There's a new member in the family...

We have a new member in the Korkowski Kith & Kin...Colin Charles Hanson is 6#, 15 oz., 20 1/4 " long; born at 8:38 AM today to Chad & Jackie (Korkowski) Hanson.  Also welcoming the new baby is big brother Colby.  Congratulations to you all!

Another birthday boy this week...

Another guy in the midst who's got a birthday this week...today, Kevin Nelson (#47) has the honors.  Hoping your day is full of all kinds of fun stuff...happy birthday, Kevin.



Water, water, everywhere

Sue Korkowski took these pictures on Sunday, March 27, of the wild Cannon River near Cannon Falls.  Thankfully, their home sits nowhere near the water, and it's uphill all the way. 



Breakfast anyone??

In case you're debating about what to have for your breakfast, you may consider what Andrew Majhess, age 4-1/2, suggested when asked what he wanted for breakfast...."toast and garlic"!  Maybe he's onto something here? 



The birthday boy

Birthday greetings go out today to Doug Inman (#34) down in Kasson where there's sure to be plenty of excitement at having a birthday cake and candles for all.  Happy birthday, Doug!



When you're in the right place at the right time....

People are always saying/hearing "I was in the right place at the right time" (or it could be the wrong place too), but on Sunday, Cliff and I were in the right place at the right time!  We needed to make a trip to Costco to stock up on fruits and veggies for the week, and while there, we had decided to look at (not necessarily buy) a larger television for our bedroom at the lake.  We scanned the aisles and found a couple that looked like what we wanted.  Then in the last aisle, there was an employee setting up a television that was just the size we wanted, but it seemed to be out of place with the others and had no price associated with it.  Cliff asked her what the deal was with that model, and she said that she was setting it up since it was now going to be the last one like it in the store.  When asked the price, she smiled and asked if we had some shopping to do...well, yes, we did.  She said, "Well, the couple who just bought the 2nd last model will be loading their purchase up shortly, and if you come back later, you can now buy the demo (as in demo for five minutes!) for $300 instead of $349.99."  Bet you can guess the outcome of this story....couple #1 paid for their set at $349.99, loaded and drove off, and the Korkowski's then loaded the demo in their cart for $300!  Right place, right time.....YES!!

Anniversary waltz

Today the celebration shows up in Florida where Joe & Jennifer (Korkowski) Majhess are celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary.  Will there be three kids joining them for a celebration dinner?  Nah, maybe just the two of them should go.

Joe and Jen at a recent Western-themed fundraiser at the kids' school

Birthdays are hard to come by these days....

Another week without a birthday, but today there is reason to celebrate!  Emily Korkowski (Joe & Sue Korkowski) will have 14 candles on her cake today, and a hopefully a present or two to open.  Happy birthday, Emily!



Don't underestimate old people!

THREE WOMEN, TWO YOUNGER, AND ONE SENIOR CITIZEN, WERE SITTING NAKED IN A SAUNA.  SUDDENLY THERE WAS A BEEPING SOUND. THE YOUNG WOMAN PRESSED HER FOREARM AND THE BEEP STOPPED. THE OTHERS LOOKED AT HER QUESTIONINGLY. 'THAT WAS MY PAGER,' SHE SAID. 'I HAVE A MICROCHIP UNDER THE SKIN OF MY ARM.'  A FEW MINUTES LATER, A PHONE RANG. THE SECOND YOUNG WOMAN LIFTED HER PALM TO HER EAR.  WHEN SHE FINISHED, SHE EXPLAINED, 'THAT WAS MY MOBILE PHONE. I HAVE A MICROCHIP IN MY HAND.'

THE OLDER WOMAN FELT VERY LOW -TECH. NOT TO BE OUTDONE, SHE DECIDED SHE HAD TO DO SOMETHING JUST AS IMPRESSIVE. SHE STEPPED OUT OF THE SAUNA AND WENT TO THE BATHROOM.  SHE RETURNED WITH A PIECE OF TOILET PAPER HANGING FROM HER REAR END.  THE OTHERS RAISED THEIR EYEBROWS AND STARED AT HER.  THE OLDER WOMAN FINALLY SAID..........'WELL, WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT.......I'M GETTING A FAX!!'



