Our Everyday Talk

Labor Day weekend at the cabin

Between the problems we had getting our new external hard drive (where I'm storing all my photos) to communicate with my laptop, and the business of starting our 8th year of homeschooling, it's been a busy month.    So we got this latest computer glitch fixed, and we've got our day's schedule kind of figured out now; so I'm hoping I'll get the opportunity to post pictures and do a little writing more often now.

We spent Labor Day weekend up North with my brother and his family.   My sister-in-law, Jill's, parents have a cabin on a lake that we get the opportunity to visit a couple times a year.   Such a fun and relaxing weekend!

A view of the cabin from the lake.

The lake in the morning.

A loon on the lake.

Lilies on the lake.

Riding the boats

The boys with the fish they caught.   They were so proud!

Noah wasn't at all interested in learning how to clean the fish that he caught.

Jonah enjoyed learning how from his Uncle Dan though.

A great time was had by all!
N.

Hearts at Home retreat weekend - are you with me?!?

Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Every Fall they hold a conference in Rochester when mom join together to support and encourage each other. I’ve been to 4 of these conferences. Two of them were over 10 years ago when it was held at a large church in the Twin Cities, but its popularity soon boomed, and it’s now held at the Civic Center in Rochester.   I’ve attended twice since it’s moved there. The music, comedy, and inspirational speakers are all fantastic! During the day we also get to attend several smaller workshops with a choice of about 30 different topics. Most workshops are held by authors on subjects pertaining to marriage, parenting, and even a couple on homeschooling. A few years ago Lisa Welchel (Blaire from Facts of Life) was there. She a homeschooling mom and loves to scrapbook. I got the chance to have her sign my copies of her books, Creative Correction, So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling, and The ADVENTure of Christmas. What can I say, I was a big fan of Facts of Life when I was a kid – so it was quite a thrill to find out that I have quite a bit in common with a Big Hollywood Star! J  LOL!

This year’s conference is on November 7^th – 8^th. I’d love for a bunch of you to join me! Wouldn’t it be fun to get a bunch of us together and go down to Rochester for some R&R!!! April and I already got a hotel room at the Radison, which in connected to the Convention Center. We’re hoping to head down there on Friday morning, maybe do a little shopping on the way, and stop for something yummy to eat. 

Here’s a link for a promo video on their website . . .

http://www.hearts-at-home.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid=40

I’m so lookin’ forward to it! Hope you can make it! 

N.

 

 

More from our vacation in Missouri

Several months ago my parents asked if they could take the boys (H. was under the age limit of 9-15 year olds) to an event called "Showbiz Kids" in Branson, MO.   It sounded great, and the kids were so excited!   Then a few weeks ago, my dad found out that there was a large magic convention being held in St. Louis the week before the workshop, so of course they should go to that too :)    So my parents and the boys left 1 full week before we did to attend the magic convention in St. Louis.   T., H., and I met up with them in Branson on the 2nd to last day of the "Showbiz Kids" workshop.   My parents headed home the next day, and our family stayed in Branson for a couple more days, then stopped at the Lake of the Ozarks, and in Iowa while making our way home.   

The kids had a fantastic time with my parents.   Here are a couple pictures of the things they did (obviously my mom isn't the photoholic that I am.)

The boys at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, IL 

The boys comparing their heights to Abraham Lincoln as a boy
 

The boys with their Gpa in their new Cardinals T-shirts

J.D. took this picture of the Gateway Arch
 

Dave Hamner (from the The Hamner Barber Variety Show) talking at the workshop about care and training of the exotic birds they use in their shows.

That's it for the pictures that my mom and the boys took with their camera of their week.

The 3 of us arrived in Branson, just a few hours before the talent show.   This is the boys doing a magic trick as part of their skit in the talent show.   They are suppose to be Santa's elves, just in case you are having a hard time figuring that out.   N.'s wearing an elf costume, J.D. is wearing a Jester's costume (he's outgrown his elf costume) and an elf hat.

They boys with Gma and Gpa in front of the hotel they stayed at for "Showbiz Kids"

Looking over Lake Taneycomo

T. and H. at Table Rock Lake

T. and the kids at Lake of the Ozarks State Park

We saw some great shows (see my last post), got to enjoy God's beautiful creation, visited good friends, learned some state history, and made lots of good memories!

N.

"Noah the Musical"

This was an amazing show! We also went on a behind-the-scenes tour so we could get a close up view. Some of the highlights include:

 

* A 300 + ft. stage that wraps around the sides of the audience.

* Over 100 live animals and over 200 animitronic animals that look very real!

* Amazing lighting and sounds that make you feel like you are really on the ark,  rocking along with Noah and his family through the flood.

* An amazing set that can’t be described with words, and unfortunately was not able to be photographed.

* The show was over 2 hours, but we all were kept entertained the entire time.

* This is an unashamedly Bible believing Christian company with a message to share! The storyline of the 2 hour musical is fictional, but the truths of the Bible come out through out the story. They do an amazing job of showing the culture of that day in a way that could easily have been today,with all the same temptations and excuses for turning our hearts away from God.     I loved that part - if you closed your eyes and just listened to the dialogue you could completely identify with the conversations and conflicts that the characters were having.

