Grandma's Cookie Jar

Layla's visit

2011-10-14T21:11:00.001-05:00

Layla came to stay with us for four days while Jason and Ashley went to a wedding in Savannah, Georgia. After the wedding, Ashley and Layla stayed another five days while Jason was in North Carolina on business. With such a cutie patootie in the house, my camera was in my hands all the time. There were so many favorite photos that I decided to make videos out of them. Just click on each arrow to enjoy some of our highlights.

You've just been gone eight hours and I miss you both so much. Can't wait for our next visit!

Mason & Avery July 13-17

2011-07-23T23:48:00.000-05:00

Mason & Avery spent a few days with us last week. Check out what we did...

Fun at the park

Look Mamaw, look at me and Papaw

Awww..

I can almost reach it, maybe if I stand on my tiptoes.

Watch me go down guys!

Avery, don't fall......I won't Mamaw, watch me, I can do it.

I can do it too Mason, watch me

You have to be 5 to ride the motorcyle.

Off we go...

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T18:43:00.000-05:00

We certainly had a busy Easter weekend.

We all went to Mike's parents house Friday evening for fish and mushrooms...oh so good!

Saturday afternoon we had Ashley's Baby Shower. I made her cake out of white almond sour cream, iced it with almond buttercream and trimmed it with homemade fondant. It was yummy! Jason contributed to the cake by making the little giraffe and monkey and Ashley gave moral support and also helped with some of the fondant work.

I made this cute baby carriage out of diapers, a blanket, hooded towel and bib

Saturday evening we all went to Olde Tyme Steakhause for our Easter meal with my Mom and my Sister's family.

Sunday morning we had an indoor egg hunt with the granchildren.

It was a great weekend!

Happy 3rd Birthday Avery!!

2011-03-20T16:45:00.000-05:00

We had a really good weekend! We celebrated Avery's 3rd birthday on Saturday. This year she wanted a butterfly cake....check out some of the pictures I took.

Happy 86th Birthday Mom (Beulah)

2011-02-05T15:06:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I decided to bake my Mom a cake to celebrate her 86th birthday. My only problem was what to bake...after looking at several cake pictures, I finally decided on one. In Mom's kitchen, you see nothing but apples...everywhere! So a cake shaped like an apple was only fitting. Not to brag, but it turned out great. It is my favorite cake to date.

It is made out of 4 - 9" round cakes layered with buttercream icing and then carved in the shape of an apple and covered with more buttercream icing.

Happy Birthday Mom!!
Love you!

Fall fun at Musgrove Park

2010-11-18T20:45:00.001-06:00

We spent over 3 hours at Musgrove park with Mason and Avery on Friday, Novermber 12. We had so much fun! I took over 250 pictures, so it was really hard to pick out just a few, but here are some of my favorites.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T20:35:00.000-05:00

Dustin, Leigha, Mason and Avery spent Halloween with us this weekend. We had a great time trick or treating. Here are a few pictures I took before we left the house.

Bathroom makeover is complete! Love it!!

2010-10-27T22:15:00.000-05:00

After a month of turmoil the bathroom is finally done. We havent used it yet because we are waiting on the caulking to cure. Hopefully we will test it out tomorrow.

Niche that holds the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc...

Toilet topper cabinet

Shower system

Shower seat

Tile border

Pocket door

Vanity

Thank you Mike for all your hard work and for spoiling me.

Love you!

Bathroom progress

2010-10-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of progress, especially since I added more jobs for Mike than originally planned.

You know how one change brings on another change and before you know it you have the snowball effect, Yep, that's what happened!

Everything we originally planned or purchased has changed, colors, design, vanity cabinets, shower doors, and the list goes on. I can only imagine what Lowes and Menards think when we walk in the door..."Well here come the Fritschle's, let's see what they are returning today." Maybe when we leave it's, "We'll see you both next week when you return what you just purchased."

There are still plenty of things to do but, as you can see from this picture, the tiling and grouting are done. Hooray!!

Now for the snowball effect...
I've never cared for the type of trim we have in our house, so I talked Mike into letting me have an oak pocket door and oak window trim in the bathroom. Then one day he asked me a silly question. "Would it look better if we change the trim on the window right outside the bathroom door too?" Ummm, Yeah! Did he really think I would refuse that offer. And Honey while you're at it, I would like new oak baseboard in the bedroom to match the oak window trim. While you're at it you might as well change the trim on the other window in the bedroom to match. "You know Honey, I would really like to paint the bedroom and make one wall an accent wall." I have such a wonderful Husband! Check out the new paint.

Check back for the final makeover.

Progress on our bathroom

2010-10-01T07:18:00.000-05:00

Mike and Kerry have been working really hard in the evenings this week. It may not look like much has been done, but trust me, there were a lot of small jobs that had to be finished before they could get to this point. I can't wait for the end results!

Progress as of 9/30/10

Bathroom demolition has begun

2010-09-25T20:05:00.000-05:00

Mike and I are remodeling the bathroom off of our bedroom. It currently has a tub/shower, but have decided to remove that and install a tiled shower. After lots of research and changing my mind a few times, we started demolition today. Here are pictures of what the bathroom looked like last night.

At about 11:00 a.m., we removed the vanity, toilet and cabinet.

At 12:30p.m. Mike decided he needed "more power" and the real demolition began.

Yes Jason, he had to use a ladder.

Well, there is no turning back now.

Check back for more pictures as we continue our remodel...

Our Grandchildren - Mason & Avery

2010-09-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

Mason & Avery were here this past weekend. Even though we had them Thursday night through Sunday afternoon, the time went by way to fast. Here are a few of the things we did......hauled gas Friday, Saturday & Sunday, went to McDonalds for breakfast, caught bugs and butterflies, went to eat at the Olde Tyme Steakhause, got to see all of their Great Grandparents, went to the farm and road the John Deere gator, tractor and combine, went to eat pizza at Bobe's, played outside on the tricycle , road the little John Deere Gator, took daily naps, played the Memory game and watched DVD's. Whew, no wonder the time went by so fast. Here are a few pictures I took, sadly I didn't get any of them at the farm.

More Labor Day Gas Delivery Pictures

2010-09-09T19:54:00.000-05:00

On call

2010-09-05T19:13:00.001-05:00

The farmers have started harvesting and it is Mike's weekend to take to deliveries. I went with him on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day so I took my camera and snapped a few pictures.

