LaBarge Family

Ashes to Ashes

2011-02-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

Hanging out at the wrecker joint.

Hot Wheels

2011-02-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

It all started close to midnight on an evening with a lot of freezing rain. Jackie and I are snuggled nicely in bed when we hear a loud bang, followed by a bright white light. Jackie got up and looked out the hall window and saw a large white fire at the end of Winton, almost to Konkle. "Bob, there is a fire at the end of the road, across from McBrides!". Several seconds later I hear; "Bob, there is a fire in front of our house!"

We go downstairs, hear the crackling and see the large white sparks of a downed high power line running the entire length of Winton, from the pole to our left to the original white fire at the end of the street. Good news is, we are OK. Bad news is, the sparkling wires have landed on both of our vehicles parked out front. I call 911 to let them know the situation. "Please don't call us for a power outage. Click". I look out the window and see the front tire of the Saturn on fire and call 911 again, this time getting a better response.

We watch as more of the Saturn catches on fire, at which point I get worried that the gas tank might blow, so Jackie wakes up her mom and tells her to get dressed. Helen checks out the view from the picture window and doesn't quite get the idea that we might have to leave the house at some point and it would be nice to be dressed for the occasion. I mean, it takes her a half an hour. And drawn like a moth to a flame she doesn't really believe us when we tell her that standing right in front of the large glass window might be quite dangerous. At that point the police finally arrive, followed a few minutes later by the fire truck, and they all come to enjoy the view from a safe distance. The fire men run a hose past the front of the house in case the house needs it but want nothing to do with getting near the downed wires.

I go outside in the freezing rain to talk to the police and the firemen and they tell me that "most likely" the gas tanks will not explode because they are designed to vent the gas so it burns out that way (maybe mother does know best). Consumer Power is busy with a lot of other storm damage and nothing will happen until they come and shut off the power. Meanwhile, the Windstar tires start to burn. Consumers finally arrive at about 2:45 am and the male firemen let the lone female "fire fighter" haul the heavy hose to flames still pouring from what is left of the cars. A few squirts here and a few squirts there, a lot of smoke, she waits, and both cars start to flame again. This goes on for 45 minutes, same results. Finally a fireman brings a hand held tank and subdues the metal hunks in a couple of minutes. Another fireman gets an ax and tries to open the Saturn trunk. I watch him work on it for about 5 minutes, fingering the trunk key absentmindedly in my pant pocket.

Eventually the fire people leave and the towing service arrives to remove the blacken shells. I thought they would bring a flat bed, tilt down truck, but down the road comes a regular wrecker. Now, the cars don't have any rubber on the wheels. In fact, all of the tires are kaput. But they figure it out with towing wheels for one car and the tilt truck for the other. We finally go to bed after 4 am but don't really get any sleep. But praise the Lord, we are fine.

Camp Kuipers

2010-07-05T11:21:00.001-07:00

Mallory and Sydney had a great time at Camp Kuipers last week. This was the only picture I took - right before a soccer clinic at a friends house. Actually, the girls insisted that they were both called Sydney since they wanted to do everything the same all week long!

2 minus 2 teeth

2010-06-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Elliana lost her 2nd front tooth at our house awhile ago - finally posting pictures. Raleigh's two front ones are missing and the new ones are nowhere in sight - Ellie already is growing her first top one. They will look like Daphne in no time!

FLOOD!

2010-05-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Here are the fields Brendan's soccer tournament was at three weeks ago! They got so much rain in Nashville. I heard 17" or so. So sad.

But, Brendan did great at the tournament! Two goals and his team came in second place!!!

Family Funeral pics

2010-02-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post some pics from the funeral, that didn't make the young blog. Love you guys!

Greyson and the Girls

2010-01-30T11:41:00.000-08:00

Pajama party at our house! Well, only for a few hours. The girls found time to set up a store and sell paper products - envelopes, paper airplanes, and fans. The Tinies went to bed early and the Bigs and Littles stayed up giggling until past bedtime. They did all fall asleep before Ceci and Dave came back to get them. The funniest part was watching Ellie - in an "I'm awake but really sleeping" state try to crawl into bed with Sydney - taking her blanket and everything. Greyson was completely outnumbered - get used to it Grey - Aunt Becky is not helping the ratio!

Greyson and Piper were so funny to watch. Greyson tried to steal anything that Piper was playing with. He is lucky for now that she is so willing to share! They had a good time together - Greyson followed her everywhere:)

Happy Birthday baby James

2010-01-28T17:45:00.001-08:00

Wow, five years ago today...and still close to our hearts.

Cookie Party & Survivor

2010-01-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

Two quick things y'all!

1. Just got my computer fixed. Will be working on the Christmas Celebrate Cookie party soon! I will post the video on this blog when I'm finished. I apologize for the delay. When I don't have the deadline of Christmas morning I tend to slack a little bit... ok a lot!

2. Survivor All-Stars is coming soon. I remember last time there was an all star cast we had a little healthy competition. I liked that and would be up for that again. Wondering if anyone else would be interested. We can pick names out of a hat. When your survivor is out, you are out. Pretty simple. Winner gets ______________. Need some help there. Don't know what the winner would get. I'm sure there's some creative ideas out there.

That's all I got. Let me know what you think y'all!

