Not bad for a tee shot!

This was mighty close to the cup for Faye's tee shot last Monday at one of the golf courses in The Villages....just a roll away from having to buy drinks for everyone!!

Relay for Life

Korkowski's Celebrate in Relay for Life event in Texas:

Joe, Jean & Seth flew down from Fargo for the weekend to walk with Jim & Staci in the Relay for Life in Conroe.  It started out with sunny skies and 83 degrees and ended with a nice cool 70.  They walked, talked, ate, and even enjoyed a high school baseball game.  Today they are ready for 18 holes of golf and dinner out for Seth's 30th birthday coming up on Sunday.

A big day in her life....

It's a big day in the life of Kristen Korkowski (Joe & Sue) as she can now 'legally' be 21!  Happy birthday, Kristen... a great birthday for a true song bird.



What is wrong with these pictures????

What do you think the end result was for this scenario???

Um, do you have a luggage rack that comes with this car???

Remembering those wedding bells....

No birthdays today but we do have a couple of wedding anniversaries....Tom & Jody (Korkowski) Evenson are celebrating anniversary #7, while Cory & Jennae (Korkowski) Stadsvold are celebrating #11.  (7 and 11 are good gambling numbers, aren't they?  7 come 11?)  At any rate, happy anniversary to our two couples of the day!

Tom & Jody Evenson

Cory & Jennae Stadsvold



An Easter-time photo...

Another Easter-related item....this time, it's a picture of Deb Korkowski with nieces Kiatta, Hannah, and just a bit of Stacy Korkowski coloring Easter eggs for the big day.  Note from Deb about the activities...

They had so much fun, but I was praying they didn’t get dye on their nice clothes.  I should make them some pretty painting aprons, but I’ll have to make one for Mom and me too, because they will not wear anything they consider to be a bib.  My friend Diane took a different approach last week when she had her grandkids color eggs – all the little children were half-naked while they dipped the eggs. 

A post-Lenten smile....

I got the following email from Amy re: the ingenious little Isaac.....don't think his brother Evan finds him very saintly at all!  (Must say it cracked up grandma and grandpa K.) 

Found something in Isaac's backpack that I thought you would like. He must have had a project at school at the start of Lent that asked what you were giving up. He wrote "I will give up my teddy bear."  He doesn't even have one!!!!  Boy, that was a tough Lenten sacrifice. Evan was mad as he gave up candy. He thinks Isaac is a crock!

The devil made him do it!

A bit of knowledge can go a long ways....

Last week, a friend of mine forwarded this link to me which I watched several times, always a bit aghast at the information provided.  This is a youtube video from NBC Action News re: your cell phone pictures you post online and how those who are up to no good can actually tell where you took that picture, providing way too much information to others.  I've gone ahead and changed my i-Phone camera settings, even though I very seldom post pictures from my phone to the internet.  But, I know that many of you do, so you might want to watch and learn...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2vARzvWxwY

Anniversary music today...

No birthday cake and candles on this day but rather flowers and romance?  Happy anniversary to Ray & Melissa (Korkowski) Murray as they celebrate their 9th wedding anniversary today.  Congrats!

Using your head.....

The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church  building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute  wanted to know what to play.  "Here's a copy of  the service," he said impatiently. "But, you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances."  During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected, and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up."  At that moment, the substitute organist played "The Star  Spangled Banner".....and that is how the substitute became the regular organist!

Happy Easter from Florida!

Happy Easter all............XOXO
Joe, Jennifer, Joseph, Ellie & Andrew

Happy Birthday Bev !

Happy Birthday to the Queen Blogger ! Thank you for remembering all of
our birthdays and special occassions during the year.
From the whole Korkowski Family

It was a HUGE surprise.....

There's not a whole lot that comes as a big surprise, but I must say, the card "shower" (more like card "storm"!) of birthday greetings caught me way off guard....I thought it was very special that Paul & Sue had sent a birthday card down for me, but when over the course of an hour, Faye kept pulling yet another card from her purse, I was indeed surprised.  There was a BIG pile by the time I was done opening them all.  And we laughed a lot at some of them!  (Where on earth do people find some of these cards?)  I do want to say a big thank you to all those who contributed to the surprise...it was very touching to read your wishes and to think you took time from your day to help in the surprise.  Thank you again....now, off to enjoy some of that Florida sunshine!
Bev

Two special reasons to celebrate....

