A bit of our life...

Lori Vonada and Troy Johnson were married on Saturday. The girls let me catch a couple pictures before they left for the wedding. They have a lot of fun together... Jalen, Denise's boyfriend, was a groomsman. He just moved here from Arizona. We are enjoying getting to know him.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Laurie,
Happy Birthday to you!

Heather and Shawn

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Blayde,
Happy Birthday to you.

Heather and Shawn

Busy, Busy

Yep, we stay busy. Here's fun pics of Tristan & Gary, Shelby, Amber & Nolan

and Tristan walking after the circus. When I bought Shelby I thought they told me

she was a "Herd" dog not a "Bird" dog......She was MIA for about 10 minutes

one day while running the dogs down a trail.....she finally came prancing out

of the woods with this grouse in her mouth! : ) Too bad she doesn't have the

patience to wait for my mice! : )

Have a GREAT day!

Happy Mother's Day

FOR ALL THE MOTHER'S IN THE KUOPPALA CLAN:

Happy Mother's Day

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, 'It's okay honey, Mommy's here.'

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And for all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And for the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors. And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars. And when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Moon' twice a night for a year. And then read it again, 'Just one more time.'

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?' in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college -- or have their own families.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be JUST FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the others of those who did the shooting. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache she feels when she watches her son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when she just wants to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in her home? Or the need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...And for mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all... Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray and never stop being a mother...

Happy Anniversary

Wishing Mom and Isa a happy anniversary. Wishing you the best not only on your anniversary but the whole year through!

Heather and Shawn

Pete's 40th

We were there. Cousins attending: maternal side: Jen. Paternal side: One of Donald Kako's
daughters and her family and Bernice Hillukka. One gift was 40 pkgs. of Ramon Noodles. I
guess he eats lots of that while trucking. We were the 1st to arrive with Ruth on our ride and
we were dwarfed parked by his Magnum tractor. He has tickets bought and will go to Finland
this summer for suvi's. dk

The sun is shining ....

sad news from phoenix

I don't know if any of you know Amy and Lance Simonson, but today their five year old girl got hit by a car while riding her bike and was killed. (Amy is Ray and Kathy Johnson's girl, and Lance is Daryl and mavis' boy from Cokato) I think Amy and Lance have 6 kids, and she was like the 3rd kid I think. So incredibly sad!! Can't even imagine what they are going through!

Sad news from Cherry

Yesterday after school there was an accident that claimed a life of our neighbor. Caitlin Calgaro (16) was killed. Caitlin and her family are our neighbors (they bought Arnold Santi's house). In the car with her was Pete Ramfjord's step daughter. She is currently in ICU with broken ribs, bleeding in the brain, and an in medical induced coma. Will let you know more updates about Briana as we get them.

Heather

fishing

I really need to go back and read some posts I see. These pics here are from saturday. There was a fishing tourny saturday morning sponsered by the arizona roofing contractors association. A company that we buy most of our material from (RSG) paid for two guys plus their rep to go. On friday the rep called and said that he will not make it so they asked if I wanted to take his place. It was paid for already so I figured a day of fishing plus lunch for free, I'm in. I took his place and won first place with the biggest large mouth bass. It was not big but nobody was getting much out there. I got five bass total but they just weigh the biggest one. I won two hundred bucks plus a gift card to cabelos for fifty bucks. Not bad since I did not know there was even a prize.
Frans

Here's a few glimpses of what is new at our house

Had a bridal shower for Sarah (Jason Lindula's fiancee) at our house:Here's a look at what the cabinets are shaping up to look like;

hopefully there will be doors some day.
We seem to have a contest with Momma goats and their babies for the closest resembalance. Super cute:

Bella and Tulip

Chubs and Lucky (she needs to be brushed, but wouldn't let me that day)

Flicka with her baby boy "Rocky"

Precious with her baby boy "Ivory"

One of our highlanders

We should have cattle calving in May, with this one appearing to be due soon!

Just taking care of the chickens. It's fun to have different ones to add color, character, etc. If you ever feel you are having a bad hair day....

Curios Georg(I)e is pregnant again and should be due soon.

Flowers are coming up and it's time to get into the flower bed and get them cleaned up :)

Our new "TOM Turkey"

He's a bit agressive and so huge!!!

Our barnyard was missing some sounds, so got us a couple roosters to add another melody. I love these ones with their beautiful coloring.

That's us in a nutshell. Got some new pheasants but with the rain, haven't really wanted to haul my camera out yet. Hopefully this weekend!

A peek in an Alaska life

The White House Project

Some pictures from the weekend and not in any specific order:Ann Bancroft - arctic explorer. She has amazing stories to tell...

