Happy Holidays

It's been awhile since anyone has posted on the blog!  Lets see if we can get going again........we had the family (less Brian's family and Spencer) here Christmas Eve.   A little hectic, but nice to get everyone together.  It was nice to see the snow, but worried a little about the family getting home.  But everyone made it home safe!  And from the reports I heard today - Santa made it okay last night, Ken and I even saw deer tracks in the driveway this morning when we went out to shovel.
I have the next couple days off, so I'm hoping to get some organizing done and maybe a little sewing.
So Merry Christmas to everyone, and a Happy New Year.  I'm praying for a good 2014!

Now lets hear from everyone else..........

thanks

Just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words, prayers, emails, and calls this week.  It is so important to stay close to family. 
Love to all
Ann

Can you use?

Does anyone have a need or a use for a king size mattress pad?  It was brought at Costco a few months ago, so almost new condition.  Please let me know if interested

We are back from Vegas

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our week of vacation and Crabtree reunion in Las Vegas.  We had a great time and were able to see my brothers and sisters, except for one who couldn't make it.  We stayed at a resort-casino called "Sam's Town".  It was an old hotel I believe, with a wonderful atmosphere and the people working there were great.  There was a laser light show at night, and during the day time there was a pool for those wanting to use it, a bowling alley, arcade and of course the gambling.  The kids were all busy with everything above except for the gambling.

We went to the Strip and to the M&M Store, Hard Rock Cafe and the Coca Cola store so everyone could do some shopping.

Here is a picture of my brother, Darrell putting some money into a box so that a mime(??) could do his little act. Really surprised him and us!

This is a picture of the 6 of us who were there.  

The order we were in is:  John, Nona, Janet,

Diane, me, Darrell.  We are missing my brother 

Richard.

Guess that's about it for now.  We are home for a couple of days and then off to Litchfield MN for the Minnesota Trapper Convention on Thursday.
Barb

Hello from Alaska

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July.  We are still in Alaska and having a BLAST
.
We went out of Deep Creek on Monday for some Halibut fishing.  The seas were pretty rough, but we still managed to limit out.  Tuesday we tried our hand at King Salmon and unfortunately struck out.  From what we hear, the Kings just are not running like they used to and the game and fish department is at a loss as to what is going on.  We did meet a very nice couple from Texas that were in the same boat as we were.
 On Wednesday we had our float plane fly out to Wolverine Creek.  We went sockeye fishing and did some bear viewing while we were there.  The plane ride was spectacular, and the fishing was a BLAST.  Sockeye salmon are a fighting machine when they get hooked.  They FLY through the air...and I mean FLY.  It was so much fun, it is on our must do again list.  We tried our hand at Kings again today, and I did hook up with one, but it got off as I was bringing it in to the boat.  The action was fast a furious there for a while.
Tomorrow is our last halibut trip, and we might try to sneak in some sockeye fishing on Saturday.  Our guide told us to call him and he would see if he could squeeze us in.
I am posting some pictures from our trip so far.

The black bear had two cubs, but I just couldn't get a good picture of them.  The brown bear had three and you can see at least two if you look at the picture really close.  Bob and I are holding a couple of the sockeye that we caught, and that is a picture of the float plane that we flew on.

Bob and Julie

Family Reunion 2013

So many have other plans for Saturday, June 29th that we will be cancelling the family reunion in Lanesboro this year.  Hopefully the last Saturday in June will work out better next year!  Hope everyone is doing well and that most of us will see each other September 7th at Crystal and Derek's wedding or at Spencer's barbeque July 6th.
Ann and Linda

Wyoming News

Hello from Wyoming.