Happy Birthday

2010-01-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Life at 60!!!!

Happy Birthday Dad! Enjoy your day. Sorry we can't be there to celebrate.

Cookie Party - 2009 Version

2009-12-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

The Joys of Mountain Living

2009-12-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

This is the main road up and down Signal Mountain. We had so much rain last night that it washed away a huge chunck of road. Unfortunately, I need to take this road up and down to get the kids to school. Looks like early mornings for all of us here!!! They do have the road open to one lane of traffic so it's possible to get through, but there are going to be major delays. Fortunately noone was hurt.

Christmas break cannot come soon enough.

We Won't Win the Best Tree Award...

2009-12-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

But how about the best GARLAND on the STAIRS award?????
As you can see - the girls were a BIG help - smiles on their faces the whole time:)

Oh, and James...I mean Hudson...I mean GREYSON got his stocking - it is BEAUTIFUL!

Sydney wanted to put the angel on the tree so bad. She has been asking for days. The tree is leaning more today than it was yesterday - I don't think it will fall over:)

Piper's Birthday Party

2009-12-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from Piper's birthday party... finally. What a great day. Thanks to everyone for celebrating Piper's first birthday!

Tender Tennessee Christmas

2009-11-30T18:04:00.000-08:00

First Nomination for the BEST Christmas Tree. . .

This ones for you mom!

The Three Wisemen?!!

We'll see ya'll real soon!!!

Cell Phones

2009-11-10T11:51:00.001-08:00

If you need to get ahold of James or me - call our cell phones - our normal house number won't be working for another week (at least we get to keep it).

A Doctor, Cinderella and a Zebra

2009-10-31T18:03:00.001-07:00

It can't be Halloween in our house without at least one princess - it was nice to have a little variety this year!

She wore this for her senior picture

2009-10-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

We did have pumpkin carving and chilli at Missy & Dans, but since no one posted pictures this will have to do. Notice the rad shoes!

Champions!!!

2009-10-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Brendan's team won the tournament last weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. It was so exciting!!! Brendan scored a goal and had many outstanding passes/assists. His team has never had a winning record or even placed at a tournament before. It was so fun to see all the boys play their best and be rewarded for all their hard work. Honestly, I don't know who was more excited to win the players or the parents! It was muddy and sloppy, but they did great. We are so proud of Brendan! Up next, Atlanta!

More Wedding Pictures

2009-09-06T04:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some more random wedding pictures. What a great night for a wedding!

Random wedding pictures

2009-09-05T20:06:00.001-07:00

Great Wedding Missy!!!!!

Week at a Cottage

2009-08-22T07:55:00.001-07:00

The Roberts' came to visit us at the cottage we rented this past week. The girls had a great time swimming and playing together.

Piper on the paddle boat

The girls played in the water a lot but they also liked climbing onto the top bunk of the queen size bunkbed to play

Ceci and I took the paddle boat into the middle of the lake and the 4 girls jumped off and swam around - Raleigh and Ellie wanted to swim back to the cottage all by themselves - we made them get back on the boat until we could get closer and then let them swim back. They would still be swimming...

The guys took the girls on kayak rides

This was right before Ceci "helped" Mallory into the lake

This would be even better if they were not in 6 inches of water

and Grey took a nap...

We also got to go on the pontoon boat - the kids loved it. Greyson does not love his life jacket (wonder why) and the girls loved helping James drive the boat. We are glad Ceci and Dave spent their anniversary with us at the cottage!!

According to Sydney...

2009-08-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

Row, Row, Row your boat
Gently down the stream
Mallory
Mallory
Mallory
Mallory
Life's about a dream...

The Haps at Gma's

2009-08-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

Multi-color chair and a half that mom did for Ceci's friend Amy Jo.

Ellie and Raleigh working on their sashes for Missy's big day.

Ceci, Dave and the girls stopped over the other night "just for a few minutes" shortly after Jackie

and I took down the Christmas plates that have apparently been embarrasing our children for the last 12 years (and I only found this out yesterday).

They (everybody but Pipes) ended up working like dogs for over 3 hours stripping wallpaper. Ellie and Mallory never let up for a minute. As long as they had a bottle to spray gallons of water on the paper (or on other people if you're Dave), their own scraper, and we looked at their work to compliment them every 47 seconds, they were the destructo monsters of fine home decorating. Thanks again guys!

Engagement Pictures!

2009-07-30T10:46:00.001-07:00

Since you all have already heard the story, here are some pictures of the engagement!

more Tennessee...

2009-07-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Tennessee. Ben and Janet's house is beautiful...and fun. The girls wanted to stay longer and keep asking when we are going back. Ruby Falls was fun, the girls loved swimming, the playground was great - overall a GREAT VACATION! The kids played in a little river thing by the aquarium while James and Janet got the tickets. I thought it was cool.

The girls always love a good aquarium - I think they like the gift shop the best. We talked them out of buying yet another pink stuffed dolphin to add to the collection.

