The transformation: Do blonds have more fun?

In late march, Stephanie and I decided to be girly and dye each other's hair. Stephanie went with a redish brown color and I decide that with spring about here to lighten things up and put chunking highlights in my hair. I received a kit from another friend and held just for a special occasion just like this. To make a long story short, my hair ended up looking somewhat stunk like. Here is a pic of me the day after getting ready for work.

Eric was not a fan of this new look and thought that is would be cool to dye my hair completely blond. After a little convincing, Eric went to the store bought a bleaching kit for dark hair and later that night for our date, he began striping my hair. Here is a pic of me during my three hour wait to rinse my hair with a bag over my head and looking chipper.

Three hours later, after much whining and complaining that my scalp it burning. I hopped into the shower and then went to bed. I Got up the next day, which was April Fool's and got ready for work. Here's the result of our hair striping date. I am excited to see and hear the reactions for everyone I come in contact with.
So what do you think?

No April Fools Joke

As many of you have seen already, I have recently joined the Facebook cult. And as expected, I am already addicted which is hard to believe as I rarely become addicted to anything (okay so that bit about addiction is a bit of an April Fools joke). I can already tell that I will be spending more time on Facebook and less time updating our blog site. However, Aimee and I will still continue to update our blog site from time to time when we have the urge to write about something in more detail than what is considered kosher on Facebook. I just thought I would let all of you, our faithful and dearly beloved readers, know so that you have time to mourn over this tragic loss!

Good Times near Gull Lake

This past Friday, Aimee and I drove up to our church's (Autumn Ridge) annual marriage retreat up near Brainerd, Minnesota, at Cragun's Resort after Aimee got off work. Because Aimee was unable to get off from work early, we ended up missing Friday night's sessions. I didn't like feeling like we were missing out on anything, so I tried to get us up there as quickly as possible. However, the traffic was ridiculous on 494 and 94; and I was about to lose my mind (I actually passed a car on the shoulder of the road). Aimee asked if I had time to do my devotions on Friday. I said "no," and she said that she could tell due to my horrendous driving. My morning devotions are literally my daily medication to keep me centered. However, once we got on to highway 10 at Clearwater-Clear Lake, it was much smoother sailing.

I have to admit that for the past four years when Aimee and I have gone up to the marriage retreat, I generally do not feel like digging deep to examine our marriage and to work on our issues. I also must admit that this year was even worse than in years past in that regard. The only thing that I can think of that may have led to me feeling this way this year is that since we have been actively participating in marriage counseling every week on Thursday nights for the past seven months and have been having more frequent deep discussions about our relationship during the week, I really just wanted to "escape" for a weekend, relax, and not put our marriage under the microscope for a couple of days. I will say that we did garner a good amount of helpful tips and tools and godly wisdom from the sessions led by Dr. George Kenworthy and his wife, and we were also led in great worship by Autumn Ridge's high school pastor, Reggie Nichols and his wife Karlee. During our free time, we spent some time hanging out with Travis and Allison Vail and Karl and Beth Bristol, two couples from our small group who were able to join us for the marriage retreat. In the picture below, we are getting ready to break out some Phase 10 on Friday night.

The retreat was two weeks later than normal this year, and so Aimee and I also spent some time checking the NCAA tourney scores and brackets in our room on our laptop (I am so glad we were able to get a laptop almost a year ago).

On Saturday after the morning sessions from 8 a.m. to noon (way too early for me), we had the rest of the day free. Aimee and I decided to use the sports centre at the resort this year which was a lot of fun. I ran on the indoor track while she and Beth biked in the fitness room. Then Aimee and I played some indoor volleyball with some of the other couples at the retreat. We then took on Nick and Korrie Johnson in a game of indoor carpeted doubles tennis, and I am proud to say that we won 7-5. Nick then kicked my butt in singles tennis beating me 6-0. After that, we all got cleaned up and went out to supper together at Grizzly's in Baxter. Pictured below are Jake and Hannah Calhoun, Karl and Beth Bristol, us, and Nick and Korrie Johnson. Good conversation and fellowship were had by all.

After supper, we went back to Cragun's and played some SkipBo, Nerts, and some more Phase 10. On Sunday, we finished up with two more sessions and then headed back to Rochester. All in all, I felt like it was a good weekend (even though it was too short); and I think we both needed to just get away for a couple of days. Looking at our calendar right now, we will be getting away every weekend in April, so I am pretty sure we will have plenty to blog about in the coming weeks.

