Summer Visitors

This last summer brought us some visitors and you all know how I enjoy that. Tino made his first visit back to Durand and he brought his friend, Oliver, with him. They spent time with Rhett and a lot of time with Zach (Hooch.) They also took the train to Chicago for a few days and also went to New York on their way back home to Germany. While they were here, we also went to a Tiger game and spent some time in Detroit. It was so good to see him again and Ollie was so nice. We are happy that Tino brought him along. Then in August came the rest of the visitors. Martin, who was an exchange student in Durand back in 2000 with Joi, was going to be in Canada so he stopped by here for a few days. He went to Jennifer Pelky's wedding with us and saw some of his old friends and also spent some time with Travis. He was actually able to fit in some time to visit more friends before he left for Canada. It has been such a long time since we have seen him and it was great to see what a nice young man he is. He is working on he masters degree in Geology and he would also like a degree in Biology and become a teacher. While Martin was here is when Hokan arrived and then soon came Jannik. It was great to see Jannik again and to hear him talk a mile a minute. I miss that so much. He quickly found his favorite chair and Tivo, 2 things he could never forget. His friends, Jake and Brian, were in Chicago working so Jannik and 2 car loads of friends went down for a visit. Then our long awaited visitors, Jannik's family, Harald, Regina, and Ann-Krisitne made their way here after being in Boston, New York and Washington DC. It was a whirlwind visit as I wanted to make sure they were able to see what they wanted. We went upnorth to Indian River and rented a cabin and made a trip to Mackinaw City. After we got back, Aenne, Tino's sister, came to visit for a couple of days and we all went to Niagara Falls. It was a short trip but we packed in everything to see. Then the stress hit for the Niden's as they were suppose to be flying to Jackonsville, Florida and a hurricane was hitting there and it was taking a long time to leave the coast. So, after a couple of changes we were able to get them into Orlando so they could enjoy the rest of their trip. It was sad to everyone leave but then we had soccer to keep us busy. I hope they all had a good time and I am awaiting return visits from all.

Welcome Hokan!

Hokan arrived in Durand almost a month ago on August 9. Floyd and I went to the airport to pick him up and became a little worried because he was the last to come to the waiting area, even after the flight crew. But when we did see him he was waving and smiling. And when he got to us, he gave me a big hug. :-) It was busy right from the beginning for him as we had a lot of visitors, Martin from Switzerland, Jannik and then Jannik's family. After being here for a couple of days, soccer practice started and while Jannik's family was here, we went up north for a couple of days and then to Niagara Falls. Hokan is now getting settled into a routine here with school, soccer and he is also running cross country. The kids at school have been very friendly and he is always gone someplace. I don't think he has had a chance to get too bored. Even though he will be taking this year of school back in Sweden, he has chosen to take AP Chemistry and AP Calculus so he will have his fair share of studying and homework. When Hokan first arrived, he was always very helpful and I figured this was just the polite period but he is still doing the same. So, this must be his everyday way. He helps get his breakfast together and helps setting the table, and with dinner if I let him, and he picks up after. Yesterday, when I picked up his breakfast dishes while he was doing some homework, he told me he felt like he was in a hotel. One night we had a Styx concert and Other couldn't go at the last minute as two of his close friends were getting married, so we took Hokan. Well, we didn't get to see too much of Styx as we were 15 minutes late (we had a soccer tournament earlier that day) and REO Speedwagon and Def Leppard were there too. We had all figured REO would be first and then Styx, but we were wrong. But the best part of the story is that Hokan now really likes Styx. And he has watched Deadliest Catch (one of Floyd's favorites) and he likes the History channel. I think I am way outnumbered now. When will I get someone who likes American Idol? :-) I'm looking forward to a great year and I hope it is the same for Hokan.

