Karen
4/30/05
Erika had her birthday party last night. Invited 4 girls, they made pizzas, played basketball, air hockey and watched lots of movies

Please note, everyone, that we're having another in a series of email problems here on the campus -- when it's working at all, the mail only trickles in. So Erika, it is possible some of your birthday greetings will be delayed. Sorry about that! I hope they get everything fixed soon....

Now that's a good boss! --Gary

OK, you four get better; everybody else, take your vitamins! --Gary

Feel better too, Lindsey! And by the way, no more sports or dancing for anybody. Everybody protect those knees! --Gary

Feel better, Erika! --Gary

Anna, do everything your therapist says, and take care of that knee!

Lindsey, next time you go to Grandma's, bring your camera! When I was in MPLS, Marsha reminded me we've never posted any pictures of the finished deck, so they still don't know what it looks like. And also take a picture of Livy's birthday present to Grandma. For those who haven't seen it, it's a really cool "Welcome" sign (which Livy made herself!) that Grandma thinks she will put near her garden. Thanks, Linz!

My pleasure! --Gary

Hey, that's why I get the big money! --Gary

You are so welcome! :-) --Gary

Yes, it was five years ago today this page went online. We didn't have a newsletter page at first (that started about four months later), and not everyone had computers or internet access then, but our official first day was April 19, 2000. That may not seem very long ago to you, but to Teghan, for example, this page has been online her whole life!

Check the photo page for one of the earliest pictures that appeared here.....

It took a whole day to get your water back on??? Wow! As for the face, here's a clue for anyone who hasn't found it: look carefully in the lower left quarter of the picture. After you see it, you won't believe anyone could not see it! --Gary

Hey Erika, if you need more water, just have Emily drive you through the carwash with the windows down! :-) --Gary

Livy, your trip must have been lots of fun. And you made a great discovery: Now whenever you have another loose tooth, just go to Great Wolf Lodge! :-)

And now, with great pleasure, I will bring my computer saga to an end. The video card which I bought and installed yesterday did the trick. Even though my old card passed every diagnostic with flying colors, it apparently was the problem; because once I replaced it, everything was fine. Thanks for your patience, everyone, while I obsessed about it here.

While it was in the shop yesterday, I also had the guy put in a DVD drive. (They're really cheap at the moment -- you can get a good one for $50 or less.) That part, anyway, is way cool. A lot of games now are being released on DVD format rather than CD, so I did need one to stay cutting-edge! But it's also great to watch DVD movies this way: It's like watching them on a big-screen TV. Plus now I can copy DVDs....

Anyway, fingers crossed, I should have the problem licked by tonight. I know you're all waiting breathlessly for my next lengthy report! :-)

P.S. Good luck to Agent Emily "Scully" Nelson on your sting operation!

Oops, I forgot two more things -- Lauren -- what are some of your favorite colors? (we do have your name for xmas and I always shop early). Has anyone out there ever installed (or have) ceramic tiles on their floors? We are considering putting that on our kitchen and bathroom floors. We have NO idea how to install it -- probably would have to have someone else do that for us. Just interested in how it holds up and if it's easy to maintain.

Ooops. Sorry, I put this one together in kind of a hurry. On the other hand, it is kind of appropriate that we've had #20 before.... :-) --Gary

Thank you! Plane takes off at 10:55 tomorrow morning, so the webpage will be active until then. But between that time and my return Saturday night, all you'll have will be the "who said that" game to play with. By the way, I had a really interesting game set up: 20 TV theme songs for y'all to guess. But when I tried to load them on the windstream server, the song files were blocked. Seems windstream, fearing getting involved with music piracy, has forbidden any of the websites they host (like ours) to contain any mp3 (music) files. I could have converted them to a different format, like the sound files I use in the "who said that" game, but the files then would have been ten times as big -- which would have required far more than our allotted space, and would have meant a ten-times-longer download time for you, for each song.... So, at the last minute today, I junked the theme song theme, and whipped up a regular old movie-quotes version. Hope you like! --Gary

Had to study! --Gary

P.S. The Charles/Camilla wedding has been postponed to Saturday. Big to-do in the British press because all these high-profile guests (750 of 'em) have had to re-do their schedules. And also, the little town hall where they'd booked the civil service already had other weddings scheduled for Saturday afternoon, so the next King of England had to re-re-schedule it for early Saturday morning.

Congratulations Amanda! Congratulations Tristen! Congratulations Emily!

Have you heard that the Pope's funeral is the same day as Prince Charles and Camilla's wedding? It'll be a big news day Friday.

To back up a bit, when I went to Arizona a few months ago, I had to show a photo ID to get on the plane. So I took out my drivers license, which the security officer immediately noticed was expired. Months and months ago. It was a surprise to me...! So they made me jump through several extra security hoops -- especially on the flight back from Arizona, which included removing shoes and belt, a thorough pat-down, and a long wait in a holding area while I presume they checked this website for any anti-Bush statements I may have made.

So I went to the DMV yesterday for a new license. Written went OK (missed three, one because I stupidly switched "left" for "right" in one of the questions), and I also had to take the driving test. Which was surprisingly rigorous! He gave me demerits for stopping on (he said) the stop-line instead of before it, for not swiveling my head enough to check for cars which might be exiting parking lots without stopping, and for not turning on my blinker to turn into the parking space inside the DMV parking lot! I said, "Is that the law, that you have to signal inside a parking lot??" He said, "No, it's just good to tell people your intentions." He also made me do an "emergency roadside stop" and I failed to set the parking brake. Anyway, in spite of nine demerits (you're allowed fifteen), I passed, and am now -- like Emily! -- a licensed driver.

Yeah, this is the week for my trip to Minneapolis. Flying up Thursday morning and flying back Saturday night. It's a short trip, but the good news is I'll only be busy part of the day on Friday and a little on Saturday morning. The rest of the time is free, and I can take the new light rail system from the hotel to just a few blocks from the Hatgidakis house.

Hey, Olivia, here's a news story you should read! And Lindsey, quit smoking in school! :-)

I had the words all backwards on the front page for April Fools Day, Livy, and I haven't changed the page yet. (I think you're the only one who noticed!) Check back tomorrow -- everything should be normal then. :-) --Gary