Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 was a busy event. We must have had over 25 people throughout the day come through our house. It was wonderful to have friends and family over.

While Paul's mother was at the Mayo (for back surgery this past October), she obtained for herself a new "daughter" named Veronica (one of the nurses at the hospital). Veronica is of Italian descent and she and Paul's mother seemed to hit it off. Veronica came over with her husband and her (real) mother for dessert on Thanksgiving night. Paul's mother continues to reassure her children that she won't leave them for a new family.


Diane the pie maker...


Dinner as Sammy saw it from the end of the table...


Michele and Sammy...


Johanna...


Chris enjoys dinner...we think...


The first ever annual Thanksgiving Day pie parade...
...Michele, Linda, Anne, Diane...


We had a ukulele trio with Kevin, Ryan, and Sammy...



Paul's mother with some of her new family members...
...and a few legacy ones...


Diane realizes she is no longer the number one nurse in the family now...

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sammy and his amazing technicolor winter hat...

Yesterday we went to Zumbrota to see the United Redeemer Lutheran Church's presentation of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." A coworker of Paul's sister Diane was in the production. It was nicely done. It was Sammy's first (off, off Broadway) Broadway Show.

The fellow who played "Joseph" did an exceptional job. Sammy was excited to see it. Afterwards we took Sammy to meet "Joseph." True to his cowboy interests, Sammy pointed at the rope around "Joseph's" waist and said, "You have a lasso!"

On the way back, Anne & Diane left in their car before we did. We stopped for gas and a donut for Sammy. And we still beat them back. Somehow they managed to get lost...in Zumbrota.



Sammy in his amazing technicolor winter hat meets "Joseph"...
...photo courtesy of Aunt Annie's cellphone...

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Great Minnesota Recount...

Minnesota is currently in its greatest election recount since 1962. Senatorial incumbent Norm Coleman (currently) has a slender lead over Al Franken. When the Coleman campaign asked for volunteers to help in the recall, Paul chose to help out this past Wednesday. After the recount is all said and done, we'll put in a complete account of Paul's experience. For now, here are some photos taken when Sammy came to visit his father that night at the Olmsted County recount.


Sammy is all smiles as votes are recount behind him...


Sammy gives his father tips on how to count...

Paul at the recount table...



Friday, November 07, 2008

Locked in the bathroom by George W. Bush

Global warming. An economy in crisis. Mortgage mayhem. Declining literacy rates. An escalating energy crisis. Just about every bad thing has been blamed on our sitting president. Can there be no end to the list? What other ill could he be guilty of one might ask?

Yesterday, our phone would not work. We called the cable company, reset the modem, etc...nothing seemed to remedy the situation. Today Paul came home from lunch and was checking some things and found that his framed George W. Bush portrait had slipped and pulled the phone cable from the wall. Reinserting the cable made the phone work. No wonder liberals loathe President Bush so much.

Later on...

Our house is about 50 years old. Things start to go after a while. Earlier this week, Michele was trapped in the bathroom because the door knob mechanism no longer would work. Paul was able to release her with a credit card after loosening the molding.

Ever the dutiful husband, he went out this week and bought a new door knob set and began replacing it. Sammy was napping. His mother (recovering from back surgery at the Mayo Clinic) was downstairs. Michele had run out to the store. While Paul was trying to remove the door knob--well you probably already guessed it--he accidentally locked himself in as well. Sammy awakened from his nap, came out and stood powerless to help his father.

Paul's mother climbed the stairs (even though Paul told her not to). Though she suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis...she took a screw driver he passed through the door knob opening, loosened the molding, and released him with a credit card. Yes, Paul's mother is a regular MacGyver. When Michele got home, Sammy retold the story finishing it with (really), "We're all nice people."

Some may think Paul was a bit absent minded to get into such a predicament. But Paul knows it could not be his own fault--he was again victimized be George W. Bush.


George W. Bush

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Samnastics

Last week they took team photos at Sammy's gymnastics class. Getting six toddlers to stand in a line on a balance beam for a photo was an incredible achievement.



Preparing for the 2024 Olympics...
...and all those lucrative product endorsements...
...to take care of his parents in their old age...

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Sam-o-lantern...

Sammy's Grandma D is here visiting (while recovering from an operation at the Mayo) and helped him carve pumpkins earlier this week.


Sammy explains his technique...


