Welcome to the Family Room!
This is where the family comes to make their "stuff" so come on in, take off your shoes and talk about the kids and grandkids!
note, this page is under construction for the moment so I don't have everything I want, but let's get started anyway
Olivia and Sydney
2006!
OK! to start with, this is written in December 2006 and is OUR version of the annual "annoying newsletter" that so many people put out. this is not a CRITICISM of those, just the way a lot of people view them publicly. I personally enjoy reading them.
SO I will take members of the family individually, Mostly we interact, but then again, maybe not, who knows!
AMI and Chad!....and Olivia and Sydney....Proctor
Ami and Chad are in the new house, did they just move in LAST Winter??? Oh my God it seems like they have been there forever! But they moved into the place and We used the truck from work to do it. Over the months Chad has done a lot to make it "theirs" and I got to help occasionally. We put up a swing set for Olivia and her "new baby brother or sister" in the spring and Olivia has a nice sunny room right across the hall from Mom and Dad!
The picture at left shows Aunt Mimi (Mindi) with her two favorite Nieces
Chad is a nurse supervisor at U of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the surgical ICU and is doing well there. while Ami has switched Schools! she is now teaching 3rd grade at Erskine School only 3 blocks from Us here on vine Ave. she is also job sharing with another teacher and is working 2 1/2 days a week so it takes a little strain off Hamma too! who is taking care of Olivia and her new sister Sydney who arrived the DAY AFTER Moms birthday! Aug 29 2006. she is a sweet little thing, all bright eyes and bobbly head. Cindy and I think she is about the best thing in the world! But then we think that about Olivia too! Olivia took "dance Class" at Ambroz last spring and seemed to love it, true to her nature she was ALWAYS in charge! she would "help" the teacher and loved to have us come and watch the class . What surprised me was that one day, driving down Mt Vernon rd, we heard a little voice from the back seat, "That's my dance class!" as we passed Ambroz! I do not know how she picked up on that, but she always gets it! and she is going to take "Ban ay" (Ballet, Tap and Jazz) this winter! Apparently Olivia has somehow come up with a "Gift of gab" (dunno where THAT came from!) and she chatters ALL the time. she is always busy, pointing out things, helping and telling people about new ideas and things or asking questions! "What THAT?" "Why?" "Is this it?" and more. CONSTANTLY! it is a little distracting sometimes, but I love it! and she is such a sweet kid!
Grandma (Olivia calls her "HAMMA")
and Gramdpa (Papa, in Oliviaspeak) love to have her over and love to take her
places! I have taken her to the park in my little trailer on my bike and
in the PPV (a 2 seat pedal car for a
dults)
and she seems to really like going to ROUGHRIDER Hockey games. she really
likes their mascot, Richochet! She likes to run up, stop, put down all her
treasures carefully, then dash to him and hug him, give him a high five and then
carefully pick up all her stuff and pelt off again! Olivia is a wonderful
little girl! and getting BIGGER all the time!
Sydney is only about 3 months old now so who knows WHAT she is doing, she laughs and smiles at us and squawks when she needs a bottle, but she is managing to hold her head up and is pretty small yet!
JESSI!
Well, Jessi moved into her mobile home, (when I call it a "Tornado Magnet", she gets REALLY riled up!) also last winter. time moves so fast that I don't remember if it was before or after Christmas. but I know she had to shovel snow there last winter. she has a new guy, Rob, who is apparently a pretty nice guy. He seems nice anyway, and he has a little girl who is 3 and a nice little kid too! I am very glad for Jessi, she has really needed to find a GOOD guy and this seems to be him! I hope so! But she has been at Nordstrom direct for a while now and has been promoted a time or two and seems to be always working. She has her little dog "Harley" who is her "baby" and takes him everywhere. It is some sort of walking mop, but I like him really. Not a bad dog. the other day Jessi called my Cell phone while I was walking through the grocery store and said, "Dad! turn around!" she was standing about 50 ft behind me. Ha ha! funny! sheesh, where do these kids GET their sense of teasing anyway..?? I am sure I don't know!
