Coach Ed Thomas

Another senseless killing in our country. This one falls close to home. Athletic director Ed Thomas of Aplington-Parkersburg Iowa, had his life taken from him this morning. How very sad. He was the football coach for AP High School. Thomas just finished his 37th season of coaching with 34 years at Parkersburg. He was a legend and a leader. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Coach Thomas' family.

http://www.kcci.com/cnn-news/19843764/detail.html

Momma and Babies

While on vacation a week or so ago we found a neat site. We were waiting to be picked up at our hotel when we noticed a little family up in a tree near by. It was a momma dove and her two little baby birds. It was so cute. They were all three just staring at us as we looked on. It was a perfect picture moment.

Gold Coins

With the economy in the shape it is in today, we all want to find ways to protect our investments and future. It is not always easy to know what path to take. With the Monex Deposit Company you can find a security in the purchasing of gold coins, silver and other precious metals. They have been in the investment business for over 30 years and are knowledgeable and ready to assist you. Investment leaders are saying that silver is the way to go today. It is in high demand and a great way to secure power and wealth. It can be found in coin or ingot form. Check into the Monex Companies and let them help you with your financial investments.

Cute Piggy

On Father's Day our grand daughter went out to see her Grandpa on the farm. She was introduced to her first little piggy. She wasn't too sure what to think of it, but I think she had fun. They are so cute. :)

NYC

We had such an awesome time on vacation! We flew in and stayed in Philly for 9 days. We took the train into NYC and toured the city. We had never been there before. There is so much to see and do. We also took the Staten Island Ferry out to view the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We stood at ground zero and it was hard to believe that such a thing could really happen. How sad. We then drove down to Washington DC for a couple of days. We had set up to take a tour of the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. We hadn't toured them before so that was great! We happened to step off of the metro just minutes after the shooting at the Holocaust Museum. What a terrible thing. While traveling back to Philly we stopped in Baltimore Maryland and had supper on the pier at the ESPN restaurant. That was a lot of fun also! Back at Philly we did some site seeing. They have the Reading Market which is awesome! Every kind of food imaginable. And all so yummy! We saw Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell while site seeing. We also attended our son Josh's graduation from Drexel University. He received his Masters! We're very proud of him! All in all it was a wonderful trip!

Allegro Medical

Founded 13 years ago, Allegro Medical has grown to include over one million satisfied customers. They are one of the largest and most technologically advanced online retailers of life enhancing products. They began with just medical equipment and home health care supplies, but in 1998, expanded to include products like Exercise & Fitness Equipment, Nutritional Dietary Supplements, Maternity/Baby Supplies and Outdoor Gear. Their website is great! It offers a wealth of information on everything they have to offer. It's also very user friendly and easy to navigate through their 55,000 products and 50 categories! I had no problem finding their blood pressure monitors. If you've never checked them out before....head over to their website and see what you think.

What a busy summer!

Saturday we'll be on our way back home from Philadelphia and then we'll start planning for our trip in a couple of weeks to help Josh, Di and Emry move back to Iowa. They are moving back over the 4th of July and so Bill is going to fly down with Di's dad, Mike to help pack them up and drive them back. So once that's over we're over half done with summer, and we'll look back and wonder were it went. It will be nice having all our kids back in Iowa!

Little Stinker

Kaelyn is so quick and such a little climber you can often turn your back for one second and she'll be in something that you don't want her to be. This is a picture of her getting into a bag of chips that Scott set on the table and while his back was turned she climbed up on the chair and helped herself. It's amazing to see the different personalities both of our grandchildren have.

Holsted Jewelers

Holsted Jewelers is a name you may have heard before. I say this because they've been around since 1971 and have millions of satisfied customers. The reason being because of the high quality and affordable designed jewelry, gifts and accessories they offer. No matter what it is you're looking for, it's definitely worth taking a minute and checking out this website. You'll find that they carry a large variety of things in a range of price ranges and styles. You're sure to find something here that you absoutely love. What's so great is that everything is so unique and won't be found in retailer stores. It's all very fashionable and beautiful. I wanted to pass this along for other jewelry lovers like myself. I'm glad I found them and plan on visiting often.

New Places to Eat

One of the best things about being on vacation...besides getting to see new places of course....is all the yummy food we get to eat. Going to different states, we find that there are many restaurants we've never heard of or never tried. It's fun to try new things while away and that's what we've been doing on this vacation. I'm sure loving it!! It's not too often that we try new things like this...usually we stick to the same old restaurants we've been to a hundred times...so this is wonderful!

I Miss My Zoe

We are coming to the end of our trip here on the East Coast and I am starting to think about the trip back home. When I think about the trip I think about Scott, Jenna, Kaelyn and Zoe. Bill and I are use to seeing the kids often being they live so close. But being away from Zoe this long is truely different because I am so use to coming home to her and seeing her every day. She truely is a wonderful dog and I am so glad to have her apart of our family.