A Tragic Story & An Electric Atmosphere

As many of you know, I am, have always been, and will always be an Iowa Hawkeye fan. In fact, anyone who has grown up in the state of Iowa is generally a Hawkeye fan, that is, unless they have been brainwashed by the other non-mid-major university in the state (the Cyclones of Iowa State University). I kid you not. My brother Chris grew up learning what is right and good (to always cheer for the Hawkeyes); but then, like Judas Iscariot, he abandoned what he knew to be right and good, crossed over to the dark side, and attended Iowa State University. After his first visit back home from college around Thanksgiving of 1994 during his freshman year, I could tell something had changed within him. After a lot of intense research on my part, I later discovered that Iowa State mandates that every freshman take a class during their first semester titled "BW101: How to Become a Cyclone Fan: Ignoring the Deepest Roots of Your Truest Self." It took me a long time to uncover this as Iowa State does not list the class on any student's transcript. However, I did discover that it is a six-credit class that meets in various anonymous locations in Ames throughout the entire semester. It is a scary ordeal this underground brainwashing class. Hundreds of thousands of innocent young students have already given up hope and have been exposed to this class. This has literally divided my family. I ask that you do not take forceful action as this will only reinforce what this awful class is teaching these young minds (that Hawkeye fans are bad). Rather, I have found it to be best to simply pray over all of these students daily and hope that they will someday see the light again. I know that I am still praying for my brother Chris and now his wife and kids as well as he has passed what he learned in that class on to them.

This past Saturday, Aimee and I attended an Iowa Hawkeye men's basketball game and discovered all over again what is right and good. Iowa has struggled this year with a lot of injuries, and they are a young team. Because tickets were not selling so well this year, we got pretty good seats (row 6) at a great price. Here they are warming up below with the Penn State players warming up at the opposite end.

Pictured below is Iowa's bench with Coach Lickliter (Chris calls him Lintlicker...oh my, pray, pray, pray) standing up in the white shirt talking to one of his assistant coaches.

It was a close game throughout as most of Iowa's games have been this year. It was nice to see Iowa use their big guys, Cole and Tate, in tandem. Pictured below is Fuller and Bawinkel of the Hawkeyes and Cornley and Battle of the Nittany Lions.

The atmosphere at Carver Hawkeye Arena was electric especially towards the end of the game when it went into overtime and then into double overtime. However, as noted on the scoreboard and by the cheerleaders dancing in the picture below, the Hawkeyes won!

Even though we had to get back to Rochester so that I could work a few hours that night, we stayed after the game so that Aimee could shake a few of the players' hands and to get a picture of us.

Chris, if you have read this and if you are feeling things inside that you cannot explain, please give me a call or send me an e-mail. I would love to talk with you to help you discover your true self again and to help you see that you do indeed bleed BLACK AND GOLD!

Club 31...Book #5

Society tends to look down upon deep thinking or pass it off as it is only for the strange. Our culture tries to brainwash us through different forms of media and tries to imprient their opinions. But did you know that you already believe in something. And your belief affects the way you live, think and act. Have you ever wonder or have you ever been asked by someone else, What is life all about? Is there only one way to God or do all roads lead to him? And if there is a God and he is good, why do bad things happen? Why is there suffering? How can we know about God? And is there inate moriality in each of us? How would you respond to someone who was asking the "hard" questions and searching for the truth? What would you tell yourself?

The book that we had to read for March, was called How to be your own selfish Pig...and other ways you've been brainwashed, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.

This book is a complation of the "hard" questions of life. Short stories of real life people who walked in and out the doors of the L'Abri house. L'Abri is a place where people can come to get away from their everyday rountines and look for answers to the "hard" questions they are asking themselves. You can find L'Abri houses all over the world...Switzerland, Holland, England, Massachusetts and Minnesota. Thats right, I said Minnesota. There is a L'Abri House right here in Rochester, Minnesota.

If you find yourself questioning life and traveling is not an option, pick up this book. Read and ponder and determine your worldview.

Guess who just turned about 40ish?

I'll give you three guesses. Nope, nope, and nope. Give up? Okay, it is Gato, Othello, and Rita. Today, March 2nd, is our kitties' 5th birthday. They were part of a litter of six with another calico kitty, another all-black-colored kitty, and an all beige-colored kitty. Here they are enjoying their birthday dinner of ocean whitefish...yum, yum!
*F.Y.I...Hey, did you know that a cat ages about 17 years in their first year and then about 6 years for every birthday after that up to their 9th birthday? After that, it tends to slow to about 2 years for every year after that...amazing, I know! Happy birthday pretty kitties!