Janet bought cupcakes and we celebrated an early birthday for Raleigh (she LOVES the panda)

Oh, and a flat tire on the way back home. James helped the girls fix the tire while I fed Greyson. They thought it was cool. Even cooler was the 4 foot long swardfish we saw in a car on the way home laying on a pillow...we also saw 2 blown up aliens "driving" a car that was being towed...and we drove right by the end of a rainbow. Other than the 2 times Sydney threw up from motion sickness (not even in the mountains - right at the beginning of the trip) we could not have asked for better travelers. The kids did great in the car. Greyson's ears were bugging him (I think) going up and down the mountain but he never fussed long. I got home and brought in a bag of stuff I brought for the drive for the girls that I never needed to give them.

Thanks for a great vacation Ben and Janet!! We are coming back!

The Red-Neck Kuiper Clan

2009-07-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT time with the Kuiper's family the last couple of days. We went swimming, to the aquarium, Ruby Falls, a playground, and downtown Chattanooga. The time went sooooo fast. It was so nice to have family here and spend some time with them. Hopefully Sydney will recover from all the twisty and turny roads and Greyson will be happy to not have to pop his ears going up and down the mountains. Raleigh improved so much on her swimming for the few days they were here. It was so much fun to have more girls around for Daphne. I guess the only bad thing that happened was that we ran out of Red Vines and Peanut M & M's!!! Thanks for coming Kuipers.

Melodie at Festa

2009-07-18T12:00:00.001-07:00

We spent the last two days at Festa Italiana. It's a big Italian festival in Milwaukee that hosts a variety of musical talent, as well as food, arts, crafts and fireworks. Ryan's brother actually plans his vacation time from work around Festa, and this year, he got to MC one of his favorite singers. This year's theme was "Pinocchio", which celebrated the 125th anniversary of the supposedly Italian story (who knew Walt Disney was Italian...). They made a sand sculpture of the story, which was pretty impressive. The second pic is of Renee, Melodie and Grandpa Ranallo, who I'm convinced knows EVERYONE in Milwaukee. The last picture is Melodie on the carousel...I won't post the video though, as she had a nasty tumble off her horse, which left her with a couple of cuts and bruises on her face. She's fine, and got some free chocolate ice cream out of it, but it was a scary couple of minutes. So much for the free carnival rides at festa!

Cute Kids!!

2009-07-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Carrie graciously watched Dan's kids for me while I went to an appointment in Grand Rapids yesterday. While I was gone, Carrie took this picture of Lizzie, Kaleb & Silas in the treehouse. I thought we needed some new posts on the blog- so here it is! :)

Girls learning how to ride their bikes...

2009-06-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

California

2009-06-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing 5 days in California!!
First, we went sailing

Then we went surfing (I even stood up! Dan is a great surfer! Too bad I don't have pictures of him on the board)

And we spent 2 1/2 days hiking in Yosemite! It was beautiful, to say the least!

Girls getting ready for camp...

2009-06-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Meijer Gardens

2009-06-14T13:14:00.001-07:00

Ceci and Dave invited us to Meijer Gardens on Friday. We had a great time!

Grey slept most of the time.

The littles ran around most of the time

the bigs played well most of the time

And piper smiled most of the time!

Fun with the Youngs

2009-06-04T05:39:00.000-07:00

Melodie came to our house yesterday. The girls had a good time playing with her. I cannot believe she is old enough to play!

Sydney thinks she is a big helper! Melodie loved the swing - we have not used it in awhile - it was nice to get it back out again.

Tunnel Park

2009-06-01T05:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Saturday's big Wiffle Ball extravaganza! I'm working on making an album that everone can access (through picasa) and then download the pictures yourselves. I'll email it to y'all!
Good job kids on winning the big game (what is that- 3 years running?)

Wiffle Ball

2009-05-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

The LaBargies are coming back to town!!!!
Family Gathering this Saturday at Tunnel Park!!!
4pm
Wiffle Ball
Mom said she's bring hotdog & hamburger buns and plates
Everyone else bring your own meat (to fill the buns), drinks, and a dish to pass.

See you there!

Fun in the sun

2009-05-20T14:57:00.001-07:00

We had a gorgeous day in Milwaukee today. We went to the zoo this morning, and then after a nap, Melodie even got a chance to play in her new "pool". She loved it, especially when she figured out that she could drink from the sprinklers. :)

The Ben La Barges are Coming!!!

2009-05-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

We will be heading back to Michigan on Friday, May 29 - Sunday, June 7. Hopefully we can meet some new faces (Greyson & Dan) and catch up with everyone. School is done in 4 more days (there goes my freedom!) and baseball and soccer are done this week too. It has been INCREDIBLY BUSY, but a ton of fun. Here are several recent pictures.

Brendan's soccer team had a tournament this past weekend. They won 2 games and lost 1. It was a lot of fun. The boys are really improving.

Dugan got to write a book in school. He wrote a book on gorillas which was turned into a real hardcover book. It was a fun project and was neat to see all the kids in his class put so much effort into this.

Daphne lost another tooth. You can barely see it in the picture, but she lost a top, front tooth!!! She looks like she either belongs on the Red Wings or like a natural Tennesseean!!!

Dear Bob Blog

2009-05-12T18:27:00.001-07:00

I just started a new blog called:

Dear Bob Blog

A place where I can ramble on more frequently,
while also trying to link to my insurance web site.

