Apple Time!

Here is Summer showing some of her "joy" over fall apples. My parents dropped off a grocery bag of apples they picked from the tree on my brother's farm. (Thanks M & L!)

I asked Mark what dessert he wanted for his birthday...he picked apple crisp. So, Sum and I rolled up our sleeves and made 2 apple crisps and 4 apple/raisin breads. Summer was my apple washer and ingredients pourer. I must admit our Team of 2 had lots of fun in the kitchen, made the house smell good on a cool almost-fall day, and Mark was pleased with his birthday crisp...a little too pleased as it was half gone in one day!

(A special "shout-out" to my Mom for working hard in her kitchen and making home-made apple sauce for her 3 children and their families. We appreciate all the time you put into it! We sure enjoy opening up those quarts throughout the year. YUMMY!!!)

The 2 Sams

This past Saturday my parents were in town to pick up Sam. No, not that Sam, the other Sam. "Big" Sam, not "little" Sam. Confused yet?

My dad's first cousin, Sam, from LA visited some MN relatives in August. He enjoyed his time out on the farm so much he asked if he could come back and help out during harvest. Bulthuis Farms said "yes," so away he flew from LA to Sioux Falls. Let's just say when he landed Sam wasn't quite sure where he was and couldn't believe how few cars were on the freeway.

Here are a few shots of us waiting in the airport for "big" Sam's arrival, the 2 Sam's together, and Mel & Sam...first cousins (mother's were sisters.) Let's just say it should be an interesting harvest season as both Sam's can be quite the characters! Look out Dad & Mike!!

Silly Summer

Here are a few shots of Team Utzig's mascot. She is our goofy, playful girl. You are never quite sure what face she's going to make, noise will come out of her mouth, or what way she'll act to get a laugh.

The first photo is for you Aunt Shell - I call it the "Farrah." On plenty of occasions I have told Shell she has Farrah hair. As I took this photo of Sum in the tub I thought it looked like her hair was being windblown, into the Farrah Fawcett hairdo.

The second photo is Summer with her addiction - fruit snacks. Her face should be on the package and we should have stock in their company. Through her alone we would be millionaires.

The last photos are Summer on "yellow" day for school. She did these poses on her own. She was running around the house with these "cool" shades on plus her "silly bands" (all the rage in the 5-6 year old crowd!) so I decided to grab a couple shots.

Yes, we do realize that Summer will probably be the one to give us the gray hair in a few years as she seems to love to play, act goofy, and perform for attention. Wish this team luck!

Difference Happens

Hello my bloggie friends! If any of you are in need of a laugh, this blog is for you. As you can see I titled it "Difference Happens." Now, I am sure in your perfect households you never have any differences that raise anyone's blood pressure. Team Utzig is far from perfect and to prove it I thought I would share how our Thursday of this past week went:

It is 10:45 a.m., a fairly nice day, so I thought I would get the long lawn mowed. Now, I wanted to do this for a few reasons: good excercise, weather forecast for the weekend was not so great, parents coming (want the place to look nice), and so my hard-working hubby wouldn't have to do it. Once in the garage, with the mower's gas tank filled, it was time to check the oil. Yep, it needed oil. Now, where's the oil? It's not where it usually is on the shelf of the tool chest. Let'see is it over here? Over there? In this corner? In the laundry room? It was then I remembered that Mark mowed last and perhaps put the oil in a different location...not the tool chest!

Sooo, since I was downstairs checking the laundry room for the oil anyway (now, why it would be there I don't know, but hey, I was checking EVERYWHERE!!) I figured I would grab Mark's office phone to call and ask him where he left it. Finally, after a few minutes of me running around the garage looking in his various possible spots, we discovered it. Of course, on the floor...in the corner...next to the brooms & shovels...now, why didn't I think of that!

Finally, with the oil found and the mower ready to mow, I start. I glance at my watch, it was 11:10. The dog had a vet/groomer appointment at noon. Why couldn't Mark have put the oil back where it was SUPPOSED to be, I wasted almost a half hour! Now, I gotta hurry to get the lawn done before noon. Well, I came close to having it completed, yet had to stop to get the dog to the appointment on time. (The OILLLLL!!!!) When I got back home, the lawn was completed and I was a fairly happy girl.

