poolhall flunkies

this weekend diana got it off, so we headed up to grand rapids. we had a lot planned, starting with hanging out with the guys friday night. we drove in and headed over to jeffry lees. we chilled there for a bit. once aaron and rexy showed up, we headed out to grab a bite to eat. jeff had some movies he rented that he wanted to burn (hes so naughty), so we waited for that to get done, then went to bw3. we hung out there for a bit, enjoying the conversation and food. rex and jeff were a bit too focused on our waitress, but we were able to change the topic periodically...

after dinner we decided to play some pool, so we went to the chicago drive pub and grill in grandville. aaron ditched us to go see his bro and sis, but the rest of us wanted to shoot some stick! when we got there there werent any tables open, but after a while we got a table and played for the rest of the night. jeffry lee was a bit rambunctious, which always makes for an interesting night... after a short stop at the convenience store and blockbuster to drop off the videos, we ended the night as we started it, at jeffs talking about crazy stuff. most of the last bit jeff doesnt remember, and that makes it even more fun!

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clean slate

last weekend i headed up to grand rapids for a quick visit (roughly 7 hours). i went and ate dinner with the family, then went to go get something, and then stopped over to see jeffry lee. we hung out and as we were talking he wanted to keep picking up a little. now heres the truth of the matter: jeffs apartment is a pig sty. thankfully hes good about cleaning up food and dishes and stuff, but the place is a mess of papers, computer stuff, car parts, and other assorted junk. hes been complaining about cleaning up ever since he moved in to that apartment (last june...). ive been telling him that if he just cleans up a bit he will be a ton happier. ive always felt better when i come home from work to a clean place. whenever i have a huge mess in my living room i feel defeated and lazy the rest of the day.

well, i figured enough is enough, and i started cleaning up for him. i started organizing his cds and putting them back on the cd rack. he continued cleaning as well. after i finished with the cds, we moved on to everything else in the living room. after a couple hours we had the place looking pretty good! after moving the furniture a bit and vacuuming, the place looked like new. and jeffry lee agreed, he did feel better!

memorable memorial

im really looking forward to this weekend. its going to be a very big one. ill explain more later...

banquet

this past friday we had our graduate banquet. all the kids really love it and go all out with dressing up, renting tuxs and everything. i usually enjoy it too, getting to see the kids in a different setting where i can just chat with them instead of always being in teacher mode. i made a poster for it, so it was cool to see it on display, it turned out fairly well (pics here).
we got a tasty dinner, and after the meal there is always a video and a couple students who go up and speak about their time at our school, its often quite funny and the kids really love it.
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diana's b-day

yesterday was dianas birthday, so i made plans to surprise her. i saw her sunday and she mentioned that she was going to go out to eat with her mom and stepdad. i wanted to see her and go out with them, but i figured it would be fun if it was a bit of a surprise. so, monday i talked with her and, through a little bit of sneaky means, got her moms phone number. i called them up and asked if i could tag along. they thought that was a great idea, so we planned that they would be at their new house with her around 6:00, and i could just meet them there and then we would go out to eat from there. it worked perfectly- she didnt suspect a thing and was quite shocked when i came walking in!

my mom even planned it out and called just as we were getting ready to go and eat. she had jills kids over and they all sang happy birthday to diana over the phone! it was really cute, and she totally loved it.
we ended up going to this really cool place called 'kate o'conners irish pub' in new carlisle. the food was really great, it was authentic irish food. diana got a shepherds pie and i got fish and chips. while we were there we gave her the birthday gifts we had brought. her mom and stepdad gave her a card with a bit of help inside, if you know what i mean... my mom and dad had gotten her a little bag and a devotional book, and i gave her a pink 8gig ipod. she loved them all and felt overwhelmed by all the birthday love!

we went back to her moms place and diana and i went out on their row boat. we rowed into the middle of the lake and enjoyed the evening. it was so beautiful!

it was so great to be able to spend time with her. dang, i really love that girl!

