The recent surge of email activity only reinforced this undeniable truth about our family... We're awesome.
Since I think the type of dialogue we've thus far seen is extremely important for us to continue... and since none of us really work.. i thought a blog in honor of this momentous occasion should be created. We can share our newest diet plans, keep everyone updated on the number of hairs we lost this week, and make fun of each other. You know... the good stuff.
I've never really "blogged" before, but maybe this could be the start of something new for me and us....
If you're interested in posting stuff here let me know (I didn't send out invites, since I didn't know if people were interested
......There Appears to be sufficient interest, so everyone should have received an invite by now. : )
if you want to contribute to this blog you have to open a free Gmail account... Gmail has tons of nice, free features... )
Soren
14 comments:
I agree, this family is awesome. I am glad to be a part of it. I think this blog is a great idea. Luckily, I already have a gmail account, so I can get right in on the fun.
Great!
Good job Soren. Much better than 37 emails in my inbox.
Wonderful!!!!
Thanks, Soren.
This is great - thanks!! Terri
Soren - tell us how to sign in as contributors - unless you want to dominate the conversation with your wit and brilliance ...
Jim used my log-in -- he's the one who can't figure out how to register:)
Karen
okay vegans, vegitarians, or whatever - here's my question - I would like to cook a dinner for us - BUT - I had pork enchiladas in mind - If I made those and also made cheese enchiladas or shrimp enchiladas - what do I need to do to make a meal that this family would actually eat???
'Sure would like to meet your needs....:) Terr9
My opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas! Love, Gary and Terri
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Our Friends and Family!!
I always enjoy writing these Holiday letters. It allows me to reflect on another great year of experiences, feelings and connections with family and friends.
Gary and I are as busy as ever. Gary is breeding cows and heifers at the dairies. One dairy is vigorously expanding its herd to around 6000 cows. He has been training people to become “A.I. technicians” but, so far, has not trained himself out of work.
I am enjoying my position as Assistive Technology Coordinator for the school district. I am also kept busy doing consultations for the Autism population in our district, training teachers, and facilitating best teaching practices related to our never ending No Child Left Behind testing. Teaching responsibilities and expectations have changed dramatically over the last thirty years! I could get on my soapbox for a few days to address that change, but it’s really not that interesting.
Justin and Veth remain in Minnesota. Their home is in Cottage Grove. This year we met them in Denver in July and spent time with them and Wes and Mary. We toured the local zoo on a hot day. We drank plenty of water and had many smiles and good conversation. Justin was able to ride Grandpa’s horse, Willy, and Veth fed carrots to anticipatory horses and foals. They were all thankful for our visit.
We are fortunate to be able to visit Justin and Veth in the fall when I have a National Conference that I attend there. This year we visited the apple orchards and took a beautiful walk in a park in Wisconsin. The fall colors were later this year and we took our cameras along for photos of fall colors we never see here in Nevada. As always, we enjoyed our visit and wish that we could spend more time with Justin and Veth.
Marian tried to relocate to Reno, but found that she missed the work culture of Microsoft too much. She interviewed with Microsoft and obtained a supervisory position. She is an OEM Incentive Compensation Manager. She is now looking for a home closer to Redmond. She is merrily enjoying her BIG Mastiff dog. Marian was able to enter a few Bluegrass competitions in California while she was in Reno. Of course, she won the Female vocal competitions. Her voice is golden and she writes moving and fun lyrics.
My Mother is still in her home in Ridgecrest. We had a family Thanksgiving at her house this year with the Jacksons and the Butlers. She enjoyed having all of us together for a meal.
In May, Marian and Gary and I jumped on our Harleys for a four-day tour of Bryce and Zion National Parks. A storm came through Bryce and we were hailed on. But, it made for great pictures! It’s a beautiful time of the year to be there.
Gary and I toured on our Harleys for about three weeks this summer. We both have new cameras and we took the opportunity to revisit some of our favorite places so we could photograph them in better formats. Gary helps me with composition issues and attempts to teach me about aperture, ISO, etc. He understands and uses photography best and I understand and use the computer best. We make a good team and are having fun printing and framing pictures.
We visited Denver, Gunnison and rode over Lizard Head Pass. When we were in Gunnison, we tried to meet up with my cousin, Jim Valenzuela at his resort, “Water Wheel Inn”. Unfortunately, we missed each other, but we intend to get back to that beautiful country in the future and we will try again to visit Jim.
We visited Canyon de Chelly again and took the valley tour in their “shake and bake” vehicles. The weather was cool, as we were there during the monsoon season. Again, we took the opportunity to take many photos. I am fond of the Canyon de chilly beadwork and found a necklace with a traditional rug pattern. We also rode the rim of the canyon. From Canyon de Chelly, we rode off to Monument Valley. We took a few tours through the canyon and saw petroglyphs as well as the usual monuments. We enjoyed a short but exciting ride in a thunderstorm with Native horses running along side our motors as we all tried to evade the lightning strikes.
After Monument Valley, we traveled to Yellowstone. I had not been there since I was a child. I recall spending a night in the car on one of our trips back from the Midwest, but did not remember much about the park. Gary had never been there. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the park was not crowded. We camped at the South end and stayed two nights. On our way there we stopped at the Grand Tetons to view the luscious scenery and very large Moose. In Yellowstone, we enjoyed the mud pots and geysers and left with many interesting photos. We had one exciting encounter with a large bull buffalo. They roam the park freely and people just do not understand how destructive they can be. We were lane to lane with the big fellow when the driver of the car behind him chose to lose patience and began leaning on the horn. The buffalo shook his head and blew snot and we were preparing to lay down our bikes and run. He was larger than both of us and we looked like the only “out” for him. Fortunately, the car ahead of us moved up and we were out of sight and harms way. Later that day, we heard that the buffalo had taken out the side door of a car. “Whew!”
The deer have been scattered this summer and fall. Instead, we have black bear and mountain lions. The bear have been starving this year. We had a late freeze and there are no berries for them. Instead, they come out of the hills and traumatize the trash bins. We are not sure what they will do this winter (sleep?). However, I must admit that it’s nice to feel safe when I go out in our back yard. The deer are just too humanized around here. At least the bear, coyotes and mountain lions run off when we make noises.
We are anxiously planning next summer’s trip. We want to make it east of the Rockies. Who knows, we might be calling you!
We wish you happiness and health in this New Year. Love,
Gary and Terri, Pete and Zeke and all the critters.
Is there any way to add pictures to this blog? I would love to see some of Gary and Terri's trip, and I have these two cats to show off, as well as the pictures that Steve and I take. Of course, some might get bored...
I would also love to have faces to add to names so that I am not so much at a disadvantage at family gatherings.
On most blogs, contributors can post pictures, graphics, and whatever else. I have not explored this one, but since you can also post videos, pictures should be easy.
Okay - how do I become a Contributor??? Terri
Ask Soren for an invite. I aksed today. I also have a blog with Steve,(click on my name and you will see it) and posted my picture on my profile. That is why you see it next to my name.
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