Tino's visit

Tino made his first visit back to Durand and he seem to have a very good time. He brought one of his from Germany, Oliver and they were her for 3 weeks. He met up with his old friends Rhett and Hooch and they kept him occupied for most of the time. Hooch made sure that they made to to their fare share of parties and they really enjoyed going to band practice with him. They played golf 3 times, tennis, soccer and went swimming while they were here. They also took the train to Chicago for 3 days. During their visit Rhett took them to play softball with him for his church league, they loved it. The boys really got into watching the Tigers too so took one day Floyd, Tino, Oliver and I went to Detroit for some sight seeing and to watch the Tigers. My boys won 7-1. We even got to watch Joel Zumya pitch as he is just coming off of the disabled list. Since it was a Friday, there were fireworks after the game and they were awesome. Tino is now in New York for 8 days and then back home to Germany. It was so good to see him again and I can't wait for his next visit.

Simon's home

Another year has come to an end and Simon is now back in Lillehammer. You would think after all of these years I would be getting used to this, but I never do.
Simon has called this year challenging and I say it's been a year like no other, but not for reasons you may think. As with any family, natural or exchange, there are always ups and down. What I credit Simon with, is that he did talk to me about this and not keep it all inside, as most do. I know some of the topics weren't easy for him but because of this, we have both grown. I can never understand how these exchange students come to a strange country and to live with a family they have never met. If I could, I would go back and change somethings for Simon. I wished he would have never have come down with the appendicitis and ended up having to have surgery. And of course, I would have changed the MSU football game. Simon is a good kid and yes he did something that wasn't right, but bad enough to warrant what he went through, I don't think so. But through it all, he was honest and never complained about the consequences. I think because of that, is why it did turn out so favorable for him.
Simon is a very thoughtful young man and as I told him, I'm glad he was here with us. I loved watching him play soccer and enjoyed seeing his love of soccer. Simon and I did have one thing in common, and that is neither of us likes to make decisions. You should have been around when we were out and going to get something to eat. There were always a lot of, "I don't care." :-) He never complained once about my cooking, late night meals or running out of laundry. And he was also very patient with me, which I know at times, wasn't easy.
Simon has sure seen a lot while he was here, going to Niagara Falls, Toronto,New York, Myrtle Beach, Chicago, Cancun, Boston, Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas. Both of his parents were able to visit him while he was here also and I know he really enjoyed that.
In the winter he played a lot of indoor soccer, usually being on 3 teams and going to drop in. I will always remember our soccer schedule and checking out every day where we were going to be. Good thing there was Tivo in case I missed any shows, like American Idol.
I had asked Simon what was his favorite part of the year and for some reason he picked Cancun. As like that is some big surprise. I'm sure the other boys that went to Cancun also would agree with him. I have so many good memories of the year but I think my favorite is beating him at poker on his birthday.
This is Saturday morning and it seems odd not to be waiting for Simon to get up and sit in his chair so he can see the soccer game and have his fruit and bagels. And me always asking him which is the home team because I can never remember if the home team is first or last on the scoreboard. And not making plans to go to his soccer game and if he has a clean uniform or not. And I'm sure on this Saturday morning he is not missing Floyd watching TV loudly or me listening to my music countdown.
I told Simon I was never going to give up on him and in the end, he didn't either.


I sure miss him and I can't wait to see him and his smile again.