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with the guys, part 2

saturday afternoon my mom, sister, and i went shopping for something. later that night i met up again with jeffry lee, this time aaron came along too. we went out to eat at chilis in the mall where we had a blast! the waitress there was a lot of fun and quite silly. afterwards we went to see speed racer (which i talk about here).

after the movie aaron wanted to get going, but jeffry lee and i were still in the mood to chat, so we headed back up to fridays. we talked for a couple hours; i even got to see judd, chads friend, and ask him about his wedding and stuff.

as we were leaving at 1:30am i realized that i hadnt gotten my mom a mothers day card yet, so jeffry lee and i headed over to meijers to pick over the last of their selection. after pestering each other and everybody else who was there with our commentary on the generally lame card selection they had, we walked through the store a bit. i found a fun hat and a strange incredible hulk fist. i didnt buy them, but i enjoyed doing a little moonwalk and punching jeff.

a happy uncle

saturday morning i got up at a reasonable time because i wanted to go with my mom and watch jacksons soccer game. there are very few things quite as strange, silly, and cute as a five year old trying to play an organized sport! but, as one would expect, i grew bored of the game quickly and instead went for a little walk with tweeter and aves. we walked to the edge of the woods and picked some flowers (weeds).

after the big game, we all headed over to mcdonalds for a bite to eat. it was a crazy mess of french fries and none of the kids were really very interested in eating, they preferred to just play...

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with the guys

this past weekend i got to go up to grand rapids for mothers day. it was kind of strange, its the first time in quite a while that ive been up there without diana. i had a great time, on friday night i headed over to jeffry lees where we met up with rex and jeffs dad too. from there we headed over to the mall to catch a showing of 'iron man' (which i talk about here). i had seen it the weekend before, but those two were still uninitiated. after that we did our usual routine- we headed over to fridays for a bite to eat. it was fun seeing the guys again and chatting with jeffs dad. he has a passion for movies too, so its pretty easy to talk with him. well, except that he kept bringing up crazy movies like 'earth girls are easy'. huh?

poco

the only thing better than having a girlfriend is having a girlfriend with a dog! diana has a cute little chuahua named poco. he is really tiny and adorable! hes brown, and unfortunately a bit yippy, but not too bad for a chuahua. i totally love little dogs, so this is a big bonus for me- i totally love that little guy!

(here are a few more pics of diana, just because i can)

getting pretty

last weekend i went over to dianas because her moms family was having a get together and it was finally my turn to meet her extended family. it was fun to meet them, she has a very small family, only one aunt and uncle and a grandma so i wasnt too nervous at all. it wasnt like when she came and met the hundred or so people on my moms side of the family!

we went over to her moms house and had steak on the grill. it went well and they seemed to like me (thankfully...). we talked and hung out with her family for the rest of the night.

her aunt is starting to sell beauty products from home and she wanted to try out a few things, so she offered to diana and barbara a facial, which they both accepted. it was fun to see them put all that crazy stuff on their faces, and then see them really mad at me for taking a picture of them like that. hee hee hee...

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jills bday

saturday night when diana and i were in grand rapids we wanted to celebrate jills birthday, and she decided she wanted to go to logans steakhouse for dinner. so we went and met up with tim, jill and the kids, and my parents. we had a great time talking and enjoying the chance to see her kids.

one of the things logans has now are these little dessert type things that come in a little metal bucket. they are very tasty, especially the chocolate and peanut butter one. jackson started playing with the buckets and decided to hang one on each ear! it looked hilarious. he tried it on papa and he busted out laughing and then had to try it out on every one of us, giggling the whole time. boy, that kid is silly. i wonder where he gets it from?

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anne brink

april 23 my grandma passed away. she was 92 and lived a full life. i was able to come home, with diana, for the funeral and got to see all my family on my dads side. i havent seen many of them for five or six years, so it was really great to be able to see them again. the funeral was very nice. i was able to go up and speak about her a bit and just share some of the memories i have of her and id like to recount them a little bit here.

there are two things i remember when i think of gramma: places and joy. i think of the home that she lived and raised a family in in lansing illinois every time i drive through there and the joy she must have taken in her family. i think of the house she lived in on 68th and division for all those years. the tire swing, the countless games of uno and dominoes, her pet bird sonny, the mountain dew she always stashed away for whenever us grandkids would come visit, the cookoo clock chirping the time, the german chocolate cake she would make for my dads birthday. and i saw the joy she found in our visits and in her expanding family. i think of the condo she lived in at silverleaf and the pond she loved to look out on. and still her contentment and joy at all the blessing she had been given. then i think of her time in the home where she still found joy in the little things- being able to crochet blankets, and her continual amazement that she didnt even have to do the dishes after dinners! now, i think of her in a better place, a perfect place in heaven. and i imagine her joy as it has now become fulfilled and endless. and ill bet when she saw jesus she even got his name right the first time...

we miss you gramma.