Photo of the day, Saturday

Holly Update: She looks marvelous! From the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Nuff Said!

The boys and I went to the Klondike Derby. It was at Yankee Springs. They were calling for warm weather and rain. We got the warm weather, but no rain. It was fantastic, sunny and warm. The sled that the boys pushed around all day was getting pretty hard to move in the afternoon, after all they took turns riding so you know that they were really pulling, plus the, the gravel roads appeared and made pushing the sled even harder. They had a really good showing, they took second for Scout Spirit, which is based on crazy yelling and working together. Additionally they had the best score for the citizenship/flag ceremony station. Ian and Spencer came home exhausted, it was touch and go, but they are now safely a bed.

When we got home, as exhausted as we were, we were still really hungry. Best of all, Cindy's daughter Vicki Dot, came to visit. She actually goes by Tori, but you know how I am, so 20+ years ago I dubbed her Vicki Dot and that's what I call her.

I took pictures of all of this and then, as I am getting ready to upload this, my memory card fails and I can't get anything from today. But Cindy and Holly came to the rescue and here I have my friend Vicki Dot.

Have a great day!

Pat

Photo of the day, Friday

Holly update: She looks marvelous. Her friend Cindy, more on her later, washed and dried her hair and used the blow dryer so that her hair was fluffy.

Cindy, our Matron of Honor at our wedding, came to visit and she cooked a really good homemade dinner. It was coconut salmon, asparagus, yams (done in a zippy way) and a really good Cinnamon bread. While I am not a fish eater, I really liked dinner tonight. Tomorrow her daughter, Vicky Dot, will be visiting as well and it will be awesome!

Have a great day!

Pat

Photo of the day, Thursday

Great day today. I was able to slip from family guy to business guy and back again with ease. It is awesome when I can pull that off.

I was at an event today with the President's/CEO's from several businesses in the area. It was a seminar called "Blue Print to a Billion". Kind of crazy considering the current state of affairs, but reasonable if you consider that business keeps getting done. I heard some depressed ideas about the short term, and optimism about the longer term, say next fall, we'll be rolling again. An up side, that's what we needed to hear.

No photo today, but a link instead to Holly's Blog. She's way smarter than me and thus was able to document a great set of reminders of how to let others help us. It's found at her blog, just click on the link above, "Holly's Blog".

Here's a shot of a good friend. I know, I wasn't going to put up a photo today, but I came upon this one and I was touched that after not being connected formally for the past "few" years, we're still friends. Thank for the prayer support Lis, we love you, Jeff and the kids, don't worry, we're always there for you too! PS, that's Ian behind you.

Have a great day!
Pat

Photo of the day, Wednesday

Wow, it's Wednesday already! Sorry I've missed a few days, I get pretty busy on Mondays and Tuesdays.


Holly update: She is doing wonderful. We went to the Y tonight for a shower. Lately we'd been trying to rush to see how fast we could get this done. Not so tonight, we took our time and just went with the flow (pun intended). It was nice to come away without that rushed feeling. Her leg looks really good and the shoulder is getting better too!



Once we got home I said to Ian that we'd gone to Bennigan's for dinner instead of taking a shower. The kid looked stricken, I guess he enjoys eating out as much as we do and Bennigan's is one of our favorite places. After it was clear that we didn't go there without him he told us what he was really longing for. Spencer heard that and chimed in with his fav and then Holly did too. I feel a bit sorry for them after all, I still eat out with customers or on other business once or twice a week.

Here's Holly on Super Bowl Sunday getting ready to snack a bit. We have really been careful with our meals lately, but an occasional splurge is not only OK, it's healthy. Well, that's my view.

Have a great day!
Pat

Photo of the day, Tuesday

Holly Update: It was a good day again today. I had a business lunch on the other side of Grand Rapids and so I pretty much left in the morning and came in very late. She did great on her own all day. She's really getting into working to keep her knee loose and ready for the next stage and so we set up the ice station, a machine that pushes cold water through a pad, so that she could work on her mobility and then ice the knee to avoid and reduce swelling. I can tell she's done with the "Poor me" phase, if she ever was there, and is ready to take on rehab. But I should point out that's she also realistic and cautious. As with all things, balance is best. Tomorrow is shower day and so that's bound to be great, you know, look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp.

Big news of the day was that Chef Holly hit the kitchen for the first time in several weeks. We dined on meatloaf and baked potatoes and it was good. Everyone has been so good with bringing food by, but our own cooking is what were used to and awesome when we can get it. She made the meatloaf by herself, well, a great neighbor did do the grocery shopping, anyway, it was a wonderful meal.

This shot was from Super Bowl Sunday. Ian taught me the R chord. When he told me to hit an R I was confused. Then he helped postion my fingers and it turns out it's an E with pointer and pinkie extended to express the "Rock On" attitude. Not sure I completely pulled it off, the guitar strap clearly shows that I am a poser, but properly cropped, I could be the next middle aged one hit wonder. Anyone got some really easy lyrics?

Have a great day!

Pat

Photo of the day, Sunday

Happy Sunday! We had a good day. Went to church and I got to hang out with some of my favorite 2nd and 3rd grade kids. Even met a few new ones, it was good. After lunch the boys and I went to a scout event, it was actually a practice event for the annual Klondike Derby. The Derby is 7 events that center around scout skills and our troop is competing against many others from the district. Should be fun, our kids made up of 3 older scouts and 4 pretty young scouts. I just hope that they have fun.

As usual on Super Bowl Sunday, we have snacks and you tell by this picture, that the boys really like chowing down on the serious Super Bowl snacks. This year it was Taquitos, Bagel Bites and Strawberry Crush. A memorable night to be sure.

Have a great day!

Pat