It is spring after all....

Mother Nature can be strange at times....a dumping of snow in what's supposed to be spring, and yet, those living things hidden under all that snow are making themselves known and just as anxious as we humans are!  Case in point...these shots of Deb Korkowski's daffodils as they surge forward and give us hope that better days are ahead.



You can make your own fun....

When bored...."there's nothing to do".... Anna Korkowski (Paul & Sue) took matters into her own hands and simply asked Grandpa Breckenridge to become her hurdle.  As you can see, he willingly obliged...but could he get back up???



Will this ever end???

Okay, so it was pretty back in November, but it has definitely lost its appeal in March.  Can we just have some warm weather and sunny skies.....please???



Remember this project?

Looking thru the picture files, I came across these pictures of the handmade quilt that was a gift from the 'kids', given at the golden anniversary for Aloys & Grace .  Lots of planning and handiwork went into this treasure.



Interesting, but sad, views of Japan

Here are some very interesting, but also very sad, views of Japan before and after the devastation.  You simply roll your cursor over each picture and it shows you the before, then the after.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

The men in the Lambertz family...back when

The Lambertz boys....John (grandpa), Fred, and Joe



An opinion re: daylight savings time....

You think English is easy?

It's no wonder we all have a hard time with English....from little kids on up!

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce .
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

It would appear we've got a ways to go yet...

The snowbanks, cold temps, and blustery winds certainly don't shout 'spring', but today is the vernal equinox, or the start of spring.  After this winter, we are all more than ready for it...come out and play!



Remember to avoid this restaurant....

Not sure what Shawn Oxentenko had to eat for his birthday dinner tonight, supposedly at a Japanese restaurant, but whatever he ate has done a number on his head....hope it's just a temporary thing.  Maybe too much sake?...can you imagine the headache that head would bring on???









Birthday candles today

No double or triple birthday celebrations today...just one for Shawn Oxentenko (#39).  Which is more exciting...another birthday or move-in day for the new house in a couple of weeks?  Happy birthday, Shawn!



Sweet 16

Jim and Staci celebrate their 16th anniversary today.  They have been on Spring Break this week, spending it with Staci's parents in Bonita Springs, FL.

They're still celebrating...

St. Patrick's Day one day, anniversary the next for Jim and Staci Korkowski who are celebrating 16 years of wedded bliss down in Texas today.  Congratulations....have a great day down there!



He's not ready for Dancing With The Stars this time around....

The next season of Dancing With The Stars is about to begin but Alex Korkowski will be taking a pass on participating this time around....here he shows off his agility with his knee brace, compression sleeve, and crutches.  He scoots around quite well with those crutches but even then, boredom is setting in!  Hopefully, in another two weeks, he can put a little weight on that leg and be one step closer to full recovery.  The skis have been put away for this season and hopefully he'll be ready to try again next year. 



If you're Irish (or wish you were), today is your day!

Be gosh and be gora....today is St. Patrick's Day...and for those of you who are the true Irish (and we do have some of those in the Korkowski family!), you can party all day long without apologizing to any one.  So down a few green beers, some corn beef and cabbage, and you've got yourself an Irish celebration.

Some fun St. Patrick's Day trivia for you...

• the first St. Patrick's Day parade was in 1737 in Boston
• an estimated 13 million pints of Guinness were consumed on St. Patrick's Day 2010
• St. Patrick's birth name was Maewyn Succat
• green has not always been the color associated with the Irish...it was originally blue!
• be gosh and be gora means...by God and all that is holy



For all the fishermen (and women)

A 75-year old man, who loves to fish, was sitting in his boat one day when he heard a voice say, "Pick me up."  He looked around and couldn't see anyone. He thought he was dreaming. Then he heard the voice say again, "Pick me up."  He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.  The man said, "Are you talking to me?"  The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up, then kiss me, and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your wife!"  The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully and placed it in his front breast pocket.  Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said? I said kiss me, and I will be your beautiful wife."  He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, "Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog."