Maybe I'll just enter Twitter like comments
such as - "You think?"

or

May 12th
Adam screams - panel dreams - not my dog dude

http://dearbobblog.blogspot.com

Tulip Time photo dump

2009-05-08T11:10:00.001-07:00

Piper Pic

2009-05-04T06:05:00.001-07:00

Ben and Janet, you may recognize the excersaucer...Carrie let me borrow it until Greyson needs it and she lives in the thing! Anyway, it's gotten a lot of use over the years!

Greyson pictures

2009-04-22T08:17:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of Greyson - Janet told me to put some on the blog. He'll be so much bigger by the time the LB's get to meet him!

Look who's one...and WALKING!

2009-04-20T18:41:00.002-07:00

Melodie started walking on her birthday. She took like five steps. But now she's cruising all over. This is a video from today. I promise to get photos up from her birthday soon.

2009-04-20T18:41:00.001-07:00

Chess anyone?

2009-04-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

This Saturday Elliana has her first soccer game. Boy is she excited. Boy her mother is not. 2 years ago, we signed Ellie up for Park Township soccer, but accidentally got her on the wrong team. We took her to her first practice and watched in horror as these way too big kids kicked and dribbled and schooled her all over the place. We realized our error and pulled her the next day. I don't know why I thought she'd never ask to play again, but well, anything Raleigh does...you know. So we got her signed up this year, thankfully, on an all girls team this time.
Dave took her to her first practice on Monday and he told me, no, ASSURED me that she was pretty much at the same skill level as all the other girls, and not to worry. I was relieved and tonight I took her to practice.

You know, there's the token too-tall kid who looks like she flunked the first grade several times. She takes a swipe at the ball, and although it goes nowhere near the bottom of the net, it does sail over the top of the post much to the sheer delight of the coach, who runs over to "help her direct" the ball a bit. Then there's the too small girl, the one whose shirt hangs down past her toothpick-thin knees, but amazingly can dribble the ball through a crowd all while using her instep and her outstep. The loud girl was there, whose bark is worse than her bite. The little mexican cutie was there too, I think she may have played in Mexico as a young child, using a tin can instead of a real ball, but quite nicely developing dribbling skills. Then theres Ellie. Dear sweet Ellie.

You know the practice drill where they set the cones up in a line and you weave through the cones? Yeah, we'll be practicing that one some more in the back yard. Sharks and Minnows? Well, Ellie looked real cute in her purple soccer shorts. Oh dear. But my favorite part of the practice was when it was time to take a turn in goal and she loudly declares, "MY MOM WAS AN ALL STATE GOALIE!" As I turn red and she totally misses EVERY BALL that came her way. 40 minutes into practice I pack up the other girls because, um, Piper was cold, so I hid out in the minivan. All the while scolding myself for being so darn competitive. She is only 6 and it is just a game....right?

So she bounds over to the car, red ponytail bouncing behind her, and goes, "I did pretty good, huh?" Did you want to invite Grandpa and Grandma to my first game. Um, yeah Ell, I'll give em a schedule. gulp.

One more thing. As we're driving home she says, "Hey Mom, you know what coach C says the whole point of playing soccer is anyway? Uh, to win win win and take home the biggest trophy?

"To have fun." Point taken, Coach C. Point taken.

Who do you see?

2009-04-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

Tim Cupery sent me a few scanned pictures that are, apparantly, from a Christmas program at New Life Assembly Church. There are a few pictures, but Carrie (of course!) is hidden in all! Isn't this classic??

Melodie's Michigan Party

2009-04-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

Melodie had a birthday party in Michigan yesterday. Becky's camera was out of batteries or something so I took some pictures. Melodie loved her cupcake!

Raleigh made Greyson a party hat - I am sure he was thrilled.

Melodie LOVED the animal house that Aunt Ceci got for her.

It was the first time the Tinies were together. They all had a great time!

We missed the Tennessee Cousins!

I'm HOME

2009-04-02T13:10:00.001-07:00

Mom - here is Greyson in his "coming home from the hospital" outfit. We I bought when we went shopping for boy and girl outfits for Sydney. I am glad I saved it!

We are HOME! It has been a very fast 2 days - less than 48 hours ago I was still at home not sure I was even in labor. Greyson is doing great - sleeping a lot and eating well. The girls are not back from Grandma K's yet but the noise will be coming soon!

Greyson James

2009-04-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

He's here!

Greyson James was born on March 31, 2009 and weighed 7lbs 7 oz. He is doing great today. Raleigh got to come meet him but Sydney is not feeling good so she won't be able to see him until we come home. I'll put up more pictures later!

Hillbilly Sledding!

2009-03-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

We were downtown with my parents last weekend waiting for a table at a resturant. While we waited, we took the kids for a walk down to the water. When we were at the waterfront, we saw tons of people "sledding" down a grassy hill on flattened boxes. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. The kids had a blast. Of course Ben and I had to get in on the action too!!! He went down standing up and I rode on my buns! Who would have thought you didn't need snow to sled? See what good times you can have down here!!!! The kids were covered in dry grass but had such a great time. We even had to go back after dinner!

For Janet

2009-03-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

So Jan, I know that you wanted to see a picture of Dan... here it is!!