The Wedding

After all the months of preparation the wedding did happen and Stacy was beautiful. I haven't had much time to see Stacy and Graham to talk to them, but I think they both enjoyed themselves. I'm sure they would both agree that all of the hard work was worth it as it was a wonderful and memorable day. Friday night started with the rehearsal which was going to be held at Flushing Park but a storm came up and it was moved to Clayton and Melissa's house. How nice of them to open up their house to all of the many people Stacy and Graham had in the wedding party. Under the circumstances, it all turned out well and then Graham's mom, Gail, hosted everyone at Sorrento's for a good meal and for a time of fellowship. The night wasn't over yet though, Kim, Debbie and Stacy came over so we could finish up the programs. But it did go a lot faster than we thought and now we could all get some rest. Saturday morning, most of us took over Changes in Durand to get our hair done. Deb Love brought in all kinds of muffins, orange juice and Mimosas. We had a lot of fun and how nice of Changes to let us take over most of the salon. After getting everything loaded in the suburban, Floyd took Debbie and I over to the country club so we could start setting up for the reception. With a lot of help from Stacy's friend Sherry, Ann, Beth Park and her friend Adam, I was able to get Stacy's simple but pretty room set up. We had flowers on the table and Stacy chose M&M's and Hershey's candy bars with pictures of Stacy and Graham on the wrappers for favors for the guests. There was also a beautiful chocolate fountain for the night, and all from the girl who really doesn't like chocolate. Of course, there were a minor glitches, but nothing that caused any problems. After Floyd dropped me off, he went to pick up the sound system that was rented and when he came back to set it up, the chairs out side still weren't out so he didn't know where to put the speakers so he went home to shower and to get Simon. After getting the room set up and dressed, I went outside to check that out and the guys thought they were getting done setting the chairs and arbor up and I said that Floyd would be there in a few minutes to set up the speakers. I thought he could use some help unloading it. Well, I think it was Clayton who asked me where we were going to plug in the sound system. Plug it in, I had never thought of that. So, I call Floyd and he had all ready left, so who do I always call first, Carol and Floyd Seder. They were going to try and find us enough extension cords to plug into the nearby building (about 200 feet away). That's when the confusion started. While Floyd Joe was waiting for Floyd and Carol, we were told that everything was set so we told our friends to never mind. Well, Floyd Joe went out and the cords were plugged in a socket that didn't work so he tried to them to reach to another outlet and the cords were too short so Floyd and Carol were back on. After they arrived and we got it all set up, we were ready to go and the wedding started about 10 minutes late. Stacy was beautiful and I think it turned out just as she wanted. She had a harpist and violinist to play music and Kara Kimmer sang. Braxton, who is 2, tried to steal the show though. He knew he was the ring bearer and there was a play ring tied to his pillow so when the minister asked for the rings and Graham got them from the best man, Braxton tried to get Graham's attention because he had the rings. It was so cute. I can't wait to see the video of that. After pictures, the reception and party could start. The food was delicious and the chocolate fountain was unbelievable. All of the staff at the Flushing Country Club were outstanding and they couldn't do enough for us. The party was a lot of fun and Stacy sure enjoyed herself. When I talked with Graham all he wanted was for Stacy to be happy. Now, I am so thrilled that she has someone that cares for her this much but I keep telling him that he needs to stop spoiling her so much. I'm hoping that it was also the day he wanted, too. On Sunday, the kid's family and some friends came over for lunch and then they opened their presents. It all went well and shortly after everyone left, we lost power. I'm so glad it didn't happen while they were here. Later that day, Graham and Stacy came back to copy their marriage license (but didn't get to because of no power) and they opened their cards by candlelight. Graham and Stacy are due back tonight from their honeymoon in Cancun and back to reality. They are in the process of buying a house in Byron so that will keep them busy for a while. I'm sure this will be a very memorable week end for them, full of fun and a lot of love for them and also, from their family and friends.

Please check out the pictures under my photos.

Theresa Marie Lincoln Bolduc

It is with great sadness that I let you know that our niece, Theresa passed away May 19 at the age of 26 due to complications from gastric bypass surgery she had 4 years ago. She was also 5 months pregnant and Brian Edward was delivered stillborn. Theresa was married 19 months ago and according to her Aunt Terry, she been the happiest she had ever seen her. She also leaves behind an 8 month old daughter, Caitlin May. Her husband, Jason, has never had the sole responsibility of caring for Caitlin so he is very concerned about caring for her. Our thoughts go out to him and to Ric and Tracey and our nephews, Jeremy and Cristopher. The family is having a mass on Tuesday at St Mathew Catholic Church in Flint.

The Champions!