With age comes wisdom.



Aren't they smart looking??

Another picture from the 'oldies but goodies' file recently scanned...this one is Herb Gappa and Cliff Korkowski with brewskis in hand and a dapper hat on their heads.



More than one way to skin a cat....

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom.
That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips on the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done.  She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night  (you can just imagine all the yawns from the little princesses).   To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.  He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.

Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers.. . . and then there are educators!



Not quite a grand slam..but close

We have another triple birthday to celebrate today...Megan (Korkowski) Nicholas (#30) and hubby Bill Nicholas (#35) both share their birthdays today, and then there's little Emma Pfeifer (Seth & Jean Korkowski Pfeifer) who turns 3.  Happy birthday everyone!

Megan Nicholas

Bill Nicholas

Little Emma Pfeifer doesn't look too happy about her birthday!





Another world traveler in our midst...

Years ago, a trip from Millerville, Brandon..even Alexandria for that matter..to the Twin Cities was about the extent of what it meant to 'travel'.  It was a BIG deal to drive to the metro and see what big city life was all about!  These days, however, there are virtually no limits to where in the world we travel to and from.  Case in point....Matt Korkowski recently traveled to China for a work assignment.  The following excerpts were taken from their family blog (that I'll share with you below).
Besides work, he toured The Forbidden City, The Great Wall at Badaling, Olypmic Village and random parts of the city.  He really enjoyed the food and wasn't afraid to sample what the locals ate. His favorite food that he had there was "The Hot Pot or Korean BBQ."  His least favorite food:  the sushi and the frog dish for lunch one day.   His favorite tourist spot: Great Wall.  His least favorite tourist spot: Tiananmen Square because there wasn't anything to do there.  He also really hated how all of the food had bones in them because it made the meals really hard to eat.  The smog was a constant, and you will see it in almost all of Matt's photos.  Matt didn't like the traffic there because it was congested and it was an adventure just to cross the street since NO ONE followed the rules of green light, red light. 

Matt inside the Forbidden City

At the Great Wall of China

Yes, he did walk to the top!

In the famous Tiananmen Square

Frog legs in the red dish and chicken stew

Red dish has duck blood in it and was spicy

What an adventure and a fantastic experience, but think we'll pass on some of those dishes!  Now, if you want to see more pictures of his trip (over 500!), check out the blog that their family has recently started for Cecilia Evangeline.  Go to www.weelittlekorklet.blogspot.com where you can check out some little videos of her latest accomplishments as well as news of their family.  (Matt & Amber...where in the world did that baby get that hilarious noise-making ability??)  And thanks for the invite to share these pictues and information.

A bit bigger picture for you...

As I rotate the 'oldies but goodies' pictures every week, I will occasionally put the larger picture as a blog entry for better viewing.  So, for today's picture, it will be the 'new' OBG as seen on the right for those of us with less than perfect eyesight!



In case you forgot....

In case you got up later than you thought it was, perhaps you forgot that today is the start of daylight savings time 2011...spring ahead!



It's a bit too early for Minnesota, but....

My calendar declares that today is "plant a flower day"...don't think they were thinking of Minnesota but perhaps these pictures will inspire you.....and give you hope!

I snapped all these pictures recently while visiting the rose garden of the Ringling Estate in Sarasota Florida. 

We hit the trifecta!

Today is a BIG day for birthdays...we have three of them for today..and all guys! 

Norb Korkowski (#67)

J.P. Korkowski (#42)

Ryan Korkowski (#28)...he's the scared one in the middle!!



In competition with Lawrence Welk?

This picture surfaced when going thru piles of 'old' pictures, and it just makes me smile every time I look at it!  Can you imagine the noise of four kids playing on these instruments at the same time??  No wonder they were playing outside....

Jim, Dennis, Cliff, and Cordy ready for your listening and dancing enjoyment!