He's adorable!

Charmaine,
  Thanks for the sweet photos of Landon.  He is so cute... looks like his grandpa Dean.
Amy

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Lunch with Landon

Elise and I meet for lunch last week and here are a few photos from that day.

Baby Landon

Becker Homestead

This is a watercolor of Mom and Dad's house done by Sylvia Dieffenbach (sp?) from our church. We won her services at a fundraiser auction. I took photos and emailed them to her. We also asked her to add the Springer Spaniel and bike as well as the truck. We wanted the big rock but their house is very long and it didn't work out. Mom and Dad liked it. I thought it turned out pretty well. Their house is wide and difficult to fit in a photo without it being really far away. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve at Grandmas

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Merry Christmas!

Grandma GG

This is a wonderful photo of Grandma GG from 1994.  Every year she would make a Christmas ornament for every one of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  That year she made needlepoint angels and I took this photo of her surrounded by the angels.  She was the greatest and I cherish the time we shared together.
Amy

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Happy Holidays

A little smile, a word of cheer, A bit of love from someone near, A little gift from one held dear, Best wishes for the coming year… These make a Merry Christmas! - John Greenleaf Whittier

Lochmann Update

Abby got into medical school in Des Moines Iowa.  She has been traveling the Midwest going on interviews.  She really wants to go to Madison but won’t find out if she is accepted until January.  Keep your fingers crossed.  She thought that interview went good.  Katy and Andrew are heading into finals week at Madison.  It has been a good semester for both of them. Laura is obsessed with the Twilight series of books.  She read all 4 in record time and has seen the movie 3 times.  I finished the first and am working on the 2^nd.  It is a mildly entertaining love story between a vampire and a girl.  Abby and Katy read all 4 books but are not quite as obsessed as Laura.  Laura stayed up until 3 am the other day reading and then tried to get me to let her stay home from school…no way…I kicked her but out the door.

Dan did not get a buck this year…not for lack of trying though.  He shot 2 does.  I guess he had to shoot something.  He packed the guns up and pulled out the tip ups and spent yesterday ice fishing. 

We are all heading to Costa Rica on Dec 22 for 8 days.  We are trying something new for Christmas this year.

 

Dan and Julie Lochmann

 

Hungry for steaks

Mmmmm!  Those steaks look delicious. 
 Michael and I are heading home from Hawaii tonight and will be back in Wisconsin tomorrow afternoon.  Michael has requested that I make a grilled steak soon.  We've had such great seafood here, but there's nothing like a good steak!

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Steaks with Mom and Dad

We enjoy making steaks with Mom and Dad. Dad seems to get a kick out of it and Mom usually eats ok. Making the steaks is easy. Patty makes everything else!

HAWAII UPDATE

FRIDAY WAS CHARMAINE'S BIRTHDAY!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A GREAT SIS' IN LAW!
 
Here are a few more photos Michael and Amy vacationing in Hawaii.
 
This morning we drove upcountry to Waimea to a "homesteader's farmer's market."  We believe that Homesteaders refers to the native Hawaiians -- who call this paradise their home because of legal Native Hawaiian ancestry.  Nonetheless, the farmers market was the coolest we've ever visited..... fresh organic produce    -- salad greens, herbs, tropical flowers,fruits, vegetables, herbs, goat cheese, lavender, eggs, some crafty stuff.   Julie -- your tie dye shirts, etc. would have done well.
  Michael was wearing a tee shirt from the UP of Michigan and we were warmly "accosted" by a woman from the gReen bay Area who now lives on the Big Island.  She went to college long ago on Oahu, met her husband there, chose to raise their children in Wisconsin because of the quality of schools in Wisconsin.... but vowed to return to Hawaii to retire.
I wanted to ask her if she had a room to rent... but I resisted.  Up Country Big Island Hawaii is a lot like driving to "Up NOrth Wisconsin" -- Away from the bustle of the big city, tourist areas,  the "REAL" America (I jest).
 
Need I mention -- the weather is fabulous!

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This is a picture of the shirt I made for Michael.  He wanted something to match his Homer Simpson Pajamas Pants.  Hopefully he will put a picture of himself wearing the whole outfit on the blog for all of us to see.

