Allyson casts one, more, time....

.....and came up with this lunker. Lucky devil.

Check out Emily in the back ground, she wouldn't even touch the fish and she's here making fun of the way Allyson is holding it. What a dork. See mom, she was taking over as the statue of liberty, that's what I looked like a minute ago :)

JY's first time....

Soooooo, on Saturday night we caught several fish. This is JY getting schooled on cleaning a fish. I must say, he did alright for never having done it before. However, for every one fish JY cleaned dad cleaned like 5. Ok, so maybe 5 is a bit much, it was probably more like the 2 to 1 ratio. JY got so frustrated that he threw in the knife and mom took over. Dude, I watched (duh) and held the light like the statue of liberty.

Fun times,

L

Emily and Allyson....

grudgingly pose for the required first day of school picture :) I was a little horrified when I saw what they had on in this picture, but I wasn't there when they got dressed and left the house, I was sitting with my family mulling over the events that happened that morning.

Egli Clan's First Day of School....

How cute are these kids?? Love em all!!

Somebody was on TV....

So last night, as you know from earlier posts, we went the WF Arena to welcome home Shawn Johnson. While the girls (Shana, Slye, Emily and Allyson) were standing in line waiting for the doors to open they were interviewed by Fox News at 9 and The Omaha Herald (or something like that). So, Shana and I thought they would all be on the news but it was only Allyson's dirt ball face saying 'she's the best' that made it. You can see it here and click on the "Shawn Johnson Draws 10,000 To The Well" video wait about 5 seconds and you'll see all 2 seconds of Allyson.

Pretty cool!!

Luv to you all,
L

Check this out!!

So, I went looking for the news paper that interviewed the girls and I found it!! Look here and you'll see quotes from Slye and Shana. How freaking cool is all that!!

I know a lot of very cool, very famous peeps. Life is good :)

L

Welcome Home Shawn Johnson!!

So, I met Shana (BFF), Slye, Emily and Allyson at the WF Arena (along with 7000 other fans) to give a hero's welcome home to Shawn Johnson. Emily was in charge of making sure she got my camera from the house before they left....she got the purse camera that has 3x zoom, not the monster camera that has the 12x zoom so all of the pictures I took look cruddy....oh well, I got some pictures and video, enjoy!! Above you will see us all waiting patiently for the 'party' to start. We got some pretty good seats because the girls had their Chow's shirts on and some believed that they were students taking lessons at Chow's - it was 1/3 correct. There were some big local names there like, The Nada's, Big Ken and Colleen (Star 102.5) Keith from Sound Off. The Polk county chamber even declared the month of September Shawn Johnson month - pretty freaking cool!! Ok, I'm gonna try and get some more pic's up here....

p/s, who the heck are those hot chicks in the bottom picture?? You better believe we're hot!!

More pics...

Chow and his wife snag some of the lime light as well :)

Shawn's parents were also treated like royalty!! It was all very cool!!

Finally....tada Shawn Johnson!!

Here's Keith trying on the gold medal, how cool!!
Like I said, the pictures aren't the best, but you get the idea.

Big Ken and Colleen (Star 102.5)

So, I'm kind of a big fan of morning radio, and I switch between 92.5 and 102.5. I've listened to Big Ken and Colleen for years - partied with them at Clive after Five because that's how I roll and all :) So when they happened by Shana and I, I was a little rude...I said STOP, come over here and stand with me, I think they thought I was a little more than crazy or something until I told them that I wanted my picture taken with them :) Ken asked for my name twice, maybe he'll mention the crazy B named Lesa on the show tomorrow or maybe he wanted it so he could file a police report for harassment?? So, this is it, my brush with fame, as little as it is. JY made fun of me, I don't care, I like them and I made them feel special (even if they did think I was a crazy rude B, I'm OK with that, really I am).

Luv to you all,
L

Thank you...

Sometime this morning when the sky was dark and turning bright, Grandpa Austin passed away peacefully in his sleep, in his own bed, in his own home which is how he always wanted it.

I got to say good-bye to grandpa as he lay 'sleeping' and waiting for his ride to the funeral home. I held my sister's hand as she did the same. I held my BFF's hand as she did the same.

I watched a family divided step up and put aside whatever issues families have to comfort each other. I was proud.

Wherever you are grandpa, know you were loved and you will be missed.

Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers for my family.

L

Another weekend has ended...

