Thursday, July 20, 2006


Ryan's truck broke down the day before the wedding while Amber was on her way to Anchorage to pick up the wedding flowers. Thank goodness it was an easy fix. Amber said, "just go ahead and do rehearsal without us". I have been to quite a few wedding rehearsals in my "short" life and this is the first time I've seen it run through only once. Organized girl that Amber we know and love!



Amber with Jenna and two of her sisters. The pictures were done and we were waiting for a 4:00 wedding to start at 2:45. Wow!!

Camera lessons ... camera just didn't agree with either one of us!

Welcome to the family. Laulainen family goes through the receiving line.


Lilacs! Oh, I miss the scent of those.
These other flowers were everywhere growing in the wild.

Jari river fishing with his catch of what I believe is red salmon.





View coming down the river. Jari & I passed by the river rafting trip. I counted bodies and I counted boats ... then decided I would come back some other day! Jari's parents went on the trip as did Jen. Never say you are too old ... lousy excuse. I believe Pekka & Laina (tho' a bit chilly on the ride) will talk about this trip for the rest of their lives.















A bonfire the evening of the wedding. It is probably 12:30 at night and the sun is still shining. Kids (big & little) were shooting off fireworks ... just a bit hard to see their brilliance in the sunshine!
This is a coffee stand. They are absolutely everywhere. You are driving down some heavily wooded road and there will be another one. Not kidding ... probably 1 every 2 miles at least ... sometimes more frequently. Might be just the place for a coffee drinker like me!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Ryan & Amber wedding pics



Just a few pictures to share with y'all of Ryan & Amber's wedding.





















These pictures I borrowed from the Marjanen blog. Amber just posted these herself.

























Friday, July 14, 2006

Missing Anita

Sorry that we could not make it up north to see Anita before she left, hazards of being a sod farmer I guess. We just can't seem to beat the heat and with no rain it is impossible to keep grass green! You will all have to let me know how the Mines and Pines event went. There may still be a slim (very slim) chance that we drive up north on Saturday morning for the day but it's not looking good. The plan was that the guys were going to go fishing so if we do get to sneak away it will be without the boat as there would not be enough time to fit fishing in to the day. Hopefully we can surprise everyone but it is highly doubtful. Beginning to know what it is like living in Phoenix but with a ton of humidity on top of the heat. So uncomfortable, you just don't seem to dry off after a shower.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Farmington Jo

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Problems in Blog Photo World

Okay ... the oldest Kuoppala offspring tried to get the Brainerd Kuoppala household educated in posting photos on the Blog. Well ... after several attempts, we have admitted defeat for the moment. Not permanently, just for the moment. Becky, hurry up and post some pics so we know how long we have to wait over here for pics to upload to Blogger! Jody, do you have high speed or dial up internet? When you posted pics did it take a long time to upload. The green bar just never seems to go away and let us continue on to the post. HELP!!!!!!!!!
-anita
-grandpa & grandma

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Lindula's

I hope everyone is doing well.

I just thought I'd give an update on our weekend here. We had the opportunity to spend time with Brock, Anna, and Tia while Anita was in Alaska. I don't know that the kids want to come and stay with us again anytime soon.

Thursday night we went to Elbow Creek Ranch. All 3 kids got to ride horses (Tia for the first time) and loved it.

Friday: I had the day off of work, so we went fishing. I don't actually know how many times my line got wet. We were fishing off a dock, so there were many hooks to change, baiting of the hooks, and untangling of the line. Then, we feasted on McDonald's. Anna called Liz and Liz brought us root beer floats, but being as there was an hour, the kids helped me weed the flower bed. (I only lost a few flowers - they didn't realize they weren't weeds) Friday night, all 3 got to experience hay making. They were working hard rolling, throwing bales, and scratching. Total bales put up on Friday night was 700 or 750. They didn't have a problem sleeping that night. The comment heard most often was "I don't feel right". I'm still not sure if it was wanting to vomit, sore muscles, or what.

Saturday, we went to my boss's home and fished there. They got the experience of bating their own hooks and much to my amazement, Brock actually touched a leech and put it on his hook. I didn't think he ever would; he claimed that he wouldn't. We caught 28 blue gills and 1 bass. Then, they got to swim, eat Poor Gary's Pizza, kayak, canoe, and cover me in Lilly Pads. After all the fun, it was back to work. More hay. Total that night was 500. Once again they didn't have a problem sleeping at night.

Sunday, we went to church, played games, then they went w/ Laurie for a while. Sunday night we had a fish fry and ate all the fish they had caught the day prior. Brock was very excited to miss the rest of the picking up of hay bales. Everyone else was tired of it, so Shawn and I finished the last 80-100 bales.