The Girl's Varsity Team finished in first place tonight by beating Lake Fenton 2-1. For the first time the GAC league changed their format and now the schools play each other once and then by those standings they are seated for a tournament. Well, we were undefeated in the league only having a 1-1 tie with Lake Fenton. In fact, we had only lost 1 game and that was to Swartz Creek during a snow storm. Since we did so well n the regular season, we were seated first for the tournament and had a bye for the first game. Our first match was against Jason Perrin and term from Montrose. We had beat them by 1 goal in the regular season and Floyd was expecting a hard fight. He was right and we won 1-0. This win assured us at least a share of the championship even if we lost to Lake Fenton but the girls wanted an out right title. So, the final against Lake Fenton was so exciting and the girls were very nervous but they came out to play and to win. And win they did.
Also during the season, they beat Ovid-Elise who were ranked 9th in the state. O-E stayed at 9 until this week and now have dropped to 10. Seems like we should be ranked but Floyd also doesn't want to have a bulls eyes on the girls back for all the other teams to come after us, so he is happy the way things are.
But all of this is now behind us and the girls need to look forward to their district games, which once again we are playing Lansing Catholic Central for the first game. We did beat them once earlier, 1-0, but their coach said 3 of their best players were at a track meet. So, come May 26, we will see if we can do it again. And if we are good enough to make it to the finals we will likely have to face Williamston, a high ranked team in the state.
GO DURAND!

I'm still alive.....

I am still alive but as usual, very busy. But you all know this is how I am so there are no complaints from me. Simon's Mom keeps waiting for new pictures so I thought I should get them on the web. I have been very lax about that. Today is Simon's prom and it was so nice to see everyone all dressed up. There are some real good looking kids at DHS.
Simon's Mom visited in March and it was great to meet her and to have her around. We kept her busy going to Simon's soccer games because at that time he was on 3 indoor teams. And they also took the train to Chicago.
In March, Stacy and I flew down to Mom and Dad's for a night as we got one of those $35 tickets and Stacy had never been there before. I am looking forward to her not going to school and working both as it will be easier for her to take advantage of those cheap tickets when they become available. Who knows where we could end up.
For spring break, Simon, his friend Simen, and I went to Cancun for 5 days. It is so beautiful down there and the boys had a great time. They are making plans for a return visit.
Then 2 weeks later, Carol and I went down to Mom and Dad's and Aaron's. It was the first time Carol had been able to make it down to visit Aaron. It was good to see that he and Lindsay have a nice townhouse and they seemed very happy.
Floyd is going strong with girls soccer and as of now they are in first place. They lost the first game of the year to Swartz Creek that was played in a snow storm. Since then, we have one them all except for 1 tie. They are entering the GAC tournament seeded in first place. I hope they keep up the good work.
Ben and Donna Simons have started a volunteer group that is raising funds to build a 2 story press box and dug outs at the soccer field. They are doing this in memory of their son, Jon, who was killed in a motorcycle almost 2 years ago. Right now we are raffling off a new car with the tickets costing $50. We will be drawing the winning ticket on July 19. Mmmmm, what a good day that is. Genesee Cement just donated $8,000 worth of decorative block to build the press box out of. All we have to do is pay the brick layer, not cheap by any means but still cheaper than buying all the materials to build it otherwise.
And probably what has kept me the busiest is getting ready for Stacy's wedding. I had a shower for her on April 20 and this last week mailed 113 invitations. With the wedding being June 7, there isn't much time to get everything done.
Speaking of Stacy she is graduating with honors May 3 from nursing school. Floyd and I are so proud of her. She has worked so hard and now it is all paying off. Also, when you graduate from nursing school there is a pinning ceremony and she wants me to pin her. She doesn't plan on starting to work until after the wedding and plans on working at Genesys. She is afraid to be driving around Hurley so she has no plans to go there. But you never know.
Well, this has been a brief synopsis fo the last few months. Please click on my photos to check on recent pictures.