Becky Lourey - former senator and ran for governor

It was fun to see Mom's bringing their young girls as well...

Marie C. Wilson - founder and president of The White House Project. She also started bring your daughter to work day....

Eveleth City Councilor Liz Kuoppala :)

There were over 100 women and girls who came for the weekend despite blizzard like weather. A funny story: Ann Bancroft was notified of the weather and was told it would be understandable if she couldn't come. Ann's response: "my reputation is on the line here". It would be difficult to explain why you could ski or dogsled across both poles, but couldn't make it to Tower due to bad weather.

Here's Jen....

The steering committee with Winona LaDuke...

Winona LaDuke....

What a great weekend, very motivational. I was talking to a 15 year old girl who after one session over the weekend, decided to run for class president. She wants everyone's concerns to be heard and have all the students in her class be able to say what they want. Her motivation? Her coach!!!

Visitors

We had some new visitors at our house while I was at work yesterday. Duke went nuts ... and the moose didn't care. Apparently Duke thought that if he barked real loud and headed toward the moose ... the moose would be intimidated and leave. Nope. I hope he doesn't end up learning the hard way. Wish I had been home to see Tia jump up onto the deck. :) They bedded down behind the snowmachines and trailers in the trees. Cars came and went ... and they stayed. Don't know where they're at this morning ... hopefully not on the driveway! School bus comes in 20 minutes.



This second picture here has mom with 2 calves. 2 are sort of hidden in the trees.

Thanks Elizabeth!

Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for calling me and asking if I would be interested in attending Go-Run!

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend with Liz and Heather and 100+ other women and listen to so many people talking about making positive changes in our society. From elected officials to campaign managers to people who started their own organizations they all very neatly stated what got them going and how they were able to do it. We heard the struggles they had to face and how they overcame each one. I was amazed with Ann Bancroft and will be watching for her next trip in a few years! Someone that I have admired for quite sometime is former Senator Becky Lourey. Ever since Liz told me about her adopting children with disabilities, I knew that I would like to meet her some day. I was fortunate to be able to do so this past weekend. The amount of people I was able to talk to, learn from and be inspired by was amazing.

Thanks again for the amazing weekend!
~jen~

Happy Birthday Charlie

Happy 40th! May your day be filled with apple pies, good luck, and at least some relaxation!

This morning Machelle and I went to McDonalds for breakfast before heading to work. While there we placed an order. It took a little while, but then one of the workers handed me a box and said they were all ready. This morning I handed Charlie his gift. At least a few times a week he is wanting me to pick him up a couple of apple pies from there, so today he received 40 of them! Everyone in the resteraunt was laughing when I was walking out.

Debbie, I am so sorry I missed your birthday! I hope it was everything you wished for and more! I was up north and couldn't get on the computer and things were hectic so couldn't even call you.

~jen~

Enjoying Alaska

Us up northers here aren't ready for the snow to go anytime soon. My green beans and zucchini might be, but the humanoids in the house are not. You can tell this is the first winter for most of the folks in this house. They screech for joy when the white stuff starts coming down. We had some more of it this past week and I thought I was going to visit the ditch for the first time this season ... made it home tho' without ditch diving. :) gets the caboose ride on the way in ... with all the sleds.

Today we went up the mountain to play. Was so much fun! 10 folks (Tia and up in age) plus 1 little baby, 5 snowmobiles, sleds and snowboard. Was a magnificent day!

Tia gets to ride up in the sled with the sleds. On the way back she hopped on the back of a snowmachine. This is NOT the way to ride. Mighty bumpy back there.
Wally's Taxi Service ... the only way up the mountain after a fun ride down.

Anna's getting warm!

Brock is getting good on the snowboard.

More laughs and screams than a ride at Disney Land!

We spent some time at the first spot and then moved on to a much better one. Nice snow that was deep. Steeper sledding and boarding hills, and more fun for daring snowmachine drivers.

Absolutely incredible!

Taking a rest ... we had hot chocolate at the first place ... I think we've found food again. :)

Always a Dr Pepper along for Jari.

Kevin & Jari cutting a corner. Kevin had a video camera along and got some good biffs on it. Camera just doesn't do this place justice. Impossible to catch these mountains. My kids' expectations of "sledding" have become quite high.

The clouds started rolling in. The light was getting horrible. Though bright enough to see, you couldn't differentiate one hill from another ... bad news when you're moving along quickly. Started snowing when we hit the parking lot and was still snowing when we got home. Nice wet stuff that should freeze nicely for the morning drives to Anchorage.

I think we can all see why our kids love it here and maybe we're not quite ready for winter to be over yet. Maybe we'll get one more day of this ... the mountain already has much less snow on it ... won't be long before more boulders are poking through the snow. 'Tis fun!