Monday, they had to be at my house by themselves. The night before, we came up with a plan for them. Anna and Tia came up with their own list of chores they were going to work on. The greatest part is the list (scrub toaster, scrub coffee pot, clean Jen's room, etc.). They didn't do anything on the list (Remember, I didn't make the list, they did. My only request was that my house be in one piece when I got home and that Anna put the dinner in the oven. I asked them to play games, sleep, play outside, whatever). They did all that. I got an emergency call that one of my horses was out and going down the driveway. I cruised home and my horse was out, but standing right by the fence next to the others. We worked on fence. I hate being shocked and am not interested in touching the fence to see if it works. Tia didn't mind, so was the official fence toucher. She was crazy. Anna got shocked without realizing that it was going to happen. Brock convinced Tia to put one hand in the horse water and touch the fence with the other. She did and admitted that she really hurt right around the proximity of her heart. They were really enjoying themselves. Monday night, they went to ride horses again at Elbow Creek Ranch. Laurie said that they were laughing and giggling and really enjoying themselves.

Now, Shawn and I are ready to hit our recliners and listen to our clocks tick again. It was a lot of fun and we are hoping that it can happen again another time but maybe not tomorrow.

Heather

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

dog days of summer


When I got home Jenny was going through pictures and this is the only picture I have of patchs but I thought I'd put it here.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

more lake pics

Not long after we stopped at this island to eat lunch and swim, the storm rolled in, (notice the dark skies) and it got really windy, so we had to pack up fast and get going. There were four foot waves and it was quite the rocky ride!! Scary!! I wish I had gotten a picture of Frans sitting in the back getting sprayed every five seconds!! It was pretty funny...All the rocking lulled Alanys to sleep in minutes, so I took off her jacket, and laid her down in the house! A fun time was had by all....thanks Jari and Anita!

Jenny

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon at the lake with Jari and Anita and clan and had a great time! It was my first time at the lake in probably six years! Hopefully we can spend a few more days their before summer ends, and maybe even bring the tent trailer and camp there one weekend! Here is a picture of Frans on the wakeboard for the first time in about 7 years, and he got up first try!! Surprised us all!


Anna is holding Alanys who didn't really know what to think of the boat. Anita, did you get a picture of Alanys in her life jacket? If you did, can I get a copy?

















Lindsey woke up in the morning saying she didn't know if she really wanted to go to the lake to go for a scary ride in Jari's boat...but once we got there and got going, she was ok! The last time she was in a boat, was last summer in Jari's bass boat, and she did not like it! We explained to her that this boat is a little bigger, and it has a house you can go into if you get scared!! It is awesome! Here is a picture of Jari and Anna hugging their new 'baby'! I have more pictures, but can only do five per post....so more to follow.
Anita leaves today for MN....have a safe trip, and tons of fun!!!
Jenny

Collecting Dust

Wow-the blog has been very quiet the past couple of weeks so I thought I would simply say hi to all!
Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July weekend. Dave and I are driving down to my 30 year (gosh) class reunion this weekend. Should be fun!
Happy 4th all!
Jody

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Lake Powell







Just a few pics from Lake Powell this past weekend. The weather was beautiful (got a bit toasty at times), the water very "refreshing" ... and no sunburn from the bottom of the swimsuit lines up this time. At least ... very minimal. Forgot to sunscreen the legs though! Oops!

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Happy Fathers day

To all the fathers....hope you all have a nice, relaxing, enjoyable fathers day :)
Jenny

Friday, June 16, 2006

News from Texas

Your father spoke with his brother last evening. They will not
be coming this year. But next year, June perhaps, they will
come with the motor home. Coming with them will be Melanie, Willie and Milly. Melanie and Willie want to come to
Minnesota so best come with the motor home. Willie had some
surgery to his shoulder; has it pinned now. Lauri wasn't
exactly sure what surgery but it has given him some problems
for some time so needed it done. dk

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Just wanna be a homebody

Anyone have any suggestions on how I can just stay at home? I'll bet when I get older I'll be wanting my rocking chair and Jari will be itching to go, go, go ... just like his dad. Did stay home yesterday morning and cleaned .. that felt good. Just need to do some baking!! Anna & Tia can' t sleep in no matter how much they'd like to. They signed up for summer school. Goes from 8 to 11:15 every day. They have a blast ... good way to burn up part of the day & learn at the same time. They come home, straight to the pool (another one with a blow up ring on top ... short term stay dog chewed the one from last year), then crash. Wake up and do whatever. Yesterday it was swim suit searching. I do not like shopping. I like to browse crafty/antique/housewares type of stores. I do not like to "browse" and "hunt" for clothing. I go the store to find a black shirt and I buy a black shirt. Or ... flip through Walmart racks on my way through the store. Well we went searching ... still didn't find a suit for the one who desperately needs one. Oh for annoying. In the evening we delivered a truck for someone and got to visit some very dear friends for a while ... Ben & Jeanette Wuollet & clan. That isn't part of my not leaving the house problem, they are a joy. I just wish they lived closer. Girls came home and cleaned their room until at least 11:00. I don't know what bug bit their behinds, but thanks to the bug ... the room looks awesome! Now I need to try and rouse them .... this ought to be fun! Brock is gone & needs to be picked up at 10 this morning. He gets to come home and do placement testing for home schooling next year. Can you believe I am going to do this?? He is willing & ready ... will take some adjustments to this schedule of mine. This weekend we will be running again ... I work Friday ... so after that we're free! Will let you know which direction we end up running when the weekend is over. Jari is getting just a little "peer pressure" in the weekend department ... amazing how that somehow never ends ... is actually a hoot!