Oh, What a Night......Stacy, Me, Chris and Jon

Stacy and I had a girls night out going down to the Palace to see Daughtry and Bon Jovi. And what a night it was. I ended up working that day and got out late but after we finally got off we heard towards the Palace and decided to eat near Great Lakes Shopping Center since there is so much to choose from there. We first wanted to go to Max and Erma's but there were no parking spaces and it looked like a long wait inside. So, we went further down the road and Stacy chose "South of the Border" It was a cool Mexican place and I loved the food. It seems like the place was full of people, mainly girls, heading to the concert. I used the restroom at the restaurant as I thought it would be a lot quicker than the palace. Well, I had to stand in a short line there and everyone in there was going to the concert so we were all talking about it. Then off to the show we went. Since I have been going to the Palace so much to see the Piston's, I have come up with my own way of getting there. I take the 2nd exit that isn't labeled for the Palace and then I cut across my exit lane to another entrance lane (ya, I know, illegal but so much worth it because I can part right near the exit that puts you on 75 north) and paid the enormous parking fee. Off to the concert. Of course, Daughtry was the opening act and he was so good. He should have finished a lot higher in American Idol. He is truly a rocker and even though he was the opening act, a lot of people were there to watch and most everyone stood though his set also. He came across as nice as he did on Idol, too. After his set it didn't seem to take as long as normal to get set up for the opening act. Bon Jovi then appeared and everyone went crazy, especially when Jon hit the stage. We had seen him once before in 2003 at Tiger Stadium and we thought it was great being in the big stadium. But I think it was better indoors because of the sound. The light show was unbelievable outdoors but so was theirs last night. They had so many big screens and I never knew which to watch, the screens or the stage. Every song they do is produced like it is the encore and the goes on and on and on. And of course everyone was singing and singing. Jon really knows how to work the crowd. There was one downside to the concert........there was this high maintenance princess that was next to me and she brought her very expensive coat in with her along with her very expensive large purse. Well, she held onto them the whole time and the extra large purse was 1/2 way into my area and kept hitting me in the back. I was getting so mad but I wasn't going to let her ruin this night. Bon Jovi was on stage for almost 2 1/2 hours and everyone still wanted more. But Jon was probably dehydrated as he sweat the whole time, badly. The big picture screens were so clear, that you could see his sweat flying all over the place. It was so hot in the Palace that even Stacy had a hard time with it and she was down to her tank top. Now, off to the car and since I had crossed the roads, we were parked right where I wanted to be and near the exit we needed. Well, people we so nice and let us in and we were out of the parking lot and on the express in maybe, about 3 minutes. I don't think that will ever happen again in my lifetime. The Palace also raised a banner for Bon Jovi at the Piston's game the night before....as Bon Jovi has sold out the Palace 10 consecutive times. It was a great night and worth all the money. Check out the pics and videos!

My Day With Aenne

Aenne made a trip to Grand Rapids to visit her boyfriend, Simon. It was a short trip so she wasn't able to make it to Durand, so on a day when Simon was in school I went to visit her. She called the night before to ask if I was still coming because of the roads and I didn't know what she meant as the roads were fine here. But the next morning I found out why she called and asked because as I got close to Grand Rapids, the roads were horrible. I was a nervous wreck and I was so glad that I took the suburban and not my car. Come to find out there were 200 schools closed in the area, but not Simon's. After I picked her up we loaded my GPS to get us to Meijer Gardens, which most of it is outside at the better times of the year. But what we did get to see was beautiful and they had lilacs, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips in bloom. And since it was so cold and the roads so bad, it made me long for spring time. All the plant life was wonderful and Aenne and I were fascinated by the little birds. It doesn't take much to get us excited. :-) After the gardens we headed off to lunch and a big mall area as I was sure we could find something to do around there. But on the way we were going through downtown and I had read about an art gallery there so we changed the GPS and headed to the gallery. Well, we found it and a lot of it was pretty cool, but the prices weren't even anything we could fathom. Everybody that worked there were real nice though. So, now back on the roads, the slippery icy roads and even though the sun had been shining on them, they were still a mess and there were still all kinds of cars in the ditch and accidents. But we did make it to the mall area and Aenne chose the Olive Garden to eat at as she had never been there before. And it was such a good choice. We had a great lunch and then we head over to the mall. We didn't shop much but what we did do is go to the movies. I actually had a girl with me and I could go to a chick flick. We went to see "Fool's Gold" and I really enjoyed it. I was so happy that Aenne went with me. I wish she was still here because there is another chick flick I want to go to and like me, Stacy does prefer to watch them at home. After the movie it was off to Wall Mart to find something from America for Hanna . Hanna is Tino and Aenne's younger sister who I think she is 10 now. Well, Aenne said she is really getting into cooking shows and wanting to cook so I got her a cook book with lots of pictures and some measuring utensils. I would love to be able to watch her cook with all of this. I then took Aenne home and made the trip back to Durand. The roads were a lot better but I still had to very cautious. It was a great day and I am looking forward to her return visit this summer when she is able to spend some time in Durand. And as promised Aenne, we will play Cranium. All we have to do is convince my Mom to come up and play with us. :-)