Cinderella

2009-03-22T06:18:00.001-07:00

Daphne- we missed you! Last night, the Michigan girls went to go see Bloomingdale's "amazing" school production of Cinderella. Raleigh wore a blue team shirt in honor of Cinderella. Elliana looked at me during the scene where Cinderella and the Prince are dancing and rolled her eyes. Mallory kept asking Ceci if the people on stage were "real people", and Sydney, dressed as Cinderella herself, bum-rushed Cinderella after the play was over and knocked here over... where a man commented "this one should be a football player". We had a great time. The girls enjoyed drawing Jesus dying on the cross on Aunt Miss's classroom board.

She Don't

2009-03-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a song I wrote today while waiting for a road test customer.
Sing to any country music tune that has a twang to it.

She Don't

She don't hang around my house anymore
She don't blob on the sofa
for hours galore

She don't stop by for dinner
and eat like a whale
Oh, how I miss that gal!

She don't hang around my house anymore
No 10 hour Jane Austin
No Flosee LaFleur

No looking for car keys
when she's off to a sale
Oh, how I miss that gal!

She don't hang around my house anymore
History is just history
and Alvins still Gore

The cell phones not hidden
It's now her dear pal
Oh, how I miss that gal!

She don't hang around my house anymore
with gut aches and back aches
stretched out on the floor

How I long to see new boots
clothes sharp as a nail
Oh, how I miss that gal!

Jo's Wedding

2009-03-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post a few pictures from Jo and Sunder's wedding. We had a great time, and I'm convinced that Indian clothing is WAY more comfortable than dresses and American clothes! I didn't get any pictures of it, but Sunder led us in some Indian dancing during the reception which was a blast. I think we'll have to bring him along to the next family wedding...it was WAY too much fun.

Wii had a good time

2009-03-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

Ed and Carol came into town yesterday to give us a rug that was Grandma and Grandpa LaBarge's. On their last trip to Turkey, Ed and Carol had gotten a new Persian rug of their own, and had decided to pass down Grandma and Grandpa's old rug to a new owner. We were really excited when they laid it out, as the colors match perfectly, as does the size.
After chatting a bit, a thought occurred to me..."Hey, have you guys ever played a wii"? They hadn't and were excited to try it out. They downhill skied, ski jumped, snowboarded, were penguins, tightrope walked and bowled. I think it was more of an adventure then they had expected, but they had fun and so did wii. :)

LaBarge Family Happenings

2009-03-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

I've finally decided to upload pictures from my camera! The first is the 4 generation picture with Melodie and great-grandma! The next are the girls working on a "Welcome Home Dad, Mom & Piper" sign, and then the Roberts family reuniting at the airport yesterday! So sweet!!

Friendship Tea

2009-02-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

All the Kindergarten classes at Daphne's school had a "Friendship Tea" today. This was a chance for the kids to dress up and use their manners. It was very sweet and adorable! They all had a great time and ate a TON of food. Each class had a silver tea service, china, linen napkins, flowers on the table, etc. It was quite the "southern" event!!! The little blonde boy in the pictures next to Daphne, his name is Declan, has informed me that he wants to marry her when he grows up. He has quite the crush on her!!!

Also, here are a few pictures of the house. These are the rooms I have painted so far. I still have MANY more walls to go!!!

Family Room

Dining Room

Front Entry

Back Entry and 1/2 Bath

Anyone see a resemblance?

2009-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

After Marni pointed out the resemblance, we looked up "Boo's" picture on google and have to agree...Melodie is a cartoon movie star.

Raleigh is on her way to a Dance...

2009-02-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

Raleigh and James are on their way to the Daddy Daughter Dance tonight. Raleigh's friend from school, Allie, and her dad are all going out to dinner and then to the dance. All of the little girls got a coursage that their dads give to them. I went to pick it up and Sydney wondered where hers was. I actually saw tears in her eyes - not fun to be left out! James' mom did Raleigh's hair (it has never looked so cute) and her nails too. Sydney put her Cinderella dress on and tried to be included. She made James dance with her before he left. Grandma K. also did her hair so she wouldn't feel left out. I told her in a couple of years she could go too. I got an email saying over 900 dads and daughters were going to the dance - I can't wait to hear all about it!

Sometimes you need to know when something is just not for you.

2009-02-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

South Korean Woman Fails Driving Test 771 Times

Thursday, February 05, 2009

SEOUL, South Korea — A woman in South Korea who has taken the written exam required for a driver's license nearly every day since 2005 has failed again — but is hoping attempt No. 772 will be the charm.

The aspiring driver took her first test in April 2005, according to Choi Young-chul, an official at the North Jeolla Province driver's license agency in Jeonju, 150 miles south of Seoul.

She has taken the test a record 771 times, most recently on Monday, but has yet to pass. She said she plans to take the test again but did not say when, he said Thursday.

The 68-year-old has spent $3,000 on fees for the test, he said. Applicants must score at least 60 on the written exam before they can get behind the wheel for a driving test. Choi says she's scored as high as 50.

"I feel sorry every time I see Cha fail. When she passes, I'll make a memorial tablet myself and give it to her," Park Jung-seok, a traffic police officer at the agency, told the Korea Times newspaper.

No other details about her identity were released other than her family name, Cha.

I think maybe Bob can give her some pointers and maybe she will be able to pass soon. Maybe this is a sign that driving is not for you. If she passes the written exam, how long will it take to pass a driving exam? WOW!!!