The Friendship Challenge

Pictured above is Jen, Nicole, and Allison (with me laying behind them, of course).

The friendship challenge is a challenge of whether your friendship will withstand this ten-day process of making bread. How it works is you receive a starter bag of goo on day 1. One might think to oneself, "Hey, this doesn't seem so tough."

On days two to five, you mush the goo and maybe even burp the goo. Once again you might think to yourself, "Alright, this is taking a little bit of a commitment, but so does being friends with Aimee...I think I can handle it."

Now day six is here. You read in the instructions that you are supposed to add 1 cup of flour, sugar, and milk. This seems okay so you go to the frig, pull out the milk, measure it, and pour it in. Next is the flour and sugar. You open the canisters and start measuring and come to find that you only have 3/4 of a cup of flour and a 1/2 cup of sugar. This is where you start questioning your friendship with the person that pawned this challenge off on you. So you get in the car and make an extra trip to the store to buy more flour and sugar. Now you begin to think that on the one hand this might be a little bit more work than you signed on for; but on the other hand, you think that anything in life takes a little work and usually in the end it is well worth it. So you decide to plow forward.

Day seven comes and you read mush the goo. The Hallelujah Chorus is playing over in your head. Day eight comes and goes. Day nine comes and goes. Day ten comes and goes and day eleven the same.

On day twelve, you open the cupboard and realize that you forgot all about your goo; and you throw the bag in the trash. You think, "Crap, all this work for nothing. I am so disappointed in myself." You curse Aimee for conning you into taking this challenge and in essence making you feel bad about yourself. You then call Aimee, your so-called friend who was supposed to call and hold you accountable in the bread-making process, to let her know that you had failed. She picks up her phone; and as you begin to tell her your story and how you failed in your attempts in the bread challenge, she laughs and says there is no need to be in despair. She says take your bag of goo out of the garbage and pick up where you left off. A few extra days of fermenting won't hurt a thing. You go to the garbage only to see that for the first time in your husband's life during marriage he listened to you and took out the garbage. Your heart sinks. You shrug your shoulders and think better luck next time and go about the rest of your day.

The story I just retold is based on some true events but was dramatized for desired effect.

In all actuality, the goo is called friendship bread because it gets passed on from friend to friend like a chain letter. But unlike a pesky chain letter, you can enjoy the end product.

Here I am doing just that. Mmm, mmm, good.

In all seriousness, there are some real life applications that you can take from the experience of making friendship bread in case you couldn't pick them out in the dramatized story from above. In life, you can find yourself in situations or experiences either by your choosing or by the choices made by others. At times, things can be tough; and you doubt if you want to continue in this course. You find yourself questioning things. At this point, you find yourself at a crossroads. You can either turn away/run from this course, or you can stay the course and let these "challenges" burn and refine you to be better than you ever thought was possible. Mistakes happen. That's just life. However, we need to be able to learn from them, not let them define us, and let God do His handy work and transform them into a precious treasure. God is at work in all of us, and He uses life to accomplish His mighty work.

Who's 2?

Two years ago yesterday on February 23, 2007, a miracle took place in Henderson, Minnesota. Penelope was born to Kahlua (a black pug) and Wilbur (a fawn pug). It is amazing how time flies and how we have been blessed by the excitable and loving personality of our pug dog Penelope.

In the picture above, we are singing "Happy Birthday" to Penelope, and she is cocking her head in enjoyment of the song (or simply trying to understand what we are singing).

Pictured above is Penelope playing with her new friend, Buddy, a post Valentine's Day super discount present for her birthday. She loves Buddy!

Club 31...Book #4

Have you ever wondered if there is really a difference between Catholicism and Biblical Christianity? Why Mormonism's founder, Mr. Smith, believed what he believed. And what ever happened to him? And what's the deal with Wicca and Hinduism? Are they really religions? Can Biblical Christians practice yoga/meditation? The next book on the list to read was called "What's the Big Deal About Other Religions?" When I read the title of this book, I must admit that I was a little nervous that this might be a little over my head; but to my surprise, it was a real easy read. I found myself really enjoying learning about all these other religions. The book started out seeming to paint an unbias view of these religions compared to Christianity; but the further I read, I found that this is not the case. But all in all, it is a good easy read if you are interested in learning about other religions, their founders, and where they stand on the seven major core beliefs of Christianity.

