A Big Fat Three Quarter Ton Welcome...

Karl's cousin, Nicole, just got married and I was so grateful that we were able to take part in all of the celebration. It was snowing so hard when they came out of the temple so they had to hold an umbrella the whole time. I thought it was kind of charming... but I wasn't the one getting married.

Thanks, Nicole!

Grandma Gutke was so kind as to let us stay at her house. Eva and Samuel each packed a bag full of toys and it only took them a few minutes to make her perfectly clean house look a little like mine (well, not exactly like mine. It takes special skills to get a house as messy as mine). We love hearing great stories like the one about the unfaithful "squirelly" neighbor and how you two friends let the air out of all four of his tires or the gossipy operator. Love them.

Thanks, Grandma Gutke!

Karl has this sentimental attachment to this 3/4 ton truck that used to be his grandpa's so my dad came up and helped Karl load the thing on a trailer and haul it home. I didn't get a picture of them getting that flat tired beast onto the trailer but it took a good part of the day.

We picked a few apples right before we left. The kids got freaked out by the ladder that was "too high" and so Karl ended up picking all the apples. For some reason I think that the photo of my dad eating an apple while Karl is picking them is so funny. It is just so my dad to pick an apple and eat it on the spot.

We got the truck home safely. The deal was that it was going to go in the garage and I wasn't going to complain about it. So, since I am not going to complain, I will list a few reasons why I love this truck:

1. We blend in with our neighbors. Although we aren't actually parked ON the lawn, I think the two flat tires make us about equal. I think we should just put it up on cinder blocks.

2. Exercise is good. So is sunshine. Some say to park far away just to get any little bit of exercise. Sunshine helps me produce vitamin D. It is good that the truck wouldn't fit in the garage and just sits there and blocks me from parking in the garage. I am getting more exercise producing more vitamin D everyday and so are the kids.

3. Karl likes the truck and it has a lot of sentimental value to him. When Karl was a little boy and got sprayed by a skunk his grandpa picked him up from school in this truck (yep, Karl got sprayed by a skunk and then WENT TO SCHOOL). He had to sit in the truck bed, his grandpa didn't let him ride in the cab. My kids love that story and look, we have a visual aid for the story.

4. It makes me laugh. Because every time we pull up to our house the kids yell, "There is the truck with flat tires!" They also ask me, "Why do we have a truck with flat tires?" I think it is great that they are so inquisitive.

So, truck, welcome to our home.