I am getting Bleacher Butt...

We have a crazy week of basketball here in the Klimek household! Just a quick update of the games so far... Andrew had a game on Monday night against Rice Lake St. Joseph's School. Barron won that game. :-) Andrew's team also played Tuesday night at home against Spooner, and they also won that game. Their team is doing quite well this year, and we are looking forward to seeing their traveling team play in January. Their school ball team plays again tomorrow night (Thursday) against Cumberland.

Austin started his High School Basketball Career last night (Tuesday night) in a home game against Baldwin-Woodville. It was a non-conference game to start the season off. Austin starts on the C-team and plays the point guard position. Unfortunately, their team didn't respond well to the press, and fell behind right away. They did warm up a bit in the second half, but it was too late to catch up, and they ended up losing this game. Austin plays again on Friday night at Chetek.

Abby also has a tournament on Saturday this week in Barron. She has practice tomorrow night to get ready for her games. We are planning on heading to Rice Lake for the Varsity Girls Game, too, as our girls need all the support they can get--Rice Lake is a tough team (not in our regular conference), and we had bad sportsmanship from their crowd last year. Also, Abby's two coaches from the Rice Lake League play on the Varsity team, so she will enjoy seeing them play.

Here are some pics from some of the games so far for your enjoyment...

Austin driving to the basket.

Austin burning his defender.

Andrew taking control at the point guard position.

Andrew daring the offender to try to drive.

Have a great week!

Happy 25th Anniversary, Sheri and Paul!

Happy 25th Anniversary to Sheri and Paul on the 27th! Congrats on 25 Big Years, and here's to 40 more!!!! I didn't have a recent picture of the two of you together, so here is one from the BIG DAY 25 years ago--so sweet! :-) I also came across this picture (must have been from JS your senior year??), and I just couldn't resist posting this one, too!
Congratulations, Sister and Brother (-in-law)!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving in Durand at Bill and LaNita's house with about 35 other members of our family. We had an AWESOME meal (thanks, Dorwins!), and it was a lot of fun seeing everyone again. Of course, there were those unable to attend this year that we missed... I tried to get pictures of almost everyone that was there today for those of you that were unable to join us here in Wisconsin to let you know we were thinking of you. I, for one, am so thankful for my family--my husband, my kids, my parents and parents-in-law, sisters, brothers, and the sisters and brothers-in-laws, nieces and nephews, grandmas and grandpas, all of my aunts and uncles, cousins, and extended family. I was reminded today how lucky we are to be able to get together as a family, and how we should not take these get-togethers for granted. I am thankful for last year's Thanksgiving celebration at Dorwin's house, as it was the last time I was able to talk to Sharon here on Earth. Remember to cherish the time together with family and friends!

Here are some LOVELY pictures for you to enjoy (in no particular order) of our day of feasting and family. Abby and Andrew colored the signs for me especially for people to pose with for my blog...

Enjoy!

Austin, Grandma Lila, Andrew

Bradley

Jordyn

Little Abby

Cruz and Todd

Damara and Jamin

Jamin and Steve

Abby and Moriah

Autumn and Paige

Cruz and Sam

Grandma Deb, Bradley, and Jamie

Chad and Jordyn

Chad, Jordyn, and Nicole

Jenni and Alex

LaNita, Paula, Perry, and Bill

Jack, Todd, Amy, and Missy

Tara, Paul, Ross, Little Abby, and Stephanie

A trip down memory lane...

Paula, LouAnn, LaNita, Perry, Pat, Sondra, Sharon

Grandma Lila and Grandpa Lyman

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Andrew's Big Buck!

Jamie took Austin and Andrew hunting this past weekend, as it was opening weekend for gun hunting here in Wisconsin. The guys hunted on Saturday in Nelson, but only saw one deer between the three of them that day. Jason was kind to offer the invitation to join them hunting in Indee on Sunday, so the guys headed to Treampleau County to look for some deer. I guess the deer were roaming the hills in that neck of the woods--Austin saw over 20 deer on Sunday and Monday! (he is a bit picky, and the 6-pointer he saw just wasn't quite big enough to shoot!)

Andrew was hunting with Jamie, as this is Andrew's first year of hunting. He must have been sitting in the right spot, because he was fortunate to have a nice buck come by his stand! Andrew is a great shot--he got the buck right in the heart! The buck probably was a 10-pointer, but you can see where some "tines" broke off of the right side of the rack, so the buck officially has 8-points--5 on one side, and 3 on the other. It weighed 160 pounds after it was field dressed.

Here are some pics of Andrew and his first buck...

Logan and Andrew

Happy Birthday to my Husband!!!!

Happy 36th Birthday, Jamie!!!!

Jamie and the boys are headed to Nelson for the opening weekend of deer hunting. He has had a busy (not very fun) birthday, but we still were able to visit him at work today to wish him a happy birthday and deliver some balloons and some goodies for him to share with his co-workers.