And boy was it a crazy one!! Friday night I met my BFF in DSM for our monthly pedicure date, just in time for me to show off the newly painted toes at the family reunion :) The rest of the night was spent packing and doing laundry. Question: Why is the mom responsible for picking out, matching and making sure the kids (all 3 of them, this includes JY) don't look like rag muffins when they walk out of the house?? Our mission: get up and out of the house by 830a on Saturday morning...we almost made it!! We were on the road by 845a and everyone except JY was in good spirits. Why wasn't JY in good spirits?? #1 he was ready to leave before me (only because I had to get 2 other people ready and he only had to make sure HE was ready) #2 he was hungry and #3 he was driving. For the record, I did offer to drive on Friday night which he at first accepted and then later decided he would just do it. He made sure to point out SEVERAL times on the 3.5 hour trip to Owatonna that we were going to be late for our 12p meeting w/ his mother, we rolled in RIGHT BEHIND THEM at 1210p.

The plan was, we were going to eat lunch and JY was going to go golfing at a local golf course and the girls and I would do some school shopping. That plan got altered when we took too long at lunch and JY wasn't going to have enough time to golf and then come back and pick up his family to take to the hotel....JY LOVES the hell out of shopping :) So, what was going to be a nice little shopping trip for the girls and I turned into a living hell w/ JY along complaining about the crowd and just b*tching in general because we were taking too long at each store. Boo Hoo!! We were also supposed to meet everyone back at the coffee shop to all leave at once to check into the hotel at 3p. JY and crew showed up at the hotel at 345p and they were still trying to all check in, so instead of 45min waiting in the lobby of the hotel, we only had to wait 10min, I was back in JY's good graces :) So swimming, dinner in Deb's room and then closing the pool down was how we spent the rest of the afternoon/night. The girls collapsed into bed at 10p after a marathon $5 spending spree in the game room to win a Snickers candy bar. It was good day from where I was sitting :)

Sunday morning 8a I hear a knock at our door which of course I ignore because anyone who knows us knows we like to sleep in later than 8a always. I ignore the next knock I hear at 830a and then again at 915a. Finally, I answer the door at 10a and it's Deb saying they are checking out at 1030a...okkkkaaaayyyy, we are waiting until the last possible minute to walk out of the room which is 11a. And that's what we did, 1101a I turned in the keys :)

We get to the reunion at 1145a, eat, have a family meeting, take lots and lots of pictures and then partake in the kids games. We round up the troops at 2p. We make a pit stop at Target on the way out of Owatonna for school supplies (procrastination is the name of the game with the Young's). We begin our LONG journey home....and I mean it feels like it takes forever to get home. We stop in Story City for gas, go thru Ames to check on the construction to the AgLeader building (which is awesome), stop on the north side of DSM because Emily has to go to the bathroom, stop at Target for puppy shampoo, eat dinner at Los Cabos (fantastic and CHEAP) and then back on the road for home. We hit the driveway doing 100 mph because someone has to make a deposit (JY) and we're home!! Lots and lots of puppy and dog kisses and thanking mom and dad for watching all the crazy dogs we live with and I'm on the couch - YEA!! The girls packed up all the supplies for school in their new backpacks and are ready for open house tomorrow night and we watched gymnastics the rest of the night.

Jeff and I have been going to this particular Flygstad family reunion since we started dating 17 years ago only missing 2 years of not going. We wouldn't travel all that way if we didn't know how very much it meant to his mother (and grandparents) that we're there representing the Oscar side of the family. We're also very fortunate that Deb springs for the hotel room and gives the kids a little spending money for school clothes, not to get us up there but because she remembers how it was raising a family and the expense that goes along with it. She truly is a kind and special person to all of us and we love her with all of our hearts. We'd do anything for her as she would and does in return.

So another busy weekend is gone, bring on the work week :) Pictures and movies will be up as soon as JY empties the camera for me :) Watch close, there might be a Grandpa Bruce spotting in his swim trunks :)

Luv to you all!!

L

p/s - Allyson got her ears re-pierced on Saturday. She's going to try REALLY hard to take care of them this time so we don't have to make another trip to walk-ins, hold her down to the point of her blacking out so the Dr can remove the earing that has embedded into her ear because she didn't take care of them. I hope she can handle the pressure because I'm not sure I can :)

I'm sure most of you know...

That Emily, Allyson and Slye got to meet their gymnastics idol one random day in February 2008 and snapped this picture (god bless Shana for having hers with her, even tho I got a purse camera for Christmas from JY for instances like this). This is actually a picture of the picture Shana took, she has the original. Anyway, one day in February 2008, after a basketball game the girls had just played we stopped by Chow's so Emily and Allyson could see the gym where Shawn Johnson (and Slye) practiced. I must say, it was a bit of a shock seeing her, I could barely speak (again thank god for Shana as she was the one to form words asking if she would take a picture with the girls). It was amazing that we even saw her, I'm not kidding. There was no one else in the gym at the time, just Shawn, her mom and a reporter and all we were doing was checking out the gym from the upper level. We rounded the top of the stairs and OMG if she wasn't right there!!

