Open House Time...Already??

It just doesn't seem possible that our summer has come to an end!!  

Where did the summer go?  

Our BLMS staff...go Hornets!!

 Fun prior to the start of open house...

 The three amigos :0) 

 Welcome back, Danielle!

 Goofing around...

 Time to cool off after a VERY warm open house night...

 Another great bonding opportunity...

We had an awesome turnout at Trails.  I think we had 30 teachers show up!! :)

Ready or not, here comes another school year!!

Whirlyball, Anyone?

     What the heck is Whirlyball?  We decided to find out this summer as our "back to school" gathering.  Sign ups were in June, which was before my unexpected surgery, so I had to settle on being the photographer this time around.  Nonetheless, it was a blast to watch, and I can't wait to participate the next time we go!!

The Whirlyball Gang

      Whirlyball is a combination of lacrosse and bumper cars, and it is played on a special court. There are two teams (five on each team) vying to "shoot" or "score" a point.  There is a running timer as well.  As of now, there are only 17 Whirlyball courts in the United States.

 Here is Todd enjoying a "pregame" beverage.

 The shop teacher kissing the secretary in between games... (Mr. and Mrs. Hill) :0)

What a great end of the summer and group bonding activity!!

Eternal Peace, Patrice...

     Sadly, one of my co-workers lost her fight with ovarian cancer today.  She was a such a fighter during her battle.  She did greet her first born grandchild, Katherine Patrice, at the end of July, which was such a blessing for her, her daughter, Kristi, and her husband.
     She lost her husband to cancer when Kristi was an 8th grader and her sons were in elementary school. Prayers of comfort and peace for her three children, her parents, and family members.  It is with heavy hearts that we will be going back to school on Monday.

Heidi and Patrice during their battles with cancer.  

Patrice decided to "ditch her hair" in the second picture.

Here is her Caring Bridge posting from her family:

     Patrice left this world and entered eternal life at 10:35 this morning. She was surrounded by her family in the sunny porch of her parents' St. Louis Park home. We will miss her tremendously.

Farmer's Market Finds

Check out these beautiful flowers from the Sartell Farmer's Market!!

Awesome Arboretum

Well, I had my first official outing since my surgery.  

It was a gorgeous day filled with such beautiful flowers.

     Luckily, there was a one hour tram tour since I wouldn't have been able to trek through the entire arboretum at this point.  Barb, Alison, Judy, Sharon, and I really enjoyed our tour as evidenced by the pictures below:

     After our trip to the arboretum, we headed to Snuffy's Malt Shop for a hamburger and chocolate malt. YUM!! 

Too Cute

     I forgot to put this picture on my blog.  The day we left to come home from Sheridan, Darrell went inside the convenience store to grab some ice.  Next thing he knew, JJ was sitting in his seat like she was going to drive us home!! 

 I love this picture since she looks like she is smiling for the camera!! :)

An Unexpected Event

     Not too long after I returned from Wyoming, I woke up at 2 AM one morning to an immense amount of pain.  After four hours, I couldn't stand it any longer, so Darrell took me to the ER.  It didn't take them too long to figure out the culprit: my gallbladder and some trapped gall bladder stones.  Since my liver was elevated, the doctor wanted to schedule surgery when the GI surgeon could be there as well to take care of the stones that were trapped in a tube that connects the gallbladder and the liver.  Since the GI surgeon wasn't available on Thursday, I had surgery Friday morning.  So one doctor removed my gallbladder through four areas in my tummy, and the other doctor used a scope down my throat to remove the floating stones.  I am glad I only have to go through this once!!

     In my "drug" induced state, Darrell had fun with my iPhone.  I don't recall much about this first picture since it was right after I was taken back to my room from recovery.  I think he got pretty good at using my iPhone though!

These are called intermittent pneumatic compression devices.  

The are basically little leg pumps to prevent blood clots after surgery.

Good thing I had a pedicure while I was in Sheridan! :0)

     Two nights and three days later, I was back home to recover. Thanks for the flowers, balloons, cards, texts, and well wishes for a speedy recovery!!