tressel pics

I have had a couple of requests for pics of tressel. He is about 90 lbs at 9 months old. I get a lot of comments now about how big he is. He is huge.




pretty gross



absolutely disgusting....clare asked tressel to lick her so I could get a pic of it. He is always happy to oblige such a request.



This is Clare making a silly face...it is the best shot to show how big Tressel is compared to her. As you can seee Tressel is sitting and Clare is sitting on her knees.

my favorites

Jessica took family picures for us yesterday. Calvin was a little grumpy but we did manage a couple of decent ones of the family. Clare and Lex loved the camera and so we had many wonderful ones of them.

I chose pink and brown for our color scheme. I thought it turned out nice. My inspiration for those colors is Alexey's darling dress that is pink with brown polka dots! I just love it! I laid out a brown shirt and pink pants for Clare but she was upset about that b/c she said, "brown is not a girl color" "it is not pretty" "What??!!! Pants! I hate pants. I want to wear a dress" so we comprimised by letting her wear a pink skirt and putting a pink shirt on under the brown one. Clare cracks me up.

more to come later!

I just love Thanksgiving, don't you?

Calvin had fun playing with a 10 year old boy and the teenagers at the pool and ping pong tables. He tried nintendo DS and ate banana cream pie....he found a quiet spot and went to bed around 5:30!

Clare loves pink!

Alexey made a new best friend in Jessica's brother, Jeff. Bless his heart, he played with the kids for hours!

This is Jessica -- she is going to bring us a new cousin in Feb. She is darling always and even more so as a pregnant person.

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving day. We went to my brother Pete's in-laws, the Liebers. It is so kind of them to include us as part of the family now! The food was wonderful, the TV was playing football and the kids had a great day. Dave's day was not quite as great...he had to go in for a case around 1:30 and missed dinner. He did get home in time for the TX game and a plate of leftovers!

This morning I went in to Black Friday at Target. It was MADNESS! But also kind of fun. I was there at 5 as the doors opened and got to see the line wrapping all around the shopping center! I picked up a few toys and games -- nothing too fancy -- and I was home by 6. Today we are doing family pics. It is a good day :)

All pics taken by Jessica Dahlquist!

thankful thoughts

I Am Thankful for:

- the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

- the taxes I pay because it means I'm employed.

- the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

- all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.

- the man behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

- the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

- the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.

- weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.

- a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

- my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.

- the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I'm alive.

by Nancy J. Carmody

"If you own just one Bible, you are abundantly blessed. One-third or the world does not have access to even one. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than a million who will not survive the week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of five million people around the world. If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest or torture, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not. If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch. If you prayed yesterday and today, you are in the minority because you believe in God's willingness to hear and answer prayer. If you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, you are part of a very small minority in the world. If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read anything at all."

1. good friends who let dave watch the mich game at their house.
Thanks Liebers! Dave has suffered terribly this fall without TV in our home to watch his beloved football games! This is a pic of Calvin, Dave and pup Emma.

2. humor. isn't life better when it is viewed as funny instead of stressful? Today sleeping beauty (dave) slept in an hour and was super late to work. I thought it was very humorous---he might think so another day...but not yet. So as not to just pick on dave I will share something I had to find humor in this week. My friend who picked me up from my colonoscopy saw me naked. How embarassing is that?

3. Sunday -- a day of renewal and hope! All 3 hours yesterday were great. Sacrifice, family finances and work were the topics. I always wake up monday thinking I will be a better woman.

4. Christmas season. I am soooo excited to break out the christmas stuff and espeically the music. Dave absolutely forbids Christmas music 'til after thanksgiving. Since he is seldom home he has a hard time enforcing this rule but we try to respect it by keeping most of the Christmas music packed away with the christmas tree.

5. warm showers. nobody in this family could survive without them.

1. a dog named tressel. Isn't a great weekend to have a dog named Tressel?!! (tressel is 8-1 against Michigan)

2. Little girls. I love how sweet girls are to each other. Clare and Alexey, Clare with little girl friends. It makes me happy.

3. birthdays. Yesterday was Clare's. It is fun to have a special day for her. We had a princess party with 10 little girls on Friday night. It went really well.