*   The behind the scenes tours were lead by the actors of the production.   We got to go on stage, through the actors and animal's dressing rooms, and into the backstage workshop where they were building sets for future productions (that area alone was big enough to fit a 747 airplane in it.)   Our tour guide answered all sorts of great questions about everything, including that they don't do a curtain call or have their names printed on a playbill because they are all Christians that believe that the glory should go to God, and they want to take any thing away from that.   At the conclusion of our tour, our tour guide asked if he could pray for us.   He prayed blessings on us and for protection for us in our travels.   It was such a refreshing experience to see the humility of everyone involved in this production and their heartfelt mission to spread the Word of God.

Here are a few pictures . . .

Todd and I in front of the Sound and Sight Theatre.

The kids in front of the theatre.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Luke 18:17

Hannah in front of the model of the theatre that is inside the beautiful lobby of the theatre.   You can see the set of the ark that wraps around you in the audience. 

T. and the kids on the behind the scenes tour.   They wouldn't allow us to take any pictures behind the stage or in the auditorium.  So I took this one in the lobby at the beginning of the tour.

Here's a link to the theatre's website.    www.sight-sound.com/WebSiteSS/changeLocation.do?locationCD=BRANSON_MO   You can watch a little preview video of the performance.   Our family enjoys going to the theater, it's something we do a lot of.   We've seen hundreds of shows in dozens of theaters, and this may be my all time favorite.   They do a Christmas production that I just have to see.   I love Christmas plays, and I'm sure this one would be awesome!

They have another theater in Lancaster, PA that's been there for 10 years, so if you ever go to Lancasater or Branson, be sure to get to one of their productions!

N.

 

I'm back!

I’m back!  After almost 2 months of not blogging, I’m excited be back! There have been a couple of you who have persistently asked when I was going to be back. And April, bless your soul, you only had encouraging words for me when I mentioned I was missing not getting around to blogging, you never gave me any guilt trips. 

We’ve been having fun making memories this summer, and unfortunately I didn’t find the time to journal about those memories. I did take some pictures though, although even there, sometimes we were so busy making the memory that I didn’t always get around to taking the pictures like I like to.  

I'm not sure what happened here with my print moving to being centered, but I've tried to fix it and can't so bare with it please.

The biggest reason that I’ve not been able to get to my blogging is that I procrastinated on my VBS planning this year, and had to CRAM it all into a 6 week period that was very stressful!  I have directed VBS for the last 5 years (3 at our present church.) I love VBS, and look forward to organizing it each year, but this year for a few different reasons I had a hard time getting motivated to start. We had decided to do something different this year, and do a family event in the evening, instead of the usual VBS during the day. I loved the idea, but the thought of doing something new was daunting, and I found it hard to get motivated.  The “Survivor” theme (as in the TV show) was unfamiliar to me, and I just had a hard time getting excited about it initially. But God is faithful, and even though I chose a very unwise path, when I did eventually catch the vision for it, God was so good and blessed our program in a huge way! It was so much fun!!! 

I hope to post more about “Family Survivor” later.

We also just returned from a fun family vacation!    We went down to Branson, MO, for some shows, some beautiful scenery, some swimming, and some R&R. My parents took the boys down almost a full 2 weeks ago to attend a “Show Biz Kids” workshop. T, H., and I joined them in Branson last Thursday.

On our way down there, we stopped at our friends, the Nielsens, in Iowa.   Dan and Lonna are H.’s God Parents that moved to Iowa several years ago. We try to visit them once a year, but this visit was so short, I think we’ll have to go back again soon. Especially since the boys weren’t with us, they were really disappointed that they were going to miss out on the visit.

                   

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset on the Nielsen’s 200 acre farm.

H. with Jenna and Joann with their American Girl dolls.

H. had SO much fun with the girls and their dolls, they had a tea party, and changed clothes a dozen times, and had a slumber party all together too!

 

H. with Jaclyn and Jenna.
Jaclyn has grown up into the most beautiful young woman!
She’s almost 16 now, and she will always have such a special place in my heart!
When I worked with her Mom at the Animal Care Clinic, she came to work with Lonna every day. Lonna hired a girl to do day care for her and her little brother at the clinic. She got the best of both worlds, being with her kids all day while owning and working at her own Veterinary Clinic.

 
We got to Branson on Thursday afternoon just in time for the boy’s act in the Talent Show.
The boys had a fantastic week, attending workshops on magic, acting, dance and movement, and story telling, from Branson entertainers, and each evening attending a different Branson show.

 

 We spent the rest of the week as a family, seeing shows, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Branson and Lake of the Ozarks, swimming in the hotel pool, and having a little R&R!  We saw an absolutely awesome show called “Noah, the Musical” at the new Sight and Sound Theater. It was absolutely incredible! I’ll post more about that later too, but if you ever go to Branson, you’ve got to see one of their shows, that 1 show made the whole trip worth it for all of us!!!

