Livy
6/30/07
Hey everybody! We have been kind of busy lately! Lots of things going on! Turns out, my friend that also works at the Children's Museum, she lost her voice, telling so many kids to stop running and to stop throwing things off the edge! But I hope she got it back now! But this morning me and dad went to the Americruise. It was really fun, and I got a lot of pictures of some good cars! Probably my favorite was either the white car, because it had like 2 wheels on the ground, and 2 wheels way up in the air! Also, I liked the school bus, it was sweet! There was also a car with a dog in it (real too!) I loved that one! Oh, I have to go, I am going to go beat my mom and dad at spite and malace (a card game) bye!
Gary
6/30/07
Some good political cartoons today.
Emily
6/29/07
Sam! I am so freakin jealous!!! I can't wait for HP!
Are you guys still planning on being in Lincoln next week?? We are planning on coming up Tuesday or Wednesday if everything works out.
Donna
6/29/07
Emily, I love your car! It's so cute.
Gary
6/28/07
And another new review today -- thanks to Samantha!
Gary
6/28/07 New review today -- thanks, Erika!
Grandma
6/28/07
One of the last 'Spring' days it sounds like. Pretty pleasant today, but uphill for the next week. Emily, your new car looks really cute and I bet you are proud of it! It sounds like you have been really busy. Tieing up a lot of things. I was sorry to hear that you didn't get to do jury duty. I guess you will have more opportunities down the road. Congratulations on all the awards and lunches, it is nice to be recognized!! Looking forward to Marsha and Sam's visit! Sunday is the day! Livy, How was your busy day yesterday? As much fun as last week?
Gary
6/27/07
Hmmmmm....
I read that Al Gore had been invited to Taiwan in September for three speaking engagements, but that today he postponed his trip. This little blurb in the "Taipei Times" quotes Gore's agents as saying Gore has "canceled all his engagements in the next six months." Interesting.... Further, it quotes a Tien Chiu-chin (the person who had organized Gore's Taiwan trip) as saying the reason for the cancelation was that Gore was "considering a presidential bid."
How reliable any of this is is anyone's guess; but maybe, someone let something slip...? :-)
Emily
6/27/07
Well, I have had a pretty busy week, & it is nice to not have to do anything today! I did finally get a chance to take some pictures of my new car & I will send them in to Gary to put up. I have been driving it a lot and I really like it!
Like Mom said, Friday & Saturday we were pretty busy with the dance recital and rehersal. It went really well, we should be getting our pictures back soon and should get the DVD of it in a few weeks. They did have a nice recgonition for me and another girl who is graduating at the end of the recital since we had both been there for so long and did so much. So, that was really nice to be recgonized. Hopefully that part will be on the DVD too!
I also had a nice recgonition lunch at a really nice restaurant last week for Teen Court. I only have about 2 more months that I will be able to be an attorney. I will only be able to help with training and mentoring once I start college. But, they also want me to speak about the program to a few groups in August. So, I will proably stay somewhat involved with it.
I did end up having to go in for jury duty on Monday... It was not very much fun at all... I had to go and "learn" what a jury is and really dumb common sense stuff like what reasonable doubt and creditability is for about 2 hours. Then I had to sit for another hour while they questioned the first group of people, then they picked that group of people to be the jury before they even talked to my group. So, really it was pretty much a big waste of a day. But, I am done now, & I can't be picked for at least another 4 years. And, I got 10 whole dollars for coming in.
& then the next day I had a Teen Court session where we actually had a couple interesting cases that I got to be prosecution for. The first was theft of a dog and the second was a 9 year old gang member who shoplifted. A lot more interesting to do than the regular curfew stuff.
Interesting geometry article, Gary. It reminded me of some of those not so fun ACT questions...
I couldn't do the math, but the article did cause me to order pizza for lunch. :-) Your pics are up -- cool car! Now take that ten bucks and buy three gallons of gas! --Gary
Donna
6/26/07
A nice British American Idol moment...
Yeah, this guy is amazing! --Gary
Donna
6/26/07
Loved the Big Wheels clip.
I heard that American Idol will have tryouts this summer in Omaha. Oh boy! Anyone thinking of auditioning?
And Paris Hilton is FINALLY out of jail. She spent most of her time in the hospital due to 'mental problems.' And while doing her time she was offered a million dollars to go on a speaking tour to share her insight on marketing because (as this company claims) she's done a great job marketing herself. Geez.
