Another great Independence Day celebration

Wendy it was so much fun seeing your pictures. Shelly S is helping me post mine. (I'm driving her crazy) But we had our whole family together and Mom too. Some members of our family ran in a race. Matt, Carl and Emily ran the 10k and Mark,Matt, Lisa, Cameron and Parker ran 2 miles. Parker was the winner of the 2 mile race. Lisa was concerned about him running by himself but she couldn't catch up to him. Olivia saw Minnesota for the first time and loved it. She can't wait to come back again. If I can figure how to add the pictures I will add one with the racers in it.

Note from Shelly: I finally kicked her out of the chair and took over.

Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In

I was going through some old videos tonight, and came across this one. I thought that you all would enjoy seeing Naomi's fabulous harmonica skills and Carl's improvisational skills.

Hershey Kisses to Hannah and Todd

In our quest to visit all of our nieces and nephews, this month we were the guests of Hannah and Todd Huber. They were excellent!

We discovered for ourselves that Hannah is not big enough to have a baby yet!

Their home is in a delightful little town (and I do mean little) in the heart of Pennsylvania.

Charlie and I both decided we could live there in a heartbeat. The area is just beautiful! We had a wonderful supper prepared by Hannah, spent a lot of time visiting and watching Dawn swim in their town pool.

Here's Hannah and Dawn as we head for Hershey!

We all LOVED Hershey, PA! Fortunately, I was up to the task of eating a ton of chocolate. Charlie, however, had about 2 candies and was full.

We highly recommend you all visit Hannah and Todd. The accommodations are great, food is wonderful and conversation delightful.

It's definitely time for Todd to have someone around all the time to play with. He'll make a great dad.

Valine Grandchildren #2,3,and 4.

In response to the pressure from Alison, I am posting the latest pictures of my daughters. The minute these photos go up, I will get pressure from my daughters who will want to know why I did it. I think pregnant women are beautiful, so I think they all look great. FYI, the pictures are in order of the anticipated arrival. Here is "Baby Boy Huber".

Here is Thomas Valine. My favorite picture of Emma's belly is not her favorite, so I chose to post this less revealing photo. What a great mother-in-law!

Here is the "Gender unknown Baby Marks". Why anyone would have a gender unknown child in today's world is beyond me! It has given Paul and I something to banter about for seven and a half months now. FYI, I am a great mother-in-law here, also, because they have left the sealed envelope with the child's gender written inside lying in plain view on the desk in the living room ever since they got it. I have not peeked, steamed, held up to the light, or out and out stolen the envelope! I have been tempted to do all of the above, but I have refrained. What I have done, however, is buy this gender unknown child several dresses. Couldn't help myself!

Expected arrival dates are between August 2 and September 2. It will certainly be a month for the Valine family history book!

4th of July Week

The Stricker family had a memorable get-together the week of July 4th. With the exception of Beth and her family, everyone else was present. What fun it was to be together! Here are a few highlights:





Aimee's family met us in eastern Wisconsin where Aunt Priscilla(David's sister) met a new grandniece.








Science teacher, Uncle Brian, helped the big

kids make a tornado in a bottle while the little

ones busied themselves playing in water.




David and Brian walked 23 miles from our house in Red Wing to Kaya and Joe's house in Cannon Falls. It took 9 1/2 hours from 5:00 AM. to 2:30 PM. We all met at Kaya's house and cheered them across the finish line.

Afterwards we walked to a nearby park to celebrate with a picnic lunch.

Note the victory medal around David's neck. It was bestowed on him at the finish line. Brian got one too.

David, Brian and Kevin took in a Twins game and brought home a win.

Philip installed sound on my computer!

Along with parade(Those of us who didn't attend the parade saw highlights which Philip video taped for IdaMae), fireworks(IdaMae's reaction after the first firework went off was,"Pop! More, more!" as she signed the word "more"), and a traditional July 4th cookout, the whole week was a great celebration!

Amanda Joy Heubner

Introducing Amanda Joy Heubner - born on April 23, 2008 @ 3:16 pm - 7 lbs, 11 oz.

Amanda means "she who must be loved" - and that sure is true! She's been a huge hit throughout our whole church and with all of our friends. And, of course, Mommy and Daddy are smitten!

Her middle name, Joy, is true as well. She smiles and coos and "talks" up a storm! She brings her mommy and daddy lots of joy.

She is now just over 2 months old. She is alert and active - and even rolled over this week!

With all the changes in our lives: Jacob's new job as a technology consultant, miss Amanda Joy's arrival, and Sandy's new role as a stay-at-home mom, as well as all the things we are still involved in, life continues to be very busy. We've had lots of visits by relatives and friends and are truly enjoying being parents for the first time. Thanks again to everyone for all your prayers, thoughts, gifts, and blessings!