The girls, all three of them, were so stunned that they couldn't even speak. They each told her their names and shook hands and got this picture. Now, she's on NBC working her butt off at the Olympics for the USA. Isn't life grand? Go Shawn!! WE love you!!

L

Weekly post - so it seems....

So, I've been a little busy :) Sorry to all of you who visit on a regular basis and are super ticked that I haven't put anything up IN LIKE A WEEK...I know, we're a pretty busy bunch!!

I've been out for dinner (8/8 to celebrate my BFF and her husbands 10 yr anniversary), I've been to the vet with 2 yahoos (Lylli weighed 2lbs 11oz and Lare weighed 4lbs 12oz), I gave blood (yea me) and I've been to the Iowa State Fair. That was all in one weekend :)

Sunday I got the family to the fair. If I would have known that it was going to cost $28 just to get in the gate, I would have given the WF free concert ticket I had to someone else, no kidding. I don't care that it was (my mom's words) someone named Judd. (if you don't know who it is, please see picture included LOL) The plan was that Julie and I were to meet at the grandstand at 1230p and the boys (JY and Travis) had the kids (all 6 ages 4 to 10) until the end of the concert which was from 1-2. Well, Julie and I were at the concert until 230p. Did I tell you that it was a BEAUTIFUL day on Sunday and everyone and their DOG was there. When we met up w/ the boys they were ready to leave the fair, they had had enough. WHAT?? LEAVE?? We'd been at said fair for 2.2 hours, that's it. Doesn't matter that Julie and I have been sitting at a concert, I haven't had my EGG ROLLS damnit!! So, we spent $25 on the midway rides, went for my egg rolls and hightailed it out of there. We were home by 330p and $128 lighter. Not our best showing at all. The rest of Sunday we watched the Olympics - gymnastics, duh!!

Monday night I went to a St. Charles city council meeting with dad and sat there for 3 hours until it was dad's turn to stand and ask what was being done about the sewer problem and the poop that keeps finding it's way into the lower level of their house. And the answer to that is NOTHING, not kidding...

Tuesday night I rode down (again with dad) to my home state, Missouri (no laughing), for the monthly cig run. I made it home just in time to watch the US get stomped by China in team gymnastics. Bummer!!

Tonight, I made my weekly run to the grandparent's to deliver their dinner (that they don't eat). Grandpa isn't doing well, he didn't know who I was which made me very, very sad, and grandma is the same, still tells me she loves me and kisses me and shakes her head when I ask her if she knows I love her. It just kills me to see them like they are. They're supposed to live forever, right??

I don't know what the rest of the week will bring, hopefully a rest is in my future but not likely. Saturday and Sunday we'll be in Owatonna, MN for the yearly Flygstad family reunion, wahoo!! I'll have to take another day off soon just to catch up on my sleep :)

Hope everyone is as busy with family as I am, I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

Luv u,
L

The cutest dogs ever...until they grow up :)

Awwww, aren't they cute?? Who could get mad at these two yahoo's when they pee and poop on the floor when no one is looking?? It's really hard :)

Lybbi Loo, just hangin', she's the best dog ever to put up with said yahoo's above :)

Ally with Lare (Larry), she loves him, except when she has to clean up his poop, then she doesn't like him so much.

L

Sweet Corn....as far as the eye can see :)

This is what the corn looked like prior to shucking (nasty job). If you wanted to know what 30+ dozen ears of sweet corn looks like, take a good look...

Mom made Jeff take this picture because I'm actually working and not standing around smoking and drinking diet Dr. Pepper :) Please excuse the hair and the swimsuit, it was a scorcher that day :) Unless you think I look HOT, then no excuses needed (LOL)

And this is what 30+ dozen ears of sweet corn looks like after it's been blanched, cut and bagged. There were 66 bags all together, so we (mom, Jeff and I, and Shana) each got 22 bags to savor during the winter months. The heat and the hand cramps will all be worth it then :)

Luv ya,
L

Who's the boss??

Meet Lare (Larry)...

All together now, AWWWWWWWE, isn't he soooooo cute??

Check out these tricks....

Jeff and the girls in the pool...

JY was the hottest guy at the pool, of course, he might have been the ONLY guy at the pool :)

Allyson, Grant, Emily and Slye ride the Octopus...

