FLAMINGO-MANIA

As a fundraiser for the church youth to go to New Orleans this summer we are in the midst of FLAMINGO FLOCKING.

What exactly is flamingo flocking you ask? Here's how it goes:

• For $15 you can purchase "flamingo insurance". This guarantees you a flock of flamingos will not nest in your yard ... provided someone hasn't already signed up to flock you before you get your insurance :)
• For $15 you can sign up to have someone flocked. This means that some night a flock of flamingos will nest in your yard. When you wake up in the morning ... there they are! At this point you can either call the flamingo removal service and for a $10 fee we will remove them in 24 hours. You can also pay $15 and have them sent to someone else's house. Or, you can just leave them there and they will be removed in 48 hours at no cost.

St. Mark's Youth Group is in the midst of a flamingo frenzy and our fundraiser is quite successful so far. Thanks to all our flocking friends for their hard work.

TAXES .... UGHHHH!

Today, April 14, I finally submitted my taxes online. Did I do them correctly? LOL, kinda doubt it. But, I tried. I despise doing my taxes. Every year I say I'm going to get them done right away and every year I do them at the last minute. Maybe next year I'll do better.

He is Risen ...

He is Risen, Indeed

Easter Saturday the boys and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for their annual Easter egg hunt. They had a lot of fun trying to find the eggs the little cousins had hidden for them. I guess one is never too old for an Easter egg hunt. They all shared in a delicious Easter dinner. A birthday cake was brought out for Jessie's 10th birthday. The evening was finished off with a DVD of Uncle Brian, Aunt Shelly, Jessie, and Logan's swim with the dolphins in Mexico. Lots of family fun.

Easter Sunday the boys and I ushered at the 7:00 service. If any of you know my boys you know they do not like getting up early in the morning. Overall, it wasn't too big of a struggle to get them up. Joey thought the communion wafer tasted like plastic today. Maybe it was because it was so early in the morning. Maybe we switched to a new brand. Who knows?

We enjoyed Easter breakfast at church put on by the bible campers. They did a wonderful job and it was delicious. Egg casserole, muffins, juice, fruit, ham sausages, YUM. Thank you Bible Campers!

We then went to Uncle Ron, Aunt Kathy, Eric, and Marlys' house for Easter brunch. We had a nice time with them and Kathy's parents and my aunt and uncle. Even got to meet Marlys' boyfriend, Patrick.

Then, back home for an Easter nap.

We Wove Wally

EAA Airventure Museum Field Trip

Joe in the cockpit of a plane.
Joe the pilot.

Planes hanging from the museum ceiling.

One of the plane displays.

Ian and Joe took a class at the EAA Museum. They got a raw egg, aka an EGGstronaut. Their mission was to design and build a spaceship to hold the eggstronaut. The spaceship needed to be designed such that upon re-entry and landing, the eggstronaut remained intact and did not turn into an omelet. Joe and Ian succeeded in their mission. When their spaceship was dropped from a second-story balcony in the museum, their eggstronaut withstood re-entry and landing !! No cracks, no breaks. Hooray for Ian and Joe.

Mission Accomplished

Memorial Day

This past week Joe, Ian, and I had the privilege of meeting Victor Bast, a World War II fighter pilot.

For over an hour we were transported back in time. We were flying high with Victor reliving his missions as a fighter pilot. We were shooting down Germans and being shot at. We were scared and we were exhilarated. We sat on the edge of our seats listening to the horrific tales of war. We sat quietly and let tears roll down our cheeks listening to the man of 85 years tell with a tremble in his voice, what it was like to take another man's life on Christmas Eve. We laughed at the antics of fighter pilots. We listened how Victor spoke with love and pride of the

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

What a privilege and honor to shake his hand and say

THANK YOU.

Joe, Victor Bast, Ian
God Bless You

***********************************************

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

The poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place;

And in the sky the larks still bravely singing,

fly scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.

Short days ago we lived,

Felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved,

And now we lie

In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep,

Though poppies grow

In Flanders Fields.

Horicon Marsh Fieldtrip

We went on a field trip with Joe's school today. We took a pontoon tour of the marsh. Absolutely beautiful weather. Afterwards we had a picnic at a local park.

Joe by an old cannon at a park in Horicon

Joe being weird with a fruit roll-up. He was saying he was so thirsty his tongue was hanging out.