Some beautiful country in South Dakota. There are no deer in this picture (at least none you can see).

Happy Birthday Outlaw 2

Hope you have a great B-day Outlaw2.

Here are some helpful tips for all of us over 50.

Never attempt bending down, except under strict medical supervision.

Keep a diary – it will be a great source of comfort and a handy reminder of what you did yesterday.

Buy a computer, digital camera and a MP3 player. Although you’re incapable of understanding how to use them at least you’ll appear trendy.

Take the strain off your tired old memory by labelling all household objects – bed, fridge, television etc.

Happy Birthday and we'll see you in a couple weeks.

Home from Hawaii

A few pics from Jack and Kay's recent trip to Honolulu and Molokai...

ENJOY!!!!

Sunset in Honolulu the night they arrived

Missouri/Arizona Memorial in Honolulu

About to get on the plane to head to Molokai...she looks native, almost!!

Overlooking the LEPER colony!!

The house in Molokai they stayed in...

The beach leading up to the house...

We'll be seeing you all soon at the Darby Christmas! We're all looking forward to it!!

Happy snow day!!

-Melissa-

Welcome to December

For the first snowfall of the winter Mother Nature didn't mess around. Inlaw4 had the day off as well as most of the office workers at Greenlee.

Happy Birthday

In case you forgot, today is I3's birthday. Happy Birthday!!

Shopping Divas

Inlaw4 and Lisa went shopping this morning (Friday after Thanksgiving). They went to experience the uniqueness of shopping TDAT. Hope they find what they're looking for. The latest update I have (8:55 AM) is that the lines at Kohls wrap around the store. Yikes!!

Thanksgiving Day

We spent Thanksgiving day at King and Queens. Bethany, Matt and Lisa joined us. As always the Thanksgiving meal was great! Grandpa won both hands of TIC. We didn't watch much football, any updates? Outlaw 2, any luck with deer hunting yet? Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanks Inlaw3

Well, as you probably already know, we joined the Saturn clan a couple of weeks ago. Granted we bought King and Queens Saturn in June but I haven't seen that thing for months!! This one is for us. It's a L300 with leather interior and 6 cylinder engine. It's really fun to drive. Inlaw4 drove it to work this week (instead of the van) and I filled it with gas on Saturday morning. Holy cow the bill was $10.50. We'll drive it a couple weeks and check the mileage. CONGRATULATIONS INLAW 3 for tying for first place in Saturns "Walk About Competition". As I understand it, the contestants participated in role playing scenarios explaining / selling / educating prospective customers on Saturn's Aura. Apparently my cell phone connection started to break up while discussing the financial rewards of his victory so I don't have much to disclose on that subject. Again, Congratulations!!!

Louisville

I spent the week in Louisville, KY. and had a chance to visit downtown.

Cary UMC

Last weekend Inlaw4 and I went to her boss's son's wedding in Chicago. The ceremony was held at the Black Orchid near Second City Comedy Club. We stayed over night in Schamburg and the next morning went to Cary UMC. As you can see it is a beautiful church. If you get the chance to attend one of their services take it. We enjoyed it very much. After the service we went to Cheese Burgers in Paradise for lunch where Matt and I were able to occasionally watch the Bears trounce the 49ers. Hope to hear from everyone. Let me know if you need some help posting to the blog.

Melissa's Baby Shower

Jan's pictures of Melissa's baby shower can be seen by clicking on davepics link.

Horicon Marsh / Beaver Dam

Despite the weather, Outlaw4 and Inlaw4 went to Beaver Dam for a photography class taught by Dave Edward of the WI DNR. It rained all day but we drove through Horicon Marsh and took a few photos anyway. Better luck next time!

Lisa visit at U of I

Inlaw4 and I went to Champaign on Friday and spent the night at the Hampton. We had a snack on Friday night with Lisa and caught up with her again on Saturday. We toured the campus which is something we haven't done since her freshman year. It was supposed to rain but the weather turned out to be great. U of I played MSU in MI. THEY WON! It was the first time they've won at MSU in 17 years. Here are a couple pictures of the campus and there are more on Shutterfly (follow the link).

Summer Flowers 2006

This year was a little different from past years. Usually we have our plants in by early June. We didn't get everything planted because the roof was replaced and then the tree was removed. But, as you can see, Jan did a great job with them again.

Noisy Weekend

The Rockford Air Show was held at the airport this weekend. On Friday they were flying over our house. I managed to get a couple shots of the planes but the real thrill was hearing them. On Friday we must have heard a dozen sonic booms. We didn't make it to the show but I think we'll definitely put it on our list of things to do next year.

Another big spider

Hi everyone, Sorry we haven't posted to the blog lately. The other night we were outside on the deck and Mr Spider came out to dine. The next day I found his hiding place. The days are getting colder and I suspect Mr Spiders days are numbered. He's a big one that's for sure.

Crop Walk

Hi Everyone! Once again Jan and I are participating in the Crop Walk with Court Street United Methodist Church. We've walked 4 out of the last 5 years. Crop Walk works towards eliminating hunger and strives to promote self-help. They also provide emergency funds throughout the world. Our goal this year is $250.00. If we make this goal an anonymous donor will match it. We're hoping you will be able to help us out. The walk is scheduled for October 15th. If you would like to sponsor us we would really appreciate it. Give us a call so we can fill in our pledge sheet. Thanks, Jan and Dave

Rain, rain, rain and more rain

Last Monday it looked like it was going to rain and when it did it really let loose. We were fortunate. We got some water in our basement but that was it. Some of the neighborhoods close to us had water damage that included basement walls falling in. We've been running the de-humidifier and fans to dry out and we're in pretty good shape.

Darby Family Picnic

I added about 30 pictures to the Darby Family album. You can use the link on the left side of the blog to view.