It has been a while since I had anything to post on here.  It has been a pretty strange spring/summer here.  We went fishing one weekend with the temps hanging around 70 and the next weekend had 6 foot snow drifts in front of the boat barn.  After that it seemed like it stayed snowy and cold for a long time with the temps just finally warming up the last couple of weeks.  Now, the wind is blowing.  Seems like I can't get anything done on the yard after work because the wind is blowing 30+ mph.  We did manage to get some fishing in at Grey Rocks last Saturday.  The fishing was slow, Bob was catching some bass, and a few small walleye.  I had caught one really small walleye and had thrown him back.  Then, something BIG decided to bite.  It took me about 15 to 20 minutes to get this bad boy into the boat.  Bob did a great job of netting him for me, and I was shaking by the time he got in the boat.  This is the biggest walleye I have ever caught.  Bob has caught a couple this size, but my biggest to date. We weighed and measured him when we got home, and he weighed 7.4 pounds and was 27 3/4 inches long.  (Bob says it was all excellent boat placement and superior netting skills.)

Unfortunately, no fishing for us this weekend, Bob has to work Saturday morning, and I have to concentrate on getting packed for vacation.  We fly out of Denver at about 10:30 next Saturday night, and will be gone until July 7th.  We are really looking forward to this vacation, one of our fishing trips is a combo salmon fishing and bear viewing.  We will fly out on a float plane to one of the silver salmon fishing stream and after a few hours of fishing we will do some bear viewing.  I am thinking we might be competing with the bears for the fish.  We also will do two halibut fishing trips out of Deep Creek, and two king salmon trips on the Kenai River.  Hope the kings are running!


Bob and Julie

Deploying again....You're invited

Hi family -

Spencer is in the middle of training and hardly home these days already.  This deployment was literally a last minute thing for Spencer.  We have had a few friends ask if we're having a BBQ party for Spencer this time. 

SO.....

In my free time (haha), I have decided to look into reserving 1/2 of the pavilion at North Park in Kasson (South 1/2 of the EAST pavilion - near the park/pool).  We have it reserved from 10:00 - 3:00 on Saturday, July 6th.   It's likely the last weekend Spencer will be home before leaving Minnesota. 

Please feel free to stop by and see us.  Enjoy a bite to eat (probably pulled pork sandwiches).  If you're inclined to bring a dish - that would be great! 

Pool is open noon-9:00pm - new aquatic center - it's right across the park from the pavilion.  $4 admission fee in case you're interested in swimming.

Gabby - I KNOW Spencer wants to chat with you before leaving....

Liz lost a brother

Liz was notified last Saturday that her youngest brother drowned on Friday June 7th.  He was 27, married with a 2 year son.  The funeral was Tuesday.  Please keep Liz and her family in your prayers.
Thanks, Ann

A new week

It's hard to believe its Sunday night already. I'm still working with my hand and arm. I have a feeling it's going to take awhile
I want to thank everyone for the calls and cards. It has helped brighten my days

For those of you that don't know Spencer will be deployed again. He will be leaving for Texas next month, and then leaving for Afghanistan in August. It will be a one year deployment again.

On a bright note today. Ken and I went to a concert of Celtic music at Assisi heights this afternoon.  Put on by 2 sisters from Duluth..very enjoyable  was going to be outside in the inner courtyard, but with the rain it was held indoors.

Guess it my bedtime, I have been really tired, so I've been trying to go to bed early most evenings.

An update

I'm feelimg better.  I'm still having trouble with small muscle control. Typing is hard,so if you find a mistake, please overlook  it.  I tried sewing today,  it went better than I expected it to.   Using the rotary cutter was a little hard,  had to cut it a couple times.  It's also hard to brush my hair.  Getting better with using silverware.  You don't realize how many things you take for granted.  I went to physical therapy wed and went to my Dr.  today.  It was nice getting a few questions answered.  Of course, he could not give me a define answer as to why this happened.  Of course, if I had to have a stroke this was the best kind to have.

Update on Mary

For those that don't know I was in the hospital, I had a small stoke on Friday morning. I was out walking with daycare kids and Tracy when I was feeling funny.  Tracy called 911 right away and caught the stroke early.  It has affected my right side...so little slow and weak.  Small muscle control is worst than anything else.  BUT - they figure it should be full recovery with a little physcial therapy.  I was released about noon on Sunday and home now.  I'm taking a week or so off to rest and recover...getting some excerise and working on strengthening those muscles.

