We also had a good time at the rodeo, but my pictures from the arena didn't turn out so good, although I did get a decent paparazzi shot of the calf roper, Fred Whitfield. The Round Up rodeo is always good and this year was no exception.
Hi! We're the Lenssen Family. Dan, Shelle, Lana, and Nora. Welcome to our little corner of the world. Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to sit a while, read a story or two and check out some pictures. Comments are always welcome, or you can send me an email at shelle.lenssen@live.com.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Let'er Buck!
Last weekend was the world famous Pendleton Round Up and as an avid Round Up fan, I have an obligation to share this with my husband. It's okay, I think he liked it. Friday morning was the Westward Ho! Parade. It's really pretty neat. No motorized vehicles or rubber tires allowed. That means there are lots of wagons and horses. Of course there's the typical marching bnds and dance teams as well as political campaigners and universities. Here were a few of my favorites:
We also had a good time at the rodeo, but my pictures from the arena didn't turn out so good, although I did get a decent paparazzi shot of the calf roper, Fred Whitfield. The Round Up rodeo is always good and this year was no exception.
We also had a good time at the rodeo, but my pictures from the arena didn't turn out so good, although I did get a decent paparazzi shot of the calf roper, Fred Whitfield. The Round Up rodeo is always good and this year was no exception.
Monday, September 8, 2008
30 Thoughts for Dan's 30th Birthday
On September 6th, Dan turned the big 3-0. I was going to wax poetically about 30 things I love about Dan, but then I remembered that I am not a poet and a list of thirty things I love about Dan could turn sappy really quickly, so this is simply a list of thoughts about Dan, some kind of random, some short, some long, but they're all true.
1. Two weekends ago, I came home from the farmers market and found this note on the kitchen table. Sweet, huh?
2. Last night at dinner, Dan did an impression of Rob Akey's Vandal football radio commercial and had me laughing so hard I though I was going to spew food all over the table.
3. Dan is no longer surprised when he walks in the kitchen to find me dancing to the radio.
4. Dan can come up with silly lyrics for any song. Country, rock, pop, even church hymns, just give him a few minutes and he'll deliver a new masterpiece.
5. I don't think Dan ever gets cold. It could be the dead of winter and I'm curled up next to the heater wrapped in coats and blankets and he'll be wearing shorts and a t-shirt, opening a window.
6. Dan is a fabulous uncle. His nieces and nephews love rough-housing and playing with their Uncle Dan.
7. I think Dan likes playing with the nieces and nephews so much because they let him have an excuse to play with trucks and hurl himself down a hill on a snow tube.
8. I like that Dan will happily spend half a day hurling himself down a snow hill and then carrying the sled or tube back up the hill, just because the kids are having so much fun.
9. I appreciate that Dan doesn't mind when I try out new dinner recipes on him. He's usually very complimentary and even if the new recipe experiment was a total flop, he'll still have something nice to say about it.
10. Dan has never once gotten mad at me for forgetting to do something.
11. I have been able to talk Dan into some new adventures, and so far, no harm done. Do you think I can talk him into Phantom of the Opera? Wish me luck.
12. I have more fun with Dan than any one else in the whole world.
13. Whenever I have a funny/sad/scary/weird/mundane/interesting/exciting story, Dan is the first person I want to tell.
14. Dan has accepted the fact that all my scrapbooking stuff will never be completely put away.
15. Dan doesn't like tomatoes, avocados or Blue Cheese. I don't suppose this is good or bad, just interesting.
16. Dan is a very talented picker of fresh produce. He picks us out the best fruit and has a knack for finding the best ears of corn.
17. Even though he doesn't really like them, Dan still helped me pick several tubs of raspberries this summer. He's a way better berry picker than I am.
18. Dan and I have a standing Friday night date at the grocery store. I look forward to grocery shopping with my husband all week long.
19. See these pretty flowers. Dan got them for me, simply because he knows I like pretty flowers.
20. Dan has a well-worn Bible he keeps on the table by his side of the bed. Know why is so worn-looking? He reads it, a lot.