Scapbooking Weekend

At the end of January, my mom and I got together for the weekend. We spent all day Saturday with about 144 some women scrapbooking at a local church in North Branch. To be honest, I was unsure about how much I would like spending 12 hours scrapbooking without getting bored. But to my surprise, I found that I enjoyed myself very much. I had a wonderful time hanging out with my mom, talking and catching up on life, as well as getting caught up on my long overdue scrapbooking.

Here we are about 11 hours into it. Bright eyed and bushy tailed and still going strong. I got my Capitol scrapbook all caught up and my Everyday Life scrapebook caught up to my birthday. It's amazing what you can get done when you just commit a little bit of time and creativity to something.But it was not all hard work without any fun and games. We were able to take some time out of our busy scrapbooking schedule and make some fun of the fact that my mom lost one of her front bottom teeth and how she now looks...well, a little back woodsy.

When the weekend was all said and done, we had a wonderful time and are planning on doing this again.

Othello Wants a Pretty Kitty Smile

Okay, so most of you know that we are crazy cat people. Our cats love the bathroom sink and the magical waterfall that comes out of the faucet. Every time we get ready in the morning and when we brush our teeth before going to bed, all three cats frantically scurry into the bathroom and jump up onto the sink to get some water. Over Christmas, Aimee and I got new pulsating toothbrushes from Aimee's parents. Well, one night while getting ready for bed, Othello stretched out his left paw (yes, even Othello is left-pawed) to grab Aimee's toothbrush and began brushing his own teeth, gums, and tongue!

Cheering on the Underdog

Aimee and I both generally cheer for the underdog when it comes to most sporting events unless the Vikings or the Hawkeyes happen to be the favorite (which does not happen that often). That was the case for this year's Super Bowl...we were both cheering for the Cardinals especially since Pittsburgh had just won the Super Bowl three years ago. We enjoyed the party (even though the Steelers won) at Tom and Candace Gommels' house with about 15 or so other couples from our church. They have three TVs, and many of the husbands watched the game on the big-screen TV in the heated garage.

Aimee and I along with some friends from our immediate small group watched the game on the TV in the living room.

Many of the wives watched the game on the TV in the family room with the comfortable leather couches.

There was a ton of great food (lots of desserts...heaven for me), and it was good to catch up with some of the friends we do not see as often these days.

The Ratte Christmas

This is not a Christmas for the less fortunate. It is actually quite the opposite. Those who participate in this Christmas have a few things in common. One of the things that they have in common is that they are either a Ratte or are married to a Ratte. Ratte is my maiden name and my mom's maiden name (if you think about that, that is not very common). Another thing that they have in common is that they are very rich in life experiences. I can remember as a little girl going over to my uncle Jim and auntie Joan's house in Stillwater and celebrating Christmas with them and their family. We did this because by the age of 21 my mom lost both of her parents, and she was just learning to balance life without them with the new responsibility of raising a child (me). Uncle Jim kind of took us under his wings and gave us support that transcends all understanding. He would send my mom money every year to help give me a Christmas. And as I grew up, he would tell me stories of my grandpa. He would paint pictures in my mind of what kind of man he was, how I would be his little princess, and how he would have loved to take me fishing and share his love for sports with me. He helped to show me what it would be like to have a grandpa. I am truly blessed to have these fond ideas of this wonderful man that is my grandpa. It helps fill the void that I have. Below is a picture of my uncle Jim and my auntie Joan.Thank you for all the love and support throughout the years and thank you for the fond images that you have given me of my grandpa.

In addition to Uncle Jim and Auntie Joan, my mom's brother Steve and his wife Jackie along with their youngest daughter Joy, her husband Phil, and their two daughters came down from Duluth for the Ratte Christmas. It is always wonderful to see them and to catch up on pretty much a year's worth of events. Below is a picture of my uncle Steve with one of his granddaughters, and the other picture is my auntie Jackie with another one of her granddaughters.

These little girls bring so much laughter to the day. What makes one rich is not the material things in life but things that shape us and makes us who we are. Family is definitely one of those things. Merry Christmas!

