dinner and movie

Last night we had the Meline women over for dinner and after dinner the kids watched Monsters vs Aliens. All of them had seen it before. Oh well. There was lots of laughter during the movie for already having seen it.

Darin had an ultrasound of his legs yesterday. It was pretty interesting to watch. We did our usual bantering back and forth and the tech finally warmed up to us. We discovered he is an "over achiever" when it came to his Greater Saphenous vein of the right leg. Most diameters are 3 mm. His was 1.3 cm (13mm). That was the word the tech used-over achiever. That was about when our cutting-up really got going. I reminded him he had NEVER been an over achiever of anything. I realize this is all just going to be Judi's focus researching in the next 24 hours-enjoy!

The thing Darin enjoyed ;) most was all the lubrication up and down both his legs from the groin to below his knees. He said he didn't know what to think when SHE put the ultrasound wand right up next to the goods. I noticed the look on his face, but we hadn't gotten going at each other yet. It didn't seem quite like the time to give the tech grief. She was still trying to be all professional. Darin had to go to football practice immediately after this. He said he tried to get all the goo off his legs, but even when he got home you could see the residue still. HA-HA! I had to leave to go pick-up Bridger and Sammy and didn't stay for the whole thing.

So sometime in the immediate future he will have his varicose veins fixed. This is all in anticipation of having knee surgery down the road also. This way he won't have as bad of swelling after surgery.

Just another Sunday....

2 posts in one day, doesn't that mean I can take a even longer break?

Darin and I got busy outside mid-morning. I decided to butcher some bushes. Darin got to get out his chain saw. Since the chain saw was out he decided to tackle some dead branches in one of the cottonwoods. I was headed inside to get ready for a girl party. I jokingly told Bridger to watch over Daddy in case he fell out of the tree. I said dial 911 if he falls out of the tree. He took me completely serious. I had to write down on a piece of paper 911.

While Darin was up in the tree, Bridger pulled his picnic table over where he could keep watch. He got Darin's cell phone off the counter and laid it on the picnic table and he had the pad of paper with 911 on it and he added our house number. Can you imagine? Isn't that hilarious! Darin couldn't resist taking a picture of the set up after he got down-without incidence.

Bridger must be on another growth spurt. I decided I didn't want to cook and suggested Red Lobster. Bridger decided he would have crab legs off the kid menu. He got to have a baked potato with them. He wanted to eat all the cheese bisquits, but was willing to share each of a half with us. After he was done with the crab legs, he asked for a sundae. It was huge. At one point he was double scooping between his sundae and what was left of the baked potato. He was even eating off Darin's plate. It was sort of comical. I have been waiting for him to tell us he is hungry again. Grandpa Roger would have been proud of his crab-cracking grandson.

So I feel I need to clarify some things from the earlier blog. It was TABLE shuffleboard we played last night, not the shuffleboard on the floor/ground with sticks. So maybe SunCity has some table shuffleboards, but I bet there are more floor shuffleboards there. Who's older anyway! HA!!!!

Contrary to how the remark of another dog may have sounded we are not getting another dog. I was only trying to show the breadth of Bridger's conversations. He understands we are not getting another dog until Shasta is gone. We would possibly be available for dog sitting, though.

And last, but not least, we do have several jump drives to transfer our old computer info to our new computer. It just takes time to set the old one up somewhere and go back and forth. At the rate we get things done, we should be all transferred before Christmas, or January, or maybe next March?

Sunday AM

OK-so I cheated with a picture from the sample pics on the new computer. I was just looking at the new CPU and do not readily see the SD port. All in good time.

Bridger went off to play practice yesterday with Haley. We took Haley last week for her mom and her mom thought it was only fair to reciprocate. Friday night was the first time I had sat down with Bridger to do his lines. He has 4 speaking parts, but the lines are either 4 or 8 lines. He was sort of blowing me off that night and I wasn't sure how much he was getting. Sat am while we waiting for the ride he rattled off the first two sets of lines. I asked Haley's mom if he had remembered the lines at practice. She said yes. Little stinker. Guess that is the Myers thing of memory.