 

Dan and Julie Lochmann

 

Aloha from Hawaii

We know you're all enjoying the recent snowfalls back in Wisconsin.  We're trying to soak up as much tropical as we can.  I just put on some sunscreen for our morning walk on the beach. 
  Some day, I'd like to live here -- there it is in print. 
Amy

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Kyle & Mel

A nice photo of them from a wedding last weekend. Charm

Santa Elf

Hi Nick,   I posted this photo of my niece Sarah's baby, isn't he cute??   Charmie

Santa Elf, Hudson

This is my niece's baby boy Hudson who is 8 months old.

Santa baby

New photo of Elise & Landon w/Santa

GG

Here is GG getting some special gift. GG always looked like a Grandma in all her photos. I think some of the cousins are in there also.

Crivitz or bust!

Here is snapshot from Julie's slideshow last year. These are from Crivitz. Notice Dad's shorts and black socks.

Safety first -- Tilley dressed for a walk.

Tilley was up north last weekend during the prime deer hunting season.  She was always dressed appropriately in Blaze Orange for her daily walks.  After a while, she even got excited when her master would pull out her blaze orange vest as that meant she'd be heading outdoors.
 
Coming up in future postings -- Tilley vs. the Pedipaws!

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Double Success for Gabe in Deer Hunt 2008.

Last Sunday, the 2nd day of deer hunting in Wisconsin, Gabe shot his first deer.  He was hunting in the swamp behind their cabin in Boulder Junction.  Tom and Zach were set up in their own stands.  It was about 8:30 a.m. and Gabe was waiting for some action from his tree stand when two deer came into sight.  Gabe shot one deer and waited ten minutes or so, when the second deer came by and he was able to shoot that one also.  One of the deer was a "nubby".
  Congratulations Gabe!  I believe that this was the first year that Gabe  was old enough to actually shoot a gun during deer hunting season.  He completed Hunter Safety this year and was given two doe tags.

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Andrews new do

 

 

Andrew is sporting a new do.  He has always been an avid fan of Bob Marley and has studied him in great detail.  He has all of his music.

Now I guess he wants to look like Bob.  I think it’s a good look for him.  The only shirts he wears are bob shirts or tie dye shirts…of course.  I am not sure about the Man Bag/Murse.

 

Dan and Julie Lochmann

 

FW: NYC Girls Trip (By Julie)

 

This past October I went to New York City with some friends.  We go somewhere together every fall.  This is our 4 trip together.  We have been to Chicago, San Francisco and New York this year.  We each put money into an account each month to use for accommodations and dinners on our trip. 

While in New York we ate at several excellent restaurants.  We went on a tour of the Chelsea Market in the Meat Packing District.  This is where the Foodnetwork channel shows are taped.  This mall has many different food type stores including seafood, Italian specialties, teas and coffees, bakery to name a few.  Basically we ate and sampled our way through the market.  It was very cool.  At the end  of that day we purchased some delectable goodies and had a feast in our apartment instead of dining out.  Another day we went on a shopping tour of SOHO.   We went in to small boutiques and shops…no big name stores like Macy’s etc.  That was interesting but got exhausting long before the tour guide was ready to let us go.  We also went to Central Park and that area. 

We stayed in a little apartment we rented from VRBO(vacation rental by owner).  It was owned by a women.  She was actually living there and went and stayed at her boyfriends while we were there.  It was in the SOHO/Greenwich Village area.  The streets were lined with shops, delicatessens, and restaurants right outside our door.  Very different than living in Rice Lake. 

The photos are of my friends and the guy in the photo is our tour guide for the Market Tour. 

It was a blast but I was pooped when I got home.  Took weeks to recover.

Dan and Julie Lochmann

 

Pictures from Russ and Charmie's Anniversary Party

Here are some pictures from the party. It was a lot of fun. Congrads to Russ and Charmie on 30 years and a great family! There was alot of love in the room. There are more pictures to come of Russ and Charmie that we will upload soon.

30 years and counting...

We are looking forward to seeing all of our family & friends this Saturday night for our party!

Charleston and Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Here are a few pictures from our week away in South Carolina.  Charleston is a beautiful clean city with countless well preserved historic homes and gardens.  The Southern hospitality was refreshing. 
 