Our first stop had this great old barn, I just couldn't resist a picture.

Break time? Nope...just thought it looked like a good place to snap a shot

It's almost full

Reel it up and on to the next stop

It cost how much to fill that tank?

Back for fill up out of the newly painted tank at the plant

Filler up

Just letting off a little gas

Lock it up and let's head home...

2010 Family Photos

2010-08-15T16:51:00.001-05:00

Family

It's not where you go or what you do, it's who is beside you that counts.

Photos taken by Dunahee Digital Photography

31 Years ago we signed a lifetime contract

2010-08-11T23:44:00.000-05:00

‎"You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without." unknown author

Happy 31st Anniversary to the man I cannot live without! I Love You!!

Happy 28th Birthday Dustin!

2010-08-11T23:38:00.000-05:00

You always loved playing with guns and being outside.

After 28 years, some things haven't changed.

We are so proud of you.

Happy Birthday

Love you!

Mom & Dad

Happy Birthday Ashley!

2010-06-22T07:09:00.000-05:00

What a difference 26 years has made!

You are now a grown woman who has experienced part of the world most people only read about.

Have a wonderful day!

Love you lots!

Mom & Dad

Happy 4th Birthday Mason!

2010-06-12T22:22:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Mason's 4th Birthday today. The heat and humidity was horrible and wreaked havoc on the cake I made him.
It all started on Friday when I tried to make the icing. After carving the truck, I made the icing, but noticed right away that it wasn't smooth and fluffy. I ended up making another batch which was better, but still not good. The longer I worked on the cake the worse the icing got. I decided to go online and find a high humidity icing recipe. I used it on the top of the tank, but will never make it again. It was like paste and I literally pressed and molded it on. I wanted to add more details to the truck, but was having so much trouble, I finally surrendered and called it quits. The cake itself tasted really good, but let's just say it wasn't my best. Thank goodness Mason is only 4 because he was impressed and loved it. The smile on his face...priceless!

Precious Moments

2010-06-07T21:35:00.009-05:00

Oops...I missed posting these and they are too good not to share with everyone...

Ashley and Jason won't be here for Mason's 4th Birthday so they gave him his present early. It was a fishing pole and all the extra to go with it. He tried out his fishing pole at the lake when we all went for Bryce's Graduation party.

Love this picture...Just hangin' out with my Dad!Sitting and waiting...

"Look Mamaw, I got one!"

Mason was excited even if he doesn't appear to be in this picture.

Now to take it off the hook.

Mason said, "Can I touch it?"

Memorial Day Weekend Trip

2010-05-30T21:43:00.005-05:00

Last year, Mike and I passed these wind turbines along Interstate 155. I later wished I had taken pictures of them. So on Friday, we took off on the motorcycle and headed up to Ashley and Jason's. I took the below pictures from the interstate roadside. However, later we got up really close to some as we drove through the countryside. They are so massive, yet as they turn they are very quite and have a peaceful calming effect on you. Maybe it's just due to the fact that they are located in a rural area where there is minimal noise.

After leaving Ashley and Jason's Saturday afternoon, we road west and found ourselves crossing this beautiful bridge and spending the night in Burlington, Iowa.

Due to incoming rain and thurderstorms, we left Iowa early Sunday and headed home, cutting our travel short. It was still a fun trip with lots of sunshine.

Sun-tastic Sunday

2010-05-23T16:36:00.007-05:00

What a beautiful sunny day!
Bonita, Brett & Alyssa, invited us to the lake for lunch along with Great Mamaw Brummer and Bob. The food and company was really good, but the highlight for Mason and Avery was getting to drive the pontoon boat and honk the horn. Thanks Bonita and Brett for a fun day!

Super Saturday

2010-05-23T14:41:00.007-05:00

Up and outside bright and early Saturday morning. First stop was to throw rocks in the pond. Ring around the rosie in the back of the truck.

Mason playing peek-a-boo, thinking I couldn't see him behind the post.

Sidwalk chalk drawing and a little tickle.

Hide and seek behind the shrubs.

Time out for a little tree and shrub trimming. Yes, you could deem this as child labor, but we like to think of it as teaching them how to help out.

Avery saw me polishing my nails and toenails and "Me too".

Hardest part is waiting for them to dry. "Done?" "Not yet, a little bit longer"

Showing off their new Fritschle LP Gas shirts.

Fun Friday

2010-05-22T08:03:00.005-05:00

Mason & Avery are here for the weekend. We played outside this evening and then Great Papaw & Great Mamaw Fritschle met us at Monical's Pizza. We had a "Fun Friday".

For the cause...

2010-04-29T18:39:00.002-05:00

Each year First Financial Bank employees work hard to raise funds to donate to the American Cancer Society. Most of the bank employees have been affected by family and friends that have passed away from Cancer or are survivors of it. Last year, my father-in-law and brother-in-law both went through treatments and I'm happy to say they are both currently Cancer free.

Instead of a bake sale this year, the bank employees decided to do something a little different. We donated items and then held an auction. I donated three framed photos that I had taken and a cake of the winners choice. Lora O. won the cake bid with a $65.00 donation. The smile on Kelby's face says it all. Please donate to your local American Cancer Society and help find a cure!

Happy Birthday Mike!

2010-04-03T06:16:00.000-05:00

Fondant cake

2010-04-02T17:54:00.003-05:00

Had a fun time today! Ashley and I made this cake. This is my first fondant icing cake. Glad she was here to help me.

Fruit arrangement

2010-03-27T00:43:00.003-05:00

We are going to a friends house for supper on Saturday and I decided to take something different. It didn't turn out quite like I intended, but it isn't bad.

Avery's 2nd Birthday Cake

2010-03-21T18:35:00.002-05:00

I made this bear cake for Avery's 2nd birthday. She thanked me for her bear cake, giving her pigtails and polishing her finger nails. Such a polite little girl...she melts my heart!

Cupcake experiment

2010-03-03T21:43:00.004-06:00

I watched a video on how to make cupcake flowers and decided to try it out. Not bad for the first time.

It was a "Great" visit

2010-02-21T17:11:00.003-06:00

Don and Louise, aka Great Papaw and Great Mamaw came to see Mason and Avery while they were here this weekend. Here are a few pictures I took.

