatoes and next it will be what ever Dale decides to buy from the Amish. I guess that is a sure sign of fall.

Summer's last gasp.

2008-08-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

No, our Summer in fine. This time I am talking about the season. It has been rather cool reminding one of convention a month later. Check out the picture of Drew wearing his sister's coat. The roadsides are filled with grasses full of seed pods. Many of our beautiful perennals are done for the season, and we are waiting for the mums to start blooming. The kids are off again for their last little fling with their friends before school starts and Dale and I are looking forward to celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary on Saturday. We visited Dale's Grandma in her home last Tuesday. It was a good evening. Unfortunately, when Dale took my mom there today, she didn't remember it.
Autumn and Phil were home for their last weekend home before moving to Colorado. We had Autumn's friend and college roommate Megan Seiler,hubby Dan, and family for Saturday. My mom visited the weekend and other than that our time was calm and quiet. I had a great chuckle today that was sent on the email. Here is the link!Hopefully it works. I will post just a few pics here and will put together a album on facebook.

Fun with Friends

2008-08-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying these summer days with friends. Our kids have had their friends from Wausau since last Wednesday. They have spent their time riding bike, going to skatepark, jumping on the trampoline and just being kids. Nolan who is eight years old, has been convinced to play tea party with our girls, so we have had a few days with that. Saturday we made the 45 mile trek to a Mirror Shadow Lake park in Waupaca. It is an awesome park with a high dive, and slides off rafts. It brought back memories, as the last time we were there was with Dale's cousin, Rick Killiam, who died a year ago at this time. Yesterday we had a lunch invitation in Lacrosse, which is over two hours from here, so we headed out early to go part way before meeting. We had a wonderful afternoon with Joyce and Doris and the Steins. After our day, we climbed Grandad's Bluff for a gorgeous view of Lacrosse and the mighty Mississippi at sunset. We were a little early to get the most beautiful pictures, but our time up there was cut short when Beau knocked his head into the corner of a metal sign started bleeding profusely. Such in life in a large family.

USA Waterski Nationals

2008-08-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you that are interested I will post a link to the results. Mad City, Wisconsin's own state champion won nationals. Here is the link to read about it. The nationals took showskiing to a whole new level.

August Happenings

2008-08-08T20:36:00.001-07:00

Happenings at the Thompson's

2008-08-08T19:26:00.001-07:00

We have had a lot going at our house. The last two weeks our house has been getting a new roof. We were very happy when our roofer finished the last shingles as we have a 16/12 pitch roof. Dale did on half about 10 years ago and wasn't interested in doing the other side. It is very steep and we are happy to have it done. We also spent 2 days in Wisconsin Dells just relaxing at a motel. There we all had fun relaxing in the pool and window shopping in the Dells. We also went and checked out where Lake Delton used to be, before it went down the Wisconsin River. It is totally amazing that the lake bottom looks like a grassy field. I guess they do plan on refilling the lake next year. This weekend the national waterski tournaments are here at Lake Wazeecha so we will enjoy some time in the sun watching the skiers tomorrow.

Living next door to Alice.

2008-08-04T13:55:00.001-07:00

FYI: If any of you wondered why I added Living Next Door to Alice to my playlist.
Alice Griswold gave up her maiden status after 74 years when she married Norman Schmidt in June. Everyone in these parts are tickled for both of them so when I stumbled on this song while looking for playlist music, I just had to add it.

Rafting the Little Wolf

2008-08-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

There was a quick decision to be made... Do we stay home and work or do we hit the water. Boy was that a tough decision!!! LOL Diane quick made a post and we had a great time rafting with family and friends. We wish you could have all been there with us, and hope that with a little extra time in planning that we can get a bigger participation next year. It was great and hope that you enjoy a few pics from yesterday.

Mom's 84th Birthday.

2008-08-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Dale and I took the kids to my mom's for her 84th birthday. We had a really good time. Dale took the kids over to the local swimming hole, where we used to swim as kids. It was one of those places where you can swim, dive or catch tadpoles and frogs. They did all of it. I will just post a fews pics for those of you who couldn't be there. Here is the video of the birthday song.

Lazy Days of Summer?

2008-07-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

Notice the question mark at the top. For some people that may be the case, but Dale and I are really looking forward to our guys getting back from convention today. We have been taking care of the stores for 8 days now and really appreciate the fact that it does make for some long days. We know how hard they work while we are gone. This past weekend was crazy, with the Ramsden get-together/graduation party, and having worker company at the same time. We did enjoy ourselves thoroughly. When I was home, I was trying to make something to help feed the approximately 40 people that were spending the weekend, as with the long days at the store, I didn't have time last week to cook ahead. Thanks, Dean and Kathy for hosting the event.

State Water Ski Championship Highlights 2008

2008-07-19T16:36:00.001-07:00