Is This Your Tax Refund?

Getting Whipped!

We went to my parents house today to see how dad was doing after surgery. He had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, but when they got inside it wasn't torn. He had bone spurs and arthritis that was cleaned and removed. Either way, he'll be off for about 3 months. With all his surgeries recently he has had time off like a teacher! What a bum! Trying to keep up with me, I guess. The pictures are Nanny Linda giving Payton a little whipped cream from a can. I missed the one that showed Payton's mouth open like a baby bird getting fed, really wide!

Playing Mom

Olivia decided to play mom for a bit and had Payton sit on her lap while they watched some iCarly on TV. These times are nice and I just wish it happened more than the crying we hear from Liv tormenting Paypay.

IRS Pencil Sharpener

I get all kinds of pics, but Roy always seems to send the ones that make me laugh.

Early Super Models

If you were around in 1919 (just before prohibition started) and came upon the following poster......... Would you have quit drinking? Or start?

Thought of the Day from Mom

First Day at Kids Kingdom

We brought the kids down to Kids Kingdom for the first time this year. When I left school it was 67 degrees and dropped to about 50 by the time night fell. Olivia had fun climbing on the monkey bars and Payton ran around and had time for the swing. I also captured the sunset with the castles of Kids Kingdom and the trees in the horizon.

Iraq Sandstorm

Joe sent this picture of a sandstorm outside their barracks in Iraq. He said it was nice to get a break the heat of the pounding sun, but the sandstorm lost its luster pretty quickly.

Good Luck Chuck!

Well, he did it again! Chuck, aka Dan VanBrocklin, fell to the clutches of love for the 3rd time this weekend and married Lindsay. Mark Wyman is pictured giving his Best Man speech for the 3rd time for Chuck. Later in the evening, Mark and his Bro Scott gave a toast to the Newlyweds and their newly found cup coolies! At one time during the night the cup coolies held sweets on the tables. Those Wymans sure are resourceful, or something like that.

International Pictures of the Year

First Place:

First PlaceTodd Heisler
The Rocky Mountain News

When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport , Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport , Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful: 'See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home,' he said 'They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should.'

Second Place :

Todd Heisler

The RockyMountainNews

The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. 'I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,' she said. 'I think that's what he would have wanted.'

Mark's Car Moving Along

We spent another night working on getting Mark's car ready for racing for the middle of May. I was actually working, cutting pieces for the rear bumper. Jon was inside the car welding the pieces of the rear bumper together and Mark was finishing up the welding on the floor firewall. The race season is only a month away and the car is nearing completion at a steady pace. Next up for the car is building the gas tank and battery holder and rocker panel for the car.

Headlines: Titanic Sinks Today

Titanic was an Olympic-class passenger liner owned by the White Star Line and built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard. At the time of her launching in 1912, she was the largest passenger steamship. During her maiden voyage, Titanic struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank two hours and forty minutes later on April 15, 1912. Matches a sinking of another boat today and so much for the unsinkable boat!

Little Fun in the Sun, Finally

Natalie, Olivia, and Joey spent some time outside today soaking up the rays. The temperature reached a blistering 42 degree's today. At least there wasn't any snow and the grass can be seen again.

Kickin' It Old School

Wyman came over Saturday to watch the wings and play some Nintendo Entertainment System. I show I still kick ass on Super Mario Bros. Olivia had fun playing Duck Hunt. Mark was gracious to get whipped in Blades Of Steel and Super Tecmo Bowl, at least until the machine crapped out. It seems to be up and running a lot better now. We also played some Mike Tyson Punchout, Baseball Stars, NBA Tecmo Basketball, and Double Dribble. Now I have to see if I can locate a place to buy more games for my NES. Who needs all that new high tech gaming!?

Scott Murray Wins Gold!

He did it! Scott Murray landed the double backflip at the Inaugural Motto X Best Trick competition yesterday in San Diego. Scott won the Gold Helmet and looked pretty happy about landing it on live TV on ESPN. Click on ESPN and check out for yourself!

All Jacked Up!

Shak has been working in Ontonagon for a couple of months, so not much progress has been made on the car. Tonight, Jon and Junior were busy making the jackstands for the car. Jon was busy grinding and welding and Junior was busy cutting the pipes for the stands. I, on the other hand, took time to stand around and watch them work. But, I did have time to watch the NASCAR race and take pics of them.

Deadliest Catch

What is Deadliest Catch, well check it out on Tuesdays on Discovery!

The Bering Sea holds the secret to Alaskan Gold, the highly lucrative and elusive…King Crab. With a new set of rules to abide by the ships and the crews will have new deadlines, more stress, and more dangerous conditions. With forty-foot waves, 700 pound crab pots, freezing temperatures and your mortality staring you in the face…this job ranks as one of the deadliest. Any time spent of the Bering Sea is dangerous, we watch crews race to meet their quota and make it home safely.

Little Hughey!

Barret Elliott is in town for the week with his Grandparents. He and Payton got together to argue over a door handle and play. Today he came over to play with Payton and the other kids in the house adn from what I was told they had fun and played well together. Can you tell this is David Elliott's kid?

Ref's Are Great?

Anyone disagree!?

Wings are tops in NHL!

Well, it has been a long season, but the playoffs start this week for the NHL. The Red Wings won the Presidents Trophy again! It is awarded to the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. It is their Sixth President's Trophy and is nice to get, but they have only won the Stanley Cup once after winning the Prez Cup. Let's hope this year is the Second!

Piggy Bank?

Does this piggy bank look like the one around your house these days? Thanks to Roy for another good pic! My piggy bank takes in quarters and craps out pennies in return!

Busy Saturday

Payton went with Papa and Nanny Saari over to Uncle No-no's and Aunt DeeDee's. She spent time playing with cousins Madeya and Grady. Payton on the left and Madeya on the right in picture. Olivia sat with Katie and Emma at Emma's birthday party at Pizza Hut. The kids had fun and enjoyed time with friends and family!

Making Books

Olivia and her friend, Natalie, made books today with Liv's new cuttlekid. Cuttlekid is a fancy paper cuter that will cut paper into shapes, animals, or whatever you buy to put into it. Let's see if this is a step to something bigger!

Front Page News

W.C. Cameron School kindergarteners, clockwise from left, Thomas Claycomb, Ashley Hurkman, Olivia Saari and Tessa Harvey, work at sounding out letters and words during a K-pals game Thursday. (Daily Press photo by Lisa M. Reed)

In case you missed it, this was on the front of the Daily Press on Monday March 31st. Liv is the girl in pink and one of her 200,000 headbands!

This Sucks!

Olivia has been great at making messes around the house for years, which is how she was given the nickname "Hurricane Olivia". So, we decided to allow her to clean up the messes she makes. Glitter was strewn about the living room and Olivia is pictured doing the start of the clean up.