Of course, I have pictures to share... :-)

As I have some pictures with no writing on the back, I am not sure how old Jamie was in some of these pics, but I am guessing this was around his fourth birthday... Maybe Deb can fill me in with the dates! :-)

The Klimek Family--I would guess Jamie to be about 3 and Nicole to be around 1 in this picture. I won't try to guess Ken and Deb's ages!

Jamie--4 years????

What a NICE outfit!!!

I think Jamie was in about 4th grade when this school picture was taken...

Isn't he cute???

Sixth Grade

Sophmore year

Junior School Picture

Senior Pic--no wonder I thought he was such a hottie back then!!! :-) I wonder if the mullet will ever make a come-back in fashion??? (let's hope not!)

Jamie--Summer 2007--Still lookin' pretty hot! :-)

Happy Birthday to my hard-working, great dad, dog-training, lawn-mowing, car-selling, poop-scooping, laundry-helping, kitchen-planning, mighty-hunting, TV-watching, fun-loving, good-looking, getting kids to school on time husband! We all love you!!!

Love, Shana

Austin, Andrew, Abby

Jack and Sophie

The New Baby Comes Home...

Sophie came home to stay on Friday afternoon after her vet visit and her first shots. She was sad to leave her momma, but, as soon as she saw Jack waiting for her in the truck, her little tail started wagging! She was so happy to see him! Unfortunately, he was NOT happy to see her! Jack is not thrilled with his daughter moving into the Klimek household, and he lets her know by growling at her on the occasion she gets too close and too frisky. She doesn't care at all, though, she just keeps chewing on his big, floppy ears, and playing tug 'o war with his big, hairy tail!

Abby hijacked my camera this weekend and took tons of pictures of her new puppy. Here are just a few for your enjoyment...

Sophie LOVES all of Jack's toys--even though she has toys of her own. Jack, of course, is so happy to share with her!


A rare moment of the two dogs together. I think Jack is scowling in this picture! :-)

The one time Jack does tolerate Sophie is when she is sleeping. I guess he is safe from her sharp little teeth then! This is a staged picture, but he did let us put her by him, and then they slept like this for about a half an hour! They looked so sweet!

Austin and his little Sophie...

Andrew and Soph snuggling...

Abby and her new baby!

It has been a wild weekend with the two dogs here--we are all getting used to having a "baby" in the house again! Jack is slowly getting more accustomed to having Sophie around, and I think he will like her after a while. Hopefully, that will be sooner than later! :-)

Construction is still going on the kitchen. We are losing our kitchen sink and dishwasher early this next week--not sure what we will do then! I keep hoping the kitchen fairy will come while we are sleeping and we will awake to a totally finished kitchen, but that hasn't happened yet, so I guess we will continue to live in chaos for now!

Bringin' Down the Wall!

The wall in the kitchen finally came down today--it feels like we are making some progress, however small! :-) Our original floor plan has changed, since we have had to do some changes to the outside walls along the way to accommodate the electrical service coming into the house, so that has been a bit stressful. I guess I never imagined this would be such a ... messy... project! (smile) I tried to take some pictures of our new/old kitchen tonight -- minus the wall, but my camera wouldn't let me zoom out as much as I would have liked to. So, bear with me, and try to use your imagination to see what our kitchen looks like with a big hole where the wall used to be!

Here is a view from the northwest corner of the "new" kitchen looking into the "old" kitchen. The refrigerator and stove are still in the original spots for now... Note the radiator in the middle of the floor! That used to be under the counter that was under the window!

This picture was taken from the steps leading into the living room. This view used to include cupboards, the window overlooking the backyard, and the counter where the kids ate breakfast. Again, you can see the radiator still remains in the middle of the floor. Jack isn't sure what to think of the new kitchen space. He sniffed out the whole area, and then took a nap on the plywood floor.
Tomorrow, we are supposed to get the electrical wiring done--or at least started. I am hoping we are on a stretch of seeing a lot of progress, as I am still hopeful we will have the kitchen done by Christmas...

Barron Bear Basketball with Abby

Abby had a basketball tournament last weekend on Saturday in Chippewa Falls. The Barron Bears played against three teams--Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and Elk Mound. Barron did really well for their first tournament, and Abby did great! Here are some pictures that her brothers took of her lighting up the court...

Dribbling to the hoop...

Beating the defense...

Awesome defense!!!



Abby and "Coach" mom (I help coach the girls team)

The game was a lot of fun. We don't keep score at this level, so everyone is a winner! Austin and Andrew enjoyed watching their sister play, and were especially excited about getting up early on a Saturday morning to make the trip to Chippewa for the tournament! Grandma Deb also was able to come along and watch Abby play. Thanks, Grandma! :-)