Here are more pictures to go with the post below. There are buffalo on the hill behind the elk.

I had a request for updated pictures of Caleb so here he is. Four months plus one week. He's getting his first hair trim this weekend. Mike is having a fit because it is so long.

Today I went snowshoeing at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge with a friend. We had a lot of fun. It was cold when we first got started but of course you expend energy and get warmed up very fast. You can check the snowshoes out anytime during their business hours. Maybe tomorrow if it is sunny, I'll do that and walk the Savannah at the refuge. We were lucky today and saw an elk up close, a very unusual sight as they are more nocturnal. We should all do a better job of becoming familiar with the DNR resources around us and use them, they offer great family activities.

Otherwise we are just like the rest of you, bored with winter. I look at all this snow and wonder when will it ever be gone. I think we should start a pool to guess the date and then have a huge picnic to celebrate when it's gone. I think this year spring break will bring me to the basement making sure everything is picked up off the floor or in containers so if the sump pump fails I won't have more work in cleaning up the mess.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all. I hope if you have a special someone they were extra nice to you. Friday night I came home from work and as usual Jim was gone and there was no note. When he came home he had been to Hy-Vee to get a prescription he said. I told him, "I wished I had known you were going to Hy-Vee as I needed some things for Saturday night". He said nothing, and then came back in the room with a dozen roses and told me that's why he couldn't tell me he was going. What was really funny was I told him I had just heard on the radio that because of the holiday that roses were now going for $60 a dozen and with delivery up to $80. Jim was feeling pretty proud of himself until while we were watching tv a commerical for Hy-Vee and roses came on with the price.....$18.88. WOW....burst his bubble. We sat and laughed about that for quite some time and saw that same commercial several times this weekend. And you know what? They look as nice and smell as good as the expensive ones. Now he should have money left over to take me out for our anniversary next weekend :)

Saturday night we had the 2nd Annual Valentine Fried Chicken dinner at our house. Menu included fried chicken, real mashed potatoes and gravy, crock pot corn (with cream cheese, yum,yum) broccoli salad, homemade rolls and buttermilk brownies. I vowed I would only have water on Sunday I was so full. Ten adults and 3 kids were in attendance.

Sunday afternoon David, Alicia, Mike, Leah and Caleb stopped by and we all had ice cream malts/twisters from Goldies (voted home of the best tenderloins in Iowa).

Of course the weekend has been full of watching Olympics. I love the Olympics!! I have Parent Teacher's Conferences this week, so the tv in my classroom will be smoking on NBC when I'm not meeting with parents.

In the meantime, SPRING, SPRING.....where are you?