What a relationship!

It was only 5 months after graduating from Bemidji State when it started! (December 5, 2000 to be exact)

It didn't matter if it was raining, snowing, or an earth quake just happen it would appear in my mail box every month like clock work. In fact I was fortunate of walking it across the street safely a total of 119 times.

I never got excited when I saw it or would feel any smarter when I opened it but it always came with a return envelop and would just sit there patiently smiling and waiting.

During the 10 years we were friends, more on his part then mine. He cost me $80.88 extra one month and only 49 cents extra another. He was mainly consistent but maybe that's because his hands were always in my wallet!

In his defense his amounts were a lot smaller then anyone else's could ever be and I did agreed to everything he said but our relationship is now officially over. After paying the boat load of extra money. I am happy to report I'm completely done with Direct Loans...That's right my student loans are PAID IN FULL!!

I don't remember a whole lot of all the classes that I took over the course of my four years but I do have a lot of GREAT memories of all the wild and crazy things that I did with my friends and some times total strangers. In fact according to my calculations if I would of saved all the money we spent on stuff (aka. beer and party supplies) during the time I was there I would of been able to pay off my student loan and purchase a beautiful home on the day that I graduated.....Glad I didn't do that!!

Wiggles

If the Wiggles are within a 100 mile radius of our house, you can be guaranteed two things! It's going to be an awesome concert and the Gamradts will be there. I wouldn't consider us groupie's just yet but we are close of crossing that fine line. I'm not exactly sure how I got on the Comcast Arena pre-sale cyber club e-mail list but when I got the e-mail that the Wiggles were going to be back in town, I was on the phone with in 2 seconds calling Kristi to see if we wanted to go.

We weren't exactly sure how the twins would do at the concert so we decided that this concert would just be us and Addy. I was really hoping it could of been just a date night for Kristi and I but then we thought we better bring at least 1 kid so we didn't look like we were there just to stalk all the little kids.

I need one of these for my garage!

We told the boys that we would bring back 1 souvenir for them so while I was in line buying them theres and getting myself a t-shirt, a coffee mug, a hat, socks, and life size posters of all 4 Wiggles Addy and Kristi went to take a little peak!

Let the show begin!

Without a doubt another great concert! The one thing that I really like about the Wiggles is that they will read every poster that the kids make for them, they will grab every rose a kid brings for Dorthy, and they interact with the kids as well. I just hope our kids still enjoy them at the age 15 when we drag them off to see them!

We were a little sad that Murray wasn't there. I guess he was gone do to a family issue. I will try and call him again later on today to see how everything is going! The only problem is I've called him 10 times already and he has not returned any of my phone calls. The last phone call they said something about legal action but I just broke out singing, "Cold Spaghetti!" they acted like they hung up but I know they were listening!

We will definitely have to bring the twins next time they make it back to the Seattle or Everett area or maybe, just maybe Kristi and I will finally get our date night and go alone!

Trick or Treat 2010!

This kind of goes with the Pumpkin Patch entry. I was going to delete it but when you have a monkey, a lion, and a butterfly that look like this you can't!

When it comes to trick-or-treating there is no monkey business.....again....sad!!

Easton fought the whole time while we tried getting him dressed into his lion costume but then as soon as he got outside he got into it big time. In fact if his hood/mane would come off, he would stop in his tracks and not move until we put it back up. It was hilarious!

Easton was fearless when it came to asking for candy. As soon as he got up to the door he was trying to beat it down. Owen and Addy were a little more reserved but Easton was ready for the candy.

Owen checking out his loot!

After mom and dad checked every piece of candy for razor blades we let them have a couple. I am happy to say that Kristi and I risked our lives by eating the ones that looked questionable.

It's December?

I thought since we made it through Thanksgiving it is now time to post our trip to the Pumpkin Patch for Halloween. I know....a little sad....but it's better then no post at all....right? I'm going to try and be a little better but even I'm saying, "I'll believe it when I see it!"

With time running out for Halloween it was the time to run out and find the perfect pumpkin. We loaded the kids in the van and headed out to find the "Great Pumpkin"....oh yes... I went there! You know with these kids on the prowl the "Great Pumpkin" didn't have a chance to hide from us.
Our search was postponed for a little while after the kids saw that this Pumpkin Farm also had an animal farm. I guess goats, pigs, and bunnies dominate pumpkins when it comes to kids.

You know that Easton and Owen mean business when the hats go from forward to backwards! Easton is even licking his lips with excitement.

Mason, Owen, and Easton hanging out. It seemed like they had a lot of pumpkins but it also seemed that the good ones were already gone.

"Daddy, I'm not sure where I put the pumpkin!"