Thank You!

Gabby and I want to say thanks to all of you that came to our celebration of our anniversary.  We had a super nice day and were able to stay outside the whole day with no rain in sight!

The food was great!  It seems that everyone there was having a good time.
Barb

Jordyn's Spring dance recital

Jordyn had her spring dance recital May 11.  The first photo is her in one of her regular routines.

Towards the end of the progam it got real interesting.........the Dad dance.    I think this was one of the most important reasons for Jordyn dancing this years.   The 3rd grade does a dance routine with their dads!!!!    This year the dancers could pick what they chose to wear - just so dad and daughter's theme matched.   Jordyn wanted the cowboy theme.

The routine lasted about 6 minutes and went thru several moves............

sorry duplicate picture

It was so much fun to watch Shawn and Jordyn do this dance.

They did awesome!!!!

Lindsey, Shawn, Jordyn and Dawn - this is Dawn's last year to instuct the dancers - next year Lindsey will be in charge.  I think they had fun doing it.

If some the pictures didn't turn out this was part of the reason - Connor got tired and fell asleep............He was partially on my lap, the camera in one hand taking photos, and the i pad in the other hand during video.  I am somewhat surprised that any of the photos and video turned out.   

Alex's Baseball Season

  I finally remembered to take the camera to one of Alex's games.   It seemed like the season was over almost as soon as it started.   The first couple weeks there were lots of postponed games due to the weather.  Then for 4 weeks I had classes on Thursday nights (one of the nights they played lots of games), so I had to miss all of those games.

But we really enjoyed the games we were able to watch.

Alex played first base most of the time - once in awhile he was right outfield (I think I only saw him there one game)

Batting

 Must have hit the ball - the catcher is looking to see where it is..........

and running.

 

Alex's team had a very good season -

Alex's Confirmation

Some pictures from Alex's Confirmation........

We are very proud of you Alex!!!

Watch Out....

Dad picked up his new IPhone 5 on Saturday afternoon.   Promptly received instructions from his (favorite) son-in-law in how to use it. 

Barb & Gabby's News:

Just a reminder to all family members that next Saturday is the potluck party at the Oronoco Park, and we wanted to reminder everyone to bring their dish to pass and  their own beverages and that there is to be NO LIQUOR at the park.

We hope to see as many of you as possible.  It is from 10:30 to approximately 3:00.

Ann's News

My News:

I gave the DAC my notice today, I would have worked there 25 years in August. It is bittersweet but I will start a new job May 20 and will stay with the DAC part time until June 21. The only benefit left at the DAC was the pto I earned as a number of years ago they dropped our insurance.

I received a call this afternoon from Donaldson's in Cresco asking when I wanted to start. I will be working 2nd shift - 2pm until 10pm which will be different for me but I feel good about it. After 60 days I will be able to have insurance and other benefits

Please pray that this will work out well for me.

Love to all

Ann

Alexander's Confirmation

                     Join in the celebration of Confirmation for

  ALEXANDER JAMES PETERS

Confirmation Mass will be held at Church of Holy Family

 in Kasson, MN on Sunday, May 5th at 10:30 am.

Please join in a reception for Alex at 4:30

in the afternoon at Shawn’s house:

297 Countryview St, Kasson, MN 55944

  RSVP to Shawn by May 4th (507) 923-1023

More info........about Uncle Ted

Visitation will be Tues,  from 4:00 until 8:00 pm at the Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home, 801 E Monowau St.   Tomah
and at the church on Wed from 9:30 till 11:00 (time of service).   Mass will be held at 11:00 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, Indian Creek.  Burial will follow in the church cemetery with military honors.

below is a link if you want to see the obituary


http://www.sonnenburgfamilyfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2064125&fh_id=12367#.UWoNyXS9H6l.email

Uncle Ted and sad news

We received word  that Uncle Ted passed away today (this afternoon).....arrangements are pending.

