My favorite animal would be either a penguin, a monkey, or an elephant. And my favorite movies are Grease, Newsies, Save the Last Dance, and Meet the Parents. If there was no price limit for Christmas, I would so want a car, Only 47 days until I get my license!!!
Speaking of Christmas shopping, remember when we had a list that people could write things they wouldn't mind having for Christmas. Maybe we could do that this year and people just put items on their in the price range that we have so we have ideas of what people want because I have no clue for some people. Also there's an idea for a conversation starter, what would everyone want for Christmas if there was no price limit? I would probably want a vacation somewhere out of the country like Australia or somewhere like that. Or maybe a car because it's getting close for me to be driving!
Here's something I don't think is in the manual (if you read the manual, which I haven't completely yet): You can get an actual first-person viewpoint by hitting the "tab" key. This brings you right down into the room, and also gets rid of the control panel at the bottom. You can now control your movement with these keys: Q/E = down/up, A/D = left/right, W/S = forward/back, and Z/X = zoom in/out. I think you can also use the arrow keys for movement here too. Hit the "tab" key again to go back to normal view. Give it a whirl!
Donna
9/24/04
Emily, what the heck did you say in Spanish to Anna? Congrats on getting to meet the governor. That is so impressive. Remember to mention that on any future job application/resume.
Erika, I think I'd like to visit Vermillion. It sounds like my kind of town. But since you visited the winery first, I'm wondering if the other stuff really happened. ;-)
Amanda
9/24/04
Hey, I don't know if anyone collects the box tops for education, but if you don't you can start now & send them to us every now and then. Tristen's school is collecting them, the school gets 10 cents for each one. They are on General Mills products. Thanks!
Lindsey
9/23/04
Hey everybody! I just got back from dance again tonight and the owner of my dance studio asked me and three other girls my age would like to also play roles in the Nutcracker as Party Boys in the beginnnig party scene (if you know the story) and so me and another girl that is a soldier with me are going to alternate parts since we have quick changes so I will do the first and last showing as a party boy and a soldier, and she will do the middle showing as a party boy. But we're doing that because we have quick changes between the two parts and so like when I go on as a party boy, then i have to run off after and do a quick change into my soldier costume. She asked to do this because there wasn't enough people for that group. So two parts isn't bad for my first time!
Erika
9/23/04
We went to Ponca state park about a week ago, but our computer was down so i'm writing it now. Anyway it was really cool, but on the way back we went through Vermillon, and first we went to the Winery, and there were these people in (we think) Scottish one was playing the harp and (We think) yoddling. We went through some more, and Emily saw a stop sign that said "Stop Bush" We went through some more, and saw some protesters with signs that said things like "Bush is a terrorist" and "Honk 4 peace". As you can tell it was very interesting.
Emily
9/23/04
Hey everybody! Its nice to finally be back on the internet!!!
Congratulations on your part in the Nutcracker, Lindsey. I love the Nutcracker!! It should be fun. Congratulations to Anna too, on your A in Spanish! Tenga diversion en el clase de espanol!
I've been having fun in my Spanish class too, we're already planning our first fiesta!
We had a lot of fun in Ponca this weekend. We're thinking we will proably go back when it gets cooler this fall and stay all day, and go hiking and stuff. On the way home we drove through Vermillion and saw a few intresting things, but I'll let Erika tell you about that.
Im not sure what we will be doing when the governor comes yet. But I got a call yesterday, they just said that I along with 3 other people from the Mayor's Youth Comission, was recommended by our director to meet with him. I'll keep everyone updated as to what we will be doing as soon as I find out more!
Karen
9/23/04
Rainy, cool morning, Fall is well on its way :) Even seeing a few leaves beginning to turn colors and fall.
Amanda -- I don't really have any suggestions for your project. I know I always love any ornaments with their pictures on them. I imaging you could even do something on the computer. I'd check out some web sites -- maybe like a Micheals they always seem to have lots of ideas.
Lindsey and Anna -- congratulations!
Emily got some very good news the other day. She is one of four from the Mayors Youth Commission asked to meet with the Iowa Governor in a few weeks. Not sure of the all the details yet, but I think she will be able to talk with him and ask some questions.
Wow, good news everywhere! Sounds exciting, Emily -- is this the first step on your political career...? --Gary
Amanda
9/23/04
Speaking of corn..... Teghan's first corn on the cob experience, she LOVED it, once she figured out to eat just the yellow part.
Gary
9/22/04
Anybody interested in "The Sims 2"? I got it last week, and here's my review!
Lindsey
9/22/04
Hey Tristen, I was just wondering if you were still riding your bike a lot? Are you gonna help Teghan learn now?
Lindsey
9/22/04
We just recently spent the day at Mahoney State Park a couple weekends ago. We decided we'd go up early Sunday morning and eat at their breakfast buffet and then we went on a neat horsetrail ride and then we went paddle boating. We also went up on the observation tower too.
Donna, I don't know about a career in dance right now but I guess it would depend on how far I keep going in it!
