PETA WOULD BE PROUD

WE SAVED A TURKEY THIS THANKSGIVING!

(Hopefully this will make up for us unknowingly locking Muffin in the guest room for 3 days, while we left town a few years ago.)

This year we decided to have the kids out for a Thanksgiving brunch instead of a traditional Turkey dinner. (okay, Terry and Becky aren't really fond of food with bones still attached, and we decided it would be healthier for them not to eat 2 or 3 turkey meals in one day.)

Above, Becky & Jason (her significant other) snickers at the huge pile of Neuske's bacon on Rusty's plate. On the right, Rusty and Kari (his significant other) are forced to pose for yet another "come on guys!! no wierd faces this time!!" picture.

Sometimes.....

...Sometimes, not often enough, we reflect upon the good things. And those thoughts always center around those we love, and I think about those people...who mean so much to me. And for so many years, have made me, so very happy. And I count the times I have forgotten to say "thank you" ... and just how much I love them. (Karen Carpenter)

Happy Thanksgiving to friends, family and all those who are part of our lives. We are so very fortunate. I wish I would have the time (and patience!!!) to post pics of each and every one of you...from relatives, in-laws, out-laws (ha) to our dear friends and even our co-workers that have had an influence on our lives. But know that we are thankful that you are all in our lives.

I hope that you all find things in your lives that you too, can reflect upon and be thankful for.

Beth and Terry

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

Happy Birthday, Alyssa! (Her dad is one of my "favorite Godchildren, Patrick.") What a dolly! Live your life with no regrets, Alyssa!

Fantasy vs. Reality

Well, we've finally said the words, "it won't be done by Christmas" today. Sad realization, but true.

Heck we're hoping that we can get the birdfeeders hung on the deck by the time Jacqui comes for Christmas! Thank goodness that we won't have Ty-Vak and plastic separating the "south wing" from the "north wing" this year, with an open roof in the middle of the living room upstairs! She was quite the trooper last year!!!

With both of us holding "real" jobs now, (yes, I've erased the "Get a Job, Loser" phrase off my bulletin board and pulled all those rejection letters off the fridge), and his promotion to East Coast Sales Manager, the project has slowed down a bit. To think that we started this whole remodeling project in October of last year and said "of course we'll do the finished carpentry downstairs - we LOVE doing that stuff together (think 3 months for the paver driveway!!!) " .... Geez, did either of us play the "what if" game...like "what if we have full time jobs..? "What if Terry goes to Siberia for over 2 months? What if we can't decide on cabinetry, paint colors, tiling, furniture, etc., etc...?"

So here we are working on the downstairs bathroom. More drywalling to do!!!! Ugh! But life and our house is a constant WIP. (work-in-progress)

And a little update on Terry's cough that he's had since Siberia in August...well, he's still got it - 3 different antibiotics, nasal sprays, full chest X-Rays, hundreds of cough drops and it's still there, albeit much better now. I still think it's because he wouldn't wear a dust mask while we were knocking down the fireplace, sanding the drywall, and having all that dust float freely throughout the vents since last year!!!

Milwaukee Veterans Day Parade 2005

Honoring all Veterans - Thank You!

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(...and "What Happens in Staging.....Stays in Staging.....")

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This is my dad (below), Cliff Bastian, WWII Navy Veteran, riding with the Operation Enduring Freedom float driven by Mary Regozzi, a Desert Storm Veteran. Passing the torch from one generation to the next, we salute you, dad, Mary, and all the brave men and women who served and sacrificed for our freedom. I couldn't be prouder! Thank you!

THANK YOU VETERANS !!!

The 42nd annual Veterans Day Parade was held in downtown Milwaukee on Saturday November 5th. Notice Nanook in the staging area giving instructions to our GateKeepers... It's finally getting cold out again and thanks to all those Cabela clothes he bought for Siberia, he was dressed for the chill. What a great day it was.... a bit windy, 50 degrees, but a good crowd of spectators waving and cheering on our veterans. It was, once again, an honor and privledge to salute those great men and women who served our country!

No...Beth is not daydreaming....she's just looking at the T-38's doing their fly-over during the parade!

A huge thanks to all our GateKeeper Volunteers - once again you did an awesome job! We couldn't have pulled off staging without you - Thanks.

Photo: Becky (2nd from left) and man-friend, Jason (to her right..) along with gal-pal, Ashley and Milwaukee Hog Chapter Gate Marshalls

Photo: Milwaukee Hog Chapter Marshals, with our "favorite" son, Rusty and girl-friend, Keri.

WE SALUTE YOU VETERANS!