4. my darling Clare


5. sunshine I just love the start of each new day as the sun lights the beautiful world!

this is not a joke

Alexey's first words this morning when I went in to get her out of bed were "go Michigan"

thankful for Alexey's new words

I just love listening to her talk and it is amazing how fast babies at this age learn new things. Just this week alexey learned to get out the ice cream and eat out of the container. I wonder where she learned that one? (yes, i'm guilty)!

1. thank you
2. tressel
3. mom (used to say mommy)
4. shoe
5. more

here are a couple of fun pics we found while looking at Ridgebacks on the computer. They are not pics of tressel but look just like him. The kids thought the dog in the swing was super funny.

cards. I love cards and Hallmark. I used to work at a stationary store and have always had at least two drawers full of cards at home.

Calvin when he woke up today for the second time (the first time was at 3 and we were not super happy with him).....he said, "isn't it such a beautiful day?"

dogs. yes, it's true. I am a dog lover now. Alexey converted me. I don't think there is anything she loves more.

my piano. I love having a piano in our home. One of the kids' favorite things lately is to sit by the piano and sing songs together. I love it! Last week in school Calvin had to memorie and share a poem. He chose america the beautiful and sang it in class!

Children's chorus.my kids are both in it and absolutely love it.

thanks for a clean colon -- Too much information edition of thankfulness

I had a colonscopy today. I'm sure you are all so thankful to know that but that is what all my thankfulness is related to

1. I will not die of colon cancer. Since my mom died at 41 of colon cancer I have been in at a young age to start screening. If I keep it up I am pretty unlikely to die of colon cancer.

2. friends .. name them one by one.

a.Kathy Konold. picked me up from the hospital and babysat me and the kids all afternoon/evening. She is also trusted enough to spend company with me when I am completely drugged up! I have absolutely no memory of what I said and did today from about 1-6pm. It is kind of a scary thing. b. Jana. Watched Alexey and Clare a LONG time!!! my appt was running about 2 hours late so she ended up having the girls a lot longer than expected. c. Marci. had calvin all afternoon and had pizza sent to our house for dinner tonight.

3. food ate Saturday dinner and not again 'til Monday dinner. Boy, did I miss it. I love food.

4. I did it. For those of you lucky people who haven't had a colonscopy, let me tell you, the prep is TERRIBLE. I am so glad that I was able to finish enough of the icky drink to get "clean". There was one point yesterday when I told dave I'd rather die than drink any more of the stuff. I asked him to take just one sip to see what I had to suffer and just the smell gave him the chills. Anyway, somehow I was able to do it. After the prep, aside from being starving, the rest is easy thanks to wonderful meds and friends already mentioned.

5. I don't have to do another one for 5 years!

1. friends. we met some at the playground tonight and it was fun. Calvin and Hannah were counting by 5's and then 2's .. .it was too cute.

2. Dave got to go to the USC game today and witness the most points ever scored against USC at the colliseum. Love it!!



(doesn't the sight of all that USC gear make you sick? -- being in in SD amongst many USC fans is very annoying. I'm sure it will be slightly less annoying now that they have had a tough season since many USC fans are fair weather fans and only come around when USC is winning. In fact, I have noticed that if USC wins I see TONS of USC gear on Monday. If they lose, I see very little USC gear!! They are an obnoxious bunch, but Dave did say they were very nice and he enjoyed the game.)

3. -for dave - mini-marshmallows. *Warning - dentist you will not be happy about this one ** Apparently dave gives Alexey 3 every night before bed and it helps her to not fuss. When I put her to bed she either doesn't fuss at all or will fuss for about 20 seconds and its done before I leave the room. She is SUPER easy!

4. hulu. we don't have cable tv but occasionally we watch a fun episode on the computer.

5. my healthy body. I have had great health my entire life, aside from a few injuries here and there in sports. I am able to work and play hard and it is a blessing!

1. Calling in YW I really love working in YW and especially love the other YW leaders I work with. Today we had pres. meeting and those are always fun.

2. Christmas parties. I always look forward to the Christmas parties at work and with friends each year. The surgery dept is having theirs at the Birch Aquarium and I am very exctied to take the kids.

