HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHY

This is a (late) birthday wish for my sister, Stephanie, who just turned 23 on the 26th! Besides that, there are many exciting things happening in her life right now. She and Nicholas are getting married next Saturday. Aaron and I are very excited to be flying home next week to be a part of all the festivities. So, happy birthday and congratulations, Pooka! I love you.

COMMUNITY

by Stacy

Aaron and I had a great weekend. We have finally found a church where we feel very comfortable. It’s called Cross of Glory (gloryonline.org). We love the music and the preaching, but more importantly, we have found a community of believers. Every Sunday we’ve attended, people have gone out of their way to get to know us. Last night, we went to a barbecue with a bunch of other young couples from the church. Even though it rained the whole time, we played games inside and had a great time. Aaron and I met our first real friends here in Minnesota. We felt like we really belonged this morning when after service, some of our new friends brought others over to meet us. The best part is that we are officially enrolled in a small group that meets on Wednesday nights with several of the couples we met Saturday. We are so excited to be part of a family of believers here in Minnetonka. God has definitely affirmed to us that there is nowhere we can go that He is not.

I LOVE SATURDAYS!!!

I really can't tell you how much I love Saturdays. Saturday is my sleep-in day. The world needs more Saturdays.

MINNESOTA WETLANDS

It's been cold and rainy all week up here. It's really quite miserable. I promised in an earlier post that if I said something negative I would say something positive too. Give me a sec...um...okay, got it! At least Minnesota's grass is green and not brown like Missouri's.

TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

Avast, and shiver me timbers me loyal shipmates! This be yer cap'n speakin'. On this glorious day, we celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day. Join me and me crew as we spend the rest of the day speakin' like scurvy dogs. And if yer feelin' sporty, go out and find some treasure. Of course, yer cap'n gets 95% of the booty, but all of ya's can split the rest. What say to that me hearty's, eh?! If that isn't to yer liking, you can walk the plank. And if ya ask me to keep talkin' like this, I shall be disinclined to acquiesce to your request. Land ho! Where's me rum?

Check out this fine pirate link (be sure to turn up your speakers!): http://www.content.loudeye.com/scripts/hurl.exe?clipid=062235401110006900&cid=600111

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BRO

I just wanted to say "Happy birthday!" to my little brother. Hope you had a great day Camden! Incidentally, I know Camden doesn't read my riveting blog, so could someone who does read it please let him know? Thanks!

STACY'S NEW ADVENTURE

by Stacy

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. I am in job limbo no more! I was hired by US Bank as a teller just before Labor Day. I attended orientation last week and have been in different forms of training since. The people in the branch where I will be working are very friendly and have been really helpful so far. Besides, the branch is very close to our apartment (within a mile) which should come in handy in cold weather! I am excited about this new adventure and very grateful to have a full-time job with benefits. I’ll keep you posted on how it is going!

AND SO WE BEGIN

We've officially begun work on our latest project. We've been between projects for a few weeks now which has given me time to get geared up and ready to work on our new project. My director handed me my storyboards yesterday. I was so nervous, I seriously almost lost my lunch. I've got five days to animate a thirty-three second sequence. The sequence has three characters. The schedule is the most grueling I've ever faced, but I'm going to get through it. I spent half a day on something that I had to scrap. That's always frustrating. Hopefully it won't cause me to miss my deadline. I know they don't expect me to be perfect right away, but we are on a very tight schedule, and they don't have a lot of time to mess around. That's the life of an animator!

FOOTBALL SEASON HAS RETURNED

It's my favorite time of the year...the return of football season. I am very fortunate that my wife is not only tolerant of my football fanaticism, but she actually enjoys it right alongside me.

We started this kickoff weekend by attending a high school football game on Friday night. We went to see the Minnetonka Skippers play the North Minneapolis Polars. The stadium was really nice for a high school, and the atmosphere was fun. When we left at halftime, Minnetonka was winning 28-0.

On Saturday night we stayed home and watched Ohio State beat up on Texas. That was disappointing, and it wasn't a very fun game to watch.

I was all pumped up to watch the Chiefs game today. We got home from church and plopped down on the couch only to discover that the Chiefs game wasn't being broadcast on our channels. We quickly trekked over to Buffalo Wild Wings in Plymouth to watch the game. I wish we'd stayed home. What a miserable game to watch. Needless to say, we were devastated when Trent Green was blatantly assaulted by that punk from Cincy. We're starting the season 0-1. Oh well, at least Denver lost too.

Well, I'm off to go watch the Colts and Giants. And I'm looking forward to BOTH Monday Night Football games tomorrow. What a great time to be a football fan!

JACK FROST IS ALREADY NIPPING AT MY NOSE

While everyone back home is battling the summer heat, we northerners are battling the opposite situation. We are under a frost advisory tonight! FROST! It's early September. I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to get cold for another two months. I'm filing a grievance.

Mom gets a little lovin' from her boys.

That's a motley crew.

Stacy and Crazy Mo at the bowling alley.

Stacy and Crazy Mo in front of the Iowa state capitol.

Look at that beautiful smile!

Movie stars!

Crazy Mo's mouse caught in a trap face!

It took quite an effort to get this picture.

Good lookin' folks.

A little Diet Coke and Fig Newton break after mini-golf.

LABOR DAY IN "DUH MOYNN"

We spent this past weekend in Des Moines, Iowa with our parents. Des Moines is about halfway between Joplin and Minneapolis, so it's a good meeting place. We had a great time and were sad to see it end. Here are a few fun pictures from our weekend.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

by Stacy

Just wanted to let everyone know that Aaron and I will be out of town for a few days. We are headed to Des Moines to meet our parents for a mini family reunion. We are really excited to see our family. We hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!