Introducing #10----Hokan

Yes, you read write, number 10, and it's only January. We have never chosen anyone so early before. And I think Jannik holds the record of the latest pick, around July 13. Joi doesn't count even though it was August, he was all ready here and we didn't plan on taking an exchange student. I think it was a good thing that it worked out so well since we are continuing on for our 10th year. So, the newest member of our family is Hokan Martin and don't hold your breath because he isn't from Germany, but Sweden. But after reading his letter, it sounds like he will fit in with all of us very well. Of course, he has the main interest of soccer, but then you could figure that out. He also likes long distance running, bandy (type of Swedish style hockey), skiing and we saw a picture of him holding a fish. He has been chairman of his class and does well in school. He favorite classes are math and physics, right up Floyd's alley. He has an older sister,21, and a brother, 25. His father and brother are engineers, his mother a dentist and his sister is studying to be a dentist. Right now Hakan has plans on going into engineering. So, if some of you are able to visit you will get to meet him. He sounds like a well rounded person that will do well here. You know how hard it is for to tell the existing student that we have chosen a new one but I did tell Simon last night. I told him it was the second hardest thing for me to do, the worst sending my boys home. I just don't want anyone to ever think I'm replacing them or maybe it's more that I don't want to replace the existing one. He told me he understood.
On another note, Jon Simon's family has started a group to raise money to build a 2 story press box with dug outs this summer in memory of Jon. It looks like we will be selling raffle tickets to a car and the drawing will be on my birthday. I'm sure I will keep you updated on this. Isn't this just the way to do things, we have lights at the field and now the press box, but what ever happened to making sure we have a good field for the kids to play on. Maybe someday. Take care and I miss everyone!

Simon and the Casino

We finally were able to celebrate the third part of Simon's birthday. On Thursday and Friday, we had no school due to a recent snow storm, around 15 inches of the snow. So, on Friday we left for Mt Pleasant so Simon could try his hand a poker. We got a room which I thought I might enjoy as I took 2 books with me and imagined that I would be near the pool and read. But as it turned out, Floyd became very sick with a cold and he used the room. After we checked in we took Simon over to the casino and looked for Floyd Seder's mother as she had a couple of extra tickets to The Orchestra, formerly known as ELO. We had a nice visit and then Floyd took Simon to the pitch table, which is one deck black jack. Simon picked up the game very quickly and they finished ahead. So, Simon's first experience at gambling was successful. We found the poker room and signed Simon up to sit at the $1-$2 blind tables and but didn't realize that the bets were unlimited. We made sure he was set and Floyd went to the room and I found Other Floyd's mom and sister. They were at the pitch table and the dealer there told me that wasn't the right table for Simon to be on due to the unlimited bets so I got very nervous for him and I went to talk to the people at the poker room front desk. They also told me that wasn't the best place for him to be and I didn't know what to do because I didn't think I could go in and talk with him. But the guy told me it was no problem so I went and got him. He was happy to get off of that table and we signed him up on the list for the $3 and $6 blind table. We had enough time to get him a sandwich and then it was his turn to play. After I while I went to check on him and he saw me and he waved and gave me a thumbs up sign and I was happy for him. I was so trying not to to embarrass him the whole time but you all know how worried I can get. He was still playing when I went to the concert so I gave him a ticket in case he wanted to come after he was done. I have seen ELO in the past but it was almost 30 years ago and I didn't know what to expect, especially since it wasn't many of the founding members, but it was very good and I really enjoyed it. There was an older couple sitting next to me and he tapped me on the shoulder and ever asked me if I had heard of the band. He said that since it said orchestra, they thought it was going to be something like Tommy Dorsey. After a while, they got up and left. I hope Other Floyd's mom was enjoying it because his sister and I were. I had texted Simon and told him that there weren't many people sitting around us so he could come when he was done and he wrote back and said he was coming and I was glad I did. He was there for the last 35 minutes and got to see all the old people up dancing, clapping and singing. I'm sure it must have been a sight to see. All in all it was a very good day and night and Simon said he had fun. All I know is that I slept on the floor as I thought Floyd had pink eye and he was running fevers and I wanted no part of catching any of that. Simon insisted that if anyone was going to sleep on the floor it was going to be him but I didn't tell him that I was going to. There was a law from the fire marshal that the room we were in couldn't have a roll away, boo. But it was still a good time. And right now, Floyd is starting to feel better.