We went to a plantation that has been in the same family since the 1600's.  It was interesting to get the Southern perspective on slavery.  This particular plantation planted rice; and for the slaves there, life was not as miserable if you were the property of a plantation owner who grew rice -- as opposed to cotton or tobacco which was tortuous labor.  Also, the overseer was a black man and that was unusual and indicated that the slaves were probably well treated.
 
I took the photo of the spider while we were walking on a boardwalk that wound throughout the swamp on the plantation property.  Also, the alligator.  The beautiful pond with the white bridge was also on the plantation property.
 
Be prepared for more pictures from Kiawah Island and the accompanying travelogue.
Amy
 
As you can tell, we had a marvelous getaway to South Carolina.

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Grandma's house is gone

I don't know if anyone noticed but Grandma's house was taken down maybe in the last month. I have noticed over the past year, the area being prepared and the other houses came down also. I guess Dad was born in the house. The aluminum shed was still up. They are probably going to recyle that. Kind of sad but not many things stay the same I guess. Does anyone know if Johannes lived there? The photo is atleast 2 years old.

“Elsa Fell Down” 1983 written by TB.

One summer day, Nick and I were on our last job of the day when this older man approached us. He was very upset and proceeded to tell us about his Elsa and how she was eating and fell to the floor. He pleaded to us to help him pick her up.

On the way to his house, we wondered who or what Elsa was. When we walked in the house, there was Elsa all 600 pounds of her. Elsa was his wife who had fallen down while eating a pizza. Nick and I were very upset and concerned and asked her if she was OK? She answered “Yes.” She told us she just wanted to get back on her feet and needed some help. So, Nick and I and Mr. Elsa attempted to raise Elsa to her feet but couldn’t budge her. Nick had remembered seeing some neighbors outside and ran for help. We tried again being careful not to grab the wrong body parts. With the extra help from the neighbor, we were able to stand her up so she could finish her pizza. Elsa and her husband were very thankful. Nick and I were relieved although our backs were hurting. We made it about ½ mile down the road and busted out into a laughing fit but at the same time felt sorry for Elsa and her husband. This story was written by Tom and happened at least 22 years ago.

Igor and the Bride of Frankenstein

For Halloween this year, Michael was Igor from Young Frankenstein.  Amy was the Bride of Frankenstein.
We were invited to a Murder Mystery Party and instructed to dress up as Horror Film characters.
Michael took first prize for best costume. He really got into the role. We were novices at the mystery solving part of the evening, but next time we'll do better.
 
On Friday night, we went out for a fish fry and wore our costumes.  I warned Michael not to scare any children in the dining room.  The first thing he does is glare at a little girl at the table next to us.  She promptly freaks out and runs into her mother's arms -- who was not too happy about the incident.  Whatever...
 
Other than the frightened child incident, Michael loved the attention.
 
  Katy, you look great in that Jeannie costume!

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Freak Fest

This is a picture of Katy and her friend in there Halloween Best ready for Freak Fest in Madison.  I don’t have any pictures of Andrew yet but I hear he went as The Dude from The Big Lebowski.  The weekend was uneventful which is a first for the Lochmann children on Halloween in Madison.  Let’s hope they have broken the curse and there will be no more citations in their future.

Laura celebrated Halloween at a friend’s party in Rice Lake.  She went as a pirate.  I will send pictures of her soon.  Abby, Andy, Dan and I celebrated Halloween at Abby’s apartment and than at the local pizza joint.  Pretty uneventful and probably boring for Abby and Andy who are used to the excitement in Mad Town.

 

Rachel's Fur Coat

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Take a look at this exquisite fur coat that Rachel received as a gift from her grandmother, Betty. It must be from the 1940's, yet the style and lines give it a timeless appeal. The leather trim is so cool!
A bit of history -- Shari's grandmother, Betty, is in her 90's. The coat was passed on to Rachel from Shari's dad (I think.) Betty received the coat as a gift from her beau, Roy, who just happened to be a furrier in Milwaukee. Her initials are embroidered on the lining inside the coat. She later married Roy and the initials are those of her married name from her first husband who had passed away. That would be Shari's paternal grandfather.
The coat fits Rachel perfectly and I think she rivals Katherine Hepburn or Joan Crawford wearing it...
My only word of advice to Rachel is that she be careful not to let it out of her sight.

(contributed by Amy)

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