Love this little reminder.....

And, rounding out the week......

Two more birthdays yet this week, and those are for Josh Korkowski (#36).......

...and the other birthday is that of Evan Oxentenko (Shawn & Amy Korkowski Oxentenko). Evan's 12 today!  Happy birthday, fellas....

Don't put the party hats away just yet......

More celebrations at hand....today it's Norb & Donna Korkowski's 16th wedding anniversary.....

...and not too far away Mitch Korkowski (#36) is celebrating a birthday.  Happy anniversary, Norb & Donna, and happy birthday to Mitch as well.

It's Thanksgiving Day....celebrate with those you love

We are on a roll now........

We have the mother lode of birthdays today with three people celebrating....first, it's Mike Korkowski (#59).....

and, then we have Troy Magnuson (#44).....

and, last, but certainly not least is Jan (Korkowski) Campbell (#48).  Happy birthday all you party animals!!

Day #2 of birthday week.....

Another birthday .....and today it's Ed Korkowski (#46).  I am positive he's not freezing his tush off when being outside!  Happy birthday, Ed......

Get ready.........

Lots of people going to be celebrating in the next week and a half, and to start the festivities off is Nate Korkowski (#33).  Wishing you a great birthday, Nate!

Congratulations, Diane......

Last Tuesday night, it was  the National Honor Society's induction of new members at the Brandon-Evansville High School.  The NHS was added last spring to B-E High School,  and Diane Campbell (Roger & Jan Korkowski Campbell) was one of 6 members that became members. During the ceremony, there were 8 more students inducted. Congrats to her and all the students who are now members!  In the group picture, Diane is the 3rd from the left, a bit hidden.

Guaranteed to make you grin........

I love funny pictures, and even better when someone has attached a caption to them! Here are a few from some that came into the mailbox last week.....

A road trip yet this year?

Doug & Dawn Inman hit the road with some friends recently and headed over to New Richmond Wisconsin where they visited a distillery.  Here's what she had to say about the experience....and she did tell me the horseradish vodka made for a very tasty bloody Mary!  (Not sure about that one.....)  Sounds like a destination for next year's 'road trip' :)

A couple of weeks ago Doug and I, along with some friends, road tripped to Wisconsin for a distillery tour. The 45th parallel distillery is in New Richmond. They make a wide variety of spirits, including horseradish vodka and whiskey! Taste testing was included. :-). The tour lasts about an hour and is pretty inexpensive- plus you get lots is samples!! It's a great afternoon outing- and we'd recommend Brady's Brewhouse for your meal to round out the day! 

And, if you should think that guy in the back looks a lot like Doug, well...it's not his brother.  I already asked! :)

A double party day......

Two birthdays today....first is Matt Korkowski #32).....

and secondly, it's also Caroline Korkowski (#53) who gets to have her cake and eat it too! Happy birthday to you both.....

A very special snow angel.....

We've all seen...and done...the snow angels, because it's just a normal part of winter and snow.  But, Dave and Cindy Korkowski were witness to a very unique 'snow angel'....this one made by a bird after he collided with their glass door (can anyone say stunned??)  Just look at the detail from that little guy!  Nice picture.....

Welcome to a new decade.....

It's time for Cindy Korkowski to leave those 50s in the dust and turn the corner where she can celebrate her 60th birthday today.  Welcome to our club...and happy birthday!

Warm wishes for a cold day......

Two birthdays to celebrate today....first, there's Patty Korkowski (#61).....

....and, then there's Mya Pfeifer (Seth & Jean Korkowski Pfeifer) who turns 11!  

Happy birthday, ladies...you're going to need those candles blazing to keep warm today!

Winter temperatures.....and hot soup

There is nothing like a big pot of soup simmering in your crockpot on a cold wintery day! And, when it makes a really large batch, it means you have dinner #2 waiting for you as well.  Last week had one of those days (actually, several of them!) for trying something new, and we both loved this new recipe.  Lots of protein in there with the chicken and beans.  I used four boneless chicken breasts (medium sized) and shredded those the last half hour before serving.  Also used the low sodium taco seasoning, so it does have a bit of 'spice' to it, but it is certainly not too hot. Just saying the trade-off could be a 'mild' packet rather than low-sodium.  This does make a large crockpot full; and it's a very hearty and thicker soup.  You won't go away hungry!

(This is a photo that came with the recipe, not my actual soup)

She's very anxious......

One little girl....Jackie Inman (Doug & Dawn O'Donnell Inman) is going to have a bit of a wait before she can really walk thru those school doors, but this last Thursday, she and her mom took the first step by signing up for kindergarten in the fall.  Doesn't she look disappointed to be on the outside looking in right now?  Jackie, you'll look back at around 18 and wonder why you were in such a hurry! :)

Wahoo....it's a birthday!

Not a lot of birthday parties lately, but today we have one....it's Kelly Dupont's (Mike & Brenda Magnuson Dupont) entry into the teen years as she celebrates her 13th birthday.  Oh, those teenage years......happy birthday, Kelly! You've got the whole w/e to celebrate :)

Are you seeing spots???

This Halloween picture and story is great....it's gotta be the largest 'trick and treater' group around!  Word has it they appeared at the Millerville liquor store as one stop during the night.  By word of mouth, people from Brandon, Millerville, Garfield, Alex.... and some friends and relatives from further away...planned their night.   Paul Starke was there with some of his out of town friends. (Now, that's a leader if ever there was one!) Great idea and even greater costumes!

Yup, that's Deize!

Cruella de Vil even showed up

No airline ticket required......

Feeling hungry for some good old stick-to-your-ribs German food?  Well, guess what....you don't need to book an expensive airline ticket to get the real thing.  Nope, just get in the car and drive over to Charlie's Cafe in Freeport Minnesota on Wednesday nights.  It probably means a full house on those nights, but they do have a lower level for overflow. You may have to start out at the bar next door for a beer or two...and then walk to Charlie's for dinner!  (And those prices below are from the catering menu so I'm guessing it's even cheaper when not catered.)

Just in the nick of time......

What a difference 24 hours can make...in so many ways!  On Sunday, Vivian & Lucy Roers were enjoying the abundance of leaves in the yard.....

.....and the next morning at 7 AM, Vivian brought grandma Theresa her shoes and said 'outside'!  So, after scrambling to find all those necessary boots, snow pants, mittens and hats, out they went....(no word on how long they stayed out there!)

Their Rochester cousins....Tyler, Zach and Dylan Stark....had to wait a bit longer to get that desired snowfall, but it did arrive in time for some of those traditional snow angels.

Veterans' Day 2014

Perhaps some of my favorite pictures...repeat performance for 2014!

Paul Korkowski, Air Force, 
June 1986-January 1998

Ron Magnuson, Army 1966 to 1968

Another successful hunter.......

There's another 'happy hunter' this season, and that's Mason Korkowski (Ron & Sue) who bagged this 5 point buck while hunting with grandpa Dennis Korkowski on Saturday. Looks good all the way around!

It was a very successful hunt.......

It looks like several in the Korkowski family did extremely well in their quest to put meat on the table this weekend...we are very impressed!  Just check these guys out:

Monte Korkowski w/his 8 point buck

Bill Nicholas w/his 7 point buck

And, poppa Mike Korkowski with both a doe and a button buck (got to show the young guys how to do it!!)

These young guys look pretty happy on their own merits......

....while Gavin Nicholas is dreaming of the day when he can go out w/the guys...here he poses w/Monte's deer (just dreamin')