ChRiStMaS fUn

This has been a crazy and eventful week! Christmas was definitely the highlight of the week. Bill's brother was married this past weekend as well. The wedding was an interesting experience and Christmas was a ton of fun! Here are a few pictures from this crazy week.

Brendan and Carter found their dad's cowboy hat and horse to play with at Grandma and Grandpa Maasjo's house.

Bill and I always have to take a picture together, it reminds us of what we look like together;)

Becky has a new camera!

Opening presents is always fun!

My new Pajamas, our tree, and of course Gus.


My new Pajamas and warm fuzzy flannel sheets.


Dustin and Becky having Christmas fun.

Playing games was a ton of fun at the McLeod Christmas. Bill, however, was not the world's greatest Catch Phrase player. He would always get the buzzer with 3-5 seconds left. O-well he had fun anyway, the word Booby trap was by far his best phrase of the night!

Buzz Word was also a ton of fun!


Bill forgot his black socks for the day of the wedding! I was able to provide a nice pair of trouser socks for him:) It made me smile to see him wearing my socks!


Can you say Amish Bill?


Bill and I


It's the Jones Clan!
Bill's mom, Cindy, and her all of her brothers and sisters.
The more I get to know them the more I like them! I have to say that Aunt Karen's husband, Uncle Tony, cracks me up a ton!


Bill's family


I think Anna looked hot:)


Bill's buddy Erick lives in St. Cloud so it was great to spend some quality time with him. I think the mutton chops could probably go but hey, to each their own, right?


My buddy Bill

Christmas Card and Letter

Here is our Christmas Letter and Picture we sent out this year. I believe everyone has this but just in case I thought I would post:)

Greetings,

2008 has been a fantastic year, full of activity for Sandy, Bill, Dana, and I. Sandy and I are finishing out our fifth year living with Bill and Dana. They are great roommates who understand our canine ways.

Bill is busy going to school full time at NDSU, working as the part time warranty writer at Titan Machinery, and working full time at Identity Ag Processing. He is pretty tired on Saturday and Sunday when I get to see him but he still takes the time to play with me. Sandy and I are very proud of how hard he is working.

Dana is still teaching fifth grade at Central Cass and finished her tenth season of coaching volleyball. Her team finished third in the Region this year. She is also busy working on her master’s degree and plans to graduate this May. I sure am glad about that because she spends way too much time on the computer. Time that would be better spent playing with me. She worked for the Casselton Parks and Recreation department again last summer. We often head over to the Casselton Reservoir and go for walks and swims. That place is great! If you ever want to check it out, let me know and I will give you a tour.

I accidentally pushed Sandy out the upstairs window which caused her to break her arm in three places. Boy, were Bill and Dana mad at me, the funny part is that they just could not figure out how I got the window open! I told them it was the same way I opened all of the other windows. I also managed to lock Dana out of the house one night, I guess there were people outside and I hit the dead bolt earlier in the day, oops! It was no big deal I watched her sit on the lawn furniture for a few hours and she seemed just fine out there. I could tell that the mosquitoes were starting to bother her after awhile but Bill came home and let her inside, which was sure nice of him.

We redid the bathroom last summer, I was a great help with that too! I was most helpful with the texturing and painting. My tail works great and the light green color looked good on the blue couch. Dana did not really agree, her face turned red and I think she raised her voice a bit. No big deal, it happens all of the time. Anyway it worked out great she made me take a long shower and that was fine with me because I love showers.

Bill and Dana took up a new hobby this past summer. As you can see from the photo they have been kayaking. I, however, am not a fan of the kayak; personally I would rather be swimming or chasing a ball. I did make it down to Lake Sally again this year. It was a ton of fun, we stayed up late in the tent barking at noises outside. Then in the morning Bill pretended to hook me up to the chain so that I could go for a run. Boy did I have fun on my run! I guess everyone went in different directions looking for me. Dana knew where I would be, on the beach seven cabins down playing with a yummy dead fish. It tasted great and smelled good too. Dana did not agree but what does she know.

Sandy has healed up from her window accident and is spending most of her time lounging around the house. She is taking good care of me and I am sure glad Bill and Dana got her for me.

We hope that you are doing well and enjoying the holiday season. I hear Bill and Dana asking me what I am up to so I better close with well wishes for the New Year and a Merry Christmas to you.

Have a great holiday season,

Gus, Sandy, Bill, and Dana
Gus Stansbery and family

Our Christmas Tree

It was a three week process but we finally have our Christmas Tree up, decorated, and glowing.

A day in the life of Sandy

We all know that Gus is a high anxiety and full of energy dog. Which is the complete opposite of Sandy. Here is how Sandy spends most of her time...

Getting Ready for a nap...

Almost Sleeping...



Snuggling with a pillow...


Almost Sleeping again...


Dozing...

