Thanksgiving

Yesterday I went to my parent's house to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. Erin, Jeff and Sam joined us as well as a quilting friend of my mom's, Bev. The day went rather smoothly and the food was excellent as always. I love spending time with my family and am thankful we are all in the same vicinity and the chaos of travel is removed.

On Wednesday night I got together with a few of my greatest friends that were home for the holiday and we celebrated my birthday as well. It was fun to spend the time with those that aren't home as much as I'd like.
Tuesday night I also had a pre-Thanksgiving meal with some other friends and their children.

During this season it's time to remember those that we are thankful for. I am grateful to have wonderful friends, a loving family, and all the other perks that not everyone is allowed. To all I was able to celebrate with this week, thank you for your love and friendship...and those I didn't, may you feel blessed and loved each day.
Edit: Also met up with Carol, Kristi and Kelly in Watertown for a quick day of family bonding....these pics prove it right?

Goodbye and Thank you

My grandmother, Harriet, died tonight. Physically, her body gave out. Mentally she has been missing for years now.
I remember the smell of my grandma and grandpa's car when they would pick me up from school. There was always a pillow and a box of tissues in the backseat with me. A list of all the counties, with license plate numbers, was under the visor. The smooth ride in their big "grandpa car" was memorable as well.
My grandma had a wonderful smile and warm eyes, you know the type that draw people in because she was kind and caring. Their house was comfortable, grandpa used to have the TV on really loud and grandma and I would be in the kitchen baking or drawing on dishcloths. I think she knew I wasn't artistic, but dang she'd encourage and cheer me on. She was very talented and offered me opportunities to be creative. She was a teacher by profession and by nature I believe.
Sunday night I visited her with my sister and I remember thinking what a great mother she must have been too because of the father I have. In the past few years she would recognize us less and blankly respond to our hugs and squeezes. Selfishly, I didn't want to see her that way. But she's not only my grandmother, she's my dad's mom. I think of the memories he's shared with me about his childhood and about the examples she set for my dad and it makes me sad for him. Her passing is a blessing...but she's gone now, and that's painful.
Tonight I witnessed some of her last breaths...like she was there to witness some of my first. She cared for me and loved me in a way only a grandma could. How lucky I was/am to have her influence on my life. "Hoddy" impacted many lives and all who knew her understood her warmth and love for people. I'm sad for those that only knew her in these past few years because they never got to experience her as a whole.

Thank you grandma for your love and guidance. Grandpa has been waiting a long time for you.

Grandma's Obituary
a pic from last Christmas

update

Kickball is almost over, we've lost most of our games, but boy were we excited after we won the first one! Oh well, it's still been fun to play. We've opted out of the all-day tourney, probably to let the other teams have a chance...right.
Adam, Craig, Ali and I went camping in Yankton a few weekends ago. No pictures, but we had a great time playing dominoes, badminton, track ball, and a few bumps and sets with the flat volleyball. We also did some geocaching. It was a fun and quick weekend.

What else? I got a new job, same agency new school. I am now at Roosevelt High School full-time, which is great. The people are wonderful and I am thrilled to be as busy as I am. Big change from running between schools.

Had my 10 year High School class reunion last weekend. We had a great, great time. I had no idea I would, but it was fun. We had a decent turn-out, but I feel bad for those that chose not to come, because everyone shared that it was much better than they'd expected. I consumed plenty of keg beer and an occasional shot. Seemed all worth it!
Many of my closest high school friends were home for the party...definitely missed a few of them though :(
Some Reunion Pics

Went to a Geocaching event this morning at the Outdoor Campus. Cooper and I were picked up by Adam and Iris and we went on a cache poker run. I am sure I will win something really big! It rained a bit, but we found the caches, which is better than the last time we cached. Adam and I both had some form of itchweed or something.

Not sure what else to share...hopefully Erin and Jeff will post pics of their new "toy" too...

UNDEFEATED!

Pretty exciting. We are undefeated in kickball, let me be a little more specific. We won our first game, 9-8. I like to use undefeated because it makes us sound good and tough. Not that we aren't or couldn't be, but we just don't know yet. See, most of the people on the team know only one or two other people. Who knew that a CF of people thrown together by two people could offer up a winning team??
I am probably getting too excited now, it is just one win afterall. But I am just not used to winning, so maybe this is gloating. All I know is that if gloating is wrong, I don't want to be right. :)

Kelley Family Reunion July 12-15

So, is it still called a "Family Reunion," when I haven't met most of the family? :) I suppose it is and now that I have met them...it's great to call them family. My parents, Cooper and I headed to Wickiup Village in Spearfish Canyon, SD for the Kelley Reunion. My grandmother is a Kelley and I hadn't met many of my relatives. My family members are spread out over the US...all parts of the country were represented in one campground brought together by blood. It was a very nice weekend, the weather was beautiful and I enjoyed learning about my family...past, present and future.

