Labor Day 2009

We spent Labor Day weekend at mom & dad's place at the Shangrila airport in Beecher-WI, and visiting Annie's friend Mindy who has a cabin about 2 miles away on the Menominee River.

First Day of Kindergarten

Kurt is off to his first day of Kindergarten today. Kurt(5) joins his brothers at North Barrington Elementary - Peter(8) is in third, and Erik(7) in first. We now enter a new phase of life where all our kids are in school. We are happy, but also a little sad. The photo above shows each boys first day of Kindergarten.

Popper's New Website

Popper has a new website, www.orecreektreefarm.com. It's powered by Wordpress, an open source content management system. We hope to energize his sales, and maybe do some Craigslist & Google advertising this fall.

Septic Replacement

Our old (stinky) septic system was finally laid to rest. We are now the proud owners of a brand new sewage treatment facility, conveniently located in our back yard.

Michigan Summer Vacation

We just got back from our summer vacation in Grand Haven, Michigan. It's a lot easier now that the kids are older (Peter-8, Erik-7, Kurt-5). We tried camping four years ago, but it didn't work out too good. We did it again this year (after renting a house the last 3 years) and had a blast!



Here's a link to another good Grand Haven Video:
Grand Haven Tourist Video

Schwarzenegger for President

A lot of conservatives criticize Arny for being too moderate. But I love his politics! There is a $26 billion deficit in California, and he refuses to raise taxes. Instead he proposes spending cuts...

"Democrats who control the legislature cannot pass a budget on their own. They agree with Republicans that deep spending cuts are needed but want some taxes increased. Republicans are holding firm against tax increases and Schwarzenegger has sided with them." - Reuters Article

View the list of Schwarzenegger's Proposed Budget Cuts. I'm sad these programs need to be cut, there's going to be some pain. But Californians already have extremely high taxes AND high unemployment. People can't afford higher taxes. We all need to live within our means - including the government. In my opinion, the federal government should have stopped spending so much money a long time ago. We haven't had a balanced federal budget since 1969, and our national debt is nearly $12 trillion. How can this be good for America?
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The Murray Carrot

We are now the proud owners of a Murray mini-bike with a 3.5 hp Tecumseh engine. It goes a whopping 25 mph! So far, Erik is the only kid to earn privileges, but he's about an inch too short to ride it. The bike is a "carrot", as it's primarily a motivating tool for Peter. Hopefully 3rd grade will go better than 2nd.