Two celebrations for the day...the first one is obviously Easter Sunday.  Hopefully, you can wear your spring/summer shoes without worrying about snow covering them up!  Maybe if they roll Easter over into late May/early June, we'll have a better shot at dressing up in that Easter finery!
The other partying going on is none other than yours truly, Bev Korkowski (#64).  I see palm trees and warm weather for my birthday...and no, that's not wishful thinking on my part!  I know my day will be good....

No shortage of birthdays THIS week....

Another birthday on this Easter weekend.....today the celebration is for Al O'Donnell (#57) as he kicks back and relaxes on his special day.  We know Annette will whip up something yummy for you today....happy birthday, Al!

She's going to pedal, you only need to pledge....

Rachel Krentz (Tony) sent a note my way, asking for a little support in her effort to raise money in support of men who suffer from depression.  (See her note below.)  Please contact her with your pledge, or if you need her contact information, send me an email and I'll see that she gets in contact with you.  If you've never tried spinning, you should know that pledging a bit is a LOT easier than spinning!

On Saturday, April 30, I will be participating in a three hour Spinning class to raise money for the Face It Foundation.
The Face It Foundation was started by Mark, a member of my gym, who has had a long struggle with depression.  The goal of the Face It Foundation is to decrease the stigma of male depression, reduce the incidence of male suicide, provide direct support, and to create a network of men who can help other men with depression.  This summer, Mark and his 15 year old daughter will bike across the country to help spread Face It’s message.  For more information about Face It, see their website:  http://www.faceitfoundation.org.
My goal is to raise $1 for every minute I’m riding the bike, so I’m hoping to raise $180.  I’ve completed a 2-hour Spinning class before, but three hours will definitely be a challenge for me.  Please let me know if you are willing to help me try and reach my goal.
*Spinning is an intense indoor cycling class.  In a typical one hour class, I usually go a distance of 15-20 miles.  I’m hoping to make it at least 50 miles over the three hour class.*

If your name is Joseph, you're celebrating....

More birthdays again today....and if your name is Joseph, it's probably your birthday!  Joseph Majhess (Joe & Jennifer Korkowski Majhess) is double digits for the first time as he turns 10; and then there's Joe Korkowski (#43) who earned double digits a LONG time ago!  Happy birthday, gentlemen....

Joseph Majhess sporting his shiny braces

Joe Korkowski



More singing of the "Happy Birthday" song....

Keep singing....it's another birthday today for little Gavin Nicholas (Bill & Megan Korkowski Nicholas) who has a total of four candles on his cake today.  His mom says that he actually partied it up over the past weekend with two different celebrations....he had one on Saturday, and another one on Sunday at the Arrowwood water park.  He is obviously one lucky little boy...happy birthday, Gavin!



Today's birthday boy...

More birthday cake today...this time the birthday boy is Adam Korkowski (Paul & Sue Korkowski) who is 7.  Happy birthday, Adam John!  And, congratulations on your being named "student of the month"...we are proud.

The birthdays are back...

We may have had a lack of birthdays and anniversaries of late, but the next couple of weeks we make up for all that with lots of reasons to celebrate.  Today, there are three birthdays in the family....Abby Oxentenko (Shawn & Amy Korkowski Oxentenko) turns 5 (going on 15!)....

Jim Korkowski turns 70.....

and, Zachary Stark (Mike & Lisa Krentz Stark) is 2! 

Happy birthday to all three of you....lots of partying going on!

The beginning of Holy Week

Today we celebrate the beginning of Holy Week with Palm Sunday...the six weeks of Lent are almost over...and a dark chocolate Dove candy will never be appreciated more!

It's finally done.....

After a very long process, and many obstacles later, Amy and Shawn Oxentenko spent last night..for the first time..in their new home.  The couple of moves, the fire, and other problems are now all a distant memory with new, happy memories to come.  Welcome home!

A birthday after a long dry spell...

It's nice to see a birthday has come along (just wait until next week when the calendar is jam-packed with celebrations!) and today we send birthday greetings to Haley Korkowski (Nate & Edith) who turns 5.  Happy birthday, Haley...have a fun-filled day!

A different kind of 'recipe'...

Thanks to Christella for sending the following 'recipe'...it's pretty to look at but not intended for eating, although it's perfectly safe to do so.  (Moms know that all kids will certainly try some!)