Have a great day all of you!
Anita

Swallowing Coins

I have learned so much about the facts of swallowing coins and what to look for. Mitchell swallowed a penny on Monday night and we were not real panicked about it but I did call my ER doctor to ask a few questions. Did you know that if it is a dime, nickel or quarter the concern is less? Since it was a penny the concern was much higher, did not know this. If the penny was dated 1984 or earlier it would have been ok but if it is dated 1984-2006 the pennies are made mostly of zinc, not copper and when introduced to stomach fluids it reacts like battery acid in a childs stomach and can cause ulcers if it does not come out the way it is suppose to. So an x-ray was recommended and low and behold we found the penny in Mitchell's stomach which is where they were hoping it was. It took one more day to pass (what mother's have to go through to find a childs discarded items). The penny was almost green, amazing what stomach fluids will do in a very short time. So I am passing my experience on to others. First of all, why kids have to put things in their mouth is beyond me and secondly if they swallow a quarter it does not come out 2 dimes and a nickel. (smiles)
Jody

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Congratulations to Ivan and Missy!!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Frans


While I am sitting here waiting for video going into my computer I sit here and read the blog and I notice that some one, some where said to post more pics from our trip so I went and put a couple on a page and here they are. now there is a incorrect but long sentence.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Home on the Range

We went to the Iron Range yesterday; Ruth came with us.
Services were at Julia's. Next to the Elbow Creek Ranch
and Elizabeth was already there. Took pictures of Tristan,
flowers and horses. Took some meat. Next to Heather &
Shawn's for supper. Jen had encouraged her to enlarge her
flower bed which she had done. She isn't making the same
mistake I made the first time and planting too close together.
Looks nice.

Had told Jan Takala when the milking parlor was done that
I'd like to see it sometime. She had said anytime. Yesterday
was the day. We were lucky in that Jan was giving hay to
calves in the "old barn" and she gave us a tour of the new.
Some cows were leaving through doors and through
other doors cows were coming in to be milked. They looked
content, chewing their cud. We watched the washing,
drying and putting on of milkers. They milk over 100 cows
but can't remember exactly. Will have more details in the
Newsletter, perhaps even the number. Fun day. dk

Friday, June 09, 2006

Jenny

Hello!
I just got done going thruogh CD's of pictures from our trip....Frans spent a lot of time at Gary's dumping pictures from our cards to Cd's....well, he didn't write on the CD itself what was all on the cd, so I just had the lovely job of going through them all!! Total number of pictures taken: 1,127!! And at Gary's alone, Frans took582!! (I took about 50 of them) So I think Frans spent enough time behind the lens! Next trip we will have to cut that number waaayyyy down!! What does a person do with that many photos?
Jenny

Thursday, June 08, 2006

What's a mother to do?

Tanner's skateboard has now become a third seat in my Tahoe, permanently! Told him he will never get it back.
He broke his LEFT arm this time. Spent all day yesterday at the hospital. Dave and I told him he is done with the skateboarding thing and that he needs to take up dancing or something. He is very depressed about the whole thing but what is a mother suppose to do? I don't want him to become a crippled young man or even worse, hit his head one of these times (even though they are required to wear helmets).
So Tanner is facing a bummer of a summer with another 8 weeks of casting on his arm that goes from wrist to shoulder. If anyone can come up with some new hobbies for him, pass them on!!!
As long as it does not involve me having to wrap him in bubble wrap, I'm all for it!
Am I being to hard on him? Do I have the right to take away something that he loves so much? He is getting to the advanced stages of his skateboarding that requires higher jumps and faster speeds so if you miss once, it can be very dangerous. He wants to compete again, took 3rd last year. So I am torn. Maybe he will give it up on his own without a fight, he hates wearing a cast!
Time will tell!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

frans

A couple more pics from our trip

Monday, June 05, 2006

Anita

Another weekend ... went from terrifying to quite tranquil and relaxing ... ending with a bit of "oh shoot!". We rented a cabin through the Forest Service up near Williams AZ. We had all the toys/food/clothes/junk food/more junk food ready to go. Asked Brock to haul out the last of the garbage to the dumpster in the alley. The small gate wouldn't open nicely, so he picked up a car battery that was parked next to the fence and tried using it as a mallet to open the gate. Battery dropped, acid splashed, and he couldn't see a thing! Am ever so grateful that Anna was outside, because he could not see. It splashed his right eye, but with one eye burning to beat the bands, the other eye wasn't going to open either. We got him in the house and started rinsing. Called the ER .. "we cannot dispense medical advice" ... the pediatrician "I am sure he would tell you to go to the ER or call poison control". Duh!!! When the kids were tiny tots, I always had that number plastered all over the fridge. Now I didn't even think of it!! So a call to poison control had us washing for another 10 minutes, then applying a wet cool washcloth over the eye. Looked much better and we hit the road. PC called to see how he was doing after we had already left.