Online College

Our son Josh graduates this weekend with his masters. He was able to stay working full time and support his family while getting his degree online. We're very proud of him! There are many people who take advantage of online universities. One of these which I hear a lot about is Capella University. They are an accredited and fully online university that provides graduate and undergraduate degrees. I have visited their website often and enjoy reading about all their school has to offer. They even have something called the Inside Online Education podcast, and most recently featured a discussion with BeverlyEnns, a faculty chair there for reading/literacy. It's interesting to listen to faculty from there and hear how much everyone loves Capella.

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Boy How They Grow

I just can't believe how fast life goes. This picture of Jake (my youngest son) and Emry (my grandson) has brought back memories. I can remember back when Jake was Emry's age. It is so fun to see your kids and your kids, kids grow up. Parenting is a big job and I am very glad that my kids share the same morals that we raised them with. They all make me very proud.

What's This World Coming To?

Our family has spent the whole week touring the East Coast, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. While in D.C. yesterday, we were getting ready to leave the hotel for the day, and were running about a half an hour behind our schedule that we had planned. When we were on the Train, Jenna called us and said that there was a guy who opened fire with a shotgun. It is amazing how God protected us. If we had left when we wanted to, we would have been in the museum at the time of the shooting. I just don't understand why people do the things they do. What is this world coming to?

PowerOptions

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Philadelphia

One of my favorite movies of all time is National Treasure, and today I was able to see many of the different buildings and monuments that were in the movie. It's kind of funny, as I'm standing there looking at these different things I can't help but wonder if there is truely a treasure that we don't know about. What a great day of sight seeing.

Trip to New York

We have spent the whole week out on the east coast. My son Josh is graduating from Drexel College with is Master's and the ceremony is in Philadelphia. So we decided to take the whole week and spend some time sight seeing. We first went to New York on Monday, this is a picture of Josh, Di and Emry (in the middle) Bill and Jake (on the left) and Mike and Kris (on the right), taking a walk through Central Park. So far it has been a great trip and can't wait to see more!

Paintball

ZephyrPaintball.com is a site I came across recently when looking for paintball gear for my sons. They have products at low prices and free shipping. Everything from paintball guns, paintball goggles, hoppers and paintball starter packages can be found here. They also carry a complete line of playing and casual apparel, jerseys, paintballs, paintball field gear and accessories for the sport. Dye, Invert, Kingman Spyder, Tippmann, PMI, Empire, Zap, Nelson, and Maddog Designz, are just a few of the names you might recognize here. If you're interested in learning more like I was....head over to their site today. Between their great prices, oustanding products and customer service, you won't be sorry you did.

30 Years Together

Bill and my 30th anniversary is coming up this next week. Bill and I are very excited, the time has just flew by, from a couple, to parents and now grandparents. For our 30th we are going to take a trip down to Des Moines. There are many places we like to shop and eat down there and it will just be nice to get away together and enjoy each others company.

Do You Agree?

Do you agree with what our president has been doing? Are you in favor of his plans and do you think he is doing a good job so far? Do you think that he is fulfilling his campaign promises? These and many other questions have been asked many times in the past few months and will continue to be asked. Not everyone answers the questions in the same way of course. Time will tell.

Wedding Planning

Wedding planning is a fun time, but also a busy time. I think the Internet is great for people planning weddings because there is so much helpful information to be found. For one...I found The Knot Wedding Shot and the high quality wedding supplies they offer recently. They have everything ranging from cameras, ring pillows and attendant gifts to cake toppers and wedding favor ideas ideas! All of these are big things when it comes to planning a wedding, and to be able to find them all in one place is amazing. They are the largest retailer of wedding supplies online and are stocked with unique products you just have to see. If you or someone you know is planning a wedding....pass along this website and check it out for yourself!

Tall Grass

I love this time of year. The sun has been shining and the grass is growing. Actually the grass is getting quite tall. In fact, the grass is getting so tall that our dog has her belly touching the grass as she walks. Some of you know our dog and might say that her belly touches even in short grass, but now it is even more so. Even so, I love this time of year.

Travel Insurance

We are planning a couple of trips. In doing so we are finding that we will be renting vehicles and flying. Some have said that it is wise to have some type of travel insurance. I would like to look into that further. We want to know that we are safely covered when we are away from home, for the sake of our loved ones. Vacations are fun, but we must also be wise in doing so.

Fat Burner Pill

We have become a health conscious society. There are new exercise facilities popping up everywhere. We are seeing more and more advertisements on TV showing the before and after photos of the rich and famous who have found what they feel are the answers to their prayers. If you are concerned about your weight, you may find that a fat burner pill could be the answer you are looking for. Be sure to do what is healthy and right for you personally.

Weight Loss Pills

In today's fast pace society, it's easy to grab those quick meals on the run. We find as we get older however that those quick meals do not necessarily like us. The extra pounds seem to find their way to our bodies. A person can seek out several avenues in which to loose those added pounds. It may be with weight loss pills or a diet and exercise program. What ever you choose. Do it safely.

Surgery

Our grandson recently needed to undergo a double hernia surgery. It's never easy to watch a loved one go through a surgery, but it was exceptionally difficult with such a little one. My son and daughter-in-law said that the hospital they were at in Dallas was so good with Emry. You could tell they have done this kind of thing many many times. We're relieved that it is over now.