Naughty Ronald

I just ran across this photo again and it still makes me laugh

This happened when I was in high school

Why didn't you hear about Ronald's indiscretions? Because McDonald's has a hold over the City of Billings and the city agreed to cover it up to save face so as to not disappoint all the children in the world that look up to Ronald (that and a big fat bribe)

9/12

This was taken at 27 weeks

We are now at 31 weeks. Only 9 to go!

Bozeman

My brother, Jason, just posted this on his blog. I have fallen out of checking the reports since I moved away from Bozeman, but I really need to get back into it. The other thing I loved about this paper that I never really thought about until I moved away: They NEVER put a photograph of the big news of the day (the ones that usually depict death and carnage). Instead, they always had a photo of people reading books in the park, or playing frisbee, or fishing. Nice to start your news intake with something pleasant before you have to read about all the bad going on.
This is also where Jeremy & I went to school and where we met. I also carried a subscription to the paper for the exact same reason.

We created this blog to tell the tale of our year in Afghanistan, but I ask you to indulge me as I digress a bit with this posting...hopefully to your entertainment...
As most of you know, Kelli and I met at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. We both really enjoyed our time there and it's an amazing place to live. There is so much to do outdoors and life moves a touch slower than elsewhere. There is also a lighter side to Bozeman, which people outside the town just don't understand....it is time for me to share the secret. My roommates and I in college used to subscribe to the daily paper for 1 purpose:
- to read the daily comics
- to read the daily police reports
Ahh, but I said for 1 purpose...so why read 2 things? Because they are one in the same...even if they do print on different pages and under different headings.
I have cut and pasted today's sample for your enjoyment. This one is actually pretty easy to pick a favorite, but many days are more of a challenge. For your future reading pleasure, please go to: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ and then look for the police reports under the "Community" pull-down menu.
Enjoy....
The Bozeman Police Department reports for Thursday included the following:
€ A Chief Joseph Middle School student was using profane language and making obscene gestures.
€ A student kicked a foot bag onto the roof of the high school. The student climbed the building to get it, but he got stuck and couldn't get down. The principal went to get a ladder.
The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office reports for Thursday included the following:
€ A woman was concerned about a young boy with a fishing pole walking alone along Thorpe Road. A deputy found the 9-year-old boy, who had stayed home from school because he was sick. After feeling better, he went fishing on the Gallatin River. His mother was aware of his location.
€ A driver on Interstate 90 told deputies three people in another vehicle kept flipping him off.
€ When deputies responded to a home, they saw a naked man holding open the front door and waiting to talk to deputies. His wife explained that the man had been wandering around the house naked. He had burned some toast and was sniffing the smoke coming out of the toaster. He also had eaten butter from the tub with his fingers. The deputy explained to the woman that although his behavior was unusual, no crime had been committed.
The inmate population at the Gallatin County jail included the following:
€ The jail held 46 inmates; maximum capacity is 39 inmates.
€ Twenty-eight inmates were being held at other jails at the cost of $55 per inmate per day, plus transportation costs.
€ One person was in the sheriff's county work program.
€ Court services had 279 people under its supervision.

Raffle Win

Hi, Gang!
Last week Mike and I bought raffle tickets to benefit a new performing art center here in The Villages. We WON an evening of FREE ENTERTAINMENT by a gal named Sandi Henson. She sang with her own band in Las Vegas before moving here. And now she is singing professionally with the Lenny Wilson Trio (piano, drums, bass). She is great and so are they. Anyway, Sandi is going to be our free entertainment for our Christmas dinner party with Mike's golf group--"The Brew Crew". There will be about 70 of us. Should be lots of fun. We're really excited to have won such a neat prize. (I've never won a person before!!!!!) :o)
I'll let you know how it goes.
Kay

toys

Here is our newest toy:

So I have been reading instructions and how to install and all that good stuff. So many rules to carseats - who knew? Angles, straps, buttons, the list goes on and on...

Much more relaxing

So the last time I posted I was in the middle of week 1 of school -- 10 hours with little 4 year olds. All while battling a cold. Lets just say I needed a break. As you can see from this photo, Steve and I managed to escape DC this weekend and get the break both of us needed. He has family up in Rhode Island so we are up here for a couple of days relaxing, kayaking, bike riding, eating good food, and riding around on their motor boat. If only we didn't have to head back to DC tomorrow already!

Hope all of you are having good Labor Day weekends, wherever you are!

-Carolyn

Hi fam,

Judy and I are on our way south from Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin. I had meetings in Minneapolis on Sunday night and Monday so Judy and I drove up from Winnetka and we're making it a little vacation. We spent Tuesday night in Stillwater, MN, a beautiful, old river town on the St. Croix River. Today we visited Taylors Falls, MN, an old logging community. Interesting trivia....in the St. Croix River, next to Taylors Falls, they had the largest log jam in history. In 1886, the ice melted and the rains came at the same time. The logs came pouring down the river and got stuck in a sharp turn in the river. The jam ended up being several miles long and 50 feet high. One more bit of cool trivia....Interstate Park at Taylors Falls has more potholes in a smaller area than any other location in the world. And the deepest pothole in the world. Potholes were formed when the glaciers were receding and the river was raging. Rocks would get caught in the eddies/whirlpools and would grind a hole in the rock under the water. The hole would get deeper and deeper. Eventually, the glaciers pulled back and the water receded and now, the potholes are exposed and are mostly dry. The deepest of the potholes is 60 feet deep.

Now, on a much lighter note, there is a ski resort along the river. Since it is summer, there is no snow but they have these cement and fiberglass slalom runs that you can ride a kind of sled down. Amazing. I rode a chair lift to the top of the mountain, then hopped on the sled and took off down the course. The sled has a stick that if you push it one way it slows the sled down and if you push it the other way it speeds it up. I think I set a new record for going slowly down the course but it was still fun.

That's it for tonight. Time for bed.

Jerry