The Ericksons

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Skeeter

Free to a loving home!
Since we are moving mid-November and haven't sold our home as of yet, we are sadly having to say goodbye to the animals as we are moving into an apartment. Skeeter (Skeet) is a mutt, (possibly black lab/rottweiler mix )and was a stray dog that showed up in the parking lot where I work. She was skinny and full of porcupine quills. She was by the front door begging for food and I couldn't resist taking her home. She is a very sweet dog but she loves attention and needs LOTS of love. She does not like being kenneled or wearing a collar, she is free roaming and always stays in the yard. For us, she has been a full-time outdoor dog but when she was a puppy I would let her in from time to time. Never any accidents and she was always well behaved.
Please, if you are interested or know someone who might be, let me know. This is a very difficult thing for me to do as I am not one to take an animal and then turn around and give it away. She loves to wrestle and play with our older son Wes and I would suggest she needs a family with no other pets, although she gets along with our other dog quite well.
Skeet is also pregnant and due the end of October.

We are also thinking of letting go of our St. Bernard, Thor. She is a purebred and is absolutely fabulous with the kids, the best breed of dog I ever had. She is a very tender, sweet dog who needs room to run. She is not house trained but only would occasionally have accidents (when she was a puppy). She also is a full time outdoor dog. St. Bernards love the outdoors and esp. wintertime. She would sleep in bed with me when Kyle was away and is very affectionate. She does drink LOTS of water and since she is a smaller breed, she does not eat as much as one would think a Saint does. She is very social and loves being around other dogs, although she thinks she is the alpha dog.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

IOWA

Welcome to Iowa. Hooray!

As most of you know, Kyle has accepted a job a Vennard College in Oskaloosa, IA.

We made a trip down there last week so he could attend a board meeting and I could look for employment and a house.

Vennard's Gym

This is the Administration Building where Kyle's office will be.

On the way back we took a detour and drove through Des Moines. I had never been there before and was interested in the things that the city had to offer.

It's no Minneapolis/St. Paul but...it's okay. Des Moines is WAY smaller than what I'm used to!

Jack is walking really well, he loves to play by himself and will kick and throw the baseball and football all night. I'll post some footage of him walking at some point!

Wes and Kyle took a walk in the woods this evening. As much as I don't like living in this town I will definitely miss our home and all the land.

Silly boy, he couldn't resist playing in the dishwater!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Labor Day Weekend

Wes was able to stay at Grandma & Grandpa Jacobsons

for a few days. His favorite thing to do was go swimming, sometimes even 2 or 3 times a day!

Grandma and the kids

Grandpa and Jack

Baby Jack at 9 months

Wes really enjoyed playing the Wii Fit. He especially liked yoga - he was pretty good at it too!

Yoga boy

Friday, August 22, 2008

Amy wants me to do a "50 Things" thing, so here it is

1. I will absolutely not sing around anyone who I don't know very well.
2. Parker Jonathan (baritone for the Kingsmen at the time) called me up on stage at a Kingsmen concert several years ago, and had me sing the baritone part on "The Glory Road." In front of hundreds of people. So I guess there's a little wiggle room in #1, given the right situation.
3. I'm learning to play the banjo.
4. My career best round of golf is a 65, four different times. That was before the kids came along, when I actually got to play golf once in awhile.
5. I hate it when people read over my shoulder.
6. I like to cook, and make liberal use of peppers and other spicy ingredients. Yum!
7. My kids are the best thing ever, even when Wes is being a little booger!
8. My favorite TV show theme song is from Monk, with the Harvey Birdman:Attorney at Law theme a close second.
9. In my sophomore year at Mankato State University, I was selected as recipient of a fellowship to study geology in Europe for a year. Three months later, I decided to transfer to Crown College, so the fellowship went bye-bye.
10. Three months after that, I met Amy at a new student function at Crown, so I guess it worked out OK.
11. Amy, Nhia Moua and I won a 3-on-3 sand court volleyball tournament our first year at Crown.
12. I love to hunt deer, and have taken five bucks with 9-point racks or better. My best is a 14-pointer.
13. The only thing in the world that terrifies me are bees/wasps/hornets. I was stung hundreds of times as a kid, and I guess that somehow stuck in my mind as a negative experience. The thought of a Barack Obama presidency also terrifies me, but for slightly different reasons (nationalized health care....aaaarrrrrrgghghh!).
14. My favorite piece of music is Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."
15. My favorite song that actually has words is Gold City's "Under Control."
16. My favorite movie is "Tombstone."
17. My favorite book is "The Little Prince" by Antoine se Saint-Exupery. CS Lewis' "Til We Have Faces" and George MacDonald's "Lilith" get honorable mention.
18. The best ribs I've ever had were at a grubby little place called "12 Bones" in Asheville, NC.
19. I need to lose about 20 pounds.
20. I love playing fantasy football.
21. I would love to live in Tennessee some day.
22. The most nervous I have ever been in my life was in the State Spelling Bee when I was in 7th grade. The local and regional competitions didn't bother me, but for some reason once I got up on the big stage with all those people in the audience...
23. I love Asian cuisine, especially Thai food. I order my curry dishes "Thai hot," which makes my eyes water, my nose run, and I even start to sweat, but I love it!
24. I was voted "Class Clown" my senior year of high school. I can't imagine why.
25. I have never used steroids.
26. I had a bad case of strep throat my freshman year of college, and took so much NyQuil that I slept for -- true story -- 40 hours straight. I have witnesses. Well, they didn't see the entire 40 hours, but they were the ones who woke me up...almost two days after I fell asleep.
27. The largest fish I've ever caught was a 32-pound amberjack, fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.
28. I like pie better than cake, ice cream better than sherbet, dogs better than cats, and root canals better than today's pop music.
29. I proposed to Amy onstage at an Oak Ridge Boys concert 10 years ago. All she wanted to do was touch William Lee Golden's beard.
30. My nickname in high school was "Beaker," because a friend of mine thought I looked like that Muppet.
31. I spend too much time on Facebook.
32. Whenever I see a Pac Man/Ms. Pac Man game, I am irresistibly compelled to play it until I get the high score.
33. My dream car is a midnight-blue Porsche 997 GT2 (o-60 in 3.6 seconds...woohoo!!!).
34. My brother and I have only once lost a game of Catch Phrase. Go ahead...take us on.
35. Eric Mutnansky and I got lost in Rothenburg, Germany and were harrassed by a gaggle of drunked French chicks. We later discovered that we were only blocks from our hotel, but headed in the exact wrong direction. The sightseeing was nice, though.
36. The best food I've ever eaten in my life was in a little restaurant wayyyyyy up in the mountains on the Germany/Austria border. If I had ANY clue where exactly it was, I would so go back there some day.
37. I've never hit a deer while driving, but I have hit a wolf, raccoon, squirrel, turtle, rabbit, and a crow, and I almost hit a turkey once!
38. Give me the old hymns of the faith over 99% of the vapid, poorly-written contemporary music infesting most churches today.
39. I hate onions. And hippies. But mostly onions.
40. On the DISC Personality Inventory, I'm a high "I" and high "S."
41. San Francisco is my favorite city in America, in large part because of the phenomenal restaurants (House of Nanking and The Slanted Door!).
42. I've been known to yell at the TV when the Twins are playing.
43. I'll eat almost anything with cherries in it (or cherry flavored). To my palate, cherries are the opposite of onions.
44. I have more than 2000 Southern Gospel songs on my iTunes.
45. I love mowing the lawn.
46. I dream of being on Jeopardy!
47. If I ever win the lottery, I'm going to become a professional bass fisherman.
48. I loved Hawaii (played basketball there my senior year of college), but it's FAR too crowded for me to ever want to live there.
49. I miss being in college.
50. I'm going to sleep now.