Karen
9/22/04
Thanks for the virus info, however, we already had all of those safeguards and it still got us. It didn't seem to do any real damage, just shut everything down until we could get it fixed. Just a pain to put it all back together.
Karen
9/22/04
Well we are back on line after three days. Tried to get on Monday morning and nothing. Guess we had a virus on the NEW computer!!!! Just back from the shop and trying to catch up on the news items. Erika did send a long report along with the pictures. Guess it was one that didn't go through. We spent the afternoon at Ponca State Park. It was a fun day. I'll try to get Erika to send her other news items -- she had lots to report on from our day.
Dang! Sorry Erika's note disappeared. That makes two now that I know of, hers and Lindsey's. Anybody else remember sending something in on the weekend? As for viruses and such, there are some fine FREE utilities out there that will protect your computer. See what one brilliant writer said in this excellent article. --Gary
Donna
9/22/04
Feliz Navidad, Anna. I think that means congratulations. ;-)
Anna
9/22/04
i got an A in spanish
Felicitaciones! Bueno para usted! --Gary
Donna
9/22/04
Congratulations Lindsey!!! Does this make you rethink your choice of careers now? Are you thinking of becoming a dancer now instead of a chef?
Lindsey
9/21/04
Hey everybody! I just got back from dance and I'm really tired! I'm not sure when all my rehearsals will be for the Nutcracker but I think theere's a meeting about it in October. Also I found out tonight I have to do a dance workshop this week Saturday and Sunday in the mornings with a guest artist that's here. Also I might be going to Kansas City for the NYCDA (New York City Dance Alliance) dance workshop November 6-7 but only if I don't have Nutcracker rehearsal. But dance is getting busy! I am also going to be doing a duet or trio for competitions along with our other three competition dances (jazz, lyrical, and ballet). So four dances at competitions, 7 classes a week, Nutcracker, and workshops! I'm getting a work out!
Gary
9/21/04
That was a game for a while, when Google first came on the scene: Googling yourself to see how many different identities you had (i.e., people with the same name). For example, a quick search on my name turns up a real estate agent in South Carolina, a keyboard player in England (check me out!), a kicker in the NFL (one of only 3 players ever to play 300 games in a career), a Federal Reserve economist, a sensei in Salt Lake City, a colonel in the Marine Corps, a theologian at Notre Dame, an Olympic rifleman, and I'm hoping to be elected mayor of Venice, Florida.
Meaning my name is pretty common. Try searching on Zachary Hatgidakis!
Donna
9/21/04
As you may know Tom Osborne is running for re-election and his opponent is Donna Anderson. I've been looking for anything--like a sample ballot or an article talking about the race. Anyway, I ran a search on Google with both of our names and it came up with a lot of sites. But what was cool is that on the second or third group of sites, I found one that was actually listing me. It was an article I worked on for a Gallup newspaper that we email to clients. There was a Tom and an Osborne that also worked on the article. I just found it interesting that I could find me so quickly through a Google search. Just listing my name gave way too many sites and I didn't come up in the first several pages of sites. It makes me wonder what's the fastest combination of names/words that anyone can find themselves on the internet.
BTW, I found a sample ballot. Now I just have to wait a few weeks for the newspaper heading: Osborne defeats Anderson...
Hey, on the other hand you just might beat him! :-) --Gary
Donna
9/21/04
It's really been raining in Omaha. Glad we're getting it in Lincoln too.
Amanda
9/21/04
Here is the Kerry top 10 from Letterman last night. It was funny (more serious than I thought it would be though), read the top 10, its great...
Amanda
9/21/04
Oh, and how about a running dog or something as a congratulations to Lindsey, that is an amazing accomplishment!!!!
How 'bout this? Way to go, Lindsey! --Gary
Amanda
9/21/04
And behind that rain is another storm in Colorado, producing SNOW!! :) :) Can't tell here though, it's warm... OK crafty people, I just found out I was designated to be room mom again for Tristen's class. No job until December, BUT I'd like to get a head start on the idea department. I have to decorate a wreath for the door (not the whole door this time and I think they have the wreath already) and a little tree (3 ft maybe). I would like them to match somewhat, but be creative, not something boring and yesterday... Somehow I would like to incorporate the kids & teacher into it, whether it is an ornament with their name or picture (which is yesterday, but classic, so whatev). ANYHOW, I thought I would utilize the crafty people who visit this page.
Gary
9/21/04
I don't know if anyone saw our weather page today (in fact, I'm not sure if anyone is reading this page any more...?), but there is this one thin band of rain stretching from just west of Iowa Park, straight through Lincoln (producing rain all day), straight through Sioux City (ditto), then passing just to west of Minneapolis, and on into Canada. Thought that was interesting!
Anna
9/20/04
Hey everyone!! Well i havent been home lately because of Volleyball and I have had some homework but not too much. I have a game on thursday and im excited. Ill keep you guys posted on that game!
Lindsey
9/20/04
Well I put stuff in Saturday so I don't know, maybe you didn't get it. But I got a letter back from LMBC (Lincoln Midwest Ballet Company) today and I made it! I'm one of the soldiers in the Nutcracker. But more information to come.