After he got home we took old fencing out to the landfill. Bridger was mesmorized by the heavy equipment. It was especially smelly and way too many flies. Bridger was taking all this in and made the comment-"I don't wouldn't ever want to do this". I thought it was a perfect time to plug college on my 6 year old. Some how that conversation turned to getting another dog, to when he would get married (and who) and on and on.

We went shopping at Sutherland's (hardware) and got some more pellets for the stove. Then we went to pick-up the new computer. We paid for them to take all that extra junk off the computer that slows it down. It is running nicely. Bridger played his games he likes to play. We entered the modern era and got a flat screen monitor. The CPU runs so quietly. We just have to get around to getting all our pics off the old one and onto the new one.

Our friends the Willis' invited us over for dinner last night. Kevin wanted an excuse for grilling a prime rib. It was so good. Darin offered to make twice baked potatoes to take over. Kevin is quite the handyman. He made a shuffleboard table after playing it in a bar and liking it. They challenged us to play them. We won both games. It is one game I like to play and I am not too bad at it. Kevin was getting frustrated with me placing the disc/puck in the 3 point zone. I jokingly said, "haven't you heard of state championship shuffleboard?" He is sort of gullible, he paused for a moment and then said, "NO WAY!" I guess we aren't the nicest guests-Darin beats Kevin all the time with Darts and then beat them with shuffleboard. I am sure we will be invited back over.

Darin's 9th grade team is still undefeated. He is a little worried about going to Gillette this week. The other 9th grade team beat this team also, but not as well as they have other teams. The varsity lost again Friday night. So far they have only won one game. I wonder how long before some of the freshmen get moved to varsity-HA!

snow? Sept 21st

So the night after the hail, Darin called back home on his way to school to tell us there was snow on the mountain. I did a quick date check and thought-really-Sept 21st. Great-my grandmother always said that the first day that it snowed was the number of "snows" there would be. So 21. I was hoping maybe for October 1-10 or November 1-10. Thank goodness it wasn't like the 30th or so. It has stayed cool the last two days.

I bundled up Bridger and myself for his 6pm game Monday night. My home schedule says his game tomorrow night is 7pm. Darn. We will be bundling up again from the looks of it. Pellet stove keeps the family room toasty.

Chinese writing and hail

We picked up Bridger and did some running around this morning. We were out late enough for lunch. Bridger had asked if we could have Chinese so he could tell Angela about getting to be Emperor in the Children's Theatre play. Bridger's play theme is Chinese Folktales. We were almost done eating when she came along. We told her his news. He ended up telling her that he was learning Chinese symbols. He asked for something to write on to show her. The writings under just Bridger are the symbols he has learned. He wrote his name and she wrote what it would like in Chinese. He got into and started going around the restaurant copying symbols. The one that is far right corner is the symbol for alcohol. She got a kick out of telling us that one. She ended up saying her kids could only do their names. She has told me before that they are not into knowing their culture and language. It saddens her. She even gets Chinese satellite trying to help them know the Chinese language.

For anyone reading this and doesn't know who Angela is-she is a patient of mine that owns a Chinese restaurant in town. She has 3 boys and the youngest is Bridger's age. She is the one that make the wonderful egg drop soup that Bridger loves so much. And yes, he got his traditional, much too big, bowl of egg drop soup for lunch today. We also splurged and had crab rangoon.


Around 6pm this eveng the emergency alarms went off across town. It was announcing a severe thunderstorm with high winds. Not soon after we got the storm. It was amazing the volume of the message. I am assuming the pole is actually somewhere near our neighborhood. Bridger got scared. I was wandering through the yard looking for sprinkler heads to mark for the aerator service tomorrow. Darin was trying to cook meat on the grill. The power never went out luckily. We heard on Darin's radio an ambulance flight was trying to land about the time all this started up. The airport had the hail before we did. It sounded like the flight landed OK. To get Bridger's mind off the weather we had him take pictures of the hail. Shasta got to come in and that helped also.

don't say sure

I love the spots that Bridger put on Shasta. The details are fun too. Grass, sun, paws, but no ears! His writing is getting better. He writes what he hears. He is trying to say, "I have a picture". There is more, but that wasn't my point of the drawing.