"I envision the final work of art and just remove the excess to release it."


Sammy working the pumpkin...


Grandma D and Sammy celebrate Halloween spirit with his trademark "silent scream"



Boo!






Son & father...

Friday, October 31, 2008

You got a friend in me...

Sammy was the Lone Ranger for Halloween this year. His friend Shannon was an astronaut. She and her parents (also known as Linda & Tom) came over tonight for some trick-or-treating. When they stood next to each other, it was kind of like "Toy Story" with Buzz(ette) Lightyear and Woody.

Both Shannon and Sammy had a great time trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. The weather was perfect...dry, in the 60s...the leaves were crunchy under our feet.


Shannon and Sammy-er--the Lone Ranger...


They tend to get silly when together...


A picture perfect evening for Halloween...


Getting the candy...


The pleasant Plum Witch presented peanut butter candies while the postiched puppy played...


Comparing their loot...


Who was that masked man?

The Lone Ranger Rides Again...

When asked what he wanted to be for Halloween, Sammy did not hesitate: The Lone Ranger


"Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear..."


The Lone Ranger participated in Sammy's annual day care Halloween parade...


The Lone Ranger paused before embarking on another adventure...


He told his mother how he would brave the scary castle to rescue the Princess of Rochester...


The scary castle that the Lone Ranger faced to rescue the Princess of Rochester...


Even the Lone Ranger is human...
...briefly he recoiled in fear before overcoming it...


After rescuing the Princess of Rochester, Sammy told her of his heroic adventure...


The gracious and grateful princesss grabbed and grasped the Lone Ranger in a thankful hug...

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Elections...


An interesting electoral college refresher...
..."or withhold your paycheck"



For you Catholics...

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Defeat of Jesse James Days Celebration

Today we took Sammy to Northfield, MN for its "Defeat of Jesse James Days." Meeting us there were Diane and Grant. It was a perfect day--sunny with a temperature of about 70F. As always, Sammy was in heaven with cowboys and horses around.

From the "Defeat of Jesse James Days" website:
"On September 7, 1876, outlaw Jesse James rode in to Northfield and was determined to rob the bank. Little did he know the infamous Jesse James would soon meet his match. Shots were fired and men died. Northfielders Joseph Lee Heywood and Nicolaus Gustavson gave their lives in the struggle, but Northfield had triumphed. The bank was safe, and Northfield was the last stop for the James-Younger Gang."



Defeat of Jesse James Days...


The reenactment of the bank robbery...


Sammy and his Mom watching the reenactment...


We suppose it's better than saying, "Tuco would shop here"...


Sammy at lunch...


Paul, Michele, and Sammy...


Grant, Sammy, and Diane...


Grant and Diane...


Sammy waking up from a nap that was far too short...


Grant and Diane...
...but who is the guy in the background?


Sammy takes Diane for a boat ride...
...but who is Grant photographing in the background?


Grant and Samy horseplaying...

Monday, September 01, 2008

Por una Cabeza



Yesterday Michele's coworker Brian and his wife Jamie were kind enough to invite us to accompany them to Canterbury Park for a family day of horse racing. Along with their two daughters Natalie and Lauren, two of the girls' friends came along to. Paul's sister Diane met us there.

It was an exciting afternoon of horse racing. In the first race, #2 "Gratuity" won in a photo-finish. Diane seemed like she might have a gambling problem -- after all three of her horses placed she was ready to gamble more and more.

Sammy of course, enjoyed the horses, being around the girls, and the general excitement. But at one point he turned to us, held up his hands palms ups and asked, "Where are the cowboys?"


Canterbury Park...


Here's where they saddle up the horses...
...Diane's winning method was to watch the horses at this spot...
...identify the the most spirited...
...then plug that into a complex calculus of statistics, probability, psychological profiling, and weather modeling...


One of the horses...
...we think it was the pre-victorious #2 named "Gratuity"...


Brian enables Diane's gambling addiction...


One man does a single-man "wave"...
...in tribute as #2 "Gratuity" does a victory lap...


Diane and Brian excited over their wins...


Sammy with a gaggle of girls gazing at group of (soon-to-be) galloping geldings...


Sammy and his Mommy...




Por una Cabeza (you might remember the dance scene from "Scent of a Woman"), has lyrics which talk about a compulsive horse-track gambler who compares his addiction for the horses with his attraction to women.