At 2 pm we got to our little slice of Heaven. We had a cabin that included shower/bathroom and a fully stocked kitchen .. everything but the food. Heater (which we did not need), 1 queen bed and 5 twin beds, games and perhaps 100 rolls of toilet paper. Here I had brought extra with me in case the group of us needed more than they provided! Needn't have. We also had the use of the bunk house, which had a full size futon & another 5 twin beds. Folks sort of joined us through the day & evening, some even on Saturday. We had 3 atvs, 1 mini rail, and 1 dirt bike up there ... and enough dust to keep Brock's poor wounded eye looking quite red all weekend! Thank goodness for Fred's supply of Visine. The crowd of us included Heini w/kids & finn boy, Keilah & Dean w/kids, Charisee & Charlie w/Demetrius, Jeff & Mona & kids, Fred Kako & 2 dogs. We all had a great time ... especially after some awesome guys discovered what the stench in the porch was. It smelled like cat urine when we got there and got worse by the hour. Behind the water heater they discovered a trap w/a nonliving mouse in it. Actually, am going to assume it was a mouse ... any other alternative sounds too disgusting! Pine cone wars, riding & more riding, badmitton with the little things always getting stuck in the pine trees, grilling all our food (the gas stove had a severe stinky gas leak), showers when needed .... awesome visiting and dreaming of moving to places where the thermometer isn't hitting 111 in the middle of the afternoon. In an atv ride that lasted less than 45 minutes, I saw 9 elk and 4 deer. Didn't see the skunk family that supposedly has a residence under the porch ... was sort of hoping to smell them at some point ... just not up TOO close. Bees, bees & more bees ... but the air was warm, the breeze cool and the air so refreshing! Sunday it was back to reality ... Duke really needed to use the side of the road on the way home ... and we didn't know it. Quite a mess to clean up in the back of the truck and off his paws when we got home. Then ... Jari went outside at about 10:30 last night. Our big freezer is in the carport. I think that when we hauled bags of ice out of it before we left, the door was never closed all the way. It swings shut by itself, but something must have been in the way. All the albacore that I've been complaining about (it does taste good tho') is no longer edible. I dare not add up the poundage of steak and pork chops/kabobs that are going to hit the dumpster tonight. Ugh!! Oh well ... have been wanting to clean it as it seriously needed defrosting and am ready to fill it with salmon! Look on the sunny side of things! Will definately go again. Would love to spend a week up there & do things like visit the Grand Canyon 1 day, Montezumas Castle another day, etc. There are other cabins around the state which I aim to visit as well. Some a bit more primitive, others with streams running behind them. What a find it was!

Have a great day all!

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Jenny




Hello everyone!
I have a few minutes to spare, so thought I would post a few pictures of our trip! We had an awesome time up there! Thank you Dave and Jody, Wayne and Becky, and Gary and Laurie for having our crew!! Thank you Becky for taking our family pictures while we were there.....we love them!! We enjoyed all our stays, the girls had tons of fun, and thank you Mithchell, Denise, Michelle, and Debbie for giving us your rooms!! Heather, I was going to buy some of your rags....I foregot! We got back at about 2:30 on Wednesday morning, and the girls were smiling in their sleep as we carried them from the van to their beds!! Finally out of the car...yay!! We stopped in Wheatland, Wyoming at the super 8 at about 7:00 Monday night, and hit the road again at about 10 in the morning. We drove through bear country, which was pretty cool, (thanks gary!) and to Mt. Rushmore. All the way home, Lindsey kept saying she can't wait to get home and play with her dress up clothes.....well 7:00a.m. (Wednesday) she is standing by my side of the bed in her wedding dress, veil, and is hitting me with her flowers to wake me up!! I think she was a little excited to be home!
Well, I will post more pictures later.....Frans went snap happy, so we have more pictures then we know what to do with!!
Right now, I gotta go get ready to go do wedding pictures. Will write more later.....
Jenny

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Did you Survive

Did everyone survive the hot weekend?
The National Weather Station claims this weekend was the hottest Memorial weekend in history (or as far back as they have tracked) and the hottest Memorial Day since 1934.
Camping was fun, although the heat got to us on Sunday. I spent the day at the swimming pool with the boys and Dave and Ivan and the rest of the guys went golfing for 18 holes. We were all pretty shot by the end of the day.
If this weather is any indication of what kind of summer we are going to have, Dave will be working 7 days a week again. Heather-watering your plants will become a full time job (smiles). Maybe Dave could fix you up an irrigation system (haha).
Hope you all had a great weekend.
Jody

