Carving the Pumpkins!

Tonight was the BIG NIGHT at our house--Pumpkin Carving Night!! (much to the brother's disgust...) We carved pumpkins after Andrew's game (see below post for game details). This year, Jamie let all three kids just go to town with their knives and do their own pumpkin carving!

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Here are the kids with their finished products...

(Andrew, Austin, and Abby) ~~~
Andrew killing--I mean carving--his pumpkin!
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Austin is digging out the guts!
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The Squirrel found lots of seeds in her ginormous pumpkin!
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Trying to get all three kids to cooperate for a picture doesn't get any easier as the kids age! Here is the expression Austin gave me for most of the pictures...

What a DORK!!!

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I was so lucky to be assigned the job of digging thru the guts and retrieving the pumpkin seeds. We have a lovely pan of seeds roasting in the oven tonight--yum, yum!!!!

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Happy Halloween!!!

It's BASKETBALL Season!!!!

Tonight marked the first night of BASKETBALL games for Andrew! It was so great to be back in the gym--no rain, no snow, no COLD!!!! I really love to watch the three kids play basketball--of course, ask me how I feel in April after a 5 month basketball season with three kids playing!

:-)

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Andrew played well tonight--Of course, I can't remember all of the highlights, but I do remember one particular 3-pointer that Andrew nailed, and a few free-throws that added up to Andrew having a GREAT first game!

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Here is Andrew at point guard--bringing the ball down the court.~~~

This was going to be an awesome pic of Andrew making a pass, but I seem to have captured the ball much better than Andrew!
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Some of the team at the end of the game
(l to r) Andrew, Neil, Zach, Nick, and Tim
Andrew is showing off his 6-pack!
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Our score at the end of the game...
Barron Golden Bears, 60--Cumberland Beavers, 13
We started out our season with a BIG "W"--congrats, Barron!
Next game is Abby at Chippewa Falls this Saturday, then Andrew plays again next Tuesday. Watch for updates!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Denny!

Happy 65th birthday, Grandpa Denny!!!!

We hope you are having a great time down there in sunny Florida--we had snow here yesterday! (UGH!) Have a GREAT BIRTHDAY!!! We love you!

love,

Austin, Andrew, Abby, Jack, and Sophie

RAIDERS WIN!!!!!!

It was a BIG DAY today for Abby and her Rice Lake Basketball League Team, the Raiders--they won their very first game of the season!!!! The most interesting part of this win, is that they only had FOUR girls that showed up for today's game, so they played the entire game with the same four girls, and none of them got any breaks!

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This was the scoreboard at the end of the game...

(the Raiders were the Guests, the Cardinals were the Home Team)~~~

Abby's friend, Leila, who is on her Barron Basketball Team, was on the opposing team today. Abby had to guard Leila. As you can see, there was a bit of a height difference! It didn't matter, though--Abby even managed to "stuff" Leila once! Of course, Abz ended up on her behind after the "stuff", but she did it!!!

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Bringin' the ball down the court...
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Taking a shot...
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Giving it her all to get the ball to the hoop!

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There are three girls from Barron that play in the Rice Lake League. Today, Leila pointed out to me that all three of the girls wear a number FOUR on their basketball jerseys! These three girls are also players on my Barron Basketball Team.

Here are Abby, McKenna, and Leila...

The Three Fours!!!

Only two more weeks of Rice Lake Basketball left. Next weekend, Abby and I have our first Barron Baskeball Tournament in Chippewa Falls! Andrew is also in full-swing with his school basketball--his first game is this Tuesday!

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Have a great weekend!

Fall Sports Wrap-Up

The boys are both done with their fall sports now--Andrew ran his last cross country meet a few weeks ago, and Austin had his last soccer meet Thursday night.

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Andrew had a great season running cross country. He came in third place for Barron at every meet this year, and was one of the top 20 finishers at all of the meets. He did really well, and he will have a tough decision next year as a freshman deciding if he will run cross country in the fall, or if he will play soccer!

Andrew's cross country team was in the Barron NewsShield this week...~~~
Here is the whole article with the picture--Andrew is the third one from the left...

Congratulations on a GREAT year of running, Andrew!
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Austin and his soccer team traveled to the Michigan/Wisconsin boarder on Thursday to Land o'Lakes to play their first play-off game. They played the private boarding school, Conserve, the top seed in our division. The school is about a four hour trip from Barron!!! Jamie rode up to watch the game with our friend, Dallas.
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After a close-fought first half, our boys ended up losing what turned out to be their last game of the season by a final score of 1 to 4.