Darin is showering and then we are going to pick-up Bridger. Bridger had his first boy sleepover with a friend named Gage. No middle of the night phone calls and the father reported this morning that things went just fine. I think they had a guys' night-the dad, Gage and Bridger. It is also the same family that is coaching flag football. The mom and the girls each were away for the night.

So Darin and I went out for dinner. I didn't pick well once again. I suggested a new place. It is a restaurant on the side of a bowling alley. They left the wide doors open to the bowling alley into the bar. There was music and bowling going on. Darin was instantly annoyed and voiced his annoyance more than once. I finally noticed we could have sat down on a lower level where there were cloth tableclothes and cloth napkins. I asked and we were moved. Just in time, because within moments we would have had to leave (Darin). It was a nice dinner and I wouldn't mind going back. It will just have to be on a non-bowling night.

So the other day Bridger and I were headed somewhere. We were going along the interstate and he starts asking me about numbers, this or that minus this or that. I was only half-heartedly paying attention. What he was asking wasn't making sense and I was near a merge point onto the interstate. He said something about something being 4 miles and was that right? I said sure. Note to self-don't say sure. From the back seat I got a-"it is not-you just said sure", ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION TO ME!" I had to laugh and admit no I wasn't.

He got me one other time with "sure". He asked me if I liked someone. I responded with sure, because that seems better, "no I don't". So once again from the backseat-"so you DON'T like them, you said sure!" Bridger at age 6 has me figured out. AGAIN - NOTE TO SELF-DO NOT USE SURE.

Bridger's Da-Da

Bridger continues to say Da-Da in reference to Darin. I know he doesn't realize that it sounds like baby talk. He says it so sweet and with such emotion when he is referencing it to Darin. He was so proud to tell anyone that would listen that his Da-Da was out there coaching.

Darin brought home his 2009-10 school pictures today. Bridger just had his taken today. I spiked his hair for his. If B's pics were later in the day-the spike was probably in trouble. His hair holds as well as mine (not well).


Bridger and I made it the Oil Bowl. It was a balmy 79 degrees at game time. We were outside the stadium for the national anthem. Thanks to Darin, Bridger and I had pre-paid tickets. We walked right past the line half way around the block. We ended up on the end of the stadium for seating. Luckily, someone Darin teaches with spied Bridger and I and motioned us up to join them. I was counting on that happening from someone, anyone, please!

What a game. NC scored on the opening drive, then next possession they scored. By half time the score was 21-0. So when I tell you the score-you won't believe it. They lost 28-27. They went into double overtime. KW came back after the half. OK-that statement was probably obvious. Bridger and I are sort of waiting around for Darin. I know he won't be in such a hot mood. I still don't know if he has to do the 6 man game tomorrow or not.

I did find out from Bridger tonight that one of the Malachis' was removed from the classroom at the parent's request. Apparently, Mrs. Miller felt Malachi should be saying the pledge of allegiance and he was in trouble for not. His parents, according to Bridger, requested he be moved. It might be wrong to rejoice, but I am not the only mom to think it is wonderful that Malachi is out of the classroom! Thank you Mrs. Miller!

week in review

No particular significance on the pics. I sort of closed my eyes and directed the cursor. HA!

I would love to see if Bridger is closer to the height of Darin's head now with him kneeling. Bridger has grown so much these past few months. He seems to be catching up to some of the older first graders in height. I had to carry him to bed last night after he fell asleep on my lap. I am sure it wasn't comfortable for him-he was folding in the middle pretty good-he's heavy!

So anybody else have one of THOSE weeks. I am so glad it is Friday. We will probably end up being just as busy on the weekend as during the week, but it will be our busy, not everyone else's busy. That make sense?

Monday Bridger and I had his football practice that we would have missed if the coach's wife hadn't called. We got the windows measured by one more person. I am hoping Home Depot can be more reasonable for prices. Yes, I would have liked to have used Menard's, but I have to find my own installer. I don't have time for that.

Tuesday, I missed all but the last half hour of my board meeting for the daycare. I just spaced it out. I did have the afternoon off that I spent in the office right up to 15 min before Bridger had to be picked up. Bridger went with me to Best Buy after some negotiating and we bought another computer. I managed to decide on one that they didn't have in stock. A patient was our salesman. Maybe he got a commission off of me, he didn't try overly hard to sell me anything I didn't already want. Our computer is several years old now and each day I cross my fingers that it will keep going.