Oakwood Lakes State Park, SD June 29-July1

Headed out to Oakwood Lakes State Park for our first camping weekend of the summer. The weather was perfect. We swam, kayaked, geocached, ate, drank, laughed, played badminton andjust hung out and enjoyed the company. Got to use my tent for the first time, the size is great, the quality is less than great. But it worked. I didn't attach it to the end of the Element, maybe try that another time.
The park is great and I really enjoyed exploring a new area. I hope to get back there again sometime.

Cooper and Leah

These pics are of Cooper and my friend Lori's Boxer, Leah...just wanted to share!

Two-Time Silver Medalist

Last night I competed in the first ever ( I think) Backyard Olympics hosted at the Eden House. We had a 3 event competition consisting of Badminton, Bocce Ball, and Ladder Ball. Countries represented were Morracco, Djibouti, Norway, Germany and Kazakhstan.
The first match of Badminton was Morracco (Charlie, Melissa & Grace) vs. Djibouti (Adam & I). This was no problem for Djibouti, thanks to a 21-month old wandering around. Second match was Norway (Ali & Craig) vs. Germany (Brian & Laura). Germany won. Djibouti held on in the final match, but Germany won on an ace for the Gold.

Bocce Ball was a close one for Djibouti too, but Silver once again. With Ladder Ball there were some struggles as the sun was setting and one member of Djibouti (who shall remain nameless, though it's not me) says he has poor night vision, whatever, we lost.


Good times on a nice Friday evening.

Time to play catch up...once again

Well, no pictures to share with you, so you'll have to use your imagination. I am having some computer issues and there doesn't seem to be enough space to load my pictures at this time. So, on with such awesome detail, you won't need pics! *pics added now!

I made it to "Tentback Mountain" and back. My adventure started at 3:30 am the morning of Friday May 18th, when my dad picked me up for the airport. Yeah, you read that right, 3:30! What a guy, am I right? My flight for Mpls. left at 5:12, then from there I boarded the plane to Newark, NJ. My flight landed on time and my ride, Gail, was there to pick me up. She had her E packed beautifully with just enough room for my backpack. We drove about 3 hours NE (I think!) to Massachusetts. Along the way, we met up with Justin, Pat and Rachel. We had three black Elements trucking into the campsite. The campground was beautiful, what we could see through the rain. Yeah, it rained...the WHOLE weekend!
Once we were parked, we started to unload and create Tentback Mtn. There were tarps and screen tents set up all over to create what coverage we could. It was a bit chilly too.
Friday the rest of the troops started to roll in and get camp set up. We got a fire started and then plopped our asses in front of it, beer in hand and started telling stories and laughing. I think I laughed the majority of the weekend.
Friday night was damn cold in my tent, well it was actually Carly's tent, but it was my abode for the weekend.
Saturday I awoke to rain, wind and cold temperatures again! Imagine.
As more people started to join in on the day, we shared a lot about our lives as well as our cars. It was pretty cool to see how everyone had modified and personalized their E's. It was also a lot of fun to meet the new people, but great to catch up with those I'd met in St. Louis.
Saturday evening/night was a blast. We had a huge fire and about 40 people around the campfire. One of the members, Harry, busted out his guitar and serenaded us all. It was priceless really, all of these people are friends because of a car...and the desire to care about and make an effort to make new friends. Amazing really.

Sunday was more rain and we talked about packing up and heading to someone's house, but we stuck it out and it was great that we did because we saw the sun! For about 3/4 of an hour the sun, glorious sun, was shining on our site. Though we continued to sit around and wait for the eventual rain.
Many of the campers cleared out on Sunday, but there were a few of us that stayed through Monday.
Gail, Carly, Rick, Jurn, Charlie, Colin, Jake and I made it to Monday morning when we took down camp, hugged and said our goodbyes.
I am glad I went. I am glad I know each of these people. I am jealous of the commitment this Northeast Crew has to one another and to having fun.
Because after all, that's what it is about. Adventure, Laughter and Fun....and I had it all.