KOOL-AID PLAYDOUGH

2-1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

2 packages of unsweetened Kool-Aid

1 Tbsp. alum

In a bowl, mix all the above ingredients.  Then add:

3 Tbsp. cooking oil

2 c. boiling water

Knead until well mixed.  Let cool; then store in air tight container in your fridge.

Note from Chris:  I have made a couple batches of it, and the girls really, really love it. It is so much nicer than the store bought and keeps very well in a zip lock bag in the fridge. If you use strawberry Kool-Aid it turns out red and actually smells like strawberry. Green turns out a nice green. The yellow was not a nice color, so I added a little yellow food color. It would be very easy to only make half a batch or divide the batch in half and use two different colors of Kool-Aid.

So, for that next rainy (or maybe even snowy day!), whip some up and keep the kids at play.

You know you're in small town Minnesota when....

Over the past weekend, we were up at the lake for a couple of days and went into the little cafe in Osakis for breakfast on Saturday morning.  It's the only little ma & pa type place in town, so if you want breakfast, that's your only option.  The food is good and plentiful, and it attracts the most interesting people.  However, we could not help but notice the 'dessert' board posted for the day with the almost 1960s-like prices. 

"Marble cake, 50 cents; banana cream pie, 50 cents; strawberry soda pop cake, 50 cents"

(I didn't realize till later that the picture wasn't very clear, but you get the idea!)  So, next time you're in town, stop by for the deal of the day...the options change every day but you'll never find anything as good nor as cheap!





Seems like only yesterday....

Here's another picture I recently scanned into my files, and truthfully, I have no idea where it came from!  But, the year was 1973....

Jennifer, Ron, Eddie and Paul Korkowski

Put your pencils down...time's up!

1. Carl Faberge
2. Green eggs (and ham)
3. Sue
4. A doe
5. The Bunny Hop
6. Fred Astaire
7. True
8. True
9. They are highly and intricately decorated with wax and dye.
10. Crushed shells from the Mediterranean Sea
11. Lengthening of Days
12. Perfume
13. Cottontail
14. Tommy
15. Peeps
16. 5th Avenue
17. Eostre is an ancient goddess of dawn
18. A German fable about coloring eggs so they could be identified in a famine
19. It was discovered on Easter Sunday in 1772
20. Ireland
21. 1878 under Rutherford B. Hayes

In preparation for Easter...how much do you know?

1. Who makes the most expensive jeweled eggs?
2. In the Dr. Seuss books, what color eggs doesn't Sam like?
3. In the song "Here comes Peter Cottontail", who does he have colored eggs for?
4. What do you call a female rabbit?
5. What dance is commonly done at Easter Time?
6. Who co-starred with Judy Garland in Easter Parade?
7. Rabbits with long floppy ears can't hear as well as rabbits with ears straight up. True or False?
8. It is considered bad luck to not buy at least one new article of clothing at Easter. True or False?
9. What distinguishes Ukrainian Easter Eggs for regular Easter Eggs?
10. Purple is a common color for Easter. In the ancient world where did the purple dye come from?
11. What does the word Lent mean?
12. In some European Countries they squirt this on passersby to wish them a Happy Easter. What do they squirt on them?
13. What kind of tail does the Easter Bunny have?
14. In the song Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail, who does he have jelly beans for?
15. What do you call marshmallow candy that looks like chickens?
16. In the song Easter Parade what Avenue do they walk down?
17. What is the origin of the word Easter?
18. Where did the tradition of the visiting Easter Bunny come from?
19. How did Easter Island get its name?
20. Which country had an armed uprising which started on Easter Sunday, 1916?
21. When did the White House lawn first start the Easter Egg Hunt that is still carried on today?

Check back tomorrow for the answers....you have all day to 'study'!

Can you imagine seeing this in person?

A friend of mine who was an art teacher in her working days recently sent me some pictures of the tulip fields in Holland....the colors are fantastic.  One can only imagine what it would be like to walk thru these fields!



Time for a recipe.....

Just in time for graduation parties and showers this spring and summer...this recipe came from Amy Oxentenko, whose friend makes these, and Amy declares them "the best brownies in the world...so sinful".  They sound delicious!

Make any of your favorite brownie mix recipes in a 9 by 13 pan (her favorite is the brownie mix with chocolate chunks).   About 5 minutes before they are finished, take out of oven and cover with a layer of mini marshmallows and finish baking. When you take them out of the oven, slightly press down the marshmallows and let cool.