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Here are a few pics from the last home game of the season...

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Check out that footwork!
This was also in this week's Barron NewsShield...
Congratulations, Austin, on an AWESOME year of soccer!
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Well, on to BASKETBALL !!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Deb!!!

Today is Grandma Deb's birthday! We want to wish her a

Happy Birthday!!!!!Thanks, Grandma, for coming to so many of our games and school stuff! We appreciate you (and grandpa) taking the time to come watch us play our sports and be involved in the things that are important to us! We hope you have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
We Love You, Grandma!

love,

the Klimies

Austin, Andrew, Abby, Jack, and Sophie

Soccer Star!!!!

Austin got some exciting news today--

he was selected by all of the coaches in our conference as an

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION

varsity soccer player in the Heart 'O The North Conference!!!!!

This is quite an honor for Austin--especially as a Sophomore player! We are SO PROUD of him!!! He has really turned into a great player and has shown AWESOME sportsmanship this year---CONGRATULATIONS, AUSTIN!!!

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Here are a few highlight pictures from the season....
Two other of Austin's teammates were also selected for All-Conference Honorable Mention. Trinity Emerson, a senior Captain, and Cody Ostensen, a junior. Way to go, guys!

Meeting Erik Campbell

I am happy to report that I am finally home in Barron tonight, and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed! Rumor has it, that two DOGS have been occupying my space in the bed while I have been gone! I am appalled and grossed-out beyond words!

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I had time for two last lectures this morning before hopping my shuttle to the airport in Hartford, CT. I snapped a quick picture from my hotel room window before I left to give everyone an idea of the view I had...I thought it looked a lot like Wisconsin--only "hillier"!

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I was very fortunate to have visitors on Saturday night! Joe, Leah, and Baby Erik came to my hotel to pick me up, and they took me to the nearby town of Mystic, CT, to have dinner! (They also made an emergency stop at a gas station for me to stock up on some COCA~COLA!) Little Erik was SO CUTE!! He is such a good baby, and he was very content to let me hold him and squeeze him--I held off on pinching him, although the urge was strong!!! :-)

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Here is Erik at the resturant with his mom and dad...

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What a handsome little man!~~~

The poor little guy was a good sport about having the flash go off in his face all night... ~~~

I thought little Erik looked a lot like I remember his mommy when she was young (without the cute hair-pretties!)--but he has his daddy's eyes!
Cute little Leah...
Thanks, Campbell family, for springing me from the conference for a night on the town!

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It is good to be home!

I am in Detox!! HELP!!!!

So, here I am, still in Connecticut at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino. It didn't take me long to realize that this is the MGM Foxwoods Resort and Casino. What is the significance of MGM, you ask? Well, MGM, as I learned while we were in Florida, has an exclusive contract with Pepsi, CO., and therefore, cannot serve COCA-COLA on it's premises!!!

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This is VERY BAD!!!!

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I am suffering withdrawals as we speak! I have begged room service to deliver me a icy-cold COCA-COLA (which they have told me that they have, but can not give me because it is only "for the butlers"! Oh, the insanity!)! I am in the middle of the woods at a resort that only serves PEPSI! Can you feel my pain!?!

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Today, out of desperation and need of caffeine for my body, I broke down and purchased one of these...

I gagged down a few swallows and stored the rest in my mini-fridge for tomorrow if I get too bad.

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My mouth is watering for the delicious taste of

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I miss you, my friend...

Flights and Foxwoods

Today I jumped a plane to the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, CT for an Ultrasound Conference. Jamie drove me to the airport this morning after I took the kids to school. I had a lovely flight with lots of turbulence and a seatmate that went over his entire trip's itinerary with me--twice! :-)

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Really, though, my flight went quite smoothly (once I pretended to sleep!), and I made it to the hotel and got checked in by 7:00 eastern time. The hotel(s) are huge and quite nice, and my room has it's own thermostat that I can set at WHATEVER TEMPERATURE I WANT!!! No one is here to complain that it is too hot in here!!!

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Here is a picture of the Grand Pequot Hotel where I am staying--if you look closely on the 18th floor, you will see my room...~~~

This is what my room looks like--I even have that same artwork on the wall! But those people are NOT in my room--I am not sure how they got in my picture...