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

From the sunny & HOT southwest

Well, we once again joined the ranks of chickendom. Problem this time is that we presently have 2 roosters and 1 hen. I distinctly (as do the folks who were visiting us!) remember the previous rooster. When they came to join us there were actually 2 hens. The 4 were placed in a sideways lying dishwasher box ... with a board in front of the door so they wouldn't "escape". Wasn't very long at all & the bottom of the "chicken pile" didn't survive. Am really hoping that someone trades us hens for these 2 roosters. Brock figures we should bring it to the vet and have it's crowing ability clipped. Am not quite up for that one! Will have to post pics of the chickens residence. It is ever changing. Think we'll skip the butchering party ... Heather, you don't need to save yours for me either. (smile)

Anyone up for digging holes in rock hard ground tomorrow? We have almost 180 feet of back fence that needs vines growing along it. Mind you I kill everything that isn't cactus/desert related. They just seem to multiply on their own and don't need much from me. Now I am going to try planting some vines ... low water and love the sun. Let's hope that is a winning combination.

Have a great day all!
Anita

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Lindula's

I hope everyone is doing great. Things up here are going well. The weather has been beautiful. Jen and I were able to go garage saling on Saturday and purchase a Blazer full of stuff. All very valuable to us =). It rained and I was excited thinking that there wouldn't be too many people out, I guess everyone else thought the same thing. I also worked a lot on flower beds and got a lot of other things done. Shawn worked all weekend putting up block for Ralph and Judy as they are building on Spirit Lake Road. They got the block work done (13 rows of 12 inch block). I have a goal of getting my flower beds done before Anita and others get up to the Range.
This next weekend, as long as it remains dry enough, we have a lot of field work to do. I'll be plowing, Shawn spreading ashes. Hopefully the weather cooperates.
One of my cats had her kittens. She had one and lost 2. She wouldn't feed it, so we brought it in the house and fed it, sadly, it didn't make it. My other cat has had her kittens, but she must be caring for them. She is gone for hours, comes back and eats me out of house and home, then disappears again. Hopefully we'll see the kittens soon.
As for the chickens, so far, we have lost 3 (that's not bad). They are getting really big so we should be butchering them in a month or less. Someone asked about the food. We have been buying a lot of food. So far, we bought 2 bags of chick starter, then probably 8-10 bags of meat bird feed. They are drinking 8-10 gallons of water per day. Makes a person wonder why they bother raising chickens, but then you eat them and they taste so much better than store bought chicken.
Hope everyone has a great day.

Monday, May 22, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy belated to Laurie!!!
Happy Birthday to David!!!
Happy Birthday to Alanys!!!

Friday, May 19, 2006

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Blayde! A little late, but gives more cause to celebrate!

FRANS AND JENNY

Frans and Jenny made it safe and sound, excellent time. They drove straight through (did not stop for the evening as originaly planned) with several shots stops and I think Jenny said they made it in 23 hours. The girls were very excited to finally reach Minnesota.
Sounds like we will have a pretty good turnout for the BBQ tomorrow and weather should be on the cool side but sunny. All of the brothers are going to make it (and Laurie and Tristan) and I think Wayne is coming with the kids. Should be a very good time. Looking forward to it!
Hope you all have a great week-end.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Minnesota trivia

To add to the fun, i include the possibility that some of these "facts" might not be more lore than truth - good luck.

1. The Mall of America in Bloomington is the size of ____ football fields.

2. Minnesota Inventions: _____________ tape, ________ cereal, the _______ pan, _______ beauty products, and ______ _______ vegetables

3. The St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 allowing oceangoing ships to reach _________.

4. The world's largest ____________ stands at the base of the Mill Pond dam on the Pelican River, right in downtown Pelican Rapids. The 15 1/2 feet tall concrete statue was built in 1957.

5. The _______________ Sculpture Garden is the largest urban sculpture garden in the country.

6. Minneapolis’ famed skyway system connecting _______ blocks (nearly ______ miles) of downtown makes it possible to live, eat, work and shop without going outside.

7. Minneapolis has more _________ per capita than any other city in the country.

8. The _______________ is the only facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World Series and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship.

9. Minnesota has 90,000 miles of ____________, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.

10. The first open heart surgery and the first bone marrow transplant in the United States were done at the University of _____________.

11. The _________ was invented in Spring Valley.

12. The first Children's department in a Library is said to be that of the ______________ Public Library, which separated children's books from the rest of the collection in Dec. 1889.

13. The first _______________ was marketed in June 1926 by McGraw Electric Co. in Minneapolis under the name Toastmaster. The retail price was $13.50.

14. The first _________ ________ was put into Operation on April 9, 1905, over the ship canal between Duluth to Minnesota Point. It had room enough to accommodate 6 automobiles. Round trip took 10 min.