Super Bowl Sunday ......or not...A Girls Night Out

On Super Bowl Sunday, Jakob's sister, Janna had a friend flying into Detroit Metro to visit her for 2 weeks. A couple of days before she was suppose to pick her up, her friend from Central told her she couldn't take her so she called me. So, on Sunday at 1:45 pm I left to go up to Mt Pleasant to pick up Janna. We stopped back by home to pick up Simon's friend, Simen to drop him off near home after Simon's party the night before. So, we got to Novi and Simen's host sister met us there to pick him up and at the same time Janna got a call from her friend's mother and said that Annika, her friend, had missed her connecting flight to Detroit as her plane from Frankfurt was late. The next plane to Detroit was in 5 hours. So now, instead of her coming in at 6:30 pm it would now be 11:30 pm. We were right by Twelve Oaks Mall but since it was Sunday and 6pm it was closing. So, we drove around the area a little bit to decide what to do. We ended up eating at Potbelly's and then went to see the movie "The Kite Runner". It was such a good movie. We both cried and laughed, I'm so glad we went. When we found the theater, we had never heard of many of the movies and we were a little confused but when we got in side we saw advertisements for Indian movies and Indian businesses. After the movie, we went to an Irish Pub nearby and sat near the fireplace (Janna wanted to get warm) and we watched the end of the Super Bowl. It didn't end the way I wanted but it was fun seeing the exciting finish. Poor Janna was trying to understand it all. I think that will be one American thing she won't get used to. :-) It was finally time to go and get Annika and everything seemed to be going good now. But that thought was soon vanished as when we were near Lansing we hit bad weather. The driving became very slow. It was snowing so hard it made it hard to see and then when the crazy semi's went flying past, it was like a white out. But we made it safely to Janna's and I made it safely home, at 5am. It was a long day but it was fun to spend the time with Janna and it was like she said, "A Girl's Night Out."
Thanks Janna.

Simon's Surprise Party

With a lot of help from Eivind, we were able to pull off a surprise party for Simon and he says he had no idea what was going on and was really surprised. It started out with me asking Simen, his friend in Novi, to ask Simon if he could come and visit on Saturday and Simon told him no. We were busy all day Saturday with YFU so Simon thought it wouldn't be worth the trouble for such a short time. (During our meeting on Saturday, Simon texted Simen and asked him if he still could come up and Simen told him he was busy. Ha, Ha.) Well, we put another plan in place and were able to get Simen here so that was also a surprise to Simon. Simon came down the stairs and saw his friends and he had the biggest smile on his face. They were able to play a little poker and then we left for soccer zone so they could also play some soccer, two of Simon's favorite, soccer and poker. And after soccer, they came back to the house and finished their poker and ate. Simen, Eivind and Trevor stayed the night and I guess they played poker until 5 in the morning. I was long in bed before then. Now, all we have to do is finish the 3rd part of his birthday and that is going to the casino. We had such bad weather on Friday, we weren't able to go. But I know we will get him there. I'm sure this wasn't a traditional Norwegian 18th birthday celebration, but an American one and Simon did say he had a good time. :-)