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Well, I am off to bed to get ready for a full day of Vascular Ultrasound Seminars tomorrow--bet you all wish you were here!!!

:-)

Paul and Tara Dorwin--October 11, 2008

Saturday was the wedding of Paul Dorwin and Tara Stewart. We all headed down to Durand for the festivities on Saturday morning. The weather was beautiful on Saturday--a perfect day for a wedding!

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Paul and Tara (well, we all know it was really Tara!) chose fall colors for their wedding--the flowers were beautiful! ~~~

The wedding was held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Durand...

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The new Mr. and Mrs. Dorwin~~~

Tara's mom, Lori Ann, was remembered in a special way at the alter...
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Of course, I had to take the opportunity to grab some photos!

Here are the Dorwins--Chad, Nicole, Carter, and Bradley, that is! ~~~

Autumn was looking pretty in her bridesmaid dress--she was the honorary maid-of-honor for her mom. Look closely--she was missing her front teeth for her sweet smiles!

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Auntie Connie and Uncle Al were there to celebrate the day. Olivia stuck close to her Grandma Connie after the ceremony. Cory was in the wedding party and stood up for Paul as a groomsman.~~~

Tara's little niece, Riley, and her nephew, Jarrod--the flower girl and the ring bearer--they looked so cute!

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At the Durand Rod and Gun Club, the reception was in full-swing. Tara's dad, Mitch, grew hundreds of gourds, squash, and pumpkins to decorate the tables with...~~~

A kiss for a memory... Tara and Paul would kiss only if someone came forward and shared a memory of the couple. I wanted to share about how when Paul was little, I continually made him say "Dirty Birdie" over and over again--he had a bit of a problem saying his "r" sound, and it came out something like "Dwerty Bwerdy"! It was so cute! I didn't want to let everyone know how mean I was to him, though, so I didn't tell the story...

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Two little girl cousins found each other and played together for the rest of the day! Olivia (4) and Allie (3) had a blast together at the reception. When it was time to leave, they both loaded their carseats into Grandma Pat's car, and Grandma Pat and Grandpa Denny took the girls (with Abby) to visit Great-Grandma. The girls argued, however, about Great-Grandma's name... Olivia insisted they were going to see "Grandma Peep", and Allie was adamant they were going to see "Grandma Bonnie"!

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Abby and Allie had fun together--they played all day at the wedding, and Abby and Allie had "picnics" at Grandma Pat's house until bedtime. Abby did a great job of watching Allie!

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Spending time with family is part of the fun of a wedding day...

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Mom and Grandma Lila--both looking smashing for the big day!~~~
Here is a picture of the "master gardner" himself, Tara's dad, Mitch! Sorry--I am not sure who the lady is with him... He and I were discussing the "wedding gourds" (see pic below), and this gal came up and posed for a picture for me, but I forgot to ask her name! If anyone can fill me in, leave me a comment, and I will caption the picture accordingly!

UPDATE: Nicole has filled in the blanks for me... the unknown gal in the picture is Jody Darr, neighbor of the Dorwin's--she lives in the house Bill grew up in (Grandma Ann's house)--thanks, Nicole!~~~

Everyone enjoyed the dancing that followed the reception...

Here is Paul and his new "daughter" dancing together.~~~

Tara with her newly acquired "son"--doesn't Evan look handsome!

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Of course, a Dorwin family gathering just wouldn't be complete if I didn't get a picture of Paige! She was showing off her new talent for me...~~~

LaNita and Grandma Lila

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As I mentioned earlier, Tara's dad, Mitch, grew all of the pumpkins, squash, and gourds that were used to decorate for the day. Some of the decorations were a bit unusual...Kind of reminded me of the Albino Chickens and their wedding outfits!!!

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Everyone had fun with the produce--and we were thrilled when Tara announced that all of the guests were free to take some home to decorate our own houses.

Some of us had more fun with the gourds than others!

Carter and Grandpa Ken... ~~~

The Squirrel

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Three generations of Dorwins

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LaNita's friend, Deb, drove up from Illinois(?) for the day to celebrate the wedding. Sheri and Sheila--I guess you went to Arrowhead with Deb back in the day... It was a fun day in Durand!

Congratulations, Tara and Paul!!!!