Wednesday seemed like it must be Thursday and that Thursday was surely going to be Friday. Each work day has been so frustrating for me. Bridger asked on the second night that I picked him up at 5:50pm why I was getting him so late. Where would I even begin? Darin had his fire dept meeting. Since his knee is bad he hasn't been on duty. He just goes to the meetings. He came home early enough to see Bridger before bed. Bridger also had his first football game. No, he didn't throw for 300 yards. I managed to get the low down on a couple of kids in his class by sitting next to another mom. That was fun.

Thursday Darin went off to Gillette and his 9th grade team is still undefeated. Yeah! That is such a nice thing for Darin considering last year that the CY team basically sucked. I did yard work under the surveillance of the twins and Bridger last night. I told Darin all about my frustration with dealing with them after he got home-I won't bore you all with it, too. There is still the backyard to go. The backyard should be easier-the slats haven't dried enough that they can peak through. Bridger had his special Grandparent's celebration. He invited Kayla to come and she was able to. I called and thanked her for going last night. She said she was by far the youngest participant. Bridger tried going home with her after school. She had to break his heart and tell him that wasn't the plan. She said he was pretty persistent. I think we have a pretty special person in Kayla being in our lives.

So now it is Friday! Tonight is the Oil Bowl which is NC against KW. KW seems to think this will be their year. They have amassed a better record so far. Bridger and I will go and try to find someone we know to sit with. The game starts at 6pm. I am sure I will be strategically challenged on time.

Everyone else have a wonderful weekend.

flag football

I remembered the camera tonight. The game was to start at 7pm. Sunset is getting close to 7:30pm now. The first pic was near where I was sitting and Bridger was QB for this play. The kids move around different positions every play. Bridger seems to have more of a knack for QB than any other position. He doesn't have the greatest of speed and he has a hard time trying to grab the other players flags. He tries to gently.


Getting the flags on. I joked with the coach in gray about matching their team shirts with the flag color. Bridger's team is the Jets and they got green shirts. He needs a purple shirt, too bad he wasn't on the Vikings. HA!

all in a day's work

Almost done!

It was a productive Sunday. We are both tired, the adults, that is. We knocked down 4 old panels. Darin dug up two post and poured quick concrete to re-set new posts. When a section was set to have the panels put on, I got to screw the new panels in place.

Darin carrying water to mix the concrete

The infamous twins. I didn't know Darin captured a Kodak moment. I wish he would have the captured the moment that I kicked them out of the yard. They were into everything. Who knew there would be so much to get into. They were climbing up on the old fence (nails). They threw a piece of 2"X4" up on the shed. I finally had enough and told them to GET OUT!. They were perplexed and didn't go right away. I was getting pretty worked-up and I think maybe they sensed it. They took off finally.

They can not see through any longer. There are about three more panels to finish on that side. Yeah! Bridger has football tomorrow night. Maybe Darin can join us.

Saw Vikings won, Lions and Chiefs lost. Not a happy day for some of us in that regard.

Happy Birthday Rollie!!

Isn't that just a beautiful fence? The last two evenings that I worked on it Darin came out to help without even being invited. The first night he was having fun terrorizing the neighbor's dogs. They are rather aggressive and the idea was for one person to keep the dogs back and the other to put up the fence boards. I had started away from the end of the fence where the dogs were. Darin felt we needed to start on the dog end and so the fence met in the middle. Of course, it didn't meet up with the right distance. Darin assures me he will get that one part fixed. The plan today is to start on the "twins" side of the fence today.
Happy Birthday Rollie!! Here are a couple of my favorite Jampa-Bridger pictures.

Darin got back late Friday night after his 6 man football game in Tensleep. They didn't win. They got beat badly. Darin says they never got to actually practice 6 man style of football. They just threw some players together and off they went. Tensleep didn't have the best sportmanship. I think they thought it was fun to humiliate Casper. Darin said when the score was 41-6 they onside kicked. Darin tells me he didn't hold back and told them what he thought of them. The parents(?) wanted to offer them a BBQ after the game and at first they weren't going to stay, but they did. If you bring it up even two days later-he is still pretty hot about it all.