Simon's birthday and Poker

Well, I think today turned out to be a good day even thought it was Simon's birthday. We took him to Eastwood Towne Center in Lansing where there are several restaurants. Simon actually made a quick decision, (he is usually worse than me about making decisions) and he chose Bravo!, an Italian restaurant. We really loved the decor of the place and the food was excellent. Simon made a very good choice. After a little shopping at Sam's, (such a cool place to shop on your birthday but we did buy the first season of Hero's to watch) we came home and Simon blew out the candles on his cake. Then he opened up his presents and replied to all of his well wishers that wrote to him on line. Since he got poker chips for his birthday and also heading up to the casino in the morning, Simon had an urge to play some poker. He had to settle on playing with Floyd and I and it will be an experience he will never forget. In fact, he said he can't wait to play with someone who knows how to play, referring to me, not Floyd. But who cares if I know how to play or not because I beat him..........I won 2 of the 3 games we played. Floyd won the last one but I did go all in on a hand that I never would have but it was midnight and the guys were tired. We are expecting there to be no school in the morning as a snow storm is coming but as of now, it hasn't started so they thought they should be prepared, just in case. I had my good luck charms, my German bear and my Norwegian moose. (Sully, I guess I need something French or Irish to complete my collection.) But it was my night for cards, especially on the river. All in all, it was a great night and I hope Simon had a good birthday. Happy 18th, Simon!

New York with Magne

Magne was in New York for 10 days with a group from his school checking out different Norwegian companies and they also went into the stock exchange. He said he enjoyed seeing how the businesses ran from the inside. So, while he was there I flew out for 2 days so I could see him. We did a lot of walking and riding in the subways and it seemed like Mag was a local because he was very good at getting us around. It was also his birthday when I arrived so we celebrated by taking a helicopter ride and also going to see the play Grease. The next day we spent shopping. Once again, it was great shopping for him due to our falling dollar.
It had been 17 months since I had seen Magne and he is still the funny and very considerate young man that I remembered. I had forgotten how much I love hearing him say, "It's ok, Vic." He always wants take care of everyone else but he doesn't always want it returned.
We both agreed that we don't want it to be another 17 months before we see each other again.

Christmas 2007

Floyd and I were very fortunate to have Sullivan visiting for the holidays. After he was here for 24 hours last August he knew that he needed to come back for a longer visit and we are so glad he did. Even though we do e mail and text each other and talk on the phone, we still miss his wonderful personality and his good sense of humor. We are so glad that he decided to spend this time with us.
Floyd's family was over on December 23. Everyone was here except for Ric and Tracy as they were at Jeremy's in Tennessee. Nancy's children, Jayden 6 and Jolee, 4 were are so cute and so much fun.
For Christmas Eve, we spent the day driving to my Mom and Dad's. The weather was great while we were there and on Christmas day, the golf course was closed so Simon, Sully, Dad and I went out and played the 8th hole behind their house. We played that hole 3 times and Dad was giving the boys pointers. The day after Christmas, Mom and Dad rented a condo on the water for us to stay in for 3 days. It was a great place with heated out door pools and Jacuzzis but I couldn't talk the guys into going in with me. Dad had found a place that had opened up that had batting cages so we went there and even I got in there to try and hit some balls. They also had an air hockey table and I challenged Simon and Sully to a game. I'm very competitive when it comes to this game and I needed to take Simon on again. We did find another table the next day and I did get one game against Simon. What I don't know is if he let me win so I wouldn't be pestering him to play. :-) Just kidding, I know I beat him fair and square. And as usual, we did play miniature golf. After playing the course once, we decided to play again but Sully came up with some new rules and we also played as teams. We were paired up from the scores of the first game and I was lucky enough to get Dad. With a team like us, who else could win? We killed the others. We also did some shopping with Sully since the Euro is so good against the dollar. He said it was like getting everything 50% off. I think Simon and Sullivan enjoyed going to the driving range the best. They sure were getting a lot better. There is always a lot of driving involved in this trip with it taking 14-15 hours one way, but it is worth it to spend the holidays with Mom and Dad.
Sully was with us for 13 days and it seemd much too short but he did have to get back to work. But we were glad that he came and we are awaiting his next visit. When we dropped him off at the airport he did told me that he would come back and visit and I'm going to hold him to that.