Rest In Peace, Tim

Calhoun, Timothy Patrick Age 37 of Lakeville died on 11-13-08.

Preceded in death by Grandpa and Grandma Calhoun and Grandpa Bohanon. Survived by wife, Elizabeth; son, Carson; daughter, Courtney; father and mother, Jerry and Caroleen; brothers, Steve (Linda), Scott (Vicki); grandmother, Violet Bohanon; nieces and nephews, Kate, Bryan, Kayla, Andrew; uncles, aunts, cousins, many special friends including Paul Cluskey and Mike Hehr and his beloved pets, Gordy and Henry. Services on Monday 11-17-08 at 11 AM with visitation an hour and a half before at Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley on Co Rd 42 and Pennock. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made.

Rest in Peace, Uncle Al

Alvin P. Harm, age 84 of Yankton passed away on Friday, November 7, 2008 at the Avera Sister James Care Center, Yankton, SD. A Memorial Mass will be held at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Yankton with Rev. Bob Lacey officiating.

Burial of cremated remains will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery with military graveside rites by Ernest-Bowyer VFW Post #791. Visitations will be held from 4-8 PM, Monday, November 10, 2008 at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Crematory, Yankton with a 7:00 scripture service followed by a rosary. Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Honorary pallbearers will be his grandchildren.

Alvin P. Harm was born on March 28, 1924 in Pierson, Iowa, the son of Julius and Daisy (Baker) Harm. He graduated from Grand Meadow High School in 1941. He served in the U. S. Navy from March 21, 1944 to May 6, 1946 aboard the U.S.S. Massachusetts in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Following his discharge, he was employed at the Cudahy Packing Company in Sioux City, IA, and in 1955, he began his employment with Sioux Radio Products in Sioux City, IA.

He married Claris "Jeff" Luken at Canton, SD on January 7, 1956. In 1957, when Sioux Radio Products relocated to Yankton, SD, Al moved with it. Sioux Radio Products merged with Dale Electronics in 1961 and he continued working there until 1968. Following that, he was employed at Zenith Radio Corp. in Sioux City, IA until 1978, then with Sioux Tools in Vermillion, SD until 1987 and retirement. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

He is survived by his wife, Claris "Jeff" Harm of Yankton, SD; his son, Kevin Harm of Columbus, NE; his daughter, Laurie (Michael) Johnson of Yankton, SD; four grandchildren: Cory and Cassandra Harm of Wayne, NE and Justin Johnson of St. Paul, MN and Alli Johnson of Yankton, SD; a sister, Doris Hendricks of Sloan, IA; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Clark ( Florence) Carnes, of Holstein, IA, Bob (Ruth) Luken of Roseville, MN, and Ruth Schwarz of Holstein, IA.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Bethyl Culler, a brother, Richard Harm, and brother-in-law, John Hendricks.

http://www.kostelfuneralhome.com/obits/harm.html

My new car

Yes, I know, I've been saying that I want/need a new van for years now. But my husband talked me out of one when we bought the Tahoe in March. However, I got tired of not having my "own" vehicle - you know, one that I could "live" out of. I like having everything I need in my car - first aid kit, shopping bags, bottled water, extra diapers/wipes/clothes, Cub Scout/PTA/work stuff. I hate having to carry everything "just in case", but I like to keep it all close by. SO, we bought a new car for me! It's a 2004 Toyota Avalon and I really like it. It sure is different driving a car - for the last 8 years I've been driving a van or truck. It fit all my van requirements (except for the automatic sliding doors and DVD player), and it even has a sun roof! :-)

Halloween Pictures

Emily as a hippie:

Sam as the character from Scream holding baby Benjamin bumblebee:

Carving pumpkins earlier in the evening:

Benjamin watched:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since August! And I really have no good excuse. I'm not busier than I usually am! :-) I do have some pictures to add this weekend, so will just give a quick overview of the last couple months:

September:
We celebrated Rob's birthday!

I spent a week in Washington for work. I've never been to the Northwest before, so it was fun to visit. It's beautiful there, but so many people! I did get to spend a few hours in Seattle and did the touristy stuff - Pikes Place Market, the Space Needle, and eating at PF Changs.

October:
I attended a weekend scrapbook retreat at a resort in Minnesota in October. It was great to have some "alone" time with good friends and I got quite a few pages done.

Rob and I celebrated our 10th anniversary! We spent an evening at a bed & breakfast in Stillwater, MN, while the kids stayed with family in the cities. He bought me a diamond anniversary band. I had to have my wedding set cut off my finger - I put it on right after Benjamin was born and then it hasn't come off for the last 14 months! :-) But, I get the whole thing back today!