Fast forward to Thursday night. Mark is in his office working and needed his phone. Where is it? "Mary?" "Sam?" "Does anyone know where the office phone is?" It was at that moment I thought "Hum, I remember putting it on the van bumper, after my call with Mark was done that morning." (OIL!!!) "I couldn't possibly have left it there?" After both Mark and I searched the garage, the house, the driveway, I had a flashback. The scary kind. After picking the dog up from the groomers at 2:30 I remembered seeing something in the middle of the road. It couldn't possibly be his phone??? Or could it?? I head out with the car, in the dark, and yep, there it was, in the middle of the street...in pieces from being hit by cars a few times.

I slink back home with the puzzle of a phone and hand it to Mark. He's not to happy since he needs that one for the morning's conference call (has best speaker on it for hands-free talking) and stomps off to Target to try to find another one. All because the OIL wasn't in the correct (meaning my) spot!

So, why share this story with you? One, when my parents were visiting us yesterday we shared it with them and they rolled with laughter. We thought you could use a good laugh too. Second, to show that yes, sometimes Men are from Mars and Women from Venus. Third, to realize that, as the bumper sticker above states "Difference Happens." Our church handed these out a few months ago when our pastor had a series on marriage. Yes, difference does happen. Yet, I am still glad I have the mate I do to travel this life journey with. He isn't perfect, and neither am I. I need to remember this always and be thankful God lead us together...even on the "Difference" days. But please, just don't move the OIL!!!!

Camp BU (BOO!)

Here is Team Utzig spending some time at Camp BU (Bulthuis-Utzig) on Labor Day Weekend. (Otherwise known as our backyard.)

After a few hours at the LifeLight Music festival south of Sioux Falls (even in the sea of people, found our nephew, Matthew!!) it was time to play, start a fire, and eat! Sam and Summer, along with another camper, Coulter, had fun in the dark and getting snug in the tent. The evening was a success, even though we had one go home due to homesickness. Not to worry, Camp BU (BOO!) will hopefully have many more open seasons. Thanks for checking in!

Can you see me?

Anyone that knows me well or sees me often knows I enjoy wearing my white (little bit grungy) baseball cap. Most of the time I travel on the same route while out for a walk; I am sure the homeowners on that route think of me as the "white cap lady."

This, along with our Pastor's sermon on Sunday, got me thinking...how else am I being seen and do I really SEE others? I don't mean just a quick glance at someone else, barely noticing them, I mean really SEEING them?

At the job I have outside of the home, I tell people I literally have the "world" pass before my eyes. I have the rich, poor, fit, fat, deaf, disabled, toothless & tattoed. I must admit when I first started this position (being the germ-a-phobic I am) I was less than thrilled to talk to or touch some of the groups I listed. Yet, as time went on I started to SEE past their outward appearance and look into their eyes. I do believe they really are the windows to the soul. Once I did this, I could see happiness in some; but many others with sadness and loneliness, just wishing someone would SEE them.

You would be amazed at the response I have gotten from people once I started SEEING them and took a few seconds to sincerely TALK to them. I have learned about the death of parents, hospitalizations, cancer treatments, job losses, etc. More times than I can count the letters WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) have popped into my head before I started to speak. John 4:35 says "Open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. I am telling you, the fields are ripe. It's harvest time."

Perhaps we should all slow down for just a second. Take a good look to SEE the waitress at the restaurant, the store clerk, or the obese teenager in our line. Maybe we could cast some of our "SON-light" into the dark and hurting world around us and make someone's day a bit brighter. You never know, they might just be wearing a white baseball cap.

Vikings Football

To "kickoff" the Labor Day weekend, the boys of Team Utzig headed to a Vikings Football game. A friend of ours (thanks Terry!) had tickets to the pre-season game against the Denver Broncos, and invited Mark & Sam along. Two of the dads and their sons were Vikings fans, the other father & son Broncos fans. Made for an interesting night!

I am not sure who was more happy to leave town and head to the game - the boys leaving school or the Dads leaving work! Needless to say they were all giddy to see the action.

One of the biggest highlights for this group was getting to talk to & have a photo with South Dakota's own Chad Greenway. He is now a player for the Vikings and thanks to a SD connection (thanks Bryce!) the boys got to literally rub shoulders with him. This was quite a thrill for them, no matter if they were in the 4th grade or are forty-something. Go Vikes!!