Wrist in rehab!

The bones in my shattered wrist (thanks to newly adopted dog/brute Oakley) have healed. The pins are out, the external fixator is off, and I have started PT. Here is a photo of the fixator, which felt like having a brick strapped to the end of your arm, and a photo of my new brace, which we call the sport model. I will also include a photo of the #$@#$ dog, who is sweet and goofy and strong as can be. His only remaining fault is that he loves Dave more than me since Dave has to do all the dog walking these days. Just kidding, but Dave has asked me frequently what kind of dog I am getting, since he obviously has his.

St. Louis!

St. Louis is cold!!

Hiya! So this video is from rehearsals so we aren't in costume but you get to see a bit of behind the scenes from the play I was in--A Piece of My Heart. And I sing a little bit. My friend Erin was the director. It was fun and a lot of work. We got a great reaction from the crowds. Don't worry, I'll remember you all when I am rich and famous. :) Oh, I'm the girl in cowboy boots. :)



Here's a picture:

Other than that, I'm just working a lot. The kiddos are good, of course, but I'm looking forward to Christmas break. I think all the teachers are, more than the kids even. :) Today we played Candyland and one of my kindergarteners developed a fascination with "Cat Fancy" magazine. I'm still working at my restaurant, too, and my favorite beer is out--Coffee Stout. Yum! It's only available in the winter.

I know I need to post a Christmas list--I'll try this weekend. Aunt Sherry should have a copy of mine for anyone in Quincy, too.

Love you all!

Julie

Greetings from Iowa! Way to get things started Nikki. I was just thinking, we really need to get lists posted. Things are well here. Eat. Sleep. Tumble. Basketball. Sprinkle in church, choirs and school. That pretty much sums things up. We will be heading north for the holiday to historic Mason City, home of The Music Man. The kids are excited to be tortured by their older cousins and to play with the dogs.

I can be candid here because the kids don't look unless I show them-

Kenzie- Juniors size 2/short in jeans. Juniors small or medium in tops. Size 7 shoes. She loves anything trendy. Not a fan of pink, sweaters or turtlenecks. She likes jeans, sweatshirts, fun socks and loves boots. The warmer the better. Is getting a new bike from Santa. Likes books that are for teens that are scary or gory. Vampires, ghosts. Has an Ipod, so accessories (ear phones, cases and Itunes) are always good. Likes hats, scarves, gloves.

Brady- Boys size L or 12-14 in athletic pants which is what he mostly wears along with a boys XL tshirt & sweatshirts. Likes fleece (he has a camo Columbia jacket he loves as well as an Underarmour sweatshirt Hannah got him last year). Plays football, basketball & baseball. A new football would be a hit. Likes fiction books with sports theme. Likes to play Wii. Is also getting a new bike from Santa. Loves nerf guns. Is starting to hunt geese & pheasant so hunting apparel is good. Green moss, I think.

Leslie- Would love a new blender- basic model, nothing fancy. Just to blend a margarita or a malt without smoking. Kitchen dish cloths (dark green or brown) or bath towel (white or cream). Bath & Body wall air fresheners or candles (cinnamon, pumpkin spicey sorts).

Eric- XXL sweatshirts or tshirts. He would like to start ice fishing with Brady so a gift certificate to Bass Pro or Scheel's would be fun.

Happy Thanksgiving! I am most thankful for each of you.

XOXXO,
Leslie

Christmas List

Well after talking to a Saltwater Aquarium specialist tonight... my wish list for Christmas consists of money for setting up a new tank the right way. I know it's not going to be right away, but I'd prefer to do it right this time.

I found a guy by the name of Dave Atkins that used to be here in Quincy, but moved to Springfield maintain the saltwater aquarium set up at the new Scheels.

http://www.sj-r.com/photo_galleries/x898076150/Scheels-salt-water-aquarium

That is a link to some photos and info about the tank he maintains. Pretty cool! This guy knows his stuff!