Hannah in front of a model of the theater for “Noah the Musical.” Absolutely amazing!

As summer is winding down (I hate to say that, this summer went by way to quick), we’ll fall back into more of a routine, and hopefully I will be able to blog more regularly. As much as I enjoy the fun of summer, I am looking forward to the routine that comes with us starting another year of homeschooling. We’ll start next week doing schoolwork in the mornings. I always like starting off in August slowly, and gently ease our way back into things by early Sept.

 
I hope there are a few of you still out there who haven’t given up on checking in with me and my blog.   I plan to post again soon with more pictures from our vacation, and talk more about the "Noah the Musical" show and behind the scenes tour.    I will also post some pictures from our church's "Family Survivor" event.   And hopefully I'll be able to post a few more pictures of some of the other fun things we've done this summer.

Hope to hear from you all soon!

N.

 

 

 

 

 

More fun at the Family Entertainers Workshop

I've been able to narrow it down to about 20 pictures from the annual mid-west Family Entertainers Workshop that we attended this past weekend.   There were over 50 magicians, clowns, balloon twisters, and the like, from the Mid-West. The presenters were from all over the country.   It was 3 long days of workshops, with our kids being the only children registered for the workshops.     The kids enjoyed the workshops, and the presenters were all very good about getting the kids involved in their presentations, which the kids loved!   They got lots of attention!

H. and J. with Duane Laflin, from Troy, MT.   We all really enjoyed Duane's workshops.   He did 1 workshop just on "Gospel Magic", or using magic in ministry.   We found he and his wife, Mary, very inspirational and loved his heart for Jesus and kids!   

H. with Duane during his performance.   At the end he gave H. a stuffed bunny for helping him out.   She loves it!   I think she'll remember this forever!

The kids with Tom King, from W. Virginia

 

H. with "Dr. Presto" (aka "Mr. Twister" or Bob Anderson) from S.D.  H. was quite taken by this gentleman and his amazing balloon creations.   She followed him around all weekend as his #1 fan, and he was so kind to her and let her talk, and talk, and talk . . .

One night was the "America's Funniest Magician" contest.   The show was open to the public, but only the conference registrants could vote.   There were 10 acts and it was a tough decision.   Between the 5 of us we chose 4 different first place performers.   And just for the record, N. and I both voted for the the gentleman who won first place.   I was really torn between 3 of the acts.   One of the other gentlemen I had wanted to vote for got 3rd place, so I was happy for him.   A very talented and well-polished gentleman won 2nd place.   Todd and I thought he was mildly funny, but the kids didn't get his humor.   His routine didn't seem very family friendly.   It involved a trick where a dozen booze bottles were produced.  "The Amazing Jeffo" was the winner.   He's a blind man from Mpls., who is a fellow member of the Fellowship of Christian Entertainers.   His magic was pretty good, and his act was hilarious!   Much of his comedy was jokes or plays on words about not being able to see.   I did hear one gentleman whisper to another that he thought he used his handicap to his advantage (which I thought was quite rude!)   But he had me (and the rest of the audience) belly laughing through much of his routine.

Steve Kissell, Roy Conley, "The Amazing Jeffo" Jeff Smith, and Tom King.

Click on the following link to see the remaining pictures

A fun week at the Family Entertainers Workshop

We had a great time the last 4 days!     Of course I took lots of pictures.   I'll post some of the kids swimming in this post, and more of us at the convention in the next post.

We stayed at a hotel that had a water slide.   We went swimming 2 of the days that we were down there.

 
 

 

What fun we all had!

N.

Remember this? A random memory from, maybe, 1993?

This is totally random, but last week a friend (Rhonda) posted some pictures of a local ice castle that she had visited.   It got me thinking about the last time I saw an Ice Castle.   I'm not sure what year it was, I could figure it out, but it's not that important to me I guess.   I do remember that it was the same year that MN hosted the Super Bowl.   It was PK (pre-kids) and T. and I spent the day downtown St. Paul.   We did some shopping, had a romantic dinner at The Carousel Restaurant (thats the restaurant on the 22nd floor of the Radisson Hotel in St. Paul that has all glass windows and spins around, so you see a panoramic view of the city while you eat.)   We took the kids there last year for supper, it was great fun, and a totally different experience then when we used to do it.

Afterward dinner  T. and I walked down to the Ice Castle.   I remember there was lots of excitement and lots of rowdy tourists because the Super Bowl was being played there either that night or the next (I honestly don't remember, obviously football doesn't matter much to me.)   It might have been that we went down there the night of the Super Bowl just to be part of all the excitement.   That doesn't appeal to me at all anymore, but back then when we were young and foolish, we might have thought it would be fun.

Anyway the Castle was absolutely beautiful with the light and sound show.    Because of the national publicity they really outdid themselves that year, and it was amazing!

Here are a few pictures we took as we walked down to see it.  The pictures were taken before I understood the importance of putting the date on the back.

Anyone able to help me catalog these pictures?  What year was it?
N.