New Web Site

2009-01-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

Hey family.
An IMO that I am working with for the insurance biz has a connection with a web design company that provides a common template for small insurance businesses like mine. Good price and easy for me to edit myself. Just finished putting in the copy. Look it over and feel free to let me know if I have misspelled words, used bad grammer or have not been clear enough to someone who is not as familiar as I am to the subject.
Thanks
http://www.labargeinsurance.com/

Can you match my crazy day?

2009-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

First of all, my days are normally pretty calm- not a lot of drama, etc. My economic classes are working on their ad campaigns for their companies they created. Most of my class is downstairs in the computer lab working on their ads, but one group wants to use my classroom upstairs to film a commercial for their company- a teen dance club. (Originally, they wanted a nightclub. They had to make a list of goods & services offerred, and the only good they wrote down was "booze"... um... no way.) I thought it was not a problem for them to use my room. So, about 20 minutes into class, I walk upstairs to check on them. DOWN THE HALL, I hear music pumping out of my room. Hmmmm.... when I get to my room, all the window shades are closed, the lights are off, there's a strobe light blinking, and 20 KIDS ARE HAVING A RAVE PARTY IN MY ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! No adults- just kids raving in my room.

Awesome.

I walk in and address the ring leader of this whole thing. Here is our conversation:
ME (trying to hide the fact that I'm really pissed off): Where did all these kids come from?
KID: I got them out of other classes.
ME: For what reason?
KID: I told their teachers we were filming a commercial for your class.
ME: Did you use my name?
KID: yeah.

Awesome.

ME: Why didn't you ask me permission?
KID: I didn't think about it.
ME: You have 3 minutes to finish filming this commercial and then all these kids need to get back to class!
KID: I'm sorry. I'm an idiot.
ME: I just can't believe you turned my classroom into a rave...
KID: (pointing to an ACTUAL SMOKE MACHINE in the corner) It's a good thing I didn't plug in the smoke machine I brought. You might have been really mad, hugh???

Awesome.

So then, I'm heading back downstairs to the computer lab, and a classic high school destructive relationship is unfolding in the hallway- 9th graders who I don't know, crying... boy hitting his fist on a locker... stuff like that.

ME: you two need to get back to class NOW.
9th grade boy: but Miss... she just told me...
ME: I don't care. Get in class NOW
9th grade girl: but Miss... I'm pregnant.

A Bunch Of Grandkids

2009-01-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we get visited by Fairy Dancers.

Sometimes hard at work Sewers (and their interested helpers).

We get serious Sitters (although now crawlers!)

And serious Gamers (with his cute little Posse)

And last but not least, we get the Bakers and Shakers.

Ice Skating

2009-01-23T12:23:00.001-08:00

Raleigh's school had an ice skating day today - Raleigh went last year and Sydney was mad that she had to watch so we let her go too this year. James had to take a few hours off from work to come help the girls and they had a lot of fun. Raleigh thought she should be better than she was - I think she expected to be doing spins and everything! Sydney was noodle-legged - James got a workout just helping keep her up. They all had fun though. We left a little early so we could have lunch and birthday cake with James at his office. I thought the girls would be exhausted - but they are not - Sydney won't take a nap so they are playing some more...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAPHNE!!

2009-01-13T06:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to you DAPHNE!!! We wish we were closer so we could celebrate!! Have a wonderful day!

Aunt Carrie, Uncle James, Raleigh and Sydney

Thank You

2008-12-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to say "Thank You" to everyone for all the great presents and time spent together over Christmas. We all had a wonderful time! Thanks again for all the fun and new memories.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T06:57:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everybody!

Little Jackie's in the making!

2008-12-22T14:06:00.001-08:00

Thanks!

2008-12-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks for an awesome Christmas! We had a great time, and were thankful to get some road underway during daylight! We got home safely, but it was quite a drive.
The Young name has found its' home, and we love it! Melodie even looks at it and smiles. I'll post pics of the cookie party, etc soon. Miss the fam already.

Christmas Celebrate Party... Video

2008-12-21T19:17:00.001-08:00

Just thought I would throw this out here even though everyone saw it. The 2008 Christmas Celebrate Cookie Party. I'm looking forward to the 5th Annual one next year!!!

Cookie Party Pictures Part 1

2008-12-20T07:38:00.001-08:00

I am hoping you all have some better pictures than I do - I'll post a few. I am glad we made it to the party! I did not get many pictures of the LB kids - I hope someone else did!

Christmas Celebrate Party

2008-12-17T11:41:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all!
Cookie Decorating extravaganza this Friday at Mom & Dad's at 5:30. Should we order pizza? What do you guys think?

I can't wait to see all my nephews & nieces!!

Sydney Says THANK YOU!!

2008-12-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

Sydney wants to say thank you to everyone for her presents and for coming to her party! She loved EVERYTHING!! She even got a package in the mail from the Tennessee LaBarges that I let her open in the morning - the Fariy book is great. (Both girls love it!). The girls have been sledding on the new fast sled and once again, both girls have been playing with the new doggie and Sara the Tiger.

James got to go to school with Raleigh on Friday for the Kindergarten Gingerbread house making party. Raleigh loved having James there and the girls have been snitching ever since!

Happy Birthday Snowy!

2008-12-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Snowella! I'm sorry that we weren't able to make the big party. We'll see you in a week!