Gotta Love Him

I keep telling myself time and time again that I must love my dog enormously. He has been a good friend to me and I spend more time with him than I do Bill. I am, however, worried that my patience is running thin. I came home tonight to find Bill's slippers in the bathroom garbage. It may not seem like it is not that big of a deal but our garbage is small and Bill's slippers are not. After cleaning up in the bathroom I heard a noise in the kitchen and then in the living room. Gus had taken a bowl from the sink and was pushing it around in the living room. I came around the corner and there he was sitting there with the bowl. He never ceases to amaze me.

Thanksgiving

Everyone seems to be reminiscing the thankful thoughts, how great their lives are, what Thanksgiving means to them, and what they are thankful for.
Our amazing PTO had the teachers do the same this past week. They had the teachers write down why we are thankful to be in education. There was an incentive drawing and my name was actually drawn in the drawing. I won a few Casselton Bucks, Pretty cool, I know:)
Here is what I am thankful for...
I am thankful I am a teacher, a coach (most of the time), an aunt, a daughter, a sister, a mother (I have two dogs), and most of all I am thankful to be a wife. I love my husband unconditionally. We are having a tough time right now because life is fairly stressful and we do not see each other very much. We miss each other a great deal. Hey, it is 12:15 and I am blogging to stay awake so that when he drags himself into the house in an hour I can say hello, give him a kiss, and then fall asleep. I would not give up those five minutes for anything. People always ask why I am tired and I always say I was up late. Usually I am doing homework, but I finished a few hours ago. I am always yawning during the day and my teacher friends used to ask why I was so tired. Now you know, I am up waiting to give Bill a kiss:)
I am very thankful for that time and I know we are lucky to have each other. I am sure some day we will look back on this time and appreciate the time we spend together even more. Time is definitely something I never take for granted. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, I know I will. We are heading to Grandma Mac's house and that means fun with family.
It is officially Thanksgiving...Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and Happy Birthday to Hope in my 5th grade class, and my brother Dustin. Mmm...Turkey and a birthday...what a deal!

Sometimes we have to act like teenagers again…

Sometimes I get stressed. Sometimes I feel like I am not having any fun in life. Sometimes I need a break. Sometimes it feels so good to let loose and have fun with a good friend. That is what I was able to do this past weekend. My good friend, Bridget Stowers, and I drove up to Minot to watch the State Volleyball tournament. The stress of the last three months melted away and I was able to just be me again. No angry parents, no late nights doing homework, correcting, watching game tape, or planning practice. Just relaxing and having a good old crazy time!

We had a ton of fun on the drive, exploring the town, at the mall, and in our hotel. We met a few new friends and hung out with our coaching buddies throughout the weekend.

Friday night we stayed up until 3:00 in the morning, managed to make it to our 8:00 coaches meeting on Saturday morning, and took in the new flick, Twilight. Great movie, highly recommend it! We made it back to Casselton around 3:00 Sunday morning and wow, were we tired. Looking back on the weekend I see it as a great memory to look back on when I am feeling stressed.

My senior, Kayla Nelson, was named to the All State Team and will play in the All Star Match next summer. I am very proud of her and her team this year. They were a great group of girls and I wish they could have been playing in the tournament this past weekend.

Sometimes we have to let loose and act like we are sixteen year old girls again and that is OK. It is OK to have a good time and relax after a long season.

Sad Gus

With our busy life schedule Gus has been feeling a bit blue lately. He has been moping around the house not wanting to play and ignoring us. VB has ended for me so I will be able to take him for walks and cuddle again. Bill's crazy 6 am to 1 am schedule continues. Gus is not just ignoring Bill, he will not listen when Bill gives him a command. He has serious resentment issues. Here are a few pictures of our sad little boy who needs attention.

Cool Pics of the Boys

It is a rainy day and I am waiting for the new furnace to be completely installed. Here is what I have been up to for the past hour:)

Hanging at the Maasjo's

After an afternoon of salsa making with Becky, the family got together for an evening meal and chatting. It was interesting having Gus and Sandy along and keeping Gus away from the boys. Sandy loves the boys but really just likes to rest. Bill had a few serious bonding moments with Gus, I know he loves him!

VB Life

This weekend was spent like I spend most of my weekends from Mid-August until the end of November, at a volleyball tournament. This weekend was the DLB Tournament, the top teams in the state take part in an invitational tournament that always proves to be exciting and a big challenge. The playing of the VB is important and exciting, however, the bus ride and the hotel time always proves to be interesting. In the past seven DLB tournaments that I have taken part in, I have never had an issue with the CC girls. Bill always gets a kick out of the crazy things they do and I always find that this is a memory that is created and remembered by the girls who have taken part in it. I have distinct memories from each tournament and this year will be no different. In fact I believe the "extra" part of the weekend is the most memorable of all. We ended up 4th in the championship bracket, not where we wanted to be but still OK with our showing. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.