Gary
6/26/07
Which is bigger: 2 8-inch pizzas, or 1 12-inch pizza? Read "Geometry Saved Me Money" and find out! :-) (and now I'm hungry....)
Gary
6/26/07
To go along with today's cool site and crawl*, take a look at this. "Big Wheels down Lombard Street!": One of the reasons ya gotta love San Francisco:
* "AMAZING FACT: The crookedest street in America? Sorry, no, it's not Lombard Street in San Francisco. The honor goes to Snake Alley in Burlington, Iowa."
Karen
6/25/07
Gary, fun web site today. Amanda, your week-end sounds miserable to me, but then I don't enjoy outdoor activities. We spent most of Saturday (and Friday night) at Emily and Erika's dance recital. They both did a great job. Erika had a small class this year. Only 2, and the other girl was out of town. So she ended up with a solo performance. This was Emily's final year -- she was presented with flowers at the end. Today Emily is at jury duty. So far she hasn't had to report in at all. Found out Friday afternoon that she was to go in this morning. So we'll have to see if she is selected to be on a jury.
Amanda
6/25/07
We had a nice weekend. Friday my mom turned 50 & she wanted to go the lake. So, she took her camper & boat out to Branched Oak & we met her out there after work. But, it was pouring rain & winds high enough that a few tents ended up in the lake! It was a wierd, isolated storm though, because Lincoln got nothing really & it wasn't forecasted. Anyhow, instead of grilling out dinner that night we went out to eat at a little place in Malcolm. Went back to the campsite & it stopped raining & was now a little chilly. So, Ryan started a nice fire & we did some smores. We went back out on Sunday when it was warm & sunny. The girls played in the water nearly the entire day. We went on a boat ride & then grilled out on the fire pit last night. More smores & home, late! I somehow got a sunburn in the couple of hours I was out, WITH sunscreen!
Anyhow, not my ideal weekend, but the girls had a blast & it was relaxing not to do anything!
Gary
6/22/07
Ah, the long, agonizing wait is over! Yes, friends, a new Latin lesson is up!
Also, thanks go out to Livy, who has written up a new review!
Gary
6/22/07
Okay, this might be the funniest 5-second film ever made. It appeared on Keith Olbermann's show last night. (Be sure your sound is on!)
Lindsey
6/22/07
Oh man I wish I was wherever the front page picture is from!
It's someplace in Mexico, but I don't remember exactly where. It does look nice! --Gary
Gary
6/21/07
She's a review machine! Thanks again, Lindsey!
Livy
6/20/07
Hey everybody! Man oh man! Have I had a busy day today! First I had piano, so I left at 10 and got home & ate McDonalds at 12. So then I left the house at 12:30 and got there at 12:50 and waited for my friend, so we could do it together. Today I started my first day at the Children's Museum. It was really fun! I loved it a lot! I saw two other people I knew from school, so we signed up for the same shifts (like almost all of them we are together!) so we did the same things together mostly. I also got my t-shirt today, it's yellow and says I work there so ya. I played with a couple kids (if the kids ask you, then you can play with them), and we cleaned a lot! Like we would pick things up, and take them to where they need to go. Such as in the Grocery Store, if everything is on the floor and stuff, then you can take the cans and build them like a pyramid or however, so you get to organize them anyway you want to! Until it gets dirty again! Wich WILL happen! We were running around the whole thing, picking up things that didn't even belong on that floor! We straightened up the stage, which got dirty as we were cleaning it too! That, the grocery store and the vet was probably the most dirtiest at the times! But it was still really fun though! Also, me and my friend Paige, we were in the lower level and we were in the Kemo Blocks place (new) and there was a messy spot, so we got to make some things out of them and kept it cleaned when we left, so you kind of get to play and clean at the same time! But once I was over in the tractor, and there were dog bones, two GIANT dogs, radishes, gardning tools, PIZZA, and get a load of this, footballs and newspapers, oh and a goat! But I just returned them to where they needed to go, and then moved on! But all of it was very fun! Well I guess that was all I had to say about it! But tonight we are going to the Pioneers Park, so I can't wait for that! Well talk to you later!
Karen
6/20/07
Emily hasn't been home much since she got her car -- so I'll try to fill you in on the details. It's a Neon -- 1998, about 80,000 miles, red and very clean. Took it in to the shop yesterday and it got a good report. So hopefully it will be a good car for her for a few years. Amanda, I remember that car of yours. Emily is about to go to a birthday party for one of her friends. They are staying at a hotel with a pool. Tomorrow she is off to a "thank you" lunch for the Teen Court. Friday is reshersal for dance and Saturday is the recital.