15. ___________ were the first commercially successful in-line Roller Skates. Minnesota students Scott and Brennan Olson invented them in 1980, when they were looking for a way to practice Hockey during the off-season. Their design was an ice hockey boot with 3 inline wheels instead of a blade.

16. In 1919 a __________ factory turned out the nations first armored cars.

17. Tonka Trucks were developed and are continued to be manufactured in _______________.

18. Hormel Company of Austin marketed the first canned ham in 1926. Hormel introduced _______ in 1937.

19. Candy maker Frank C. Mars of Minnesota introduced the _________ candy bar in 1923. Mars marketed the Snickers bar in 1930 and introduced the 5 cent Three Musketeers bar in 1937. The original 3 Musketeers bar contained 3 bars in one wrapper. Each with different flavor nougat.

20. Minnesota has one _________ per every six people, more than any other state.

21. The _____-_____ _____ in Hibbing became the largest _____-_____ _____ in the world.

22. Minnesota's waters flow outward in three directions: north to ___________ ______ in Canada, east to the __________ _________, and south to the _____ ___ _______.

23. At the confluence of the Big Fork and Rainy Rivers on the Canadian border near International Falls stands the largest _________ _________ ________ in the upper midwest. It is known as the Grand Mound historic site.

24. ________ is birthplace and home of world's largest Paul Bunyan Statue. The kneeling Paul Bunyan is 20 feet tall. He might be the claimed 33 feet tall, if he were standing.

25. ________ is the birthplace of the American bus industry. It sprang from the business acumen of Carl Wickman and Andrew "Bus Andy" Anderson - who opened the first bus line (with one bus) in 1914. The bus line grew to become Greyhound Lines, Inc.

26. Polaris Industries of ________ invented the snowmobile.

27. Twin Cities-based __________ Airlines was the first major airline to ban smoking on international flights.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Ivan

Hey you all! We've finally come out of the stone age over here (or at least I have, Missi informed me just now that she has not been, she just didn't have the address so she says, WHATEVER!). So anyway, if you don't know we don't have a computer at home, or least not internet, so we won't be able to enter in much but will check in whenever we can.
If anyone doesn't already know, Missi is still nannying for a family with two girls in MPLS. The pay is better than the daycare center with only two kids to watch over versus ten or more. June 26 her bosses are going to France for a vacation and the dad said if Missi doesn't go to help with the kids, he's not going either. So off she goes to Europe for a week. They're going to the South of France and renting a house where Missi will have the guest house all to herself. Anyone who can help me out-I've always wondered why the French think they are so special that the southern part of their country is the South of France-not southern, or lower, or anything but the South, capitalized no less. OK I'll get off the soap box now and get back to the tee box.

I've been spending a lot of my time at work and the rest of it at the golf course, just ask Missi-she'll tell you. I'm fortunate to be working for the framing company that I am as construction in the Metro area is slowing down. A lot of our competitors are starting to suffer, some of the bigger ones are having to lay off some people or at least cut hours. Some of the smaller ones are out of business or nearly there. We have so many customers that our workload is somewhat steady. We aren't as busy as we were last summer, but still working overtime. (last summer I was working 10-12 hour days 6 days a week, doesn't leave near enough time for golf.)

We are at Ma & Pa's at the moment checking out the place for the first time and using their computer. Going from here to Gary and Laurie's for the evening and the morning. Planning on golfing with Gary on Sunday morning (9 holes at Eveleth). Hope the weather holds out for that-been raining a lot lately.

Hear through the grape vines that AZ Kuoppalas are coming up here next week, Frans I'll try to call you this week sometime to confirm, but will plan on making a tee time for early Sunday morning. Will try to talk Dave into going, but don't really plan on succeeding on that one. (probably will ask Chuck-Missi's aunt's friend) to fill out a threesome so can make a tee time. Plan on Fountain Valley 5 min. from Dave and Jody's.

Anyway, my arms and fingers are starting to cramp up as haven't typed in years. Should probably go and finnish the tour of the apartment. We got to the spare room and started to check out the computer and whatnot and ended up reading the blogs and haven't left in a quite a while. See you all sometime, will try to blog you all back before then.

Ivan and Missi

Friday, May 12, 2006

Happy Mother's Day

Mom likes flowers, so in honor of Mother’s Day name the flowers:

1. What a guy did when proposing marriage.
2. An udderly bad barnyard accident.
3. What John’s mom says every morning.
4. Sad Southern gals.
5. A country with lots of automobiles.
6. Groups of sheep.
7. Farm critter’s whiskers.
8. Keeps a woman warm.
9. Used for eating ice cream.
10.What you might call a lousy female boxer.
11.A child did this to a birthday candle.
12.Obstetricians are relieved to hear this.
13.Grows between mountains.
14.A man’s name and an old writing instrument.
15.What temperatures below 32 degrees do.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

I do ... at least I tried!

Do any of these work?