Congratulations! Way to go! That should be great fun. Give us frequent reports on what you're doing -- that will be interesting to us non-showbiz types! :-)
Yeah, I'm just learning (along with others here on campus) that our email system had some problems on the weekend. A lot of email, it seems didn't get through on Saturday and Sunday. All the junk email and spam got through, of course (grrr!), but everything else got blocked. So if anyone else sent something to this webpage (or to me personally) on the weekend, you should assume it never arrived. Please send it again. And sorry about that! --Gary
Gary
9/20/04
New photos up today, these from the Nelsons. The pics arrived with no commentary, but were labeled "Ponca" (as in, State Park?), so maybe we can get a story or two...? For example, Emily looks pretty confident on the water, but if Erika is going to steer the steamboat I think she might need to stand on a box! :-)
Gary
9/20/04
Wow, quiet in here...! I'm typing this note just to make sure everything still works. :-) When I said I wouldn't be doing new front pages over the weekends any more, I hope I was clear that you can still send in newsletter items, reviews, etc. That stuff will always be updated, ASAP!
For those of you who didn't watch Saturday's game, we barely escaped from Pittsburgh with a win. Kind of an ugly game: two good defenses and two less-than-good offenses. Pittsburgh built up steam late in the game -- when we seemed to be losing steam -- but we held on by our fingernails. If the game had been a minute longer, things might have been different...
And Wednesday is the first day of fall. I, for one, am ready! I've run the air conditioner more in September already than I did all summer.
So there: If this note is the most interesting thing any of us had to say over the weekend, then we're a dull bunch indeed. :-)
Lindsey
9/17/04
Gary-I like the front page!
Well I won't get to watch the game :( because I will be at try-outs but I SHOULD find out tomorrow if I made it or not but I'm not sure!
Thanks! The page will be up all weekend for your viewing enjoyment. Good luck at the audition! --Gary
Karen
9/16/04
We are having fall weather here too. Almost chilly this morning and just a touch of "frost" on the grass this morning.
Sean -- how cool that you saw Brandi -- must have been a good trip.
Tristen -- how is the soccer going? Are you still doing your cheerleading?
I am surprised that Martha is going already -- think she would wait until the appeal is over -- I would think she would rather be out during Xmas than planting season... Actually I kind of admire her for going in before it's necessary - she could just keep putting it off with all the appeals.
The problem with that, however, is that her business is hurting. Magazine and product sales, I understand, are down by 50%. I think this was a business decision: I could appeal, which would take years, and meanwhile my stock prices go down -- or I can go to jail, be out by spring planting, go on all the shows and act the martyr, and America loves me again. Even with just this "spring planting" announcement, her stock rose ten points yesterday.... --Gary
Gary
9/16/04
September so far has been a leetle warmer than one could wish, and this weekend I understand it's supposed to get back up in the 90s; but yesterday and today = totally perfect. An authentic fall morning this morning: I actually saw my breath when I stepped outside, and my car windows were covered with a thick condensation (no, not frost) which I had to squeegee off. Lovin' it!
In football news, it's official: Richie Incognito is leaving the team. He's a walking time-bomb with some real anger-management issues, so in that sense it's good to say so long. After a string of fighting incidents over the years, he was finally suspended after picking a fight with a Husker teammate. Callahan wouldn't tolerate that, and I think that's cool. The feeling around here is more or less "good riddance." He's transferring to Oregon to play with the Ducks, which brings me to the current joke on campus:
What do you do when you see Richie Incognito coming?
Duck.
Olivia
9/15/04
Hey Gary-I like the frontpage, where did you find it? I thought it was kinda cool.
Glad you liked it! The story about the discovery of the planet was on a lot of news sites a couple of days ago. I forget where I found it, but the picture was on many sites. Do a Google search on "2M1207" and you'll find something! --Gary
Emily
9/15/04
Hey everybody! We've been pretty busy here too, just with school and dance and stuff. I have dance tonight, but luckily I dont have much homework! My first debate competition is actually October 30, I have my round on Monday, so I'll proably know which competitions I will be going to then. We have our first full Mayors Youth Commission meeting on Monday too. Me and 3 other people will be giving a presentation about the school board candidates forum, then me and the other people who went to Des Moines will also be talking about that to everyone.
Anna, how did your volleyball game go on Monday?
Sounds like Tristen is having fun with soccer, hope you win your next game!!
Amanda
9/15/04
I just realized she will miss the biggest decorating season of the year, Christmas!
Amanda
9/15/04
She's goin' to prison!