Gary
6/20/07 New review today. Thanks, Lindsey!
Amanda
6/19/07
I'm still waiting for car details Emily! Don't know if anyone remembers (or cares) but I got a 1996 Plymouth Neon when I turned 18. Brand spanking new, literally off the showroom floor. It was a fun car, 2 door, 5 speed which the 4 cylinder didn't really "get up & go" per say, but because it was a stick you could have some fun in it. It was red, I tinted the windows, put light & license plate covers on & Ryan put a bra on the front when we started dating. I thought I was pretty hot (and I was really). Course, I had the payments with it too... Then the spark plugs defected & I couldn't drive home one night in anything over 2nd gear & then it got broken into & they ripped out my Pioneer CD player & all my heater controls in the process. And got my Steve Miller Band CD! (And Ryan's checkbook & wrote $800 worth of checks before getting caught! We went to court & testified.) Also, got pulled over in friggin Nebraska City for the dumb light & license plate covers & argued just a wee bit with the cop & he took away the ticket & gave me a summons to appear in court & argue with the judge a month later, in NEBRASKA CITY. Wow, long story short, I loved that little car til it brought me bad luck, then I couldn't WAIT to get rid of it! That was car #3... Now that I'm on #9, I'm good! :) So, Emily, details...
Donna
6/18/07
Karen/Erika, how cool that you went to see John Edwards. So
Erika, did you bash Bush? I hope so. I finally watched the Gore Vidal interview -- very good.
Emily, how's the car? I would love to see pictures. Or maybe you could drive down for a visit???
Livy
6/18/07
Hey everybody! Well nothing much really today. But on Wednesday I start working at the Children's Museum. It will be my first day being there (to work, I have been there before a couple times!)! But I can only do one shift a week (this week on Wednesday I work from 1 to 3) but they kind of see how you are doing and will offer you to do more shifts a week if they think you are doing good, like playing with the kids and make sure that everything is cleaned up and things like that. But they would examine you for like the first 2 or 3 weeks, so if I do get another shift, it won't be until a few weeks now! But I am excited! My orientation went great! I saw like 4 kids there that I knew from school. Most of my shifts I have with 2 of my friends. But I don't know about the other two yet, they signed up after me. Then my mom picked me up and I went back to her office for about an hour, and that was pretty fun. I played with all of her little gadget type things, and I ate chocolate and had a pop! It was pretty fun. Then I went home and I put all of my shifts on the calander. Oh mom and dad must be home. My mom is leaving for Salina. So I better go say good bye! Well I will talk to you all later!!!
Karen
6/18/07
John, I hope you have a good day today. We are all thinking about you.
Lindsey & Livy
6/17/07
Happy Fathers Day Dad!
Karen
6/17/07
Busy, fun week-end for us. Saturday Brent and I went out in the morning and started to look for a car for Emily. We found a couple that we took Emily back to test drive in the afternoon. She decided on a 1998 Plymouth Neon -- so she now has her own car. Still have to get it insured and licensed, but that should happen this week. Then we out to eat a delicious meal at Olive Garden. This morning Erika and I went to a Town Hall Meeting for John Edwards. We saw last week that he was coming and would be talking at Erika's old school. Thought if it worked out, we would go. We got there a little early, the news crews were just setting up. One of the reporters soon came over and asked if Erika would be interested in telling them why she came. So we will have to watch the news tonight to see her. Edwards was interesting to hear. Small group (maybe 250) so it was a good time to see him.
Wow! Congratulations on the car, Emily, and congratulations on your interview, Erika! If they show it, you might have helped the next President get elected -- depending on what you said, of course! :-) --Gary
Tristen & Teghan
6/17/07
Happy Fathers Day Grandpa!
Tristen & Teghan
6/17/07
Happy Fathers Day Dad!
Ryan & Amanda
6/17/07
Happy Fathers Day Dad!
Gary
6/15/07
Wow... Gore Vidal is a national treasure. One of the first books I ever read was his "Messiah," and I've been a devoted fan ever since. I highly recommend any of his historical fiction (he's got a series of books that completely covers American history from the Revolution up through the Kennedy years), and I also highly recommend his non-fiction essays. (He's got a third class of books -- like the controversial "Myra Breckenridge" -- which may not appeal to everyone.) But his take on America's past, present, and future is always smack on the money. (He's related to Al Gore, by the way: Vidal's actual first name is Eugene, but as a young man he renamed himself to honor his grandfather, Thomas Gore, who was the Democratic Senator from Oklahoma in the '20s and '30s. Al Gore is more distantly related to the Senator.)