50 things about me

Inspired by other blogs I've seen, I've decided to post 50 things about me you might not know. Other sites have 100 things, I however am not that ambitious!

1. Growing up I always wanted to be a Veterinarian.

2. I was a vegetarian for about 20 years until I met Kyle.

3. My eyes are blue but my left eye is partially brown.

4. My favorite TV show ever is Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel, I will watch them anytime they are on, no matter what time.

5. I watch WAY too much TV.

6. I love karaoke.

7. My favorite color is green.

8. My dream car is a Chevy Avalanche

9. I love to bake.

10. Sometimes I would skip my college classes to play pool.

11. I cannot stand the movie The Sound of Music, I refuse to watch it.

12. My favorite sport to play is volleyball

13. In third grade I had a piece of hair that wasn't cooperating so I cut it off. There was a huge chunk missing.

14. I love dogs!

15. My favorite book is Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.

16. I don't like watching golf on TV.

17. I like spear fishing.

18. I like getting shots/having blood taken at the doctors. I always have to watch.

19. I like getting foot rubs.

20. I do not like being touched between my toes, it can ruin a perfectly good foot rub.

21. I'm addicted to choloclate.

22. I was once subpoenaed as a witness in a murder trial.

23. I have a raging temper.

24. I never liked eating fish until I moved up north and had fresh walleye.

25. I don't like steak.

26. I complain alot.

27. When I was little I sucked on a chlorine tablet (used for the pool), I asked my dad what would happen if someone ate one and he told me that they would die. I cried and cried, I don't think he knew what I had done. Seems as though I've turned out okay.

28. My husband says I'm impatient.

29. I like all music except opera and contemporary christian.

30. I like gardening but I hate weeding.

31. My favorite season is Fall.

32. I love having 2 boys.

33. I have naturally curly hair. In high school I used to blowdry it straight and then curl it, I don't know what I was thinking.

34. I've never broken a bone.

35. I have, however, had stitches. I jumped into the pool backwards but didn't jump out far enough and my chin hit the concrete.

36. I love soy milk!

37. I attended a private school, pre-12th grade

38. I loved being pregnant.

39. I am Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish

40. I hope to someday visit Norway.

41. My favorite flower is the peony

42. I'm paranoid of other drivers during Winter.

43. I love kayaking.

44. My favorite restaurant is the Cheesecake Factory. Chevys Mexican is a close second.

45. My birthday is on the 4th of October, Kyle's is the 4th of March. We were married the 13th of March and Wes' birthday is April 13th.

46. I never really talked to my sister my whole life, then she moved back home and now, 30 years later, we call each other numerous times a month. I consider her one of my best friends.

47. I vaccuum alot, I used to vaccuum the house 3 times a day.

48. I am a big Ultimate Fighting fan.

49. I'm really bad at remembering music lyrics and I can only rememeber parts of songs, so I sing 'master mixes' of songs to my kids at night because I honestly cannot even sing a whole song.

50. Being a mother and wife is the hardest, most frustrating thing on the face of the earth but, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!