Independence Day 2009

Visiting the Duck Park

Watch your step...


























What can be more fun? With a bag of bread crumbs (we forgot at the house), high-energy kids and an array of ducks and geese we kept these kids entertained!!

After chasing the flock, the kids finally caught a young one (and probably a weakling). Poor thing would've been devoured on the spot had it been caught by anything else.

Becca fell in love with Friedrick's brother, Rudy (I'm sure they're related ... somewhere down the line). She kept him in line on the leash until we reached a mother duckling and her baby's going for a swim on the pond. He was ready to pounce but Fae didn't give him the opportunity.

A Photo Diary ... in reverse

(Our last few days in Great Falls, MT)

What better way to spend a summer day than at the Water Park!! Thirty minutes into our newfound adventure, the staff closed the kiddie pool because of bad weather.

Becca passed the time eating chips. Okay, so I'm not promoting good eating habits, "It's okay, honey ... just eat if you get bored!" But it was a one day thing - NEVER to be repeated! Isaac and Sarah (my niece) had a blast on the wave rider and looked good surfin' it.

Cousins - Sarah, Gabriel, and Christopher. We love you guys!!

Dietrich family ... Aimee (my SIL), Scott (her husband), and their 3 beautiful children.

Saying Good-bye (check out Becca's princess purse in the last photo) ... Antie Aimee bought her great smelling lotion to put in her purse which later leaked out. Her purse smelled GREAT!

Our wonderful chauffeurs to the airport. Thank you, Scott and Fae (my MIL)for the first class treatment and for seeing us off at the airport (Great Falls, MT) ... until next time!

Exhausted ... we went to bed early.

The Prankster

Our rush to morning swim lessons, Isaac had enough time for this:

































He found an empty cicada shell and planted it on my steering wheel!!
Talk about a heart-pounding moment that brought back horrible memories!

10 Big Ones!!!

Please follow this link to view the video on Picassa Web (if it doesn't load properly, it can be

viewed via the slideshow option, but the audio might be a little off):

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OxSvu50paTx4fNCNEcM2qA?feat=directlink

Roger Cornell Kasuske

Born: July 7th, 1939
Died: April 25th, 2009

























It's days like this when it feels like a dagger has pierced your heart and you are left without words.

Little Girls

Becca, like my boys, has been a blessing from day one! She's a girl through and through ... from the daily drama to her sweet, goodnight kisses. Sometimes we have makeovers. She absolutely LOVES to have her nails done.

Guess she thought she had it figured out.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all our family and friends!

Tunnel Rats

We made it! After months and months of planning and cancelling we finally went on our Tunnel Rats tour. Andrew was so excited thinking he would find a sword from WWII. He went home disappointed.

The Tunnel Rats tour is an exploration of various caves around Okinawa (3 total on this tour). We started at the Navy Underground Museum Headquarters, took the bus to our second stop to explore another cave, ventured to Okinawa World for more sight-seeing (and another cave), ate lunch, and headed home.

We were told to wear old clothes and a hat (expect to get dirty). We didn't exactly get dirty, but glad we donned the hats since we saw a gigantic spider and one of those millipede things on the wall. Much of what we saw was old pottery and broken glass, but it was a great experience to see what the caves looked like and get a taste of the Okinawa battle.

The boys want to go on an extreme tunnel rats adventure. Lalon will be in charge of that one ... especially if the spiders and millipedes are out.

Little Heartbreaker

Lalon and I are even ... sorta. But I'll definitely be taking a bigger hit later on (2 boys equals double trouble) - I'm bracing for it.

Isaac and Andrew are as different as day to night. Maybe that's why they get along so well - or maybe why they fight so much! Isaac is a bookworm and I've been fascinated with his interests; they're definitely different from mine. Andrew is the athletic one. He'd rather be running, jumping - anything but sitting down at the table doing homework!

The monkey bars have been Andrew's claim to fame for a long time now. He's a little show-off when we're at the park ... going back and forth tirelessly, skipping bars, etc. One day I was watching him - halfway through he looked at me for a couple seconds and dropped. I asked him why he didn't finish and he said, "Because you're so beautiful I couldn't take my eyes off you and got distracted". Awww ... he definitely knows the way to his Mom's heart!