21. Dan decided to help me with children's church. That means, about once per month, it will be me and Dan and 15 to 20 three to five year olds singing and doing crafts in the church basement. Wish us luck!
22. I appreciate that Dan doesn't mind that I go to craft night once per month. He knows I need my girl time.
23. Dan has never once commented on the lack of "fairness"when it comes to closet space or bathroom shelf space that I take up versus the space allotted for his things.
24. You know that Brad Paisley song "I'm Still a Guy?" You should really listen to the words. I swear it was written for/about Dan.
25. Dan hooked up his speakers to the tv to create surround sound. When we watch action movies, the apartment walls shake.
26. Since we've been married, Dan has faithfully taken out the trash and taken the big can and recycling to the street for pick-up. He's so good that usually he takes the neighbors can out too.
27. For Dan's Birthday Dinner, we went to BBQ & Blues in Clarkston. Once again, it was wonderful. They added to their menu and now have a tasty starter, collard greens soup. It's dang good. We'll be back.
28. We also went to the Wazzu football game. The best part was sitting next to Dan. The worst part was the ugly football game.
29. Dan sometimes tickles me so much I swear I'm going to hyperventilate or wet my pants. Fortunately, I have yet to do either.
30. And finally, the sappy love fest I've been waiting for. I love that Dan is so wonderful, patient and caring. I love that I get a kiss goodbye every morning and a kiss hello every evening. I love you Babe and wish you a very Happy Birthday.
1. Two weekends ago, I came home from the farmers market and found this note on the kitchen table. Sweet, huh?2. Last night at dinner, Dan did an impression of Rob Akey's Vandal football radio commercial and had me laughing so hard I though I was going to spew food all over the table.
3. Dan is no longer surprised when he walks in the kitchen to find me dancing to the radio.
4. Dan can come up with silly lyrics for any song. Country, rock, pop, even church hymns, just give him a few minutes and he'll deliver a new masterpiece.
5. I don't think Dan ever gets cold. It could be the dead of winter and I'm curled up next to the heater wrapped in coats and blankets and he'll be wearing shorts and a t-shirt, opening a window.
6. Dan is a fabulous uncle. His nieces and nephews love rough-housing and playing with their Uncle Dan.7. I think Dan likes playing with the nieces and nephews so much because they let him have an excuse to play with trucks and hurl himself down a hill on a snow tube.
8. I like that Dan will happily spend half a day hurling himself down a snow hill and then carrying the sled or tube back up the hill, just because the kids are having so much fun.
9. I appreciate that Dan doesn't mind when I try out new dinner recipes on him. He's usually very complimentary and even if the new recipe experiment was a total flop, he'll still have something nice to say about it.
10. Dan has never once gotten mad at me for forgetting to do something.
11. I have been able to talk Dan into some new adventures, and so far, no harm done. Do you think I can talk him into Phantom of the Opera? Wish me luck.
12. I have more fun with Dan than any one else in the whole world.
13. Whenever I have a funny/sad/scary/weird/mundane/interesting/exciting story, Dan is the first person I want to tell.
14. Dan has accepted the fact that all my scrapbooking stuff will never be completely put away.
15. Dan doesn't like tomatoes, avocados or Blue Cheese. I don't suppose this is good or bad, just interesting.
16. Dan is a very talented picker of fresh produce. He picks us out the best fruit and has a knack for finding the best ears of corn.
17. Even though he doesn't really like them, Dan still helped me pick several tubs of raspberries this summer. He's a way better berry picker than I am.
18. Dan and I have a standing Friday night date at the grocery store. I look forward to grocery shopping with my husband all week long.
19. See these pretty flowers. Dan got them for me, simply because he knows I like pretty flowers.
20. Dan has a well-worn Bible he keeps on the table by his side of the bed. Know why is so worn-looking? He reads it, a lot.