Random Photo Dump

2008-12-07T10:35:00.001-08:00

Grandma J's 89th birthday at the cottage (Notice Mallory with her finger in the frosting). - Cousins chilling out on the couch. - Return of the Cabbage Patch Kids (although I was going to label it "Don't ask, don't tell". - Finally, our own "Hand-crafted by Jackie Tree Top Angel!" - And finally . . . This year's winner of the LaBarge Family Blog "Best Looking Christmas Tree" contest. Sorry family, but ours is just about perfect.

My View

2008-12-05T07:15:00.001-08:00

Here was the sunrise as I drove in to work on Wednesday- one of the benefits of driving through rural areas!!

Here are my small, but cute, Christmas decorations- I should have taken the picture at night- oh well :)

Sydney's 3rd Birthday Party

2008-12-03T13:45:00.001-08:00

You are all invited to Sydney's 3rd Birthday Party next Thursday, December 11th at our house. We are having a soup and bread bar and cake and icecream. We'll eat around 6 pm. Come early if you want and bring snow clothes for the kids if they want to sled on our ginormous sledding hill. Dad - you can bring your snowsuit too if you want to go sledding... I realize it is on a weekday and you might not be able to make it but we'll take whoever we can!

Blog Hog

2008-12-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

We put up our tree and stockings, and are now in full swing Christmas spirit! Sorry I've been a blog hog lately! :)

Merry Christmas and songs from Melodie

2008-12-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Melodie tried her hand at carolling this morning and wanted me to share her Christmas cheer with everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Family!

We spent most of the day with the Youngs, and catching up with Ryan's brother and sister-in-law who just got in town from Oklahoma. They're able to stay in Milwaukee through Christmas before they get stationed in Hawaii for the next three years. Melodie got to spend the day with her Young cousins, and had a great time. Madelyn and Melodie got along famously, and Melodie even ate some of the string that her cousin so nicely fed her. We were thankful that the girls celebrated Thanksgiving with some sharing of their own. :) After a long day, and a number of outfit changes because of Melodie's upset tummy, we've finally gotten home and have the little one in bed.

Can't wait to see everyone soon! Much love,

The Youngs

Newest Member of the Stocking Family

2008-11-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

Come and get it! Love, Grandma

Happy Birthday Aunt Ceci

2008-11-25T10:00:00.001-08:00

We wish we were there to give you guys a nice quiet date night! Love you and happy birthday!

Got Missy?

2008-11-22T07:02:00.001-08:00

Missy made it here last night and we've had a great time!!! The kids were all fighting over who got to play video games first with her, who got to sit by her, etc. Even Clancy wanted to hang out by Missy this morning. We ate in Downtown Chattanooga last night and toured around the mountain this morning. We wish she could stay . . .

Look at those great moves!!!

Fall picture from a couple of weeks ago.

Guess the sicky now...

2008-11-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

Even though it's Piper going to the doctor, it's Ellie who is sick. I think the picture says it all. Poor Ellie. And, yes, I am trying to keep them as separate as possible. Good Times. Good Times.

Piper Jean

2008-11-09T06:40:00.001-08:00

Born: November 8, 2008 @ 8:14pm
Weight: 8lbs, 1oz
Length: 21 inches

BABY BLESSING

2008-11-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

Here is our newest - Piper Jean Roberts! 8 lbs. 1 oz. Born 11-8-08 at 8:15 pm. She's perfect Praise the Lord!

Nice to know that my daughter wasn't the only one who gave them away at the polls!

2008-11-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

Voting Expereince...

2008-11-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

This morning I took Elliana to vote with me. Her class had a mock election yesterday and they talked about the election, so I thought it would be a good learning experience for her if she went with me. She was asking a lot of questions during the whole process, and then watched me fill in the circles. After I filled in the circle for my presidential choice, she yelled out, "Dad, I can't believe you voted for ___________." After yelling that out, the entire room looked at me and laughed.

Oh the joys of taking your 6 year old with you when you vote.

Fall Fun...

2008-11-01T19:37:00.001-07:00

Here are the Roberts families' costumes. Elliana and Mallory were cowgirls. However, towards the end of the night Mallory acted and looked more like someone who had a rough night at Mardi Gras. She even had beads around her neck and was hyped up on sugar.

My costume, well, was a lot of fun to through together - especially the fake tan lines. (By the way, the golf club is not part of my costume, but I have seen guys that look like this playing golf at West Ottawa Golf Course!)

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

We had our first Halloween here. It was a beautiful night. The kids got lots and lots of candy. Brendan was Commander Foxx from Star Wars, Dugan was black Spiderman, and Daphne was Sharpay from "Bop to the Top" which is her favorite song!

Clancy even got into the action and went as a fireplace!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we didn't take Melodie out for trick or treating this year...we figured she was a bit small yet. :) I did, however, dress her up as a polar bear and carted her around with me around town. When we were at Target I saw all the other "little's" dressed up too. :) (I thought Melodie was the cutest of course! :) )

Halloween

2008-10-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

We had fun this Halloween with the girls - since the weather was so good we made it through a lot of our neighborhood. Raleigh was a "Fairy Princess that Can Turn Into Anything" and Sydney was Tinkerbelle (just like Yellow the Elephant). Sydney took her Charm (wand) with her and would wave it at people at say, "bibbity bobbity boo" and then tell them what she turned them into. She turned people into cats, dogs, tigers and pumpkins. It was really funny. She did see a little boy dressed up as Nemo and kept yelling, "HI NEMO - HI NEMO - HEY NEMO...HI." The little boy did not respond so that made us laugh too.