Easy shopping for me this year! lol

Christmas Names 2011

Hi All,

I've been meaning to post this along time ago, but you know how things go. Anyway, below are the names that were drawn for Christmas this year. I've heard rumors that it will be held in Quincy on New Year's Eve. So, if you have packages to mail please have them in Quincy in time. So, without further Ado, here are the names:

Name of Family - People they drew
Midget (Don) - Callie & Carolyn
Strackeljahn (Dale) - David M & Brady
Strackeljahn (Laurie) - Sara
Strackeljahn (Bryan) - Chris L & Eric H
Smailys (Tony) - Laurie & Val
Smailys (Eric) - Skyler & Nikki
Smailys (Julie) - Jen
Midget (David) - Sherry, Monica & Leslie
Edwards - Mackenzi
Humke - Erice S & Grandma
Ladeau - Julie, Chris S & Cruz
Helds - Bryan, Jon S, Hannah & James
Schonarth - Dale & Don
Altgilbers - Susan, Rocky, Tony & Jess

In other news, we are very excited at the zoo as our new 1 1/2 year Harbor Seals have arrived in Des Moines from a Vancover rescue facility. Their names are Ross (boy) and Meru (girl). Meru is the one floating on the white board and Ross is peaking over the side. We also opened our new and MUCH improved Sea Lion/Harbor Seal exhibit a couple of weeks ago. Strangely enough, the opening happened the day after our new seals had arrived. Let's see what else...Sassy & I are very much enjoying the new doors that Dad, with an assist from Eric, installed over the weekend. They look beautiful! We had some left over white paint and primer so I'm going to attempt to scrape the tirm on the windows that haven't been replaced yet. We'll see if I can manage to get that done before our first snow fall. Not a whole lot else going on right now. Talk to you all soon! Love you!

AAAAEEEEEIIIIIIIAAAAAAA!!!!!

Happy Halloween from The Asylum in Indianola! We took the opportunity to volunteer at the local haunted house on Saturday night. LA Dodger & hometown boy Casey Blake & his wife donated $1M to create the Indianola Youth Foundation and challenged the community to Match the Million. We are at about $920K- so almost there. The foundation will help improve the facilities & activities for Indianola youth. Great cause, great fun. Eric & Brady were in the fog room where they came out of the mist. Kenzie was in a toy room... caged. No surprise she quickly developed a whole spiel that included pitiful wailing cries for help. I was one of the zombie brides hidden in a dark corner and discovered I have a scream that Eric & Brady think could be sold. Guess I've never had cause to use it until now. Surprised at the number of people coming through that were about 50-60 years old. Sometimes it was hard to be scarey when you were about to burst out laughing. Two teen-age girls very seriously said, "Don't scare us, just tell out how to get out of here."

Happy haunting!

6th grade Pro Bowl

It was a gorgeous day to finish out Brady's 3 year Indianola Youth Football League career. In this league players are drafted as 4th graders and remain on the same 4-5-6th grade team all three years. It seems like yesterday when I picked him up from his first practice as a 4th grader. It was drizzley and cool. I pulled up to see them finishing out practice with up-downs in the mud and thought. "Oh, this is not going to be good." He came to the car, got teary and said, "THAT WAS THE WORST PRACTICE I'VE EVER BEEN TO." I reminded him of it this year when he was excited for the first mud-filled practice- to be nice to those 4th graders who might not yet have an appreciation for it.

You can see Brady running the ball, #10 in the yellow pants, blue jersey. He played QB and today got to do a lot of awesome passing. Although they lost 14-7, he had fun- for the first time having all of his buddies on the field together. There were lots of hand-ups, pats on the backs and giggling. I don't think they cared who won in the end. I sat by a bunch of mom friends and laughed as my friend Becky yelled to Matt- "GET HIM!" and I pointed out that it was Brady that she had instructed Matt to pummel.

Basketball practice starts this week and he is ready to move on to his favorite sport. Kenzie is working hard in tumbling with her first meets on November 5 & 20. She's thrilled to move up to sub-advanced in double-mini with a much more tricky pass.

The entire Held family has volunteered at the local haunted house next Friday as scarers. We'll let you know that goes. Pass the ear plugs. Kenzie found her Halloween costume. She is a "devil-fairy." I know you are not surprised and yes, this was pre-packaged and not of her own design. Although she declared it "perfect." Brady is yet undecided but he is thinking about being a banana.

Love to all,
Leslie