Here is Vidal talking with interviewer Saul Landau on the subject of Bush and 9/11. Well worth seven minutes of your time! :-)
(The full interview can be viewed here [or better quality here], though these links may not work on all computers.)
Gary
6/15/07
Now here's an interesting story: After Hurricane Katrina, it was estimated that New Orleans would need around a billion dollars to repair and rebuild. The Federal government agreed to give them less than a third of that ($320 million), and has so far -- after nearly two years -- actually delivered only half of that. So New Orleans is turning to other countries for foreign aid.... Yeah, why should our own government rebuild New Orleans? All its got is Democrats and poor people.... Another proud moment for George Bush.
For the record, there is currently 10 billion dollars missing and unaccounted for in Iraq, apart from what we know we're spending there. The $320 million promised by the Feds? That would pay for less than two days of the Iraq War.
Emily
6/15/07
Gary, cool coffee pictures today!
Thanks! :-) --Gary
Gary
6/15/07
Emily provides us with two new reviews today. Thanks!
Lindsey & Olivia
6/14/07
Happy Birthday Old Man!
Lori
6/14/07
Happy Birthday Paul!
Donna
6/14/07
Happy (80th?) Birthday Paul!
Nelsons
6/14/07
Happy Birthday Paul
Tristen & Teghan
6/14/07
Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa!
Ryan & Amanda
6/14/07
Happy Birthday Dad!
Gary
6/13/07 New review today. Thanks, Lindsey!
Karen
6/13/07
Gary, I hope your day is better today. I would love a picture of you digging through the garbage can. Rainy day here -- Emily, Erika and I went shopping this morning, then a delicious lunch at Culvers. Got soaked! We got a new pool last week-end. Set it up on Saturday, so the girls should be able to enjoy that this summer. What are everyone's plans for the summer?
Gary
6/13/07
Hey, if you've been wondering what are the top ten most popular dog and cat names in both America and Great Britain, this is your lucky day:
Gary
6/13/07
Weird day for me yesterday. They were resurfacing my parking lot, so parking (never a fun thing on the campus) was a problem. Finally found a meter several blocks away. Then, almost every mechanical thing I touched -- my TV remote at home, my office thermostat, and Grandma's computer and DVD player -- didn't work right. Also, I temporarily lost my keys. Came back to my office after lunch and realized I didn't have my keys, so I retraced my steps all the way back to where I had parked my car. Near my car was a trashcan, where I suddenly remembered I had tossed some lunchtime fast-food trash. "And say, now that I think of it, that empty paper cup made quite a thunk when I threw it away!" So a few minutes later, there I was, bent over and into this trashcan up to my waist, scrabbling through the trash. But I did find the keys! Clear at the bottom and all sticky, with what I hope was Coca-Cola. Anyway, if I happened to snap at you yesterday, my apologies -- I was not at my best!
So we're learning today that Bush did not get his watch stolen in Albania. (For those who don't know the story, Bush was working the crowd at a stop during his trip there -- rubbing heads like a madman -- and the camera shows him wearing a watch with a big black strap (very visible thanks to his short-sleeve shirt); then a few seconds later, during which crazed Albanians were clutching at him as if Bush were the rock-star he thinks he is, the watch is gone. Someone stole it...? That's what everyone thought, even though the White House denied it.
But today we were shown footage from another camera at a different angle which shows Bush quickly removing and pocketing the watch as he dives into the crowd. Best comment on the whole thing was from someone on Joe Scarborough's show on MSNBC this morning: "We're not spending a dime to investigate the 9/11 conspiracy, but Bush's watch we've got covered from multiple angles...?" :-)
Grandma
6/13/07
Happy Birthday, Paul!!!
Hatgidakis Family
6/12/07
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL
Emily
6/11/07
Congratulations Anna!!!! That is great that you are done with high school & the scholarship sounds really nice! I would love to hear more about it after your orientation!
My summer has been going pretty good so far, but kind of busy, it seems like I have been out of school a lot longer than just 4 weeks. I am in the 3rd week of my ethics class and it is going pretty good. I start my spanish class in about 3 more weeks.
This is my jury duty month... But, I wasn't called for the first date, now I just have to call back Wednesday night to see if I need to go in for Thursday. I am really hoping I don't have to.
Dance has been going well too. We have been busy getting ready for the recital. We had pictures last week, and I have another rehersal this afternoon. Erika had to be to hers at 8 am this morning!