Cake decorating fun

2010-02-07T22:42:00.007-06:00

I thought it would be fun for Mason & Avery to decorate their very own cakes. So I made a couple of heart shaped cakes from some extra mix that I had. I told them they could decorate it any way they wanted. Mason wanted to color the icing red. Knowing how red stains anything it touches, we took off their shirts, gave them toddler knives and let them go at it.

Avery put a couple swipes of icing on hers and quickly took a bite. Mason wanted to cover his whole heart before he ate it. Great job Mason!
Avery decided to add more icing to her cake after she had a few bites.

You know as well as I do, when you're done, you lick the knife.

Like I said...red stains anything it touches.

Add a few sprinkles and it's time to enjoy!

Avery got done icing her cake, added sprinkles and couldn't wait to to eat it.

What fun, we will definitley do this again.!

Happy 85th Birthday Mom!

2010-02-07T21:43:00.010-06:00

My Mom's birthday was Friday, February 5th. We decide to celebrate by taking her out for dinner at the Olde Tyme Steakhause. After that, we all went back to her house for cake and ice cream. Since I enjoy making cakes for my family, I decided to make her one. It was yummy! I put 8 candles on one side and 5 on the other. Two reasons behind that...I knew she would run out of wind before getting them all blown out and I didn't want wax from 85 candles to melt all over the cake.

She received 4 flower arrangements and several cards from family and friends.

Below are pictures taken of those that could make it to the party. As usual, no picture of me, I am behind the camera.

Beulah "Birthday Girl"

Doesn't she look young for 85!!

Brett

Bonita

Bryce

Alyssa

Mike

Dustin

Leigha

Mason

Avery

Ashley & Jason, Erica & Mark and Bob couldn't make it due to other commitments, travel distance and the weather. We missed you!

Perfect little angels

2010-01-16T15:13:00.007-06:00

Leigha has been warning me about Avery's temper tantrums. So being prepared to give timeouts or an occasional swat on the butt, I am happy to say, they have both been perfect little angels and have not received either. However, we have two days to go. :)

These pictures are dedicated to Uncle Jason

2009-11-02T19:08:00.003-06:00

Halloween weekend fun!

2009-11-02T06:14:00.014-06:00

Busy...busy...busy...lots of gas hauling this weekend.

Mason clocked in around 20 hours of work and lunch was eaten on the run. Well, except for Saturday when the state trooper decided to pull them over and write a warning ticket for a large rock chip in the windshield. That day, they got to eat their lunch in the truck while they waited. When the trooper got done, he climbed up the side of the truck to talk to Mike. He saw Mason and just laughed and shook his head...thank goodness he found it humorous and speeding wasn't involved. :)

Avery also got her turn working with Papaw, but only clocked in 4 hours. However, Papaw said she had a great time chasing kitties at one of the farms and was also fascinated by the dead deer hanging from a tractor loader at another...ewww!

Mason and Avery had fun on Trick or Treat night. However, I was very disappointed that only two houses on our whole street had lights on. They still got plenty of goodies when we drove to some of our relatives. Guess what they dressed up as...farmers! This picture doesn't show it, but they both had cowboy boots to finish out their outfits.

Mason had fun helping carve the pumpkin. Well...I cut out the top and removed all the insides and Leigha carved the face. Mason just poked around on it with one of the carving tools.

Check out the mouth on the pumpkin. Mason contributed to it by placing field corn he got on one of his gas hauling adventures with Papaw.

Avery found Mason's ear of corn and thought it was really neat.

Avery missed out on the pumpkin carving since she was with Papaw, but she enjoyed it after she got back.

Another fun weekend

2009-10-20T22:12:00.006-05:00

Mason and Avery spent the weekend and Ashley came home too. We had so much fun, but the time went by too fast.

Mason and Avery have become "You Tube" junkies, watching Wheels on the Bus, Five Little Monkeys, Clap Your Hands, Incy,Wincy Spider, etc...Our new washer has a glass lid on it, so when I started it, Avery and Mason found it fascinating.

Well, it finally happened...Avery went with Papaw to haul gas.

Look who isn't smiling

Mason wasn't happy that he didn't get to go too, but he was willing to share.

Pictures from the weekend

2009-09-28T20:50:00.012-05:00

What a great weekend!

2009-08-24T19:15:00.017-05:00

Friday evening, Ashley, Jason, Dustin, Leigha, Mason & Avery all came home for the weekend.

Saturday morning, a friend of mine took family pictures. (Thanks Kim!)

Saturday evening we went to Brett and Bonita's for a cookout at the lake. Thanks Bonita and Brett, we really had such a good time riding the four wheeler, boating and roasting marshmallows!)

In just three days, we managed to take over 650 pictures with my new camera (Canon Rebel T1i). Here are a few of them...

Here's to you Mom!

2009-08-20T23:01:00.002-05:00

Kitchen project...complete!

2009-08-15T22:23:00.010-05:00

The dishwasher was so close, I'm not sure you could even slip a piece of paper in between it and the counter. Whew!Mike leveled the stove after putting it back in place.

Look right below the shelf in the closet, Mike had to cut out part of the wall in order to remove the hot water heater so they could tile under it.

Then he nailed the wall back in place and attached the small door on the side of the wall.

Well, here is the finished product and I am thrilled!

Update on kitchen tile

2009-08-13T21:58:00.006-05:00

Mike helped Kerry and Dan lay the concrete board on Wednesday.

The tile laying is complete. Grouting will be done on Friday and hopefully we can start putting everything back in its place. Stay tuned for the final picture.

Count them...30!

2009-08-12T22:24:00.003-05:00

On our 30th Anniversary, Mike sent me a beautiful bouquet of red roses. Thanks Mike, I love you!

It's Tile Time

2009-08-11T23:04:00.006-05:00

We have been waiting on Kerry to give us a date for our kitchen tile install. We just thought he would give us more than two days notice. Mike has been frantically working to get everything ready for tomorrow afternoon. Here are a couple of pictures of what has been done.

Love my new camera!

2009-08-07T20:11:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited! I received my new Canon EOS Rebel T1i today. It is so cool...here are a few pictures taken with it.

More pictures from the weekend

2009-08-02T21:58:00.013-05:00

You all know how much I love taking pictures, so here are more from this weekend. Enjoy!

They only repeat what they see...hmmm...wonder who he's been watching?