21. Dan decided to help me with children's church. That means, about once per month, it will be me and Dan and 15 to 20 three to five year olds singing and doing crafts in the church basement. Wish us luck!
22. I appreciate that Dan doesn't mind that I go to craft night once per month. He knows I need my girl time.
23. Dan has never once commented on the lack of "fairness"when it comes to closet space or bathroom shelf space that I take up versus the space allotted for his things.
24. You know that Brad Paisley song "I'm Still a Guy?" You should really listen to the words. I swear it was written for/about Dan.
25. Dan hooked up his speakers to the tv to create surround sound. When we watch action movies, the apartment walls shake.
26. Since we've been married, Dan has faithfully taken out the trash and taken the big can and recycling to the street for pick-up. He's so good that usually he takes the neighbors can out too.
27. For Dan's Birthday Dinner, we went to BBQ & Blues in Clarkston. Once again, it was wonderful. They added to their menu and now have a tasty starter, collard greens soup. It's dang good. We'll be back.
28. We also went to the Wazzu football game. The best part was sitting next to Dan. The worst part was the ugly football game.
29. Dan sometimes tickles me so much I swear I'm going to hyperventilate or wet my pants. Fortunately, I have yet to do either.
30. And finally, the sappy love fest I've been waiting for. I love that Dan is so wonderful, patient and caring. I love that I get a kiss goodbye every morning and a kiss hello every evening. I love you Babe and wish you a very Happy Birthday.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
My Labor Day Weekend
I happily spend the end-of-summer three-day weekend sleeping in, relaxing, shopping at the farmer's market and getting caught up on some projects that needed my attention. Dan was busy with harvest (see next post) and I did visit him three out of four of the days to bring him food and keep him company for a while, but mostly I just locked myself in the apartment and got to work.First project: Barn Windows. I haven't totally decided what I'm going to do with these, but Dan dug them out of his Mom's old garage and I thought that surely I can do something with them. Right now they've been cleaned and sanded and I applied wood stain to one of them. Current Project Status: In Progress
Second Project: Do something creative with this paper. I sketched out some ideas but have been having problems actually executing these ideas. I got one page nearly done and another one about half-way done and a third still being formed in my head. Current Project Status: In Progress
Third Project: Turn this wonderfully fun fabric into something usable and cute. In theory this was supposed to be an easy project. The fabric was already cut out, all I had to do was sew it together. This is always easier said than done. I have materials to make six "items" (to be revealed at a later date) and I fully completed two of them. Current Project Status: In Progress
So, as you can tell, I did and I didn't get a lot done this weekend. I made headway on three projects, but didn't get any of them totally done. Oh well, I'll just keep working and hopefully have something done that I can post soon.
Dan's Labor Day Weekend
While I was busy sleeping in and getting caught up on my projects, Dan was spending all weekend working harvest on the Palouse. He left early and got home late Friday-Monday. He mostly drove grain trucks, but did spend a bit of time helping to fix a combine.I visited him and rode along a couple of the days. Mostly to keep him company and bring him necessary provisions.
{Dan working hard and trying to ignore the camera}
Harvest on the Palouse is really amazing to me. These fertile hills produce so much. It's quite astounding when you think about all the food that is produced on the farms in the area. I get really tired of hearing and reading the opinions of people who one day decide they're environmentalists and want to accuse farmers of being greedy land-abusers. If that is your opinion, I would encourage you to actually meet a farmer and tell me what part of him is greedy to you? What part of the hard-working, faithful stewardship of his land do you take offense to? What part of feeding millions of people do you think is wrong? A popular bumper sticker a few years back read, "Fed your kids today? Thank a Farmer." That's one slogan that should make a comeback.
{Soft white winter wheat, ripe for the harvest}
{after the combine has been through}
So even though Dan worked all through his "vacation" weekend, after work today he'll be back out there again and will continue to do so until the harvest is over. Before you start to think that it's too bad Dan couldn't do anything fun over Labor Day, you have to know that my dear husband is a worker by habit and by nature and he enjoyed every minute he was out there.
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