070331 - Karate

070331 - Was up most of the night with Jack, he has a touch of a fever... But we all got up early and on the road in good time. Made it to the tournament and made the best of the disorganization. Jack went first and did REALLY good with hiss form [I will post it on the www.WingerWEBSITE tomorrow night under Jack Winger]. He got his first ever trophy he did such a good job! Dylan was up next and did his weapons and sparring. He did pretty good. He got a 3rd place trophy out of 8 other Black Belt boys his age! WAY TO GO BOYS!

070329 - Off to Chicago

070329 - Off to Chicago. Up and ready to go meeting w/ USR today and tomorrow.

070328 - fast day. So far behind... Mom was in town and went to Canes for dinner w/ us. Jack was a mess. After dinner dropped L off at church, then I ran errands w/ the 3 boys. They were very good. Home and watched 'Happy Feet' with the fam.

070203 - Jack displays his OCD

070203 - Jack displays his OCD. He is only 3 and has his cars not only lined up, but sorted buy color... Earlier in the day I discussed with Louise and Dad about how we all count thing and they said Grandpa Winger use to count things.... Scary!

070203 - Afternoon in Mansfield

070203 - Afternoon in Mansfield

Got up this morning and headed went to the church pancake breakfast. Then ran to Meijer for some dog food and other supplies. Home, fed the dogs, everyone to the bathroom and then up to Mansfield. All the boys were sleeping so we went straight into the nursing home.

I went in alone to see Grandma Winger. She was sleeping so I didn't wake her. I sat with her a bit and thought of all the things she has done for me as I watched her facial expressions in painful twitches. I wrote a note in her book, gave her a kiss and said good bye... The last conversation we had was at the Winger Christmas party as she was leaving. I gave her a hug and a kiss, told her i loved her and she, through her fogged mind smiled and said 'I know you do honey'. For that to be our last conversation will be a good life long memory. What a great lady and what an impact she has made on my life. I will be traveling extensively here soon and probably wont see her alive again...

Very sad moment in my life....

Home to the farm. Went sled riding with my boys and then Mary and Martha, Burt and Louise stopped to see my family. Eating dinner now and then heading home.

070202 - Asleep

This is the first post on the new BLOG! Grant was playing hard all morning and then fell asleep standing up...

Grant asleep

061207 - Pool time

061207 - Up in the am and in to work with Arno. Fast day and then heading out to a pool hall with some of the guys at work. It was a nice place and we played for about 4 hours. We played one game that was quite fun and the shots that were being made were ridiculous. One fellow, Erik made 4-6 miracle shots in a row. AMAZING and fun time. Back to Amsterdam on the train and then tram to the hotel. Called L and sounds like the work on the roof is almost done. I got to talk to Jack for the first time during this trip, I was glad he finally talked to me as I miss them all terribly.

061206 - Movies

061206 - After the tour we met up with Arno and had a good American meal, McDonalds! It was good but not quite the same. They had a sandwich called a 'McKrocket' it is a deep fried patty filled with chese, sausage and spices... I don't see it coming to America anytime soon. In good Americanstyle we at as we watched a movie 'The Big Leboski' and had lots of good conversation. Spent the night listening to the water and wind on their lake house.

061206 - Batavia

061206 - After the grocery I got the night tour of Lelystad. We stopped by a replica of the old ships that made the Dutch a world power. It took 15 years made all by hand tools and volunteer work. It is HUGE. Next to it they have started a second ship and the construction is amazing.

061206 - Lelystad

061206 - Fast day at work then headed to Lelystad with Gwen. We hit a Grocery store for some snacks and drink. The groceries are quite different with loads of fresh bread, cheese and everything else you can imagine. Another really neat thing is the Christmas trees. As you can see here they are all smaller and they are balled ready for planting after Christmas. This is just one more example of the European mentality of less waste.

061206 - UP TOO EARLY

061206 - Well today it the first day I am taking the tram/train system all the way to work so I was a bit nervous. Thus I got up and was ready in plenty of time. The tram ride I thought would take a half an hour only took about 10 minutes so I was even further ahead of schedule arriving about 1 hour before the train into Almere. So I hung out had a coffee and sandwich and watched the peole moving about. Very interesting how smooth everything runs. Ahndi and Gary showed up and we jumped on a train, not the one we planned to take... They thought they would be able to teach me how to transfer trains... But thankfully the train we jumped on was direct to Almere. After a short walk we are here again at the office ready for another fun and exciting day!!!

061205 - Ice Skating

061205 - After dinner we went ut and walked around the Leidseplein. This time of year they had a skating rink set up in the center for people to use, much like they do at Rockafeller Center in NYC. There we some fols on it but I thought it best I not give it a try and retreated to the hotel.

061205 - Dinner with the Scots

061205 - After making it back to the hotel I got refreshed and then headed up to the Leidseplein to meet Gary and Ahndi for dinner. They being Scotsman needed to find a place to watch the soccer match, so we ended up in a Scotish pub for some VERY dark beer, food and soccer, which I have no clue about... But very good food and conversation.