Everyone gives advice to newlyweds, so why should we be an exception? First of all, as you know, you __canteloupe_ because everyone wants to see you at the wedding, and if you _carrot__ all, you’ll both __turnip_ at the church. You may get the _raspberries_ first, but you’re not such sour _grapes___ that you can’t take it.To you, Reino, please take this advice: never __????[beat]__ Diane, but remain cool as a ___cucumber___. Remember, she’s a human __bean__ too. And a very cute __ ???/date [or tomato]___, as well as the __apple__ of your eye.To you Diane, a good wife always has a sunny disposition. Never be __melon_choly. We are glad Reino has a good job and hope that he soon gets a __raisin_ __celery__.In closing, __lettuce__ say this may be a lot of _???[corn]_ and we’re __plum_ crazy or even full of __beans [prunes]__ but we hope that this __onion [pear]_ will be blessed with some cute little __ ???/peanuts [or peppers]___.

What a busy week! Completed a project on Tuesday, which I'm adding here. The three girls on the right are my daughters. This was a "few" years back at Hurricane Lake in the White Mountains. Have to figure out the best lighting to take pics of paintings. I'm not thrilled with the photo, but a place to start anyway!

Wednesday I listened to a book on tape and scrapbooked Rawhide pictures!!! They have been nagging at me for quite a while. Mission of the day was to at least get those done. Mission was accomplished ... problem with my missions is that instead of doing just my book, I also do pages for the kids. So a 2 page idea turns out to be 6 pages of production. The story pouring out of speakers in the living room was really good tho'. If you have a chance, and are a fan of murder/mystery, try Body of Lies by Iris Johansen.

Today while I was running doing errands I started listening to another one. Now am wondering if I can spend my lunch hour at work tomorrow sitting in the 100+ degree car listening to the story!

Have a wonderful weekend all! Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there! (really wish I could find my oh so special mothers day pic ... if I ever find it I will post it!)

Anita

I do I do....I don't I don't

OK, I give up! Who posted the "I do, I do, Aren't you glad you did" riddle. My co-workers and I have been trying to fill in the blanks and we are stumped! We have 3 blanks to go and are simply racking our brains for the last 3!!!
Please email me (jodyk@frontiernet.net) and give me the answers...I can't take it anymore! haha
We even went as far as to make up a list of every fruit and vegetable that we could think of to fill in the blanks but nothing makes sense.
This was fun and even though we have done this riddle before, I simply can not remember the answers!
Thanks!
Jody

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Phoenix Kuoppala's Will Be here Soon

Frans, Jenny and girls will be leaving Phoenix on Wednesday and heading in this direction. I am looking for a final head count for the May 20th BBQ. Elizabeth, Jennifer, Charlie, Gary and Laurie and Tristan can any of you make it down? I know Ma and Pa will be gone and Heather and Shawn can not make it and Wayne is a possibility with some or all of the kids....anyone else in???? Should be good fun and good food!!! Hope you can make it! I plan on having a cake for Dave's bithday (surprise).
Jody

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

I do; I do; Aren't you glad you did? Happy Anniversary!

Dear Diane and Reino –

Everyone gives advice to newlyweds, so why should we be an exception? First of all, as you know, you ______________ because everyone wants to see you at the wedding, and if you ________________ all, you’ll both __________________ at the church. You may get the ________________ first, but you’re not such sour _______________ that you can’t take it.

To you, Reino, please take this advice: never _______________ Diane, but remain cool as a __________________. Remember, she’s a human ___________ too. And a very cute ______________, as well as the ____________ of your eye.

To you Diane, a good wife always has a sunny disposition. Never be __________choly. We are glad Reino has a good job and hope that he soon gets a ____________ __________.

In closing, ______________ say this may be a lot of ___________ and we’re ________ crazy or even full of _______________ but we hope that this ___________ will be blessed with some cute little __________________.

I.M. Dumm, Pres.
U.R. Too, Sec.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Lindula's

Hello from Da 'Range. This weekend was quite exciting. Pete came to visit (he was here last weekend too, but could come again). I had my garage sale and lost money=), Shawn had his trucks at the auction and didn't sell his trucks but bought something so, he lost money=). Then our chickens are getting way too big to be in a cow tank, so we built a chicken coop. It is really quite nice. It is going to have siding on it that we are getting free from someon due to them having hail damaged siding. So, overall a wonderful weekend. As of this morning, my chickens were still alive. We weren't sure if the cats would try to climb through the eaves to eat chicken, but they didn't last night. Not only that but my male cat is not highly motivated. The two female cats are both pregnant (guess who the father is?) and they can't climb as well as they used to, so hopefully our chickes will remain safe until we get the eaves done. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Spaghetti