"Spring planting season..." :-) She's unbelievable. --Gary
Sean
9/15/04
I was in Chicago from last Friday to Monday 9-13 for work to attend the 2004 IMTS show at the McCormick buildings. This is biggest machine tool show and is held there every two years. This is my third time there. Last Sunday two guys I work with and I were walking back to our hotel from Michigan Ave. when we passed by two women talking on a side street. One woman looked like a publicist. I knew the other woman had to be someone famous, but at the second I couldn't put a name to her face. I looked at my co-worker, who was looking at me, and said "You know who that was, right? That was Brandi." I said I thought so. The third co-worker who didn't know who she was said "go talk to her." So we turned around and I went up to her and asked if she was Brandi. She said yes and I asked her for her autograph, She asked me if I had a pen... Of course I didn't... All weekend long I had over 5 pens on me from venders handing them out at the shows! So I asked for a picture. It's o.k. The sun was to my back so I couldn't see the screen on my phone and notice my finger in the way!! I guess she doesn't live in Chicago, but she is dating someone who plays for the Bears, who had a game that day.
Amanda
9/14/04
Tristen had her first soccer game tonight. She was a little weirded out at first, all the people yelling, and giving directions. It didn't take long for her to get in the groove though. I may be biased, but she was one of the best 3 players on the team. We got a ton of compliments on her playing. She does well in the position of sweeper (which to me is weird, I know basketball, and in basketball that would be equivalent to a guard), because she is a great runner, and very fast. She is a natural at defense. She also took a few good hits and fell to the ground a few times, but she just kept going. She started in the game, and played almost the whole game, only resting for about 5 minutes of a quarter. They lost however, the team they played was pretty good. They were a lot bigger, and aggressive would be a nice word, at one time Tristen got her jersey yanked on! Anyhow, a game is a game, and she had a BLAST!
Lindsey
9/14/04
Hey everybody--I am trying out for the Nutcracker performance that goes on at the Lied Center in December. It's a pretty nice production that they do (if anybody has ever been, I know I went with Amanda and Ryan one year) and so try-outs are this weekend all day Saturday and maybe Sunday but not sure. But more updates to come....
Break a leg, Lindsey! Can you get me free tickets??? --Gary
Karen
9/14/04
Getting quite an astronomy lesson, very interesting. We had very, very heavy rain last night and this morning. Lots of thunder and lightning. Think it might be beginning to clear off a little now. The Disney on Ice sounds fun, I bet the girls loved it! Always way too expensive at the concession stands though. I thought it was bad enough when Brent and Erika went to the basketball game. They each ordered a coke, they opened the bottle, kept the lid and charged $3.00. Guess that was cheap :) Not much else going on here, keeping busy with school and work....
Amanda
9/14/04
Yeah, actually when we were coming home from some lovely small town in Texas for a Hawkette performance Ryan & I both noticed we could see the Milky Way very well, and commented that we hadn't been able to see it like that in a LONG time.
Amanda
9/14/04
Why didn't you have that as a front page when I was in Astronomy this summer? Also, the dark spots are called maria (mar-eeh-a) which were caused by large astronomical bodies (rocks, some the size of small planets) colliding with the moon and they sunk so far into the surface that it erupted volcanic molten (when the core of the moon was still molten) and it filled the crater, then it cooled and now it is darker. Since there are not many craters in the dark areas it is believed that the maria formed late in the formation of the moon. The core of the moon is not exactly centered like ours is, it pulls a little more towards the earth (because of our gravitational pull on it) and this is why the large astronomical bodies hit that side of the moon to form the maria, they were drawn to it by the gravitational pull of the core. The "back" side of the moon doesn't have the maria like the face we see. ANYWAY!! I thought that stuff was interesting in class, thought I would share!
Sorry, just ran across this time-lapse thing last week or I would have used it sooner. "Maria" is plural for the Latin "mare" which means "sea," because the first observers thought those dark areas were water, like our earthly oceans. Astronomy is cool, no doubt about it. I was always interested in it since I was a kid, but really got bitten by the bug when I lived in Sonoma County in California: Miles from any city lights so the nights got incredibly dark and the skies were filled with an unbelievable number of stars. Ninety percent of us never see that any more, and it is really too bad.... By the way, I just found out you can stop the time-lapse animation of the moon if you click and hold on the scroll bar on that page. At least it works with Internet Explorer. --Gary
Gary
9/14/04
Happy Tuesday, everybody. Just a quick word about today's cool site. "KongIsKing.net" is a website devoted to the making of Peter Jackson's "King Kong." It's a day-by-day journal of behind-the-scenes info -- including little mini-movies every couple of days -- from the set of King Kong. Actual filming started just six days ago, so there's lots of cool stuff ahead. The 1933 version of King Kong is one of my favorite movies, and Peter Jackson's remake is going to be the Next Big Thing, I guarantee. It's like PJ, God bless him, is making movies just for me. :-) If you're a Kong fan, or a Peter Jackson fan, this site will become a daily stop.
Lindsey
9/13/04
Congratulations Anna on your volleyball win.
Well I got back from dance tonight around 8. I went at 4:30 so almost right after school and I am TIRED! Then I am studying for a Civics test as well which I should be doing now.
Monster's Inc on ice sounds cool. I love that Disney movie!
Emily
9/13/04
Congrats on you first win Anna! Hope your next game goes well too.
We got our first competition date in Debate today! It will be October 3rd, in Spencer. Im not positive that I will be going to this one, but I proably will. It should be fun!