The One With Aimee's Surprise 30th Birthday Party

For about two months now, I have been planning a surprise weekend for Aimee's 30th birthday; and this past weekend was the weekend it all went down (Aimee's birthday was yesterday, January 13). On Friday night before we went to bed, I told Aimee that we would need to be up and ready to leave the house by 9:30 a.m. I had her drive since I had mapped everything out and would need to be the one giving directions so that all events would remain a surprise. We first went to get her Aztec washed and then headed north on 52 before arriving at the Minnesota State Capitol Building. This is something we had been wanting to tour for quite some time; and over the weekend, we made it the 11th State Capitol Building we have visited. Below is a picture of what I thought was the Minnesota State Capitol Building while growing up in Iowa and learned that it is not...rather, it is the Cathedral of Saint Paul!

Below is the real Minnesota State Capitol Building! It was probably one of the nicer Capitol Buildings we have toured with Madison, Wisconsin, being the exception.

After touring the Capitol Building, I then had Aimee drive us from downtown St. Paul over to downtown Minneapolis. She was quite surprised when I asked her to pull over at the Hotel Ivy and use their valet parking (this was the first time either of us had used valet parking...I even looked up appropriate tipping on this). We then walked a couple of blocks to our next destination which was The Melting Pot. Neither of us had eaten there before, but I knew Aimee had been wanting to try it out for some time now. The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant and can be quite pricey, but it was well worth it. We ordered the four-course meal for two which started with a cheese fondue with bread, apples, and veggies; followed by our salads; followed by the main fondue with lobster tails, salmon, shrimp, chicken, steak, pork, and potatoes; followed by the chocolate and peanut butter fondue with cheesecake, pound cake, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, and oreo-covered marshmallows. It was all very delicious, and we were both very full by the end of the meal!

Aimee thanking her drink for coming to the meal! She ordered a Pomegranate Cosmo.

Me thanking my drink for coming to the meal! I ordered a Blueberry Bop that tasted nasty, and the waiter kindly offered to get me a different drink.

Our waiter was great and explained every part of the meal to us in great detail which was very helpful. He even offered to take a picture of us together as we enjoyed our chocolate and peanut butter fondue.

After the meal, I knew we would not want to be driving right away again, so I walked with Aimee back to the Hotel Ivy where I had made an appointment for her to have a one-hour signature facial at the Ivy Spa Club.

After Aimee's facial, I then had her drive us back to Rochester and over to Chateau Theaters in time to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. We both enjoyed the movie and said we had never seen anything like it before. I thought it was slow moving in a few parts in the middle; but we both left the theater with a tear in our eyes.

After walking to the Aztec after the movie was over, I had Aimee get in the passenger seat and told her to tie a towel around her head like a blindfold for the next surprise. She asked if I was kidding, and I said no. I then drove around northeast Rochester for a few minutes before making my way to Kevin and Nicole Youel's house where 15 or so of our in-town friends were waiting to scream "SURPRISE!" when Aimee walked through their front door. In the picture below, Allison Vail is peaking out the front window as I lead Aimee up to the front door.

Aimee removing the towel from her head and discovering her final surprise.

After mingling for a little while and eating supper, I put the letter candles on the two ice cream cakes I had purchased from Cold Stone Creamery (although I broke one of the P's while trying to stick it in, so it ended up being "HAPY BIRTHDAY!"). Aimee then made her 30th birthday wish and blew them all out with one breath.

After that, it was time for Aimee to open up her presents from everyone. In the picture below, she is opening up her gift of strawberry champagne from Cassie Khotmanivong. She also got a couple of coloring books and crayons, some scrapbooking items, and an adult-sized pair of full-body pajamas like you used to wear when you were little.

Before some of us started in on a 500 tournament and before some people had to leave, we got a picture of everyone who helped celebrate Aimee's 30th birthday (from left to right): Korrie Johnson, Erin Jimenez, Cassie Khotmanivong (brought Penelope over to the Youel's house for us), Allison Vail, Chris Walston, Aimee, Chad Fisher, John White, Stephanie Fisher, Beth Bristol, me, Nick Johnson, Nicole Youel, Kevin Youel, John Jimenez (took many of the pictures at the party), and Karl Bristol.

The 500 tournament ended prematurely as Chad and Steph had to leave so that they could get up and sing in choir at church the next morning. Those of us who were spending the night at the Youels then went upstairs and shared bathroom stories and other assorted scary and humorous stories. At about 4 a.m., we all decided to call it a night. As Nick and Korrie had not planned on spending the night, we lent them some of our extra pajamas to sleep in and let them share our toothpaste, mouthwash, and a contact container and solution. The next morning, we got a picture of Aimee wearing her full-body pajamas from Allison Vail holding Allison's daughter Ashley in her full-body pajamas.