Loss

In the last few months I have lost 3 people that have meant a lot to me. First, my "grandpa" Don Johnson, next my good friend Trichelle's mother, and lastly my Grandma Iris.
Sometimes I don't understand my own emotions and what I am or in some instances am not able to deal with. I help people, that's my job. I help them sort through their feelings and emotions about life, death, friendship, substance abuse, and other mental health issues, and yet I have struggled with my recent losses.
It's hard enough to say goodbye to someone that has led a life filled with 80+ years of experience including children and grandchildren, but sitting with my friend Trichelle and watching her mother die over the last few months is heartbreaking. I can't imagine the rollercoaster ride she's been on and I wish I could have done more to help Trichelle.
My mom lost her mother when she was very young too, I had never really thought about how hard that must have been for her until Trichelle's mother passed and then to have attended my grandmother's funeral earlier this week, I realize how valuable our relationships with our mother's are.
To celebrate my grandma's life, we gathered in Pierre, SD where I got to hear about what a great woman she was throughout every phase of her life. I only knew her as my grandma, but I learned of her as a mother, a sister, an aunt and a friend. No matter what hat she was wearing, she was loved and respected.

I have learned a lot over the past few months and most importantly I think I learned how valuable good friends and family are. I've known this of course, it's not like a lightbulb just went off, but I really know it now, in my heart and at my core. I am blessed to have great friends and wonderful family with whom I can laugh and cry...sometimes at the same time.
Bless you my friends and family.

First launch of the season...and I didn't say successful launch!

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. Cooper and I hit the bike trails and got 2 more caches. We are getting better, I think. The day was just too perfect.
Adam, Ali and I headed to Lake Alvin for our first kayak experience of the season. We tried to launch in a different area than usual. It was very rocky and slippery. I had a nice shove off, slipped and tipped my kayak. Yeah, it was cold, wet and GROSS. I had green crap all over my pants. Not very impressive. So I had to spend the rest of the adventure with wet, sticky, now spandexy clothes.
So Ali and I head to the swimming beach to ease our exit and Adam headed back to where the truck was. As he got to the truck, and I arrived on the beach, we both realized I had HIS keys. Hmm...tricky. We both headed in the direction we felt the other person was. It was quite a haul. But, a stranger on a motorcycle saved the day and he offered me a ride to Adam's truck. Half way down the highway, there was Adam trucking towards me. The nice man on the motorcycle let me off and we walked to the truck and were home free!
Great first adventure!
oh, yeah, we did this all in about 1.5 hours!

Long-winded, so much to tell

Well, time to play catch up again I guess!
Here is the agenda:
1. booked a trip to the east coast
2. new hobby
3. a-hole mother nature
4. concert
5. new hobby gone crazy

Camping in Massachusetts?
May 18-21st I will be flying into Newark, NJ and will be picked up by Gail. I met Gail one time in St. Louis last year when I drove hundreds of miles to meet strangers, remember? Yeah, well I have kept in touch with the "Misfits" and most of them live on the East Coast. They have get togethers on a regular basis, then they call me and I get jealous! So, I am heading out for the 2nd annual Northeast Chapter of the Element Owners Club Mass. Camping Weekend. Gail will pick me up at the airport, take me to the campground, and deliver me back to the airport (safe and sound hopefully) on Monday. Should be a whirlwind and a great time. This bunch of people are really great and Gail is going out of her way to get me there. I'm sure I'll have some wild stories to share when/if (!) I return!

I'm a Geocacher...
a what? Just in case anyone reading this doesn't think I am dorky enough as it is, I have discovered a new hobby. My friends Ali and Craig dragged me to a metal staircase on a college campus last January. I think it was -3 degrees and I was told to look for the blinkie. Huh? Well, once Craig found it he showed me a mini metal capsule that had been magnetized to the staircase. This was my first experience with a cache. I couldn't feel my toes or nose, but damn they were excited about their find.
Fast forward to a nice springish evening in March, headlamp on and Cooper leashed I was wandering around on a huge metal bridge looking for a blinkie. I still wasn't completely sold, but a few days later headed out to a new location. Perry Nature area, I had never been there and probably wound never get there unless I was searching for a 35mm film canister hidden in the trunk of a tree. That evening I was hooked. It was fun...load up my car with my friends and some dogs and traipse around territory unknown to me. I have discovered areas outside of Sioux Falls I would never have otherwise.
Here's the deal:
A website was established to monitor and track the "caches." A cache can be anything from the aforementioned magnetized mini object to a 5 gallon bucket. The cache is then placed in a particular location. The hider marks the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates, names it, offers hints if he/she chooses and enters it on the website. The finder can then enter the coordinates into a handheld GPS unit and off he/she goes to discover the cache. Once found, the finder logs his/her name on the enclosed paper and places the cache back where it was found for other people to discover. Then the finder logs his/her discovery on the website. There are lots of other things too, you can leave items, trade items, move items from cache to cache. Geocaching.com is my new favorite bookmark!