My hubby does not like spaghetti. Perhaps for the same reason I don't eat beets. He is kind and eats it when I make it ... tho' for a long time he wouldn't even get near it. So, this is one of the many reasons I absolutely love my guy! Last night there was a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser at the school. I was working and just assumed it would be one more year that we didn't make it. Seriously, I figure I can get through life just fine without having to PAY for the joy of eating spaghetti. Heavens! Does anyone else cut their spaghetti or do they have the twirl thing down? How embarrassing to have to cut your spaghetti in front of an audience!! I came home from work last night to find that my wonderful hubby had taken the troops to eat spaghetti. He actually had to PAY to eat spaghetti ... and he did it! The kids had a ball .. see part of this whole thing is raffle tickets to win baskets. And win they did. He got to eat spaghetti ... and now I get to soak in a lovely bubble bath and eat delicious cake (from the winning baskets). Not a bad deal ... what a dad! - anita

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Lindula's

This is a late entry, but hopefully Jen hasn't gotten to a computer yet. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!! Her big day was the 2nd.
To be prepared and do things in advance:
Happy Anniversary to MR. and MRS. REINO KUOPPALA!!
Happy Birthday Brian.
Happy Birthday Laurie.
Happy Birthday David.
I don't have a calander in front of me so I hope I didn't miss anyone.
At to everyone else, may you have a wonderful day!!
"It's time to start living the life you've imagined" - Henry James

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Anita's Green Monday

I spent the morning scrubbing the house for a visit from a cabinet refacing sales person. As I was scrubbing I spied Tia's frog. She had won this thing from the school prize box & was informed by a boy at school that it would grow if kept in water. So, it has moved from water bucket to water bowl .... and had been it's last resting place a little too long. I went to dump the water and the frog seemed slimey to me. So, being as the dishwasher was open ... I've shoved plenty of kids toys through there ... I popped froggy into the machine. Loaded the soap and turned the dial. Froggy bath coming right up.

Several hours later Anna & Tia came home from school. Tia opens the dishwasher and says, "mom, what is this green soap you are using ... it is everywhere!". I couldn't figure out what was all over the dishwasher. Silly soap! Tia went to use the bathroom while Anna & I stared at the "soap" disaster. ... and the light bulb went off. It wasn't soap. It was froggy! Let me tell you that the only piece of froggy that was left was down in the bottom of dishwasher and appeared to be about the size of chewing gum. The rest of froggy ... green stuck spot on glass, bowls, forks, spoons, coffee cups, the silverware basket, the top of every pokey uppy plate divider. Froggy was seriously splattered. I told Anna "let's not tell Tia what this is" ... and we had to just giggle. I must say I came clean ... the dishwasher never will! Tia thinks it was mighty silly. I used so much goo gone, threw away too many dishes ... and still have a frog spotted dishwasher that is really quite disturbing/disgusting/diseased looking.

So ... we're glad Monday is over!

Monday, May 01, 2006

Another weekend ...

This is highly unordinary for this household, but we managed to experience yet another new thing over the weekend. Sunday afternoon we went to Pioneer Village, which is a living history museum. Have passed the sign hundreds of times on the freeway, just never stopped. John & Karen Skoog & family volunteer there and had a bunch of us out for an 1800's afternoon. Was a bit on the warm side as the mercury rose to something over 95 degrees, but we had a wonderful time.
Mom, this one was for you. There were also the modern day port-a-potties.










Alyx churns some butter ... sorry a bit dark ... the butter was delicious.











A window in a church that reminded me of the one Dave & Jody were married in. The pews weren't as charming tho'. One of my daughters has decided that she would like to be married here.









Brock turns woodcutter. It took about 2 swings of the axe and he was finished.








Karen Skoog in her garb. Looks like quite a toasty warm outfit for such a warm day. She plays it well. She was so kind to take us on a tour of the Village.

FARMINGTON

Not much new here...just wanted to share my new painting technique. I took a class on faux painting about a month ago and tried it out on the bathroom downstairs. I am so amazed at how it turned out. I used 2 colors of gray (1 dark and 1 lighter) and faux painted that first then I bagged on some accent metalic silver over that and it turned out so nice!!! I only did one accent wall and it looks so nice with black rugs and black towels, black shower curtain (which I already had) and with the chrome towel hangers. Dave didn't know I had the talent but this class taught me so many different methods. Elizabeth, I think I have this down now (unlike your bathroom experiment-smiles), Would not claim to be an expert by no means but it sure is fun to try something new and have it turn out.
Anyone free for May 20th? We are planning to have a BBQ for Frans, Jenny and girls. If anyone else could join us for the day that would be GREAT! We are going to set up beanbag horseshoes and we also have the real horseshoes as well. Should be a fun time if you can make it! Just let me know who can attend and I will plan food accordingly! I am pretty sure that Missi and Ivan are coming and I haven't gotten a hold of Charlie and Machelle yet but am hoping that they can make it as well. It has been awhile since the Northern Kuoppala's and Randall's have been down and although I do know Frans and Jenny plan on going up north as well to Becky and Wayne's , it would still be nice if you could make it down for the day, we would love to have you.