The sad thing was we never found the "Great Pumpkin" but then again neither did Linus . In fact we decided to buy our pumpkins at the grocery store which was fine with me...CHEAPER!! Owen giving our new pumpkin the once over, kicken the tires making sure we got the right one!

I think when it comes to carving pumpkins neither Kristi and I have the artistic ability or the patience to really carve any pumpkin that was until.....

...Kristi told me that it was ok to carve the Twins logo into my pumpkin. Now I had all the time in the world

The kids decided it was taking too long for us to carve so they decided to take off and do a little playing.

I have to say a big thanks to Matt and Lori for letting us carve the pumpkins at their house. I kind of forgot how messy it can be. Here are all the pumpkins that were carved that night. I have to say that I was actually impressed with my Twins pumpkin it turned out pretty nice.
We will now probably post our Thanksgiving pictures after Christmas! (j/k)

1st Field Trip!

I was in 4th grade when my class went on a field trip to a roller skating rink. I roller skated so hard that I broke out into this huge sweat. The back of my shirt was totally drenched in sweat along with my neck line and at that age I wasn't wearing any deodorant. I'm sure I was the one that smelled like a gym every time I came around the corner. I remember my teacher saying, "Ryan, you should take a break!" I never did but looking back I probably should of to save my classmates from the smell.

Now it's Addy's turn to enjoy the field trips with the hopes that she never ends up at skating rink and follow in her dad's foot steps. This was Addy's very first field trip and Kristi was able to join in the fun. The day started off with a nice little breakfast treat at McDonald's.


After breakfast, Kristi and Addy met up with her class at Cravens Farm, a local pumpkin patch. The class started off with a cookie and a story, petted some animals and then headed off to the pumpkin patch to find the GREAT PUMPKIN with Charlie Brown...ok I threw in the Charlie Brown part but it does sound good, right?

Getting ready to head out and search for the right one!

Still searching!

Addy hanging out with her friends with their pumpkins!

Kristi and Addy enjoying the day!

Sitting next to the King and Queen Pumpkin!

After the Pumpkin Patch Kristi took Addy to the mall to play. How lucky/spoiled can this little girl be!



Making a wish! What a great but very busy day and she didn't even break a sweat!

Twins Game X 2 = Fun Times!

Our annual trip to the Twins vs the Mariners game was a little different this year. The biggest difference was we were able to take Easton and Owen to their first Twins game. We also went with Julianne and her whole family, along with Jim and Karen. I'm not sure if we knew this going in but it was Ichiro bobble head night which made the longest lines I have ever seen!

How good does Owen look in his Twins jersey? He's a stud!

Here are all three kids waiting in line with Jeannette, Julianne, and Kristi! Sporting the Twins gear of course!

I couldn't pass this picture up. You have to love Joe Mauer!

The boys were pretty rambunctious and couldn't sit still in one place for a long period of time but they seemed to enjoy it! As for Addy, she fell asleep a half-an-hour before the first pitch and slept till the 3rd inning but then she was ready to go after that.

We also did our annual Twins / Mariners game with the Dyks! We started the day by hitting the Pyramid brewery before hitting the game.

Kristi and Lori toasting to a day without kids!

I have to say this was the fastest game I have ever been at. We didn't get there till the 4th inning because we were to busy drinking but the total game time was only 2 hrs and 5 min! We were there a little over an hour!

1st Day

Today was an exciting day for us as Addy went to her first day of preschool. I think Kristi and I were more nervous for her than she was. Here she is getting out of the van and getting ready to head in!

She is only attending half days for right now but we hope to be able to get her in full days soon. Here she is heading up the stairs to her classroom.

Addy was a little hesitant and a little sad when it was time for Kristi to leave, something that we did expect would happen. Although I do have to say there was a little boy that was so nervous he threw up when his parents left. Kristi felt so bad for him! Here she is hanging up her stuff!

Here she is with her teacher Miss Michelle. Kristi, Addy, and I got a chance to meet her at the open house on Tuesday, and she made a very impressive first impression. We think she will be perfect for Addy, and she really seemed to like her so that was a big bonus.

This is after her first day heading home!


I absolutely love these pictures. She looks so grown up to me. It's hard to believe how fast she is growing. I also LOVE her Hello Kitty bag. The school asked us to buy a full sized school bag because they will be sending projects home in folders, and they would like a set of fresh clothes in a plastic bag just in case of an accident.

LOVE IT!!

To celebrate her first day we took her to Red Robin and let her order whatever she wanted!

Mac-N-Cheese with a Chocolate shake was her meal of choice!

GREAT JOB ON YOUR FIRST DAY ADDY! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!