A-hole Mother Nature!
well, on the verge of really hitting my stride with my new hobby mother nature unloaded inches of wet, heavy, sloppy snow on us. That's not cool...though most of it is gone now, but still. Snow in April? c'mon.

Concert at the Qwest
Thursday afternoon Adam and I followed Trichelle to Omaha to meet up with Rebecca and some of her friends for the Kenny Chesney concert. We met for a great dinner, some drinks and then headed to the concert. Pat Green and Sugarland opened for him and all of it was wonderful! After the concert some went for drinks...Adam and I found a cache in a downtown Omaha park. Yep, choosing to scavenge around a park at midnight for a tupperware container instead of drinking. I think I've entered a new stage in life! BUT, we found the cache and could log our first out of state find!

8 1/2 hour hunt
Adam called just after one yesterday and we headed to Dell Rapids, SD. We had 8 caches on the list and came up 50%...not terrible especially once I read about some of them once we got home. I took a nice slide down a muddy hill and almost ended up in the river...Adam did the same though managed to keep his pants much cleaner. Though, I think I almost peed my pants watching him scamper up the mud hill while the earth continually kerplunked into the river below him. It was great. We walked across an 18inch wide and about 20foot long plank to slide around in the mud and we didn't even find that one!
So, once we gave up in Dell Rapids, we picked Alison up and headed to Brandon. We went 100% for those on the list. I found a total of 12 caches yesterday!
Hello, my name is Roberta and I am a cache-addict!!

That's it for now...will post more as the addiction spirals OUT OF CONTROL!

St. Patty's Puppy Party

This is Trichelle and Ben's dog, Daisy, playing with Cooper






















Daisy and Adam's dog Iris are new friends...and Cooper was VERY jealous!

Pics...

Trichelle snuggles up with "calm Cooper"

A tough week

This week has been filled with many stressors. I found out on Tuesday that a co-worker/friend of mine has resigned his position. This is difficult for me because we work closely at least 3 days a week. It will be hard to replace him and with such a short amount of school left, it should be interesting.
Wednesday my mom had sugery on her shoulder. She is doing too much of course and needs to sit back and relax. She'll have a rough few weeks coming up and I hope that she is able to take care and allow herself to heal. My dad tries to take care of her, but she doesn't always allow that to happen.
Also late Tuesday night, a dear family friend passed away. Don was like a grandfather to my sister and I. Growing up we lived across the street from he and his wife Dorothy and they loved having us over and watching us play in the yard and the street! They always had time for Erin and I and would care for us like members of family. Don was a nature lover and I remember him showing me around his backyard filled with trees and glorious plants. Don and Dorothy loved each other and cared so much for others. He'll be missed.

not much to share

I have been asked for new posts...not much is new right now. I have stolen this picture from a friend. I laughed for a long time, I hope you do too. Laughing is good...

Snow!

We've gotten snow 2 weekends in a row now. Cooper helped me shovel today and then we played in the front yard.
Nothing much, besides the snow, is new for me. Work is busy and it's a long time before we have a day off again. I have been staying healthy, but some of my students have been ill the past week or so. Here's hoping I can maintain my health.

MLK Jr. day was meant to be a Star Wars marathon with a few of my friends. The marathon only lasted for 1 and a 1/2 movies before our adult ADD kicked in and we were forced to leave to get ice cream. It was a good way to spend a holiday though.

Last night we got our butts kicked in volleyball. We were one person short and imagine this, the other team always hit the "hole." The O-Fers were NOT on top of their game...but fun was had as always. It's not about winning the game it's about...blah, blah, blah. We were losers last night.

I cleaned my house today, I know many of you are rubbing your eyes and re-reading that. Yes, I in fact dusted, vacummed, scrubbed and put away today. It's a new year and a brand new Roberta...well...not exactly. But it's looking good around here!

That's about it...hope everyone is staying healthy.