Mindi and Josh
Well, the BIG DAY finally arrived Oct 7 2006 for Mindi and Josh DIXSON! Yay! They have been going out together for a couple of years now and for the present are living in the upstairs here to save a bit so they can get a house or apartment. The Wedding was really nice and at some point I am going to put some photos up here, but leave it to say that ALL the girls looked great and Mindi and Josh are doing well apparently! Adjusting is ALWAYS difficult, and living in two small rooms is not perfect, but it is what they are doing for now. Mindi works for Yellow Book USA and is doing well, though she is constantly applying for jobs with other organizations where she can use her talents and degree more fully.
Josh works ultimately for Altorfer co. (he actually works in a complex arrangement with an agency in Moline Ill, for an office company here in town who contracts services to Altorfer. got that??? I am not sure ANYBODY knows what is really happening, but he gets paid anyway!) He is learning how to fit in with the rest of us. I think he is a nice guy and while things may not be perfect all the time, it could be a lot worse! don't think this is a criticism of him OR Mindi. Life is what happens while you try to figure out how to get through today!
Cindy and ME
Well, we continue to navigate the rocky shoals and reefs of what is commonly referred to as "matrimonial Bliss" We have had the bottom scraped and some parts bashed off from time to time, but mostly we have gotten through with only minor scarring. .....maybe a little chipped paint.....at least no broken bones...that have not healed anyway!....mostly.
Well, we managed to get to 31 years without killing each other and that is a blessing anyway! and we have 3 GREAT kids and two good sons-in- law. that is a big plus. It is such a great thing to have kids that you LIKE to be around! and their friends apparently tolerate us too! Having Josh and Mindi here is really interesting and they fix dinner for us occasionally which helps Cindy out and they help out some too in other ways. It is pretty nice really!
Life has not been perfect this year, but we have gotten through it anyway! the big events were of course Sydney coming to Ami and Chad, in aug, and Mindi and Josh's wedding in Oct. Cindy has discovered e-bay and likes to find bargains, particularly stuff for decorating the house and toys and such for Olivia and Sydney. She also fights with me to eat more healthy food which was a sort of losing battle until October 6. she really works to keep the house looking fun for each holiday and to keep us all together....well, she IS bossy anyway! But that is Cindy!
Oct 6 was the day I went into the Dr for a check up and mentioned that when I really pushed at work, I SOMETIMES got a bit of an ache in my ribs. Maybe I strained something. The result was that I had a couple of Stress tests and they found some blockage and I now am a "cardiac patient" which annoys me to no end! Especially all the drugs you have to take! but I am losing weight slowly and have been eating a bit more healthy because cindy insists on it and I would like to survive at least a little longer, but My magic "business" (unless you can figure out a name for something that occasionally makes money, but usually doesn't, and can't really be described as a hobby accurately) is chugging along, despite my best efforts, people STILL call me to come perform at parties and events. The Downtown Farmers Market was successful last summer and I do several regular programs every year. I was at the Rod and Custom Car show last Feb and they have called me for this coming Feb 24-25 so if anyone is around Monticello Iowa that weekend, come on down and look at the cars! Last year cindy Williams was there (Shirley of "Laverne and Shirley") and it is always fun to meet people and see the cars. they had a motorcycle therer last year that was REALLY fun! I liked it, but $30,000 is a bit more than my pocketbook can handle....will ya take $20?
In August we went to Chicago to take part in the surprise party for Dave s 50th birthday. that was fun! Got to see most people and have fun with them. And we got to see MOST of them in October for the wedding too. Pretty neat really. I am happy and thankful that we have family that we get along with. So many families do not. We have been to see Cindy's sister occasionally and went to her Dad's birthday party too, so we are keeping in contact with both sides, which is really nice .
Well, I will be editing and adding to this, Probably adding a photo or too as well from time to time
So Merry Christmas, Happy New year, and I hope you are all safe and healthy in 2007.