Sounds like you guys had fun at Disney on Ice, but $10 for a snow cone!!!
Amanda
9/12/04
We went to Disney on Ice Monsters Inc today. It was a great show. They spared no expense, it was very impressive. And expensive, the tickets weren't too bad, and our seats were great, our neighbor works security there so we got a $5 discount on each ticket. But, Mike mug with snow cone: $10. Cotton candy with Monsters Inc helmet: $10. Cool Sully light: $20!! We got 2 snow cones (one was a Boo mug) and 2 cotton candies and we were broke... There was a classy family behind us, the lady cussed her 10 year old out in front of everyone before slapping him on the face with all her might, twice. Ahh, a good Disney afternoon! The pictures are BAD, we didn't have the camera, so this was with my palm, you get the idea.
Anna
9/12/04
Hey everyone. I had my first game on Thursday and we won! I have another game on Monday it is an away game and im looking forward to it!
Emily
9/12/04
Hey everybody! Well, I didn't watch too much of the football game, but sounds like it was pretty close! But, anyway I was just reading some of the old newsletters from last year when we picked out Halloween costumes for a Who Am I. I know its kinda early for Halloween, but I think we should do something like that again this year!
Good idea! I saw costumes and halloween candy in a store on Friday, so the time is getting near. We'll be doing something fun on this page soon. But if you -- or anyone else -- have any ideas, let me know! :-) --Gary
Lindsey
9/12/04
I agree that Dailey needs a break too, he and others too as well just need more practice, I mean it's only their second game.
Amanda
9/12/04
I, on the other hand, think Dailey needs a break. The kid is young. He is trying to live up to this god like image we had of him from his very first few plays when he went in for Lord when he was a true freshman. He got lucky that game and played phenomenally. Now, he is playing like a true, young, college quarterback and our system is a wounded one so we need an NFL-like QB. I have no opinion of Callahan yet, hasn't done much for me to make a decision. Pederson however, was probably thinking crap, crap, crap! Solich beat Southern Miss, and my #4, last ditch choice can't! ANYWAY, enough FB commentary. We haven't gotten a good game day Saturday because of Tristen & the Hawkettes. Yesterday we had to go to Quanah, Texas, again, another small town I won't miss if I never go there again. We lost, again. Actually, I don't think our team has gotten a touchdown in the 3 games we have played. Maybe our Pee wee team should line up with NE. :):)
Lindsey
9/11/04
Yeah, I think that's when it went downhill for us is when Dailey passed it off to the other team. I do like Callahan though, I think he's a great coach and he knows what he's doing but Dailey needs to really work on his passing.
Lindsey
9/11/04
Well, kind of a disappointment for the Husker game. Thought they could have played a lot better. Actually the defense did great, and our offense wasn't bad (especially Ross and ol' #11) but Dailey could have played better. It kept you on the edge of your seat the whole game but it was a let down. As you may be able to tell I'm a pretty big Husker fan and know a lot about the game and our team.
So close.... But we just put the game right into their hands, when Dailey put the ball in their hands there at the end of the game. I say, Fire Steve Pederson!! :-) --Gary
Donna
9/9/04
Yeah well, they weren't brand new when we had them (1976--not the 60's) but they were still working pretty good. And we thought they were cool but then we were also listening to 8 tracks and just starting to hear about cassettes (wow, they're so small...). And back in my day math was math not IMP.
Grandma
9/9/04
Ha, I am sitting here chuckling, because you guys are mere babes in the woods!! Remembering "when" already?
Gary
9/9/04
Get used to it, guys. It only gets worse... I was watching a commercial the other day where this woman was booking a hotel for her parents, and the hotel was full of modern gadgets that the parents, comically, would not be able to figure out. Ha-ha, funny. But the music behind the ad was the theme from "Dick Van Dyke." And I'm thinking, OK, I get the joke, but why this music?? Then it hits me: This music suggests a bygone historical era... Oh well. Start liking it!
Amanda
9/9/04
Don't tell me, I hate when these youngins' talk about stuff I feel like I just did last year, then I realize, nope, that was 10 YEARS ago! And the simulators we had were the exact same things you had and they were on their last leg, and they weren't fun for us. We hear similators, it's the early 90's and we are thinking, cool, we are going to get into some new age cubicle and feel like we are driving, then we see the 1960's model and lost all hope.
Donna
9/9/04
Amanda, I hate reading anything from you that starts out "back then..." ;-) But way back when I was in high school, we all took driver's ed. too. We had these simulators that looked like real dashboards with steering wheels and we watched a movie that looked like what our view would be if we we're driving. There were gas and brake pedals too, so it could tell if you were speeding or if you slammed on the brakes. It was so much fun. The first half of the semester we drove the simulators, last half they let us drive a real car. My driver's ed. teacher was also a phys. ed. teacher.
Sean
9/8/04
Happy birthday Gary!
Anna
9/8/04
IMP is a math class i cant remember what it stands for but its really just math. And im kinda liking drivers ed but my teacher talks way too much.