Mason wanted to watch a children's You Tube video and I was trying to find it. He said, "Whats wrong Mamaw?", I responded, "I'm having a little trouble with the computer." He looked at me and said, "Check your email, maybe that fix it." OMG! He's only 3 and already offering tech support!

Mike and I were watching Mason ride his John Deere this morning. All of a sudden he ran into this pole. I don't even think he realized what had happened because he kept stomping on the power like he was trying to make it go forward. Check out the next picture when he finally figured out what was going on. Mike and I all but rolled on the ground laughing.

Doesn't she make the cutest little John Deere farm girl!

Fun filled day outside

2009-08-01T20:16:00.013-05:00

Mason and Avery came up for the weekend, so this morning when they woke up guess what they both wanted to do...You got it, go outside.

It just wouldn't be a weekend at Mamaw and Papaw's if they didn't get to ride the lean mean green machines.

Our neighbor, Mary has this cute little car that they both like to ride and push each other in it.

After playing outside for awhile, we decide to take them over to the Olney City Park to play on the swings and slides. They were ready to try everything out and both of them were fearless. It made me so nervous to see them on everything that unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.

While we were at the park, Bonita called and asked us if we wanted to go boat riding at the lake. She said she thought she had life jackets to fit the kids. However, she did mention that Avery's might be a little big. I'll let you be the judge if you think it was...

Mason was at the wheel, which thrilled him.

After our ride on the lake, Mason wanted to swim. We dipped his legs in, but that wasn't good enough. I didn't have my swimsuit on and neither did Mike, but thanks to my wonderful sister, she jumped in with him. They had a blast!!

Avery wanted in the water so bad, so we dipped her feet in too, but nothing doing she wanted in all the way. Bad thing is, the life jacket was so big that when she got in the water it wanted to go even higher on her head. Mamaw said no to that and she had to settle for a short ride on the raft.

Thanks Bonita and Brett for a fun afternoon. You will make wonderful Grandparents some day.

I couldn't believe my eyes...

2009-07-20T19:43:00.003-05:00

Tonight, for supper, we had baked chicken and a vegetable. I fixed steamed broccoli for myself and since Mike won't eat that, I candied carrots for him. He was trying to get me to eat some of his carrots, which I like, but trying to cut calories, I said no. I teasingly said back, you want some of my broccoli and he said maybe and then reached over and took a piece and ate it. I couldn't believe what I saw...he said it wasn't too bad. I think he would like it better with butter or cheese on it. I'm definitely going to make him try it again...maybe even broccoli casserole. : )

Kitchen project

2009-07-12T18:28:00.007-05:00

Last October, when we purchased the new kitchen appliances, I also wanted to change the floor. Mike agreed, but said he wanted to wait until this summer. I really didn't know if I wanted tile or laminate flooring. However, thanks to the midnight distress call from my Mom telling me her hot water heater was leaking (and ruining) her laminate floor, it didn't take me long to decide that tile would be best.

I finally picked out the tile and Mike called the carpenter. He can't start until after mid July, which really won't be long to wait. But you know me, one project leads to another and I am now in the process of removing the wallpaper border, chair rail and repainting the walls.

Today, I removed the wallpaper border. Here is a before...

...and here is after.Keep watching for more change to come...

Fun day on our bicycles

2009-07-05T14:51:00.004-05:00

Mike had me buy different seats for our bicycles, so we decided to test them out today. Keep in mind that I haven't been on my bicycle since last year.

We couldn't decide where to ride, I told Mike to take off and I would follow. I really thought we would just be gone for about a half hour or so, but Mike had other thoughts...
Over to the City Park to see what was going on at the fair, nothing...Down to Steve's house, stopped and talked to him and Lynn...Went by my Mom's house, no one was home, took a potty break anyway...Getting hungry, let's go to McDonald's, first I must make it up over the overpass...took off pedalling hard, quickly realized I hadn't down shifted soon enough...running out of steam, suddenly felt Mike pushing on my butt, trying to help me up the hill...it did help, now laughing so hard that I can't keep going....Ate lunch...Mike had bigger thoughts...Let's ride out to Bonita and Brett's place at the lake..."Are you kidding me, there are some big-ass hills and I just had trouble going up a little overpass"...he's not taking no for an answer....off we went...Made it to the lake, no one there...Had to rest...butt hurts, legs hurt...dreading ride home...Took off...wind blowing against us 10 mph...made it down the hill...oh no, can't make it up the hill...got off bike and had to walk...how embarrassing!...Made it home after a 14 mile ride...whew!

Fun, Fun and more Fun!

2009-06-30T19:33:00.015-05:00

We met Dustin and the kids at Grayville on Thursday evening so they could spend the weekend with us. We had so much fun. Here are some of the highlights.

Friday, Mason went with Mike to haul gas and Avery stayed with Great Grandma Louise. I wasn't sure how Avery was going to do since she hadn't ever stayed with her before, but they got along just fine.

Friday evening, Mike started to go get the mail and Mason wanted to go with him. Before he could get to the door, Avery had her little pink shoes in her hand and wanted to go to. He scooped both of them up and out to the mailbox they went.

Saturday morning, Great Grandpa Don called to see if Mason wanted ride in the John Deere combine while he was cutting wheat. Mason was so excited...all the way to the farm..."Where's Great Papaw?", "I ride in the combine" "I cut wheat." ...over and over and over. Thank goodness it is less than a 15 minute drive. He had such a great time and can't wait to go back and harvest in the fall.

It's finally long enough to put in a ponytail, but it doesn't stay up for long..oh well, it's still cute!

Saturday afternoon we went outside for water fun. Mason sprayed Mike and got him wet and then decided to spray his pocket. After a brief time, Mason looked up and said "Papaw is it full yet?"

You want to take a ride?

Who knew riding a mower would put her to sleep.

Mason wouldn't give up the big one so Mike settled for the little one.

Mason wanted me to ride the mower with him, but I told him I didn't know how to run it and he proceeded to tell me how to turn it on . Oh my gosh! My three year old grandson knows how to run a mower and I don't. I shouldn't admit this, but I haven't been on a mower since the summer of 1981.

Ready and waiting to go see Mommy and Daddy.

Happy Birthday Leigha!

2009-06-30T07:03:00.001-05:00

Happy 25th Birthday Ashley!!

2009-06-22T07:30:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Mason!

