Ryan Conrad – the birthday boy (his birthday is actually October 27th – he shares it with Lori’s daughter Brooke…my older son Payton’s birthday is the same day as Lori’s – kind of a weird coincidence!)

Ethan Krook, Kari’s youngest…super cute and super busy!

Chad’s daughter Ryan – the only girl at the party – but she held her own

Evan, Kari’s oldest son – one of the two Batmans at the party.

A fun and wild time was had by all! Ryan was a Power Ranger but he is such a sweat hog, he had his costume off before too long….that is why he is costume-less in his picture

Everyone needs to read the Jost blog about Roger’s grand daughter Rachel.   Good News so far!!  Our prayers and the prayers of many are shining through!!  hallelujah!!!!   Praise the Lord!!!

through a blog I ask a girl that lived in Syria when Kellie and Dustin did and who now lives in the middle east just not the same coundtry anymore if they had heard anything from Kel and she said all they have heard is that they arrived safe!!!!   So that helps me considerable knowing that they are safe.  Al and I could not even sleep last night worrying about them.   They still have not called.  I am sure they are exhausted!!

J ust got a call from Lindsay….they are married!! She said they had a real nice minister…nice ceremony..and it is all on tape.. SO happy for them!!  They  are out in Rapid City. Barbs daughter, Megan and her boyfriend , Steve are with them..To be young again………….!!

Just remembering Dean today.  It seems impossible how fast life goes that a year has past already.  I still have a hard time believing he is gone…….miss you Dean!

Also it is Lannie and Anne’s birthdays today!  Hope you both have real happy ones!!

Today us four sisters met Susan in Spencer(and her cousin Margaret)for lunch and after a delicious Mexican dinner we decided to go to the Fair.  We go across the street to get on a shuttle which took us right to the front gate.  We had a real fun day walking around the Fair, even included a walk through the chicken barns and saw Sam McCoy’s (Cathy’s grandson)  chickens, he sure had some pretty ones and I hate chickens!  We walked through the building bought a few gadgets, got a back and neck massage and a foot one too, ate little tom thumb donuts and kettle corn and then headed back to catch the shuttle to our car.  We get there and there are at least ten people (old crippled people) waiting right by where the bus stops.  We are waiting on the other side but when the bus pulls up we walk over to where the other people are who had been waiting longer than us and the old crippled people are getting up to get in line and carol and jean just budge right in ahead of some of them, while polite Mary, Margaret, Susan and I wait at the end of the line, we being at the end seen the looks some of these old people were giving carol and jean who didn’t even care just jumped on the bus ahead of these poor old people…Needless to say I was embarrassed to say the least and one thing I hate is when people budge in line so I get on the bus and say loud enough for most of the people to hear where were you two when Mom taught manners…course they just laugh and act like they did nothing wrong.  I did notice the old couple who got budged out grin at each other like ha!  well I chewed their butts to no end but I doubt if they learned their lesson.  I am sure Mom was smiling down at Mary and I and frowning big time at Carol and Jean………

Just a quick note … Guy and Lindsays house is coming along good. They got done  with the shingles this weekend..windows and deck door put in today. Guys had a mishap on Sunday..one of the platforms gave way and he fell. He is sore..but ok. Scary how fast those accident s happen. They have really been busy working on the house…till dark every nite after work. They go get married Sept. 26 in South Dakota in a chapel in the Black Hills.  Will be pretty quiet around here when they are done with the house! ha  Busy at work…trucks are keeping busy for now…as long as we go out of town to work with some of them.  I was down for about a week… pneumonia. Man, did I feel terrible!! Still not back to normal..its been a few weeks now.  I must be getting old…     Ronnie is doing pretty well. The chemo makes him very sick tho. He just starts feeling better..and its time for another treatment. Feel so bad for him. He will be off work for awhile yet..pretty weak. I go in on Sundays with Mom to his place. We sure have fun visiting and bring dinner

to eat together.

Its funny how something like this can bring people closer again…I was always too busy to go visit before.Or thought I was. Family really is important! Well, my quick note turned into a book..ha

I needed a haircut so bad today, and when I want a haircut I want it now….so I went to Algona searching for one….I went to several places with the same answer, “we’re booked up”…one woman said where was you yesterday…I said laying on my couch being lazy….my last resort was Innovations salon and spa….to me the word spa means hotsy tots and expensive…they told me to come back at noon ….the gal takes me back and even carries my purse for me (I don’t like no one carrying my purse) didn’t like that right off the bat…she sits me down and stands in front of me and folds her arms and stares at me….(didn’t like that either)….she asks me what I wanted done…I proceed to tell her….she says oh no no no no….she said you need to have your hair in a bob, that’s the style you know, so we are going to cut off just a teensy bit and you can grow it out to a bob….that’s my job to tell people how to wear there hair you know…then she said you look scared….I thought no this is my look just before I beat the hell out of a beautian/massager/pedicure/wax hair broad……she said come lets shampoo your hair…I said I just washed it before I came…no no no no, come on it’s in the bill…grrrrrrrrrrr….I was so ticked I didn’t even enjoy the head massage (which normally I woulda been moaning they feel so good)…she wraps my head in a hot towel….she starts cutting it and I see little teeny tiny bits of stands falling on the cape, she says all done….I look in the mirror and see not one thing different, never know I had a haircut….I walked out muttering under my breathe, “you’ll never see me again”….

the username is still the same with the password being ionadebolt.   we need this blog too I think for family to keep in touch on things.

Happy Birthday this month to Shayne, Abby, Jackie, Jim, “Dorothy”, Melissa, Anne, Lannie, Payt0n, Lori, Terry, Ryan Conrad, Brooke,   and if I forgot anyone I am sorry!!!!

Last weekend after Gracie’s baptism we decided to let Ryan and Lucy ride in the van up 35 so the kids would think it wasn’t so long.  we ended up driving past Mason city as Elias was sleeping real good at the time and drove up to where the casino is before we stopped and everyone got back in their own car.  so beings we were so close to the casino al wanted to go so I gave in!    Anyway he ended up hitting over 700 one one machine and then I hit 350 on the same one so we went home with 10 one hundred dollar bills!  We were so happy! 

Then yesterday we went up to Lakeville to watch Payton play football and on the way up we stopped to buy a metal detector.   Al dropped Zoe and I off at the door and he went to park the car.   I went back by the clothes first so when he came in he went to get the metal detector.  He is back there looking and he see’s one for $300 but is on sale for $279 so he is looking at them and their is a clerk there and Al notices one is marked $69 so he ask the clerk if it is $69 and she said no that is marked wrong but since you want to buy it I can’t change the price so she puts a note with it and lucky Al gets a $300 dollar metal detector for $69 and then when we go to pay they call back to make sure that is right because it rings up at $279 and the clerk in the back ok’s it and then it comes up on the cash register that he gets a free pivot marker with it that is worth $59 dollars so we figure we got the metal detector for ten bucks more or less!!  so far we have found 28 cents!!  not a bad deal.  I think I should take him shopping or to the casino again soon!!