Amanda
9/8/04
I was going to ask about Imp too. I hated Drivers Ed. Back then everyone in school had to take it. The football coach taught it, and he was passenger side brake happy. He was always saying, "Anderson, ANDERSON!"
Emily
9/8/04
Hey everybody! Sounds like school and everything else is going well for everyone. It has been going well for us too, but it has been really busy. Today is the first day that I haven't had any homework, which is good since I have dance tonight! Tomorrow Erika gets out early and I have pictures already! And we have our school board candidates forum. In debate today we set rounds for when we will do our debates. I am going to be competing this year, so that should be fun!
Anna, what is your Imp class? And hope you have more fun in Drivers Ed. that I did!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY!
Anna
9/8/04
Hey everyone!! Sorry I havent been forever. I have been at school and practice. We have our first game on thursday and im excited! We have a lot of games these next 2 months. I have Drivers ed and im SO happy. I have world history, English 10, Spanish 2, Imp 2, Biology, and Drivers Ed. Thats the order. I really am liking school and volleyball. Cute pics of tristen and it sounds like livey had a fun birthday. Ill keep you posted on school and volleyball!
Gary
9/8/04
New picture from Sean!
Gary
9/8/04
Hey, Sims fans! Here's a preview of Sims2, which should be on the shelves by this time next week!
Karen
9/8/04
Gary, a haircut AND Best Buy, boy you do know how to party :)
Oh yeah! Don't wait up for me! (Hey, at least I didn't opt for the muffler!) --Gary
Karen
9/8/04
Another nice and cool morning. Fall is coming.... Marsha, after talking to you on Sunday we went to the mall and I bought one of those water filters. It's great!! Thanks for the suggestion! Tristen -- I love your outfit, how cool that you are doing that. Olivia -- how come for "Build a Bear" you made a collie -- isn't that a dog?? Gary, what are you doing for your birthday?
No particular birthday plans. Was going to take the day off, but we had a meeting scheduled here at work. I am going to leave at 3 anyway for a haircut. Then I might stop at Best Buy for a treat.... The radio/tape-player in my car is on its last legs, so I'm thinking of getting a CD/MP3 player installed. I know I should use that money and get a new muffler instead, but what kind of treat is that?? :-) --Gary
Gary
9/8/04
Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everybody! :-)
Heard some interesting news this morning: Michael Moore is asking that his "Fahrenheit 9/11" not be nominated for Best Documentary in the next Oscars. It would almost certainly win, so why would he do this? The answer lies in a little-known Academy rule which says that to be eligible for Best Documentary, the film must not have been shown on television in the preceding year. And that's exactly what Moore wants to do: He is negotiating now to have "Fahrenheit 9/11" shown on network television sometime before the election! Given the way the media sucks up to Bush, I don't expect that to happen... but I hope it does! And one further cool note, Moore discovered a loophole in the Academy rules: While it is against the rules for a documentary to be shown on television prior to the Oscars, there is no such rule about regular movies. So Moore is asking that "Fahrenheit 9/11" be nominated for Best Picture! Gotta love that guy! :-)
Olivia
9/8/04
Hope you have a happy birthday Gary!
Donna
9/8/04
Happy Birthday, Gary!
Ryan, Amanda, Tristen & Teghan
9/8/04
Happy Birthday Gary!
Brent, Karen, Emily and Erika
9/7/04
Happy Birthday Gary
Paul, Lori, Lindsey, and Olivia
9/7/04
Happy Birthday Gary!
The Hatgidakis Family
9/7/04
Happy Birthday, Gary!!!
Erika
9/7/04
Donna we just rembered Cocoa and MoJo are cousins!!! So I guess the wedding is off.
Grandma
9/7/04
Happy Birthday, Gary!!
Donna
9/7/04
Great pictures of Tristen and Teghan!
Olivia, did you take a picture of Claire while she was sleepwalking? That is so creepy! There's one more present left for you to open. It's at Grandma's house, but you can't open it unless I'm there. ;-)
Donna
9/7/04
Erika, What exactly did you have in mind for the wedding? I haven't talked to Mojo about this yet. ;-)
Emily
9/6/04
Hey everybody! Well, we had a nice long weekend. We didn't do much just slept in, and we went to eat at Tony Roma's this afternoon. We'll be back to school tomorrow, we have pictures already on Thursday. On Thursday, we also have the school board debate. My group for Mayor's Youth Commission with most of the questions that will be asked. It should be intresting.
Sounds like Tristen is having fun with her drill team and soccer, hope you're not too busy when everything starts!
Olivia
9/6/04
At my birthday party we went to Build-A-Bear! I made a border collie and it's black on the top and white on the bottom and has a red collar with a little bone shaped license. I named him Buddy, and he even came with a little birth certificate and says how much he wieghs and how tall he is and stuff. Then I got him a bed, leash and a place mat with a little red bowl. Then I pulled an all nighter with my friend Kylie, but everyone else fell asleep. Lindsey was the first to doze off and we had lots of caffiene and pizza and Claire sleptwalked and she just circled around the kitchen without a blink and just went back to sleep without talking eather. Oh, I just remembered, I got a digital camera and I can also make movies too!