The whole weekend was awesome, and I couldn't have pulled it all off without the help of many who were invited and especially the Youels for working tirelessly on their newly remodeled home (with a few finishing touches yet to be completed)!

Club 31 Book # 3

In the book unchristian, it points out that Christianity has a image problem and how this problem is shaping our culture. The next generation, 16-29 yrs. olds, is a skeptical bunch, not trusting the motives of individuals, always thinking that they have alternative motives. We have to identify where we as individuals have contributed to the unchristian mentality and then allow Christ to change our ways and mold us to His likeness. Among the items listed, Hypocritical, Too focused on getting converts, Antihomosexual, Sheltered, Too political and Judgemental, which are you/have you been or in what ways have you personally contributed to the unchristian mentality? How will you change?
The third book on our list was called Unchristian. In all honesty, this has been one of the most humbling, life/attitude changing books I have ever read. I was truly convicted in many ways when reading this book. I found my thoughts and attitudes being transformed right before my eyes, becoming more like Christ-accepting and loving people where they are at, reserving judgement for the one who has not sinned.
My goal for myself after reading this book is to be authentic and real with others, not to be judgemental and accept and love others where they are at.
God commissioned us to spread the Good News to all nations. In order to be Christ's hands and feet, we need to try to understand those around us where they are coming from and why they can be so skeptical of the Christians they meet. If this is your heart, then Unchristian is a good book for you to read.

Bringin' in the New Year with the Rhodes Family

On New Year's Eve night, my entire family met up in Owatonna to visit our long-time family friends, the Rhodes family. My parents and Lonnie and Sue Rhodes all attended college together at Minnesota Bible College (now Crossroads College) and have remained good friends since. Our two families all got together at least once or twice a year for as long as I can remember growing up. There are many memories my family shares with the Rhodes family with the most memorable for me being sinking a motor boat with all ten of us in it in the middle of Long Lake up near Park Rapids while my dad and Lonnie got stung dozens of times by bees that had built a hive in the front of the boat and had apparently became aggravated midway through our boat trip.

While our parents still get together at least once or twice a year, the entire families had only gotten together once since us kids left for college; and that was exactly four years ago. Lonnie and Sue's oldest, Philip, in now 35 years old and is married to Brynn; and they have three kids (Maya 10, Xander 4, and David 2) and have recently moved to Owatonna and are living in Lonnie and Sue's old house. Lonnie and Sue's middle child, Kirsten, is now 30 years old and has just recently moved in with them after living out in California. Lonnie and Sue's youngest, Peter, is now 27 years old and is married to Nicole; and they live in Owatonna as well. With all of them living in Owatonna and having three houses, they were able to host our family overnight. It was really good to catch up, reminisce, and play games against each other. There was even talk about having family t-shirts and a traveling trophy in the years to come for the family who will win the most points in all of the games that will be played. In the picture below, Brynn is waiting for the women to get a clue in Catch Phrase (actually, I think the women beat the men in Catch Phrase two games to one).

After many games were played and after bringing in the New Year, Aimee and I rode with Peter, Nicole, and Kirsten back to Peter and Nicole's house. We stayed up another hour or so talking some more but mostly watching Penelope play with their dog Piper. Penelope had a good time trying to get Piper to play tug of war with her, but Piper was not so fond of Penelope taking her toys out of their bin and spreading them out all over the place. All of Piper's toys have names, and the toy Penelope is playing with in the picture below is named Big Nuts (a squirrel).

On New Year's morning, Sue had reserved the gym at the bank where she works in Owatonna; and all of us except my brother Brad and my dad (they went to Phil and Brynn's house and watched Iowa win the Outback Bowl...GO HAWKS!) went and played some floor hockey followed by some 4-on-4 basketball and then Lightning. In the picture below, Aimee is facing off against Maya in the center with Brynn and I behind them near the windows, my brother Chris to the right of us near the windows, Kirsten as the goalie, Nicole to the right of her, and Lonnie facing the center.

In the picture below, Lauren (Maya's friend) is dribbling while Nicole and Lonnie are guarding her. Peter is barely visible in the white shirt behind Nicole, Chris is also barely visible in the green shirt behind Nicole, Mom is in the yellow shirt, Philip is in the gray shirt, and Brynn is in the maroon shirt waiting for a pass as she was wide open.

After the games at the gym, we headed back to Lonnie and Sue's house for more fun, food, and games before everyone headed back to their homes on New Year's night.