2009-06-15T23:32:00.007-05:00

We celebrated Mason's 3rd birthday this past weekend and here are a few pictures.

Happy 3rd Anniversary Jason & Ashley!

2009-05-27T17:20:00.003-05:00

Family Fun on Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T18:34:00.019-05:00

Talk about last minute plans…Thursday evening Mike and I decided we were going to Ashley & Jason’s house for the weekend. Mike commented that we should have made plans for Dustin, Leigha and the kids to go with us since it was a long weekend. So, I immediately got on the phone and to make a long story short, Dustin & Leigha agreed to go. They got to Olney on Friday at 7:30 and we left at 8:00 p.m. We arrived at Ashley & Jason’s around 11:30 p.m
What a great weekend! Here are some of the highlights.

Here are some pictures of our cutie patooties

Mason loves playing with his Uncle Jason.

Jason had an old mower that didn't work anymore so he got it out for Mason to play with. Mason thought he was big stuff pushing it around. Of course, Avery had to push too.

The little kids enjoyed playing with the water guns.

Then the big kids got in on the act...

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and just relaxed on the deck.

Ashley had some gorgeous flowers blooming. They made really pretty backdrops for my pictures.

Fun in the sun on Mother's Day

2009-05-17T17:43:00.017-05:00

Mike & I picked up Great Grandma Brummer on Mother's Day and headed to Dustin & Leigha's for lunch. Dustin grilled out and everything was really good. Leigha also made an awesome creme de menthe cake...Yummy. We had such a beautiful day outside playing with Mason and Avery. I know Great Grandma Brummer really enjoyed being with everyone too. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Cruising the Western Caribbean

2009-05-08T23:14:00.025-05:00

The Nation of Why Not? Ahhh……. Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas…rest and relaxation.

On April 26th our adventure began….
Off to the airport at 4:15 a.m., flight left at 6:00 a.m., landed in Miami at 9:15 a.m., onboard the ship at 11:00 a.m.. Left Miami port at 4:30 p.m.

Sunday Evening– rainy & windy - We explored the ship most of the evening. At 8:00 we went to dinner.

Monday – Cruising at Sea – Windy with overcast skies & rainy – Even though it was overcast, we put on our swimsuits and went to the pool to see if we could get a lounge chair. It was really hard to find one, but we got lucky when a couple got up. It was so windy, we were almost cold…but, we were in the Caribbean and we were determined to come back with a tan. So like idiots we laid there and all of a sudden it blew up a storm and everyone scattered. Plenty of lounge chairs available now, but the fun was over!

Tuesday – Labadee Haiti – Warm & Sunny – Mike and I zip lined on the Dragon’s Breath Flight Line. It starts from the top of a 500 foot cliff across the ocean ½ mile and you land onto a platform. Check out the video at the end on this blog...Mike took it of me as we were both taking off. The rest of the day, we sunned our buns on the beautiful beach of Labadee.

Tuesday Night - Formal night - Those professional photographers can really work miracles, look at us, we look pretty good.

Wednesday – Ocho Rios, Jamaica – Cloudy overcast and Rainy – Climbed up Dunn’s River Falls, a 600 foot waterfall - Had to make a human chain to help each other up the rocks. Lots of fun!

Thursday – George Town, Grand Cayman – Sunny in the morning, rained in the afternoon – Boarded a boat and was taken out to the famous Stingray City Sandbar where we were able to swim with the stingrays. The waves were strong, but we managed to have a good time and as you can see below, Mike and I both held a stingray. Really cool!

Friday – Bypassed Cozumel, Mexico due to the Swine Flu – Day at sea cruising – warm & sunny. We played miniature golf and watched the people climb the rock climbing wall

Saturday - Day at sea cruising – Warm & Sunny

Sunday – Back to reality! Up and out of the stateroom by 8:00 and off the ship by 9:30, through customs and off to the airport – flight at 3:15, waiting in airport for 4 1/2 hours – Gained an hour coming back, landed at St. Louis airport around 5:30. Vacation Over :(

Dragon's Breath Flight Line on Labadee, Haiti

Mike's Birthday Pie

2009-04-01T22:52:00.002-05:00

Mike's birthday is this Friday and I wanted to bake him something special. He loves coconut pie, but in the 29 years we have been married, I have only made one. The first time was such a disaster that I made a decision to leave the pie making to my Mom and Mother-in-law. Now that so many years have passed, it was time to try it again. I found my recipe on the Taste of Home website. Looks good, huh?

Avery's birthday weekend

2009-03-15T17:19:00.012-05:00

We decided to celebrate Avery's birthday a little early so everyone could be here for it. Dustin, Leigha, Mason and Avery got here Thursday night and Ashley and Jason arrived late Friday. We had such a fun weekend...Check out the details.

Friday, March 13, 2009: A while back, Leigha asked me to bake Avery's birthday cake and I was thrilled. So earlier this week I got busy and baked the cakes. A friend of mine told me to freeze them and then decorate them frozen. This is supposed to keep them from having crumbs in the icing. So today, I got busy and decorated them. I love doing things like this. I would never want this to become a job, I'm afraid it would no longer be fun. However, I do love doing this for my grandchildren. For more details on Avery's birthday, check out Leigha's blog.

Saturday, March 14, 2009: The day started with Mason finding out that Ashley and Jason had arrived late Friday night after he went to bed. He ran down the hallway yelling Jason's name and went into their bedroom to wake both of them up. In the afternoon, Leigha, Ashley and I went to Wal-Mart. We went down the craft aisle and found that they still make these beads that Ashley played with when she was younger. So we all came back and had arts and crafts together...check out the star that Mason and Ashley made together.

Sunday, March 15, 2009: What a beautiful day! We decided to put Mason and Avery's Fritschle shirts on and take some outside pictures. While out there we borrowed one of the neighbors riding toys and the kids had a blast. Avery had so much fun pushing Mason around in the car. In fact, she screamed and got mad when we took her away from it. What a great weekend!!

Valentines weekend

2009-02-23T20:53:00.012-06:00

Avery got a Little People school bus for Valentines Day from Mamaw & Papaw

Mason got a tool set for Valentines Day from Mamaw & Papaw.

Now he can help Daddy work on things at home. Avery wanted to play with the tools...
...and so did Jason

Baskets full of little blessings

You just gotta love that brother-sister love

Avery getting the best of Mason...look familiar

Mason and Mamaw making yummy brownies together.