Have Lindsey show you how to send your pictures here, Livy, so we can all see them! -- Gary
Lindsey
9/6/04
Well sounds like Tristen is having fun with Hawkettes and soccer. When are you going to have time to do all that when Girl Scouts and dance starts? Looks like you had fun at six flags!
BTW, cute pictures!
Amanda
9/5/04
OK, its been a long time since I wrote, I feel like when Donna said she is so behind on the news she can't catch up! We have been busy with school and work and Tristen's extra stuff. Tristen really likes school, she has a great teacher, Mrs. Wilson. I started classes last week, I dropped one from the original list I sent in a few weeks ago, legal aspects of law enforcement, but I still have the other 5 classes. They seem like decent classes, LOTS of work though (I think I have 5 papers due this semester). Ryan started his internet course, the other intro political science class he needed, American government really. Tristen has been going to Hawkette practice for about a month now. 3 or 4 times a week for an hour and a half to two hours. She has put in a lot of work for it (as have I being the taxi). Hawkettes is the drill team for the pee wee (and midget, the 10-13 year olds) football games. The first game was last Saturday, and they did great. Tristen got the honor of Hawkette of the week because she had worked so hard. They announced it over the loud speaker. The whole deal was a different experience. You get a better understanding of Texas college football by going to a local pee wee game. Our team, Iowa Park Pee Wee North, has 6 coaches, who all have the same shirts to wear at the game. The boys jersey's say their last name, they are very neat uniforms. They charge to get into the games and have cheerleaders & drill teams! AT PEE WEE GAMES! My jaw dropped that first game when I saw how into it they were. Unfortunately we lost the first game (to a team whose uniforms weren't as classy & only had 2 ragmuffin coaches). The next game was last night, and we had to travel to Frederick Oklahoma! An hour away, for a drill team for 7 year olds! (Actually, Tristen is the youngest, the rest on her squad are in 3rd grade, which benefits her because she is front and center for the routines) Next week we will go to Quanah, 90 miles away! Last nights game was in the highschool stadium, Iowa Park has its own pee wee fields. There are some pictures of her performing and one of her and Lucas (her boyfriend, but shhh, its a secret, and a cute story) Its all a little comical. The town we were in last night was creepy, on the corner of one street was an old run down, out of business gas station, but some twenty-somethings had turned it into a "chop shop" and were there working (partying). When we went by after the game, about 10, it had blown into a whole town affair, and we could see inside the building where there was an open fire, and outside there were about twenty 2-3 years olds running around like crazy, in the dark, pretty much unsupervised. It all fit in, let's put it that way, with the surroundings. As we were leaving we saw this grafitti on an old building. It fits.... ANYHOW, she also is doing soccer, hasn't had a game yet, but she got put on a great team, she knows a few of the girls, and the parents and coach are all very nice and gung-ho. (Quite a difference from girl scout parents who want us to just be babysitters) Her team is the Lady Bugs. We picked out uniforms, and I think the season starts next week. She can't wait. And next week we will squeeze in dance class and Girl Scouts, which both start on the 13th! Thank goodness Hawkettes is pretty much over in October. Ryan listened to the game last night on an earphone while watching the pee wee game. It came in OK, he was whistling polka the rest of the night though, as the polka station was fighting to be heard. Next week we should be able to see it, since it is earlier and on TV. Speaking of Ryan, he bought a different truck (a great aunt died and left them a little money & that is what we used it on) It is a 1991 Ford Ranger, with an extended cab that has little jump seats, so if we all have to ride in there it is possible, the white Nissan could only fit 3 max. It also has a camper shell. Anyhow, it is quiet and has air conditioning, the only 2 requirements I had. The Nissan didn't have either. It has pretty low miles, and runs great, the old owner just drove it to Kansas City with no problems. We sold the Nissan in 18 hours! We put it on a parking lot in town Friday night at 8, and had the first call by 8:30. Then we got another call Saturday morning at 7:30. It was sold Saturday by 2PM. We got what we wanted out of it, so it was a painless operation. Also, there are some pictures from Six Flags. We went while my mom & Shelby were here. It was fun, last year we were there longer, but it was cooler this time. Teghan liked it, she was fearless, she wanted to do everything, she even rode a kids rollercoaster with Ryan. ANYWAY! I bet I take up half the page. BUT, at least I feel caught up, and I gave you plenty to read & pictures to look at! We are having guests again this weekend, then that's it for awhile. Cathy & Steph are coming last Thursday night & leaving Monday the 13th. Friday Tristen can bring a grandparent to eat with her for lunch and the last 2 years she hasn't had one and it has been a little heartbreaking for her, so this year we planned it better. OK, buh-bye!
New photos of all the above! --Gary
Erika
9/4/04
Hi everybody! Everybody is being So quiet! I was just looking at the old newsletters, and I was reading about the cat wedding idea! I think Cocoa and Mojo should get married. Donna do you think Mojo is old enough?