Kid stuff:
Emily is busy with dance two nights a week, youth group, and the socializing that comes with being in high school. (I still can't believe it sometimes.) She continues to drive us around town with her learner's permit and is getting closer to getting her actual driver's license. She turns 15 on Monday! She is working at saving money for a week-long trip to Washington, D.C. in January for the Teens for Life group with our church.

Sam has started cub scouts and really seems to like it. He is quite the social fellow if we can get him away from the TV and his video games! We have occassional play dates and birthday parties and his parent-teacher conference last year shows him doing very well. (His reading test at the end of first grade is actually beyond what the school wants him to be at for the end of second grade, so he won't be tested again until third grade!)

Benjamin still has 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom), but I think I felt two more on the bottom last night - it will be another day or so before I can get my fingers in there again to confirm! He crawls all over and loves to pull himself up and stand. He only walks with stuff if it's not planned, ie it moves and he just follows it! He will walk if you hold both his hands, but if you let one hand go, he either stands there and looks at you or just sits down.

Oh, and we got a new-to-us car last weekend! It's a Toyota Avalon and I love it. It's got a sunroof and I feel so sporty driving it! We still have the van, but it's in storage at Rob's mom and dad's place.

I'll post pictures of the kids in their costumes and the new car soon.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Video of Benjamin

This is what Benjamin did during Sam's birthday party at the YMCA XerZone!

Samuel's Birthday

Benjamin at the party.

Sam's cake.

Emily lighting the cake.

Benjamin's First Birthday

The birthday boy!

With mom and dad.

The birthday party group!

A short video clip of Benjamin enjoying Cedar Point

Cedar Point Pictures

We always visit Cedar Point when we go to Ohio! (http://www.cedarpoint.com/).

Here's the Skyhawk.

Emily, Emily, Cole, and Rob.

The ride in motion.

Ohio Vacation Pictures - Rolling Ridge Ranch

We visited the Rolling Ridge Ranch (http://www.visitrollingridge.com/) in Ohio during our vacation with Grandma Jo and Grandpa Dennis.

We rode in a horse-drawn carriage like below.

We saw a zonkey, which is a donkey-zebra cross.

Sam fed the goats.

Emily fed the camels.

Sam fed elk while Benjamin and Dad watched.

More elk, cooling off in the pond.

Family Reunion Pictures

Finally getting around to looking at the family reunion photos and realized that I didn't take too many! And I got virtually none of Sam! He spent most of his time playing Nintendo DS with his cousin, Kevin!

Here's one of us with Rob's parents.

Here's Emily with cousin Katie.

Benjamin and Grandpa napping.

Another Samism

We took a walk the other night and cut across a parking lot. Sam said we were "jack-crossing"! (He meant jay-walking!)

4th of July pictures

We had a nice, quiet weekend at home - a staycation as Rob calls it! It started with sleeping in on the 4th and then spending time in Lindenwood park riding their rented bikes and eating ice cream! We attended the RedHawks game Friday evening (and they won!). Saturday we attended a post-Independence Day picnic and fireworks show at friends.

Sam waves a sparkler Saturday night.
Benjamin waves a flag at the RedHawks game.
Emily and Sam with Hawkeye and Kaitlyn and Tyler.
Sam riding the banana peel bike.

Rob helping Emily get started on her banana peel bike.

We all drove a "double surrey" in Lindenwood Park early Friday afternoon.

Benjamin's 9 month pictures

I can't believe I'm so late getting these posted! I wanted to get them sent to the grandparents first, but it just didn't happen. I do have the pictures ready to mail, so it's time to post!

More New Jersey pictures

My cousin, Amy, lives in NJ with her husband and 2 sons. We visited them for the day.

Grandma Nana and 5 of her 9 great-grandchildren:

Grandpa Don pushing Benjamin in the swing.

Benjamin relaxing with Grandpa Don in the hammock.

The boy cousins playing in the pool.

New York City pictures

Rob, Emily, Samuel, and I went into the city on Friday for a day of sightseeing and a night at a play. We saw Hairspray! It was awesome!

Samuel and Emily in Central Park.

I can't remember the name of this place! It's where they have the ice skating rink in the winter...

Sam fell asleep on the double-decker tour bus.

The fashion district.

New Jersey Shore pictures

We all enjoyed a trip to Sandy Hook. I realized later that day that I didn't get a picture of Grandma! She sat in the lawn chair up near the building under an umbrella. I spent most of the time there with her and Benjamin, but did manage to get some pictures when Benjamin was down by the water.

Rob, Benjamin, and Sam

Sam "riding" the waves. He LOVES the water!

Grandpa Don getting Benjamin's feet wet.

Grandpa Don buried Sam in the sand!

A couple of times...

Benjamin liked the feeling of sand in his toes.