Don't worry Mason...

2009-02-03T20:59:00.002-06:00

Papaw is taking really good care of your horsie.

Life is never dull with grandchildren

2009-02-03T19:09:00.006-06:00

Leigha, Mason and Avery came up for the weekend and we had such a good time. Here are some of the events.

Avery getting into the DVDs and waiting for someone to tell her No-No.

Mason is fascinated with phones and often tries to use them. Mason and Avery play really well together and sometimes she gets the upper hand.
Isn't this adorable

Leigha just chilling out

Great Papaw Fritschle, Great Mamaw Brummer and Bob came for lunch on Sunday. Mason is always looking for someone to play with so Great Papaw was happy to do just that.

When Great Papaw left, Mason was looking for another farming buddy and Bob was there to fill the spot.

Mason wanted to go outside and play in the snow.

He convinced Papaw to get his John Deere tractor out and everything was fine until he ran into the snow bank. It made him mad when he got stuck.

Leigha wanted to make Mason a blanket, so we went to Wal-Mart and found this no-sew John Deere blanket kit. It turned out really cute. This picture says it all.

The small city of Olney came to a halt

2009-01-28T21:11:00.006-06:00

Over the past two days, we've had sleet, snow, sleet and more snow. We are now plowing out from under approximately 10 - 11 inches of snow.

Looking out our front door Looking out the back door

We've expanded the farm

2009-01-22T18:24:00.008-06:00

Mike and I took Mason and Avery to Rural King over the weekend and we just couldn't resist the John Deere toy isle. Hey, they were on sale! So we decide to expand the farm set Mason got for Christmas, especially when we found a set that included a red Kenworth truck just like the real one that Mike drives.

Great Papaw and Great Mamaw came to see Mason and Avery. They all had fun playing with the farm equipment.

Today is a day to celebrate!

2009-01-13T16:07:00.006-06:00

Last Friday, I weighed myself and the scales hadn't moved. I was pretty bummed out and thought I wouldn't make my goal today. I sure am glad I had that bowel movement last night. Just kidding...I've actually been exercising faithfully every day and it paid off.

I'm so excited...as of today...I've lost 51.4 pounds! That's like losing 6 gallons of milk!

I celebrated by eating a tiny 1 inch sliver of coconut pie that Louise made for Mike. It was sooo yummy.

Mike was so proud of me that he placed a diamond wedding ring on my finger today. He had planned on giving it to me on our 30th Anniversary this August, but he thought I deserved it early. I can't tell you how much his encouragement has meant to me. As far as that goes, I really appreciate all the encouragement and compliments that my family and friends have given me too.

Getting the next 10 pounds off is going to be tough, but I am determined to reach that goal by March 10th.

Doing well after surgery

2009-01-09T19:49:00.008-06:00

Mike went to the hospital today to have sinus surgery and also have tubes put in both ears. Everything went well with his sinuses, but they were only able to put a tube in his left ear. The right eardrum has such a large whole in it that they had to patch it instead of putting in a tube.

The above picture is what Mike looked like after his surgery. Don't let the looks deceive you, he asked me the same question 3 times within 15 minutes. I think he was under the influence of some good drugs.

Christmas at our house

2009-01-04T23:20:00.007-06:00

I know I'm really late getting these posted, but there are just so many pictures that it took me a while to decide which ones to post. You will have to look at all three postings to see them.

We all had a wonderful Christmas and there were a lot of surprises this year. Just look for the pictures with the open mouths.

Christmas at Grandma Brummer's

2009-01-04T22:49:00.006-06:00

Merry Christmas!

As you can see from this picture, Mom and Bonita were really having a good time on Christmas Eve. I must tell you the truth...Mom doesn't really drink and took two swallows of the wine cooler and had to put it down. But we still had a fun time kidding her about it.

Fritschle Christmas

2009-01-04T22:14:00.006-06:00

Here are pictures taken at Don and Louise's house on Christmas day. Enjoy!

Holiday adventure

2008-12-23T12:59:00.006-06:00

On Sunday, Mom and I travelled to Pekin, IL to see Ashley and Jason. She hadn't seen their new house and I wanted to see the Festival of Lights in East Peoria, IL. Of course, I chose the coldest day of the year to travel. By the time we got there, it was 6 degrees below zero with a really strong wind. I'm not sure what the wind chill was, but Mom said, "If I were a guy, I would have frozen my balls off." We both had a good laugh at that one. Our "Winter Wonderland" trip was beautiful, especially when the sun hit the icy glistening trees. Sunday afternoon Jason chauffeured us around to the shopping malls. Letting us off and picking us up at the door was great! That evening we went to eat at Red Lobster and then to see the Christmas Lights. If you ever want to see lights comparable to Disney World, go to East Peoria in December. Here is a link to a few of their displays: http://www.cityofeastpeoria.com/index.cfm?pageID=28

While at Ashley's, I took the below pictures of Mom, Ashley and myself. Enjoy the holidays!

Co-Workers at the Terre Haute office

2008-12-20T01:00:00.006-06:00

On Friday, I attended our departmental "Year-end" party or as I would call it, our "Christmas" party. The day consisted of eating, talking, laughing and more eating. Oh yeah, the guys managed to get a little work done too. :)

Below is a partial picture of the IT Department. Our group consists of network/PC support people.

(L to R) Jim, Chad, Paula, Rob, Philip and Chris. Pat was missing, he had to leave and take care of his sick child. (12-19-08)

Couple of my Olney co-workers

2008-12-16T22:20:00.005-06:00

(Lora, Kim & Paula) 11-25-2008

40 pounds gone!

2008-12-01T21:45:00.007-06:00

I hit my 40 pound goal before Thanksgiving, but I'm behind on my posting and I'm just now getting my picture on here. I thought I better do it tonight since I weigh in tomorrow and might not be able to say that I lost 40 pounds after all the Thanksgiving meals. :)

It would be great to take off another 10 pounds by Christmas, but I better get real. I am going to set my next 10 pound goal for January 31st.

Another great weekend with our grandchildren!

2008-11-12T19:05:00.033-06:00

Mamaw and Avery spending time together.

Avery is such a good baby, she's so content playing on the floor with her toys.

Papaw was spending some quality time with both grandkids...

...and then he and Mason decided to to show me what they were eating, grapes!

