My Girls

It's tough to take a bad picture of these three but I think this has got to be one of my favorites. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Two Days in Columbia

Hi Girls. Mom and I made it to South Carolina on Monday night. Mom's been in class for the last two days and seems to be enjoying it. I've been working a little each day and then spending time with my camera. The weather has been great. No snow, not even a cloud in the sky. The picture below is the side of the state building.This is actually the back side of the state building. The only difference I can see is that the front has a life size bronze statue of George Washington. They offer tours and I've been told they're really worth the time. I'm thinking about going tomorrow.
I went to Saluda Shoals Park. It's a short walk but there was plenty to see. I managed to catch this Pileated Woodpecker and it was really tearing into this tree.
There were a lot of squirrels out there too. Looked like lunch to this big guy.
This is the bridge that goes into downtown Columbia. They have a river walk that's about 7' wide made of concrete. It's well lighted at night so Mom and I took a walk after class.

We Made It

Hi Girls,
Well, we made it.

Sooo first of all, brandon and i went to the cider mill a couple of weeks ago and made a pie!



it was very delicious.

OH and we got engaged!

yaaaay! :)

Mug shots

Hi Girls! In the last couple weeks I've trapped a groundhog, stray cat, a possum and 3 raccoons. I've been taking them down to the Kishwaukee River out by the airport and releasing them. They all seem healthy. Of course, the cat went to animal control. I went to the Mills' family reunion last Saturday. I haven't seen my cousins for 30 years. It was great to catch up with them. I got a couple email addresses and plan to stay in touch. I also went to the prison to visit Adam. He seems to be doing ok. We (Aunt Kathy, Granda Mills) spent 3 hours there but we could have stayed 4. We had to leave to get to the reunion. I don't think he wanted us to leave but understood. Things are absolutely crazy at work. It's year end, the MDC issues, and implementing Plant Maintenance should be done by the end of the year. I don't think it's going to happen. Mom might be going to S Carolina for a class in December. If she goes, I've got the week scheduled for vacation. Mom is adjusting to her new job. I think she likes it. We haven't worked on Lisa's room for a couple weeks but the carpet is supposed to be installed on Friday. Well, enough for now. See ya soon.

Lisa's room

Hi Girls,
I finally got Lisa's room painted. I repainted the ceiling on Friday. The walls on Saturday and all the woodwork on Sunday. Mom and I will be pulling up carpet tomorrow and then we'll start looking for some new. We're getting stuff done slow but sure. Hope you had a great weekend. Love Mom and Dad.

Bethany, Matt, Lisa and Brandon

I'm going to post more pictures of the family reunion on the Darby blog.

Dear Debbie

OK, I'm finally becoming a Dempster fan! He's had a great year and finally won on the road. The Rockford Register Star's headline the other day was "Dempster no longer road kill". He pitched a great game going 8 innings. We had a great time at the Cubs game, even though Dempster lost ;-). Thanks for saving us some tickets. Here are a couple Cubbies you might recognize.

More pics from Three Lakes

Hi Girls! Here are a few more pictures from our vacation. I wanted to take some family pictures on Saturday but once we got back from fishing I completely forgot. On one of our walks we came across this road bouquet. They mowed the road the next day.

One night we went for a ride to see some deer. We saw this one standing in a field almost to Three Lakes. It was very close to Russell Road.

We really enjoy going out on the pontoon and watching the sun set. I don't think we're ever disappointed.

HI!!

We saw the baby loon and tried to take some pictures but it was long way off. Maybe we'll get a little closer next year.

Belated Las Vegas!

Hey! I wanted to put up a couple of pictures of brandon and me from vegas a while ago. The castle is the hotel where we stayed. It was a really fun trip and the scenery in las vegas is pretty cool.

We had a great time this weekend and I can't wait for you to post pictures. Have a good week and good luck at work mom!

Fathers Day

Father's Day at Midway Village

Hi Girls! We went to the Machine Shed for fathers day and then went for a walk at Midway Village. We saw a Baltimore Oriole. I'm not sure if I've ever seen one in the "wild" before. I'll post some pictures of Russ and Al sometime this week.

Perennials

Hi Girls! The flowers we planted last year are in bloom. Also, the Larson's put up a new fence yesterday. As you can see, it's not quite finished but when it's done we won't be peeking over the top. Hope you're both doing well. Talk to you tomorrow. Mom and Dad.

New one of Lisa

UPDATE: 6/8/08: I posted additional photos of Lisa on Zenfolio.

Brandons home! :)

Birthday Present

Hi Girls! So, now I have a gnome. But the million dollar questions are what do we call him and where do we keep him? Jan's working on a couple names but I want to get your ideas first. I took some pics of likely places to keep him but let me know.

In the kitchen watching Mom? (Probably not)

Since he's a birder maybe outside watching the bird feeders.

Safely stored on the porch?

How about just inside the backyard fence?

Maybe with some friends?

P R I

Hi Girls! Providence is quite the town. I haven't been out much but the architecture is cool. You won't see any billboards either. I hope to get out tomorrow night. There's a building downtown that they've saved the front and torn down the rest of the building. Talk to you soon, Dad