3. College Football. I am not nearly as into it as I was when I was at OSU but it is still a fun tradition. It makes for a great date or father-son, father-daughter or grandpa-child activty. Always makes for great fall conversation.

4. Dave's stories. I love that Dave shares stories about work with me. He is a good storyteller and I always feel like I really get to know everyone and everything from work through him.

5. mail. Even though we get mostly junk and bills it is still exciting to check the mail everyday and those treasures that do come in the mail are priceless.

counting blessings

1. Playgroup Swap. Today it was my turn. I was pretty unprepared but we still managed to have a good time. The kids in our group are very sweet and get along well.

2. Cooler weather. It is fun to have a cool day or two amongst our sunny San diego days. Today it is about 75. Yes, I know it sounds crazy to say that it is a cooler day, but it is.

3.Calvin cracks me up. When he is talking to Tressel sometimes he calls him "Tressel Gonda" or "Tressel Speed Gonda" which just makes me laugh. (Calvin's middle name is speed)! I don't think I ever really call CAlvin by his full name but I guess he had been pondering Tressels full name.

4. my shoes They are Keen Slip on shoes. They are green and black and have kind of a star on top. They are comfortable and look decent and I got them for real cheap at Nordstrom Rack. I have two pairs of Keen shoes and I wear them more than any other shoes. They give better support than flip flops but are still casual and easy to get on and off.
Lovely pics, eh? I know I will never be a foot model or professional photographer!

5. Toilets. One of the books I'm reading talks about different kinds of living conditions and one of the things mentioned are bathrooms, or the lack of bathrooms. The very poor people had to go in ditches outside. In some communities, 100's of people shared toilets, and only the very rich had their own toilet to use for a household. Most of us are so spoiled that we consider it difficult to share a bathroom even with our own family! We are among the most fortunate in the world that we have such sanitary and comfortable living conditions.

not to late to jump on the bandwagon of thanksgiving

I have been having a bloggers block lately and never seem to remember the camera so my posting has been irregular and lame at best.....so, I decided to do posts about what I am thankful for. It may bore you all to tears but it is a good exercise for me and will copy nicely into my journal!

Here goes:

1. Days without school. Now, I'm not goonna lie. I am grateful for school too and it is the #1 reason I will possibly make it through life without a long stay in an insane asylum, HOWEVER, it is nice to have a break in the routine and enjoy a day without the traffic, waking up kids to get to school on time, a mad rush to find shoes and backpacks, etc!

2. the beach. It is so beautiful and so fun. It wears out all the kids including the dog.

3. Dave. He should have been #1. Of all the choices I have made in life, marrying him was definitely a wonderful one. I am extremely lucky to have him, as he has reminded me on more than one occasion. He is devoted, loving, kind to me and the kids.

4. Veterans. I saw a bumper sticker that said, "enjoy your freedom? Thank a veteran." I have thought a lot about that and think that it is important for us to remember the veterans. I am thankful for veterans and current military who sacrifice so much to ensure that we enjoy the safety and comforts that we are so privileged to have here in America.

5. Babies as they learn to talk. I love how Alexey calls anyone her size and smaller "baby," how she has to point to every airplane that goes by and her joy in seeing "dog", cat "meow" and bunny ("sign for bunny ears").

cutest monkey on the block

We borrowed this darling monkey from a friend. Alexey was too much of a moving target so I didn't get a perfect picture, but you get the idea.




Calvin and Clare both have monkey costumes so I was hoping to get all 3 kids in monkey costumes together but we never really had the chance. Here are Calvin and Clare a couple of years ago.

Also, here she is after Halloween (shirt removed due to over-heating), a very happy camper<

Samson is my Dad's dog and she loves to chase him around and give him a good workout!

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(don't ask me why those crazy letters and numbers are there but I don't dare erase them for fear I'll lose the pic with it. sorry!)
Clare with a friend at our church party and then the next night in full makeup compliments of Shianne.

PS. I do love Calvin too, but he was off with friends on both nights and we never got a picture. He said he might put his costume on one day so we can get a picture of him as optimus prime.