Doesn't that look fun?? Yeah, not so much.

Mini Vaca...

Hello all, yes, I know it's 11:15pm on a Saturday night. So, what am I doing updating the blog?? Well, we spent so much energy at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun yesterday that we are just chillin' at the crib tonight. Not to mention the small fortune we spent the 2 days we were gone :)

Thursday we kissed Lybbi and Lylli and waved good-bye to St. Chuck (at 1:30pm) and headed south to Kansas City, MO. Emily and Allyson were bored 3.2 minutes after we left the house, regardless that they brought half the house to entertain them on the 2.5 hour car ride they were facing. The DVD they started watching the minute we pulled out of the driveway got turned off before we reached the Truro exit, the MP3 players got boring right after we passed Osceola and the Nintendo DS' didn't even make it out of the bag. They opt'd instead to annoy each other with "mom, Emily/Allyson is staring at me", "mom, Emily/Allyson won't stop singing out loud", and so on. Meanwhile, I'm trying to finish a book and Jeff has the radio CRANKED listening to some stupid talk show that he wants me to listen to, not to mention everyone b*tching every time I cracked the window to smoke (because I was chemically imbalanced and highly irritated) because they were hot. Soooo, as you can gather, it was a lovely ride ;) We finally reach our hotel at 3:30p(which btw looked NOTHING like the picture shown on the Internet when we searched and booked the thing) just before the girls start trying to kill each other. The pool was TI-NY and the rooms kinda gross and graffiti on the walls and I was thinking to myself, what the H have we gotten ourselves into?? It didn't turn out too bad, the girls had the pool to themselves for an hour before I made them get out to go eat - at a Waffle House (duh, you can't go to MO without eating at the Waffle House). Back to the hotel and into the pool. The girls (and Jeff) had the pool to themselves from 5p to 10p, which was pretty cool!!

Up at 8am the next morning and out of the hotel by 9:30a to meet Shana (BFF), Tod and their family at Oceans of Fun. We decided to do the both parks pass. We got our lockers, put all our crap in them and heading into Worlds of Fun to ride the roller coasters. DUDE, it was so freaking hot walking around at 11am that I was dripping sweat from head to toe and I was not enjoying myself. In case you didn't know, fat people (such as myself) do not like to sweat, at all!! So we all agreed that we need to spend the rest of the day at Oceans. So from 1:30p to 7p we spent in the water and it was the BEST!! The kids had a blast and so did I. At 7p we headed back to Worlds of Fun and closed the park down at 10p. Everyone was grumpy and tired and hungry!! I was in bed by 11:30p, and I'm glad. I was a tired girl!!

We were up and out of the hotel by 9:30a this morning and back at the Waffle House - you can NEVER have enough Waffle House!! It was an uneventful ride home and really quiet in the back seat of the car, which was very, very nice and JY was his usual cranky self behind the wheel of a car - did I mention that Jeff drives 140 miles a day to and from work?? Yeah, he loves to drive.....it didn't help that I offered to drive 20 miles from home :) That didn't go over well...LOL.

We were home by 1:30p, which put Allyson late for a birthday party sleep over. Did I mention Allyson has a pretty busy social life?? After dropping Ally and Slye off at the Winterset pool for their birthday party, I came home and tried to take a nap. I ended up reading and talking to mom and dad while Emily and Jeff went mini golfing. Yeah, I guess they didn't do enough yesterday?? Soooooo, anyway, while talking to mom and dad, they were telling me about one of Lylli's brothers that Lori (Suki's, Lylli's mom, owner) couldn't get sold and how they felt so sorry for him because he doesn't have anyone to love him. Soooooo, long story short, instead of 2 dogs, we now have 3. I know, crazy assed people....His name is Lare (Larry) and he's a moose. Since bringing him home, he has tried to hump Lylli at least 150 times and gets in trouble for it every time. Emily wanted to know if Lare (Larry) knew that he was trying to hump his sister....um, how do you explain that one?? And why does my 10 year old know that humping his sister is not right?? I didn't even want to ask that question...it's just not right.

So, a grill out, fireworks and playing with the dogs (3 now) we're settling in for the night. I'm exhausted. Tomorrow, I'm sleeping in and then it's shucking, blanching and cutting corn off the cob to freeze, YUM. Yeah, after doing all of that to 30+ dozen ears, I'll not want to eat anymore sweet corn for a while - good thing I got my fill tonight :)

I'll be putting pic's up from our trip and of the new puppy. I know your jealous, I just know you are :)

Luv,
L