Scooping Steer Feed

I remember the Wiersma's who so kindly donated feed for my 4-H steers. They said I could take the "push outs". Push outs are what the dairy cows didn't eat because they pushed it too far away from themselves in the feed troughs. Every day Momma or Poppa and I would go to the dairy and fill two big plastic garbage cans with feed. It was this great mix of alfalfa, grain and other wonderful things. It was BY FAR the best feed I could be giving my steers.

Tiny won Grand Champion once he was on the hook, I have no doubt that his great marbling and musculature was because of this great feed. I didn't know enough to have done anything else to make it happen. :)

Doing this every day meant that we dealt with A LOT of weather while we salvaged feed. I remember scooping up feed with the snow whipping against my face. I would put on my big work gloves and use my little hands as big paddles to fill up the buckets. Often times it would be dark before we got over there and we would be working underneath the big yard lights of the dairy.

I can still smell the wet alfalfa and the sweet grain... Funny how I remember that smell over the actual smell of the dairy.

When UVSC Hockey was ranked #2 in the West

I remember when UVSC hockey was ranked #2 in the west. It was Fall of 2008. We were in Colorado when we found out. Bo (Coach) was on the bus with the team going to Colo State for the game, I was getting ready to leave the hotel for the game, I had Winter and Tuff and Jamie with me. I got a phone call to check the rankings.

UVSC - #2, I called Coach and told him to listen and listen good...he heard me and then annoucnced it to the whole bus! The whole bus cheered and were yelling. We were all so proud.

We went on to win that game that night. Great game, great time!

Cleaning Up After Abby

I remember when we were younger (around 10 and 6) I would always clean Abby's room once it got to the point where we couldn't see the floor, let alone walk. She had a big white waterbed and I would start by taking everything off the floor and either putting it away or putting it on the bed as a staging place to be put away later. Needless to say there was always a huge mountain of crap on her bed until I got the place done. The floor would be clean, but seriously... a MOUNTAIN of stuff on the bed.
I only cleaned for her a couple times a year I would guess.... but when I did it was always an adventure.

Midnight Showing

I remember as a little girl, I must have been around 5 or 6, Owen was just a little boy and had a favorite movie. He would watch it over and over and over, what movie was it? Lion King? Ghostbusters? Both? Whichever it was, I hated that movie because we watched it so much at our house.

Now I sit here, late at night with my own baby boy while he watches his favorite movie, Step Up 2the Streets. I know every song, every line, every step to every dance. Thankfully my boy has good taste, unlike his Uncle Owen. I haven't gotten sick of this movie yet.

The Beginning.....

Our family began when my good friend Ruth Ann Cadou brought her ‘boyfriend’ to my house to spend race weekend. I remember when she pulled up in my backyard, she drove right over the grass (this was customary race weekend) to park beside my back door. She drove a triumph spitfire convertible and I hated her for it! Her boyfriend got out of the car and carried in snacks and supplies for a great race weekend party. I didn’t notice him really, he was hers and she was not a woman you wanted to fight over a man. We stood in my kitchen and talked and I secretly chuckled over her use of a snobby rich accent when she called him by name, ‘Matthew’. He instructed me to call him Matt and I just shrugged, ‘whatever’. She seemed smitten.

Unfortunately it was my duty to inform them that her dad had begged my mom not to let them sleep together. She started with a loud laugh and grabbed his arm and acted like she was in a soap opera, Matt on the other hand turned 5 shades of white, ‘we’re not together,’ he said quickly and tersely. Ruth Ann kept laughing and holding onto him. ‘Ok,’ I said, ‘whatever,’ and laughed some more, whether with them or at them, I still don’t know.

Ruth Ann’s dad was taking us all to dinner later that night. As I was coming down the stairs from my bedroom after getting ready, Matt was sitting in the living room and he looked up and saw me and his eyes lit up, they just really lit up and he said, ‘are you coming to dinner with us?’, I replied I was and he said, ‘good!’

From that moment on we were inseparable, we were inseparable the entire weekend. Ruth Ann had even hooked me up with a date for the race the next day and I hardly remember him. Race day I sat with Matt and we laughed and watched the race. He fed me potato salad that he had scooped with pretzels instead of chips and called me ‘toots’. (Dumb but true) We flirted and cooed while race cars whizzed in front of us on the track, I am sure Ruth Ann and my ‘date’ were looking on, I just don’t remember. After the race we all went to a local pub and I sat next to my ‘date’, but I was too busy playing footsie with Matt under the table. Matt ordered for me, paid my tab, (I mean what was my date doing all this time, I’ll never know) then Matt and I got up from the table and within half an hour we left them all behind.

We drove around the city laughing in my car, me the crazy passionate city girl, him the guy from an Alaskan town without a stoplight. We never looked back, a bond was cemented, hearts united, we became, were and still are crazy about each other, best friends together…..we were married 6 months later. He says he’s married to a crazy woman….

Welcome

As a family we've traveled all over the place for one reason or another. We have collected some fin memories along the way, and this is a place where we want to share them with you.

As we say "We put the fun in dysfunctional" so strap in, we're gonna have fun.