Avery thought she was big stuff when she held on to both handles at once and made lots of noise with the safety locks.

I wanted a picture for my blog, so I put the cookie jar in front of Avery and...

...she wasn't sure what she found...

...but Papaw took it away before she could find out.

Papaw discovered that Avery likes mashed potatoes.

After the mashed potatoes, Avery decided to relax while taking her bottle...

...and Mason decided to relax too while eating his supper.

Mason is always wanting to play "Bears" with all the Beanie Babies. He dumps them out of the basket and puts all the Beanie Bears in a row.

Mason loves to watch Blue's Clues. He was so excited when I opened his poptart Monday morning and it had a paw print on it.

Weight goal # 3 has been met!

2008-10-21T18:33:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that I've lost 30 pounds!

I don't think reality had set until Sunday when Leigha and I went shopping at Kohls. I looked at a shirt and thought to myself, "There is no way that is going to fit." I took the shirt, tried it on and if you look at the picture below, you can see it fits. NO more Women's section, woohoo!!!

Goal #4 is going to be tough with the holidays just around the corner, but I am determined to lose another 10 pounds by Christmas.

Avery's 1st mommy-free sleepover at Mamaw and Papaw's

2008-10-20T22:00:00.025-05:00

Dustin and Leigha celebrated their 5th Wedding Anniversary on October 18th and decided to do it kid free. Since Avery is a breast fed baby, we haven't had an opportunity to keep her until now. We had such a great time with both of them. Thanks Leigha! Hope we can keep both of them again soon. Enjoy the pictures...

Mason loves to take a bath in the air tub because it makes bubbles. I think Avery is going to be the same way. Check out the progression of the bubble fun.
Water to start with...

Just a few bubbles...

Lots of bubbles...

All of the Great Grandparents came to see Avery and Mason this weekend, unfortunately I only got pictures with Great Grandma Brummer.

Avery is now crawling everywhere and she found a new/old toy to play with.

Mason loves to wear his John Deere hat, so Avery decided to see what it was all about.

Weekend fun!

2008-10-13T21:27:00.012-05:00

Ashley, Leigha, Mason and Avery came home for the weekend. Here are some of the pictures I took. Enjoy!

All I wanted was a bigger refrigerator...

2008-10-04T22:13:00.006-05:00

But what I got was a complete appliance and mini cabinet makeover. As you can see from the before picture, my refrigerator was pretty small. I've been wanting a bigger refrigerator for quite awhile, but we knew that the cabinet above and beside the refrigerator would need to be rebuilt to accommodate a larger one. Since our cabinets were built 26 years ago, we were very sceptical if they could find the same type of materials. To our surprise, they did. So as I said, I started out wanting a refrigerator, but since the space would have to be made bigger, that meant the cabinet on the side had to be made smaller. Guess what?...the microwave would no longer fit...oh well, it was old anyway. So, I started looking for a microwave hood range. The only one I found that I really liked was in stainless steel...you got it, it looked bad with the almond range....oh well, it was kinda old anyway. So thanks to the wonderful husband that I have, he let me get all three matching appliances. To finish the makeover, I have ordered new hinges and pulls for the doors and drawers. I'll post a final picture when it is totally complete.

Before picture

After pictures

Woohoo! The Big 20!

2008-09-16T19:12:00.005-05:00

Yes!! I met my second weight loss goal today ahead of schedule. To date I’ve lost 20 pounds! I compared my first picture to this one and I don’t see much of a difference. Just so you know I’m not lying about the weight, let me tell you that my rings are about to fall off my fingers, my shoes feel looser and oh yeah my bra cup is decreasing. Hmmm…something doesn’t seem quite right here. Well, I must also tell you that I went down a size in clothes too. I’m definitely on the right track, but the journey is a long one. I hope to drop off another 10 pounds by Thanksgiving. Thanks Mike for all your support!

Weekend with Mason, Jason & Ashley

2008-08-27T18:43:00.021-05:00

On Friday afternoon, Mike went to Evansville to pick up Mason. Around 9:00 p.m., Jason and Ashley got here. Mason was a surprise to them, they had no idea he would be here.

Saturday morning Mason brushed his teeth after breakfast and then he and Mike went for a mower ride around the neighborhood.

Jason & Ashley went to the Clow reunion on Saturday afternoon. That evening, we all went out to eat. Ashley took this picture after we got home.

We decided to go to Wal-Mart to buy crayons for Mason, but as you can see from the picture he ended up with a little something more. The stipulation of the purchase was that the leaf blower had to stay at Grandma’s house because of the noise it makes.

On Sunday, Mason decided to try eating corn on the cob. It was so funny, every time he took a bite, he would just shutter and then smile. He never did eat much of it, but he thought he was big stuff…especially when Ashley showed him how to eat it.

Mason brought his baby doll with him, so I made a blanket for it. He is so cute, he acts just like a Daddy. He feeds him, holds him, pats his back and puts him in Avery’s swing and turns on the music. He’s going to make a good Dad some day.

It's a good start

2008-08-19T22:41:00.003-05:00

As you know, I have been trying really hard to take off some weight. Today, I reached and even surpassed my first goal of 10 lbs in just 4 weeks. Mike has been a very positive supporter this time and it is making a really big difference. He and I have been walking every night and even when I am tired, he encourages me to get off my butt and go. I have already set my next small attainable goal to lose a total of 20 lbs by October 14th.

Here are some other small goals that I hope to achieve along the way:
Climb the stairs without getting out of breath
Bend over to tie my shoes without feeling like I can't breath
Have my picture taken without being ashamed
Sit with my legs crossed
Play with my grandchildren and not be exhausted within 15 minutes
Wear a bathing suit and look good in it

Since I mentioned the bathing suit, I might as well tell you that in honor of our 30th Wedding Anniversary next year, Mike and I are going on a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise in April. HUGE incentive to shed the pounds!

I learned an easy way to make a fruit cobbler/cake at my WW meeting today.
Take a 9x13 cake pan and spray it with cooking spray, layer it with fruit (blackberries, peaches, etc...), sprinkle a white or yellow cake mix over the top of the fruit and then pour 12 ounces of diet 7-up or Sprite Zero over the top of the cake mix and bake it according to the cake mix. No need to add eggs, oil or water to the cake mix. Note: If your fruit is tart, you may want to add Splenda to the fruit before you put it in the cake pan. Makes 12 servings at 2 points each.