At 10 am today-the pellet stove got turned on. Everyone but me is in shorts in the house, but there is a chill and to take the chill off-the pellet stove got turned on. OK-so it working that is the main concern.

The 3 of us actually got out of the house by 8:30am yesterday. The homemade egg mcmuffins had to be taken in the car, but we were out of the house. We got Bridger registered for hockey. It starts the week of Oct 5th. Isn't that just 3 weeks away? We got him a 2nd hand pair of elbow pads. We sold $30 worth of our old stuff. He got to see some of his teammates. We then made it over to play practice just a few minutes late. They didn't start on time anyway.

At play practice a new boy was being an undisciplined 7 year old and the directors actually kicked him out at the end of the morning's session. It was uncomfortable to watch. I have seen 4 and 5 year olds acting much worse, but maybe going up an age group they expect more. At the end when that family was leaving the naughty boy was actually crying walking through the parking lot. I got the feeling he really didn't understand what he had done wrong and that most things generally went his way. Darin's comment was that the parents were to blame for that one. Haley and Bridger get to be in the play together. We are actually helping out with Haley getting there some of the practices. Her mom, Danielle, is going to college and has some labs on Saturdays.

We had dinner with the Meline's and others for Shawn's bday yesterday. Shawn heads back to Kuwait on Tuesday. Those two weeks sure went by fast.

still awake

I can not sleep tonight. So here I am blogging. So here are the last two pictures from last Sat. Bridger took the one of the four adults. I liked the picture of Bridger and I even though it is so dark.

Darin had a 9th grade game tonight. He reported that they won again. I didn't hear the score and it wasn't forthcoming. He leaves tomorrow morning for Tensleep for a 6-man game. He is not so thrilled about that, but he will be home on Saturday. Well, maybe, he says. He wonders if there will be film to watch from Fri night's game in Laramie for the varsity. Maybe they could win and the head coach will give them a break.

Bridger started flag football Wed night. He really liked it. He has a classmate on the team and other Verda James boys also. There is one kid who seems likely to carry the team. He seems to really have the game down. Somebody has been working with him. Maybe I can remember the camera for Monday's practice. I know I will remember a chair. I sat in the grass and was so itchy Wed night.

Bridger starts play practice on Sat. The theme this fall is Chinese folktales. Bridger asked what the title was and then said he wanted to be a tiger again (face paint). We also sign-up for hockey on Sat. I just realized that I didn't get Darin to go through the hockey equipment for the sale on Sat. Stuff has to be turned in to sell tomorrow night (fri). Darn it. I was hoping to thin out the equipment around here.

$1 a dance

There was music at the wedding reception giving Bridger the opportunity to attend his second dance. We went to an anniversary party earlier in the summer where they had dancing and he loved it. We had hoped maybe he could dance with Sammy, but she was never a willing participant.

They did the traditional money raising thing for the bride and groom. Bridger danced with Sophie and Darin danced with Ben, much to Ben's chagrin. Ben is not anything like Darin and was quite taken back that Darin would think to dance with him. Linnea, who is more like Darin than Ben, suggested it to Darin and even gave Darin the $1 to dance with him. At one point Darin told Ben to get ready he was going to dip him. That ended their dance and Ben told Darin he was "one weird dude". As you all know Darin-it didn't upset him a bit.


Bridger danced with Linnea as well. It didn't cost him a $1. Once he gets going he feels comfortable out on the dance floor. Most of the time either one of us is with him. I tried teaching him the two step, but he doesn't have the coordination yet to move his feet consistently. He doesn't necessarily like when the music is something to twist to or act fun with. That is when he gets embarassed.

more wedding

Here are some more wedding pictures. More through the week. The bride is Sophie and the groom is Ben. Ben is our friend, Linnea's, brother, also Sammy's uncle. We have become friends with Ben and Sophie over this past year. All the little girls cried out, "Bye, Princess Sophie" as they drove off after the reception.


Our friend Linnea, who is not pregnant. Those darn empire waist dresses anyway. She looked very lovely.