Cocoa says hi to Mojo!
Emily
9/3/04
Hey everybody! Well, Im not going to be doing dance squad at school anymore, just cheerleading and dance at my studio. So, now for my first period I will be an office worker for first semester. I just take notes to people in class if there are any, mostly its just a study hall. Second semester I am going to take Individuals and Families for my Health credit. It should be better than being to school by 6 EVERY morning!
We had a really long teen court session on Tuesday. Its usually over by 6 or 6:30, but this one went til about 7:30. I was a juror, and we heard 2 cases for 4 people. It was fun, and next month I will be an attorney, but I'm not sure if I will be for prosecution or defense yet.
Anna and Shelby, how were your first days of school?
Karen
9/3/04
Quiet on the page lately. Now that everyone is in school, not as much time to write in. I know that I sure don't have as much time now that I am working more. The job is going great! Glad to have the change. Emily is making a few changes in her schedule. She decided that going at 6:30 every morning for dance squad wasn't worth it. So she dropped that and is now taking an office class. She is helping in the counselors office for 1st period for this semester. She will still be doing her cheerleading duties however. She also had a very interesting teen court on Monday. I'll have to have her tell you all about it today. Erika LOVES her new school and is doing very well. We all get out at 1:00 to start our holiday week-end.
What is everyone doing this week-end? We, of course, will have to listen to the game, and maybe go to Artsplash, otherwise just relaxing.
Shelby, Anna, Sam, Tristen, Linz and Liv how is school going???
I like the idea of keeping the same front page over week-end, you get my vote :)
Gary
9/3/04
"The wait is over," as the Daily Nebraskan said today. First football game of the season is tomorrow! Coming in to my building this morning, I could hear the band practicing in the stadium. Grandma and Donna, please note: Game time tomorrow is 6 p.m., not 1 p.m. as we were thinking last time we spoke.
I keep hearing the Husker game will look a lot different (or sound a lot different, unless you're getting Pay-per-View) than it used to. The option is gone. No more hugging the ground. No more up the middle for a yard and a half. This is the biggest change in Nebraska football since Devaney's arrival in 1962. Check this article in USA Today.
Changing the subject, here's a webpage announcement! I am going to leave today's front page up over the weekend, and I'm planning to do that every Friday. I know the webpage isn't read as much on the weekends, so I figured I could cut my web-related workload by about 25% by not making up new front pages on Saturdays and Sundays. I will still, of course, update the newsletter page, reviews, recipes, photos -- anything you all send in -- but Friday's front page will now be doing weekend duty. Any objections? :-)
Donna
9/2/04
Happy Birthday, Sam!!!
Olivia
9/2/04
Last night we went to Red Lobster for my birthday and it was soooo fun, for dessert they brought me a bowl of vannila ice cream with chocolate syrupe and whipe cryme on the top with a blue candel in it. Then we went to Grandma's house and opened presents my mom and dad gave me a digital camera with an extra memory card but there was this huge black spider crawling on the celling but my dad didn't get him.
Grandma,
Did you get that spider yet!
Ryan, Amanda, Tristen & Teghan
9/2/04
Happy Birthday Sam!
Grandma
9/1/04
Happy Birthday, Sam!
Paul, Lori, Lindsey, and Olivia
9/1/04
Happy Birthday Samantha!
Lindsey
9/1/04
Well I just voted for the quarter! I think I chose number 5 just because it shows our capitol but also one of the biggest landmarks.
Mom and Dad
9/1/04
Happy Birthday Olivia, we love you!
Lindsey
9/1/04
Happy Birthday Olivia! (Liver Bean :))
Nelsons
9/1/04
Happy Birthday Samantha!
Amanda
9/1/04
And, now that I read the note from Livy again, I see that she said her teacher WILL give her flowers, when I read it before I guess I didn't read well, and it sounded like she had already gotten the flowers.
Amanda
9/1/04
I get on early (6:30) and then not until I get back home, which today was at 12:30.
Amanda
9/1/04
More importantly, how is Olivia writing from school in the middle of the day?
Actually, Livy's note was sent at 7:39 am, and I had it posted around 8:15 or so. When did you first see it? --Gary
Amanda
9/1/04
Vote today!
Donna
9/1/04
Happy Birthday, Olivia!!!!
Karen
9/1/04
Why can't Andrew pet Ceaser??
Olivia
9/1/04
Today my teacher Mrs. Curry will give me a big vase full of flowers because she gives it to every person on their birthday and has everyone write warm fuzzys (it's where they write good and nice stuff to you). Then at the end of the day Lindsey will bring Ceaser up to my school and let me walk him home. But I'll tell you one thing and only one thing Andrew is NOT going to pet Ceaser and nothing is going to change my mind!!!!!
Emily
9/1/04
Happy Birthday Livy!!
Ryan, Amanda, Tristen & Teghan
9/1/04
Happy Birthday Liver Bean!
Nelson's
9/1/04
Happy #10 Olivia :)