I am finishing up my time with teen court. August will have to be my last court date, unless it works out for me to come back and do trainings.
I have been busy with work too. Last Wednesday we had an interesting night. We were hosting the Sioux City special olympians.
I went camping with some friends last week as well. It was a lot of fun, and we were all really glad it didn't storm. We had it planned for a really long time, but as the day got closer there were really really severe thunderstorms predicted to hit about 3 am. But, it didn't even rain enough to put our fire out, so it was all good! :)
Gary, thanks for putting up the BCU site for the coolsite today! In case anybody didn't know I will be going to Briar Cliff University in the fall, they gave me better scholarships than UNL.... & I have my orientation on July 6.
Again, congrats to Anna! That is all really really cool & I would love to see pictures if you guys took some!
Grandma
6/11/07
Okay, Marsha, it isn't ALWAYS best to follow in your mom's footsteps!
It sounds as if you literally did. What's with parking lots? I think you would remember Anna's big day without the extra drama. Hope you are not too bruised up and don't do that again!!
Grandma
6/11/07
Congratulations Anna!!!
What a good year for you, I am happy you got such a good scholarship and will be looking forward to see what will interest you there.
Did you have fun on your trip? Keep up the good work!!
Dad, Mom, Zach, Sam and Sunny
6/10/07
Congratulations on your graduation ANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And thanks, Marsha, for the new review. Sounds good! --Gary
Marsha
6/10/07
Anna's graduation yesterday was great. She did an amazing job this year and received a 2 year scholarship to Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She has an orientation on June 21. The graduation celebration got off to a terrific start with me following in Mom's tripsteps, I took a tumble in the parking lot and had to get completely rescued and cleaned. I made it to the ceremony with a lovely bandaid on my nose and a twisted foot. John will begin his radiation the week of June 18th, it looks like he will have 25 sessions. He had a 4 hour dr. appointment to get everything arranged for the radiation and his previous treatments appear to be going well.
Gary
6/10/07
Attention! Grandma has a new email address. Contact page has been updated!
Amanda
6/8/07
I love reading congrats for stuff I've never heard of... Someone want to enlighten about the scholarship?
I agree! Me too! :-) --Gary
Nelsons
6/8/07
Anna, congratulations on your graduation and scholorship! We are all very happy for you. Wish we could be there to see tomorrow.
Karen
6/7/07
Boy, been off for a week and haven't done much at all -- but enjoy. Emily and Erika do have dance pictures today. Erika's costume still wasn't in last night -- so she may not have her pictures today. Emily went camping with a few friends yesterday. Still not home so I'll have to wait to see how she liked it.
Livy
6/7/07
Hey everybody! My last day of school was really good! I got a lot of signiatures in it too! I got about 68 signiatures. It was pretty fun, and I also got a lot of phone numbers too! I already have been texting some people that are in there! We also had a talant show, then we went to the gym with the B team so we could sign year books for a while! Then we watched Radio and Night at the Museum. At the end of school i saw 3 stretch limos. They were for some eighth graders, like their parents got them one to ride home in because it was their last year at Lux. I thought that it was pretty cool! Well I guess I will talk to you all later! Tristen and Teghan are comin a little later so they can spend the night here. Bye!
Gary
6/6/07
Ha! :-) Here's a funny:
Lindsey
6/5/07
Well I only had one final today so I was out at 9:30. I went over to Grandma's and hung out with her and Teghan for a while and then me and Teghan went to Shrek 3 today. She had already seen it but she said she would go with me again so I could see it. So we stopped at Target for some movie candy and then went and saw it. Cute movie! After that we went back to Grandma's and then on a walk around the block. Later went back to Grandma's for an excellent dinner! Then I took her home. Pretty fun day!
Gary
6/4/07
Wow, big rainstorm just swept through (6:30 pm), plus hail.
Amanda
6/2/07
So, me, Tristen, Teghan, Dad, Lori, Linz & Liv went to the downtown Farmers Market today. It was nice, good weather, good Chai Latte from Scooters & the best of all, ERICK'S ENCHILADAS! Rumor has it they are from Omaha & are generally at both Saturday's downtown farmers market & Sunday's Hwy 2 market. We got some to bring home for the freezer & tried the chicken. Beef is definitely the best! Tattoo guy was there, with his wife, NOT DOING TATTOOS! Nice morning. Last night Ryan & I took the girls & Liv to Shrek 3, most excellent! We ate at the Parthenon first, it was our first time & we will definitely be going back, delic!