Father and son at the outdoor wedding. Bridger's hair managed to stay spiked throughout the day. We did it before we left Casper. I had my doubts it would make it, but it did.

labor day weekend

As you all know from sharing news that we were going to Dayton, WY this weekend. The Meline girls were in the wedding as versions of flower girls. They just carried large sunflowers and shared the limelight with their Texas cousins. For a brief moment I thought Bridger might get to be the ring bearer, but the Texas nephew got over his shyness and stepped up at the last minute. Bridger got to hand out bird seed packets for throwing after the "I-Do's".

The wedding was outside at the groom's parent's campground. It was a very beautiful setting. They were right alongside the Tongue River, which seemed more like a creek as you could walk across it. After the wedding we walked over to the Community Hall for the reception. I will share pictures from the reception through the week.


This is on our way up in the RV. Bridger was intently watching a movie and Darin was driving along. The RV ran well and we were glad we had it. If Darin got to pass someone you could see the chest swell for a brief moment.

Lake DeSmet. I always hated this lake and I have never been any closer to it than this. When I lived in Gillette (60 miles east) there was always someone drowning or a snowmachine falling through the ice. I just always thought it was a very dangerous lake. Darin has mentioned fishing there a time or two and I always sugget- NOT!

fri am

These are a couple of my favorite pictures from the past summers. Bridger in boots is from Yellowstone. The feeding calf one is from trip to Rapid City and Black Hills. These are from 2007.

Darin's team won their game in Cheyenne yesterday, 55-19. He finally got home last night around 11:30pm. Bridger watched a movie and I finished a book. We had such an exciting evening.

Bridger was in a van accident yesterday on the way to school with the daycare people. No one was injured and they still made it to school on time. I think it was just a fender bender. Bridger and I mananged to be ready earlier than ever yesterday. I took us to McD's for a breakfast. It was nice to just sit there and chat with each other about nothing. There was a little hurrying on my part as he wasn't eating and time was ticking.

NC has their varsity game tonight. Darin left us tickets. I know he wishes we would come to the game, but I don't really relish the thought of sitting in the stands all by my lonesome self. Bridger would eventually even abandon me for some kids he would know that would come along. So we will see. There is still the RV to get ready for tomorrow also.

Is it really Labor Day weekend? Where did the summer go?

Tuesday!

It has already been one of those weeks, where I am glad when it gets to 5pm, and it is only Tuesday. Tuesday the day I have the afternoon off. HA!


Bridger at the Bean in Chicago. We had a great summer! Sorry to see the end of summer.

Not too much news to report. We did have a nice time Sunday afternoon with the jet ski. We all 3 were able to ride on it. Who knew back in 1996 we would be a family of 3 and use it still today. Bridger was all curious about whether the jet ski could tip over. We told him the story of Chase, Darin and myself riding on it and tipping over. We assured him we would not tip over with him.

After we got back I continued to work on the patio cover. I was able to finish it. I was reminded about Rollie's comment about fiberglass splinters. I got a few. I ended up having to get the gorilla tape to tape some of the holes I made when I didn't hit the wood slat.

I let Bridger go with Meline's last night and I took off to Menard's to get more board fence. Darin and I met up with them after Darin got home. We got to visit with Shawn who is home for 2 weeks. The girls are sure happy to see their daddy. I think Linnea will have some trouble after he goes back. We are heading to Dayton, WY this weekend to join them for Linnea's brother's wedding. He and his fiance' live in Casper also. We occasionally do things with them and Meline's.

I hoped to work on the fence this afternoon, but time didn't allow it. The window salesman I had come give a quote ended up being here for 2 hours. Bridger had gone next door to Jason's and they ended up bringing him home. I felt bad like I had intruded upon their time. I just lost track of time with the salesman. He was friendly and helpful. He also does siding. He also offered to send one of his workman over to do the exhaust fan. After he explained the process, which I know Darin knows how to do, I still feel like we should be able to do this ourselves!

Darin has to go to Cheyenne on Thursday for a 9th grade game. He announced tonight that he also will be a part of the coaching for a 6 man team. He doesn't know the schedule for that. There is also a varsity game on Friday night. We won't leave for Dayton until Sat am.

Bridger and I should spend the next couple of nights organizing the RV for Dayton. We get to take it up there. Hope it goes well.