Turkey Trotters

Thanksgiving Day is always the day the Underwoods do the Turkey Trot around the grounds of the Iowa State Fair. A bit snowy this year. Dave placed 10th in the 40-49 age group. In the 11-14 group, Blake placed first while Hunter came in third. That meant they won two pumpkin pies.

 

After the run, they drove to Grandma Jonita's for Thanksgiving dinner. Hunter baked a cherry and apple pie for the occasion and Dave's sister, Carla, did the turkey.

Olaf's at the Farm

Check it out...Olaf from Frozen isn't melting :)

He's sitting back with dad in the warm weather of Living History Farms.

Happy Halloween!

Blake is 13!

He's officially a teenager and loving seventh grade.

 

We did a family party with the Vikings game as a centerpiece.
They won!

Blake isn't into birthday cake so we did banana splits.

 

Football Season Already?

Where has baseball summer gone? The Underwood boys are wearing pads and helmets, traveling to weekend tournaments, and coming home as champs. Last weekend Hunter was in Blaine, Minnesota where the Letneses and Ericksons turned up in the stands.

 

Hunter is somewhere in this soon-to-be pile-up.

 

Hunter, #18, for the eighth-grade Tigers team.

 

Blake, #7,  is a seventh-grade Tiger. Both Hunter and Blake are fullbacks and middle-linebackers.

World Series Tournament with Blake

Thunderwood to the Rescue

 

 

Hunter is the pitcher that the coach selects when the team needs to shut down a game.

It's often 1, 2, 3 pitches and YOU'RE OUT!

 

 

New Chef in the Kitchen

Blake loves pasta...his favorite energy food for baseball tournaments, swim meets, and golf league.
 He's in the kitchen now, learning to cook for himself.

 

A watched pot never boils so he plays a game while waiting for water to bubble.

In go the noodles for 9 minutes. Meanwhile, another pot heats
ready-in-a-jar spaghetti sauce
with a package of frozen pre-cooked meatballs.

One step closer to independence.

 

Happy Birthday, Landon

 

He was four last Tuesday but waited until Saturday to celebrate. We were there :)

More Awards

 

This one is Blake's.

Hello from the Easter Bunny

 

A little out of focus but...hello!

 

Hunter's Championship Team...the Lynx!

Hunter's a Champ

Hunter's baseball team is #1 in the state.

Instead of a trophy, he received  this ring.

 

All Better Now

 

 Last Christmas, when the Underwoods were here, my Phillipe Starcke Bubble Sofa broke. I didn't know what to do about it then. Last Wednesday, I finally pulled the sofa to the curb (it was time to let go  and do something else...it would cost $2,000 to replace it).

 

The trash truck gobbled it up as if it were a toy....I shouldn't have looked.

 

Using what we have in the backyard, I filled the empty sofa space with three blue pots of ferns and tucked the two remaining Bubble Chairs together under the shade. Tea for two. If company comes for s'mors, we can pull four chairs away from the nearby outdoor dining table to circle the hibachi grill we'll set upon the coffee table.

Update from Stan: "At least we have our memories," he said as he sent me the photo below.
It was taken last Easter when he and Virg came for dinner. I'm so glad to have this picture :)
Such a nice brother.

 

Pop-Ups!

The folks are lining up at Home Depot today...

I went there to see if there was something to spruce up our entry...

The Mother/Son Dance at Faith Lutheran

Kim and Landon ready for the Mother 'n Son dance.
It happened on the 21st of February :)

Underwood Family Portrait 2014

Happy New Year!!

 Reluctantly, the Underwoods departed Florida yesterday.

It was a gorgeous golfing/beach day but it was time to get back to work and school.

They took advantage of the last hours in the sun before leaving at 5 p.m.

We had a wonderful couple of weeks with them.