Raleigh drew the design for Sydney's pumpkin and James carved it - I thought he did pretty well!

Seriously?

2008-10-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

We got up for school today and what was falling from the sky? SNOW! Seriously? I thought we moved away from all this! My mom called yesterday to tell me it snowed in Michigan and at least we missed that! I guess the joke is on us.

Other updates - soccer is coming to an end, the kids all played great this season. Dugan lost his first tooth by wiggling it out (he had 4 pulled in the summer). Brendan made the school's honor roll and Daphne read her first book! Here are some pictures of things and we'll post more after Halloween.

MY BAD

2008-10-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

I was giving a road test today for a second time to Josephina, a little Phillipeano lady, and we came to the part where I ask the question; "If you have to drive off the side of the road and hit something, what would be the safest thing to hit?" The correct answer is to hit something soft, which she answered properly. Then, for some inexplicitable reason, with no obvious lead in, I remarked that sometimes I ask people if they have a choice to hit a big elephant or a cute little puppy, what would be the best choice? "Sir, (sniff sniff), I would hit (sniff sniff), the cute - little - poo pee." Tears started to flow out of her eyes while she continued; "My cute little poo pee (sob sob), was hit by a car." Of course I felt instantly awful, and told her; "I'm sorry. It was wrong for me joke like that." "Sir, my Cambodian lady friend gave me that poo pee and said, 'You don't have a daughter. THIS will be your daughter.' " And now really crying she choked out the words; "And she was my (sob sob) cute - little - daughter." Then I heard the rest of her sad dog story, includng "The neighbor dog bite my poo pee on the leg. I call police." Eventually she calmed down, ended up passing the test, and grabbed both of my hands with hers to thank me. "I have big fight with husband this morning. Thank you." "Glad we made it back in one piece" I thought to my guilty self.

We Just Saw Him Again!

2008-10-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

This time the girls brought their American Flags - President Bush waived to us again - he passed right by our house - what fun!! My friend Jessi and her boys were parked in a lot by their preschool and they got tours of the bomb squad truck and pictures with the sniffer dogs (we should have gone there!)

President Bush Just Waived at Us!

2008-10-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

President Bush flew into G.R. this morning and we figured out that his route must be going right by our house and James' office so Raleigh, Sydney and I went to the office for lunch and then we went outside and saw the motorcade go right by. We saw President Bush in his car and he waived at us. We were probably 20 feet from his car. There were a ton of police and the helicopter flew right over us. After he went by, all of the police cleared out really quickly and then we looked out of James' office window and saw 5 police cars at the coffee shop. They must be waiting there until he drives past later this afternoon - I might try to catch it on the way back - they should go right by our house. Missy - you should have taken today off for our motorcade viewing - the last president we saw wasn't waiving!

Quote by Dugan as he's touring my apartment yesterday...

2008-10-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

"Purple Soap! Man, this place just has everthing."

Christmas

2008-10-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

We drew names on Sunday afternoon for Christmas gifts. Here is who everyone has...

Name - Buying a present for...
Dave - Ryan
Ceci - James
Carrie - Dave
James - Ben
Ben - Becky
Janet - Ceci
Missy - Carrie
Becky - Missy
Ryan - Janet

Raleigh - Defender of the Imaginary Offense

2008-09-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

We went to Raleigh's second soccer game this morning. It was a hoot. She was so excited to play and was the cutest player on the field...but she was not the best...in fact, she has a long way to go. While our Golden Lions were practicing, James and I watched the Purple Panthers practice. Clearly the coach has been working with the team, namely, his daughter Brittany. That little girl was practicing by kicking goals from 3/4 across the field. Our little team was standing 3 feet from the goal taking turns trying to score (with no goalie). Then, the Purple Panthers were practicing drills that included super-star defenders trying to keep the offense from scoring. Hmmm, the golden Lions were too busy jumping up and down when one of the girls made a goal from 3 feet (still no goalie). So the game gets started and James leans over to me and tells me that I won't be able to live vicariously through our daughter because she is the defender of the imaginary offense. I told him that he could live vicriously through Raleigh, I got Sydney. But then the worst of us came out. These girls are 5 and we are getting ticked because the rules say only the coach can be on the field with the players and the Purple Panthers had 2 adults. Of course they were both Brittany's parents and they told her exactly what to do...(BTW, the mom was wearing pink bedazzeled pants - oh, and only 4 girls play at a time - 2 adults - are you kidding me??) . Pink Pants lady called every throwin for the purple team and convienently every time our team had a goal kick or something - it was the end of the quarter. We decided that although we tried to act like we did not care - we really did. Raleigh did do better than last time. She tends to be the one outside of the bunch - not because she is trying to get open, it is just because if someone else has the ball - that is fine with her. She did have a great kick to clear the ball from the bunch one time...it went right into the other teams net...oops. At least we have Sydney:)

Happy Birthday Missy

2008-09-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 30th Birthday Missy. We love you!