It might be Tuesday nite and Wed, but this is not certain at this time.

Grandparents........another one

Henry is happily (maybe not so happily) showing off his new shirt.   And announcing to the world that is going to be a big brother.

Brian had Henry laughing so hard, he just had to rest againt Papa Ken for a few minutes.   All of a sudden we could hear Henry laughing, Brian was just being himself,  Henry would laugh, lay against Ken to catch his breath, then start all over again.  I just thought it was a sweet picture of Papa Ken and Henry.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter dear family members! 
Our family news is that Crystal and Derek are now engaged and are planning a wedding for September 7, 2013.

45th Wedding Anniversary Pot-luck

To All Family Members

Gabby and I have now decided on May 18th as the date for our anniversary get-together potluck.  That seems to be the best time for the two of us with our various schedules.  It will be at the Oronoco Community Center (where Linda lives) and will be from 10:30 a.m. until approximately 3:00 p.m.  We hope to see all of you there.

As for food, we will be providing the fried chicken and ask that you please bring a dish to pass.  Someone asked for a suggestion, and I want to leave that up to you, however, a suggestion from me would be to have baked beans (I know Ginger and Carl make great beans), and various kinds of salads, fresh fruits and veggies.

We are also asking that you please bring your own beverages but please remember there is to be NO LIQUOR in the park.  If you have a canopy that you can bring and put up for some shade outside, we would greatly appreciate that.  If you have any outdoor games that can be played with the kids that would also be wonderful.

Please R.S.V.P. to either this blog or to me at barbshayes@charter.net and let me know, so that when we order the chicken we will have enough for everyone.  Hopefully we will have a great day.  See you then.

Also, please do not bring any gifts.  Your presence is enough.
Barb and Gabby

Happy birthday

Happy Birthday big bro

Hope you have a great day

You are invited

Baby shower for Michael Walter

1-4 pm

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Canton Comm. Hall

105 S. Main

Canton, MN

No invitations are being sent

Henry

 

 

I made this postcard on February 25, 2013 in the Chicago History Museum’s exhibition, Sensing Chicago. This is how Chicago looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels to me.

Henry (Take a close look at the letter 'O'!)

And baby makes three

Pictures of the baby and new family.......

Michael Walter

Michael Walter, new grandson of Carl and Virginia, arrived on Feb 19.  
5# 6 Ozs and 18 1/2"   of pure joy to the new grandparents.

To All Family Members:

As some of you may know, Gabby and I will be celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary on Saturday, May 11th.  We are in need of some input from you.  Since we will not be able to attend the family reunion scheduled for June, we thought this would be a good time to see if everyone would like to get together for a celebration-potluck on either the 18th or 25th of May.

If you are interested in doing this, Gabby and I would provide the fried chicken and would like those of you who come to bring a dish to pass.  You would also need to bring your own beverages.  We also need some input on where to have the celebration.  Any ideas are welcome.

If you would prefer not to have anything other than the family reunion, that's okay with us, however, we thought it would be a great way to celebrate our special day.  If  you would prefer not to answer on the blog, please send me an email at barbshayes@charter.net.  No gifts are requested - just your presence.

Waiting to hear from you.

Barb & Gabby

Hockey Tournament

Zach survived his first hockey tournament and loved it!   They lost their first two games - BUT - they played HARD and did their best.   Their second game was so close and should have been a tie, but we lost.  We played consolation game this morning and the team won!   They decided that a 2-1 win wasn't good enough and turned up the heat in the last 3 minutes of the game to win 4-1.

Hindsight - I'm glad we lost the first two games because they meant we played at 10:30 sunday and really only had to deal with the freezing rain coming home after the game.   I'm really happy that we're home now and not heading out into this weather for his game.  



I believe Logan is wearing jersey #10.