For the frosting mix together in a saucepan:
6 tablespoons of butter
6 tablespoons of milk
1.5 cups sugar
Bring to a boil for 45 seconds and remove from heat.


Add:
1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Beat until chips are melted.  Pour over brownies and let it set. It will set as it cools.

In honor of our new babies...

This 'groaner' came thru my email the other day, and with nary a birthday or anniversary in sight for over a week, here you are...

A Chinese couple named Wong had a new baby. The nurse brings them over a lovely, healthy, bouncy definitely Caucasian white baby boy!   "Congratulations," says the nurse to the new parents. "What will you name the baby?"   The puzzled father looks at his new baby boy and says, "Well, two Wong's don't make a white, so I think we will name him "Sum Ting Wong."

A flash from the past...

Time to bring out a picture from the 1960s....here are Franny Wagner and Cliff Korkowski as they did their duty with the National Guard down in Texas for their training.  (Cliff and I had just decided on our wedding date the night before he got his papers, so instead of July 1, we had to go with September 2 .)



Flowers and dinner out?

It's an anniversary today for Ron & Sue Korkowski who are celebrating 14 years on this day.  Wishing you the best as you remember your special day back then....



I see lots of frilly girlie clothes....

Let the shopping begin....Grandma Theresa must have visions of frilly little dresses, bows for the hair, and cute little girl shoes in mind as she holds little Lucy, already all dolled up for her first pictures....



Next of kin....

A man suffered a serious heart attack and awakened after having open heart surgery to find himself in a Catholic hospital .  The next day, one of the nuns entered his room to ask him questions about how he was going to pay for his surgery and hospital stay.  She asked, "Do you have health insurance?"  He replied in a raspy voice, "No health insurance."  The nun asked, "Do you have money in the bank?"  He replied, "No money in the bank."  The nun asked, "Do you have a relative who could help you?"  He said, "I only have an old maid of a sister, who is a nun."   The nun became agitated and announced loudly, "Nuns are not old maids! Nuns are married to God."
The patient replied, "Perfect. Send the bill to my brother-in-law.'"

Overheard at brunch this morning...

Cliff and I went to the Sunday brunch at the Greenhaven Golf Club this morning, and as I was helping myself to some of the famous bread pudding, I overheard this conversation between two little boys, probably age 5-6 years.  The one had a single sausage link on an otherwise empty, but clean, plate.  He says to the other one, "I have a really small appetite for a big person."  And he was dead serious!  Wish I could say the same.    Bev

Birthday for today...

Birthday greetings today are for Christella Korkowski (#72).  Make hubbie take you out for a great dinner...no cooking for you today!  Happy birthday, Chris!





Oh, baby (babies)

What is in the water??? We have yet another new baby to add to the family tree....now three days in a row! Just today, Felicia (Peterson)and Kellen Morrissey have added baby Tyler, coming in at 6 lb. 10 oz. So, who's next???

We proudly present.....Ms. Lucy

Here's a picture of the new mom and dad (Kent & Susan) with their little April Fool's...Ms. Lucy Theresa Roers.  The family is looking great....congratulations again!

I must be getting old.....

What's amazing about that picture is I don't remember wearing that necklace and glasses together . You'd swear I must be sixty-something or worse. Oh to be young again!!!      Mark

It is official!!

Hi,  Grandma Krentz is officially confirming that the information is correct.  Little Lucy arrived April 1.  She is doing great - strong, healthy and cute.  Will send a picture later to verify all of this.  Theresa

One of the hottest videos out there this past week...

Many of you may have seen this video originally posted on utube by a young mother of her baby's reaction to her blowing her nose.  I have watched it many times, and it never fails to make me laugh out loud.  His eyes are wonderfully huge!  The Today show had an interview with the parents, and of course, the baby was there too.  It's your smile for the day!    Bev
http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2011/03/15

We have an ID on our earlier picture!

Norb said that was no April Fool's joke, that was Mark!!!!!!      Donna and Norb

This is no April Fool's joke.....there really is another new baby!

Although there is no official word from Grandpa and Grandma Krentz, my 'sources' tell me that Lucy Theresa Roers (Kent & Susan Krentz Roers), arrived today, weighing in at 5 lb. 15 oz.  I'm guessing that Grandma Theresa is pulling Austin duty for a few days and is probably playing with toy cars about now!

From the family photo album....

In digging thru some really old family photos, I came across this one but am not sure exactly who it is.  Can anyone fill in a name???

Happy April Fool's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!