Go Vikes!

Its Football Sunday!

Naughty dog. Jeremy spent last Friday digging out the backyard to get ready to build a patio/deck by the back door. Jonas thought he would help out and dig his own hole right in the middle.

Jonas and his freshly dug hole.

What a week...

Drama on the home front! Last night the police crashed a party down the street and one of the drunk party-goers decided it would be a good idea to jump our backyard fence to try and out-run the cops. Well, he jumped right into our pond. We didn't witness the incident first hand, but from the looks of our pond he either jumped on the waterfall and fell into the pond, breaking a pond light on the way out, or he jumped into the pond and knocked down the waterfall when he pulled himself out. Either way he wrecked the pond and now it has a big leak in it. He also bent the fence.

Repairing a pond: $1200

Replacing a broken light: $40

Mending a bent fence: $45

Having to pay restitution because you got your dumb-ass drunk and fell into a pond at 3am...priceless.

Here's whats left of what used to be our waterfall...

And here are the koi in our 55 gallon - the pond was loosing water fast so we had to find a new home for them. This fish from our 55 gallon are now living in our 10 gallon hospital tank.

And that's only half the news! We also got another $900 bill from Fairview on Saturday (add that to the $2600 I already paid and the $1200 bill sitting on the counter) and another $113 one today. They can kiss my rear. What good is insurance for if they don't pay for anything?

And we also got a new roof on the garage and the house. Baxter (the cat) waaaay freaked out with all the pounding. He slunk around the house all day, scared. The roofing sub-contractors did a horrible job on our roof. I am scared for what the siding is going to looks like.

All in all, last week sucked. But enough complaining! On a good note, my Grandma and Grandpa Hellmuth stopped by on their way to the North Shore from Missouri. Jeremy and Evan hadn't met them yet so it was a nice surprise.

And finally! A picture of Evan and his Grandpa Nelson! Every time we took a picture it turned out too dark - here's a good one!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my Grandmas!

My Grandma Irvin had a birthday on the 24th and my Grandma Novek had a birthday yesterday on the 29th! Mom ate lots of good food and cake this week. I had a great time seeing everyone and visiting with the extended families. I have been such a good boy this week! I have been happy and smiling all day every day.

Here I am with my Aunt Karla. Grandpa Nelson, Karla, Great-Grandma Nelson and Harlan came to see me last weekend. I had a good time.

And here I am with Great-Grandpa Ray in Lake City.

We went to Lake City to celebrate Grandma Novek's birthday, visit Ray and go to an open house where my Great-Grandma Bernice, Great-Grandpa Ray and all of my Great-Aunts, Great-Uncle and Grandma Novek grew up! Evan my Daddy lived there for a while when he was little! It was neat to visit the place that I have heard so many stories about. Click here for a link to the house's auction site.

Griping about Gripe Water...

Every morning I get up and ponder turning on the local news...and then I think better of it because I hate starting my day off hearing about something unpleasant and that seems to be all they talk about these days. But...yesterday there was nothing on to watch so I flipped on Channel 9 News. To my surprise I caught the end of a segment about the Baby's Bliss Gripe Water that Evan was taking to help with his "colic."






It had been recalled! Apparently it contains a parasite, cryptosporidium , which causes diarrhea, decreased appetite and stomach cramps. The past few weeks Evan has had all three symptoms - all of which we attributed to growth spurts and nursing! I looked up the information and compared the lot numbers. Sure enough, the bottle we had at home was one of the contaminated bottles.



So, I called the clinic here in town and they had me bring him in. He seems healthy and happy for the most part. Dr. Heilman said that it should clear up on its own within a few days (I guess cryptosporidium does that) and we don't have to be worried. He gave us a stool sample collection kit to bring back just to be on the safe side. (By the way, its terribly difficult to collect poop from a diaper! They suggested lining the inside with saran wrap to make it easier...yikes.)

If you would like more info for your own peace of mind click on this link: Gripe Water Recall

This week has gone by so incredibly fast! Evan weighed 13 lbs, 5 oz at his appointment on Thursday. Even taking off 3-5 oz for his onsie that is still a lot! I'm so proud of our little bean-sprout! He's growing so fast! He is already in his 6 mo PJ's and onsies. The 6 month pants are still a little long for him though. Its been so chilly here all week that I have actually had the chance to dress him in some fun outfits instead of just onsies. Evan, of course, would rather be naked. He loves being naked and he loves bath time. He kicks and giggles and coos on his changing table when he has his diaper and clothes off - its so funny!

Emily and Evan

Grandma Folstad, Evan and Papa - Evan fell right asleep on his Great-Grandma's lap! It was so sweet.

Papa and Evan - Evan had such a good time with his grandpa this week! It was fun spending time together and Evan hardly fussed at all in Grandpa's arms!