Half assed job

2008-08-14T19:16:00.009-05:00

Well....to my complete surprise and without being asked, Mike went to my Mom's house today and pressure washed the concrete. However, he decided that in order for her to notice he had been there he would need to leave her a before and after view. You know how those makeup infomercials have their product on one side of the face and some other product on the other. That's the type of view he left her.

When I asked him why he did it this way, he said, "That's all the peaches and tomatoes paid for."

Sorry Mom, when you get some more veggies that you want to share, let me know and I will send him over to finish his half assed job! No...what he really said was, "I ran out of time, and I will get the rest done tomorrow." Hope you enjoy your clean concrete!

Our Anniversary weekend was really fun!

2008-08-10T18:42:00.006-05:00

Saturday morning we headed for Paducah, Kentucky. I thought we were going straight to the Harley dealership, but Mike had a plan that really surprised me. He took me to downtown Paducah to see the murals on the floodwalls. An artist by the name of Robert Dafford painted 54 murals depicting the history of Paducah. The murals feature many historic scenes in chronological order from the 1880’s to 1950’s. There are additional murals depicting popular events and notable buildings and businesses in Paducah. The old massive steam locomotive 2613 is also showcased at this location. It is the last one to have gone through Paducah.

After our tour of the wall, we ate lunch downtown and then headed for the Harley-Davidson dealership. The Four Rivers Harley Dealership just opened in July at a new location and the building is in the shape of a river boat. Now, very seldom do you leave a Harley dealership without making a t-shirt purchase and…you guessed it, t-shirts for both of us.

From there, we made our way back in to Illinois. We stayed overnight in Metropolis at a hotel right beside the Harrah’s Casino. Well you know what did…Went gambling! We had such a good time on the slot machines. Now before you ask if the nice security guard escorted us back to the hotel with all of our winnings. The answer is No. Main reason…There were no winnings, but we still had a good time.

We headed home on Sunday and stopped in Elizabethtown to eat at E’Town, a floating restaurant on the Ohio River. It has the best catfish!

I sure could get used to this type of weekend.

Hope you enjoy some of the pictures I took, just click on the arrow to start the slide show.

Avery rolling over.

2008-08-03T18:20:00.006-05:00

I didn't catch her on film rolling over from front to back, but she can do it.

I love being a Grandma!

2008-08-03T17:35:00.005-05:00

I have the cutest grandchildren!

Mason found the Beanie Babies.

Avery is so adorable! At 4 1/2 months she can turn over from front to back and back to front.

Today was "D" Day

2008-07-22T20:02:00.003-05:00

I went to a Weight Watchers meeting today on my lunch hour and yes, I joined again. This time, I am going to post my weight progress in hopes that it will inspire me to keep losing. I will take a picture of myself every time I meet a goal so you can see the progress. Since I have so much to lose, I am going to set small attainable goals for myself. My first goal is to lose 10 pounds by the end of August. All encouragement welcome!

Fun day out in the hot sun

2008-07-19T20:45:00.001-05:00

Mike and I, along with George, Jill & Pat, road our motorcycles down to Old Shawneetown to the annual Street Rally. There were thousands of motorcycles that lined the street.

They had various entertainment throughout the day, but the one the that made us all stop to watch was the man and woman that swallowed swords.

There were several people from Olney that spent the whole weekend down there. To my surprise, my sister, Bonita and her husband Brett came Saturday afternoon and spent the night in a friends RV.

There were all types of motorcycles, but the one that caught Pat's eye was pulling a Budweiser trailer.

Of course it wasn't just motorcycles that caught their eyes.

A fun time was had by all, too bad it was so darn hot out!

I cant believe I graduated from ERHS 30 years ago!

2008-07-12T23:00:00.011-05:00

Mike and I went to my 30 year High School Class Reunion tonight at the Olde Tyme Steakhaus. Social hour started at 5:00 and approximately 125-150 people including spouses showed up (we had over 250 in our graduating class). The name tags included our maiden name and senior picture. Normally I hate name tags, but believe me, after 30 years, they sure came in handy. There were some people that I didn't recognize and a few that I had no clue who they were even after I read their name tag. At 6:15 we started eating and the food was really good. After the meal they gave gag gifts for various things like who traveled the farthest, had the most grandchildren, divorced the most times, had the youngest child, etc... Well guess who won for still living in Olney and closest to the High School...yours truly. I received a book "Where do I go from here? Getting a life after High School". They didn't have a DJ or band so we all just stood around and talked with each other. We both had a good time, but were home by 10:00.

Time away

2008-07-11T21:00:00.048-05:00

Mike and I decided to take off on the motorcycle for a couple of days. We made a reservation to stay Thursday night at Tara Point Inn & Cottages in Grafton, IL. The main house, a bed and breakfast, is perched high on a bluff and overlooks the point where the Illinois and Mississippi rivers meet. Unfortunately, we were told the main house was full so we stayed in one of the cottages.

This was the spectacular view from our cottage.

Sitting out on the private porch was so calm and peaceful.

While relaxing on the porch we had some unexpected company.

Now for the down side of the trip. There has been a lot of flooding this year and Grafton, sitting right on the river, was no exception. However, what did surprise us was the River Road that runs through Grafton was just opened two days before we arrived (Too bad we weren't informed about this when making our reservation). Therefore, the town was still in a clean-up mode and many of the businesses were shutdown.

We ate lunch at O-Jan's. Good catfish! They too had flooding, but were open for business. Take a look at this picture, look how high the deck is, the tables on the deck had been under water.

This picture of O-Jan's shows the water mark on the green wall, right below the top rail. The white sign at the top of the picture is there from 1993, when Grafton flooded and the water level at O-Jan's was 38.2 feet high. Wow!

We were told by a local that the water was still up at least 4 feet high. You can see by the signs in the water that there should be a road there.

Even though there wasn't much to do in Grafton, our stay at the cottage was very relaxing.

Richland County Fair Pickup Truck Tug-A-War

2008-07-09T21:37:00.005-05:00

Mike and I went to the Pickup Truck Tug-A-War tonight. This was the first year for this event and the turn out of trucks was very low. Thank goodness our tickets were free. At least we knew a few of the drivers or it would have been really boring. Derek Fritschle pulled and came in third in his class, he is in the blue truck.