Favorite Photo Friday

Fall 2006

Moments before this was taken....by our timer.... I told Dave to make a fierce face - I'm not sure why I just smiled. It makes me laugh everytime I see it.

2 Years Ago Today.....

We were married! It was a beautiful day....and we've had a wonderful 2 years together. I'm so thankful to God, and feel truly blessed to have found Dave.

We are doing something this weekend to celebrate - Dave is surprising me - he says, "we've never done it before." So - If I take any pictures - I will certainly share with you all!

Favorite Photo Friday

April 2007
Easter Weekend
Snickers was sick
Ate something he shouldn't have.
He used to swallow whole socks, and underwear!
OCE - obsessive, compulsive eater
Anyway - I love this picture of our poor sick puppy, helpless...and needing all the love he can get.

Combine Derby!

The Combine Derby at the County Fair was fun to see! Don't know what a combine is? It is what the farmers use to harvest their fields.... they are very, very expensive - so the idea of a derby where the crash into each other, and destroy each other - is just humorous.

Of course, the one's they use in the derby are typically very old, and had to have lots of repairs most likely, just to get them running. The drivers and their "teams" spend time painting and decorating their combines.

In the mix there were a couple of John Deere, International, and Gleaner combines - The Harder's=Go Green=John Deere. My grandpa always had the green tractors as well. After the combine derby - I have some pictures from the rest of the fair.

Pay close attention to this blue combine, you'll see what happens to it in the next picture!

And a couple of demolition pictures, the blue combine really took a beating... it's missing it's entire back end!

This poor Deere - lost his back axel, as well:

Dave decided to win a something for Snickers...(he just adores stuffed animals) He won a little monkey! When we got home Snickers was so excited that he didn't seem to mind we were gone all evening:

There were all kinds of tractors on display, and this is an old 3010.... he had to have his picture taken on it... he said they used to have one on the farm.......... in fact we think it might be the tractor he is driving in this picture...the picture on the right was printed in Sept of '83...age 5, almost 6 - most likely:

The End!

A Man, His Truck, & His Dog

High gas prices and a slow economy aren't all bad..... Dave was able to get a new truck due to all of these reasons at 50% off! Before anyone shames us for not being "green" - Dave drives about 7mi. to work, and we need something big enough to haul the boat... so, it's a reasonable to own a big vehicle. Here are a few pictures of Dave, the truck, and the dog. :)

JSUK Monday (Just So U Know) - 36yr Difference

A little over 6 years before I was born....36years ago - this is what the most decorated Olympic Swim champion looked like:

This is what he looks like today!!

What a difference 36 years made! I think it is fascinating - and that everyone should know.

Despite all of the hoopla about the new "faster" suits that the swimmers are wearing these days... just look at the other differences.... back in the 70's they didn't wear swim caps, or swim goggles... they didn't cut their hair short or shave all of their body hair off.... Spitz has a typical 70's 'do, mustache and even armpit hair!!

All sports have changed in the past 30 years.... better shoes, better rackets, better bats, better techniques --- they've all evolved to be better. I find it fascinating that in a sport like swimming where no equipment is really necessary - they found a way to improve --- just by changing themselves.

Favorite Photo Friday

Today would be Chris' 25th birthday! I know Chris has been on our minds today.... as well as Jodi, Dakota, Mom&Dad, Esther&Jason, and Dan&Susan..... A day of missing, and wishing he were here to celebrate the day in a way similar to previous years.

Matthew 5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

I hope birthday dinners in heaven are endless helpings of all your favorites (with no calories, of course) - which for Chris might be... corn on the cob or pizza hut pizza?

Here's a cute picture of the Harder siblings circa 1989 - Chris is the little one holding the donkey's (Dan's) tail..... I wonder why he might be holding that tail?

We attended the county fair last night - specifically the event in the Grand Stand, which we decided would have been something that Chris would have thoroughly enjoyed ---- Combine Derby! That's right - Combine's crashing into each other. I have a lot of pictures of this event and will post them soon, but here is one just for a taste:

Barbecue is Not a Verb

This is too fun not to share... if you have three minutes to spare, I think you'll enjoy! Dave & I both took the quiz at findyourspot.com and Branson is our number 1 place to live....followed by Overland Park, KS. So...anyway... I guess this video comes to us from Branson:

JSUK Monday - It's Baaaaaackkkkk.

"Olly Olly Oxen Free" or "Alli Alli Outs In Free" or "What in the World are You Talking About"?

Did you know that in different areas of the country there are different variations of words that mean essentially the same thing? I'm sure you knew this. It is called dialect - or a regional language. Often times these words are discovered when one ventures out of their original hometown. This happened once for me at college.....we were discussing how to arrange the itty-bitty dorm rooms, and someone said, "let's put it kitty corner." Hmmmm.... "Do you mean catty corner?" Turns out we meant the same thing - just different terms being used....we of course polled almost everyone on the floor and found that the majority of people from the Chicago area referred to it as kitty-corner, whereas the mid-southern portion of Illinoisan's called it catty-corner. Interesting.

So, this weekend while my mom & Randy were visiting us, I randomly sang out, "Olly Olly Oxen Free." To which my mom chuckled, and said - you mean "Alli Alli Outs In Free." And Randy said, "no she doesn't!" And Dave had no idea... apparently that never made it to the kick-the-can or hide-and-seek games in Kansas. I'm estimating arrival in 2010. (hahahah... ONLY KIDDING!)

My mom took this opportunity to explain that it meant all outs are free to come in. It is typically used as a method to let the other players who are still out hiding know that the game is over, and it's okay to come back into home base.

And so the debate was born --- I agreed with Randy that I had heard it the other way, but that my mom's version actually made more sense. So, what did we do? We headed to the most reliable source on the internet - Wikipedia! (hint of mild sarcasm here)

Anyway - Wikipedia said the following:
The exact origin of the phrase is unknown, but etymologists suspect it is the childish corruption of the phrase "All Ye, All Ye All Come Free!" shouted by the British and American forces to the natives as they liberated France in World War II

The phrase can also be used to coordinate hidden players in the game kick the can, in which a group of children hide within a given radius and a seeker is left to guard a can filled with rocks. The seeker has to try to find the hiders without allowing them to sneak in and kick the can. In many areas the phrase used is "Ally Ally In Come Free" which is a way to tell all hidden that is time to start the game of trying to get in to the can without being caught.

SO - I guess we'll call this one a draw - and write it off to another instance of the old soda vs. pop debate.

If you know of any of these dialect inconsistencies, I'd love to hear them - OR your vote on either the Olly Olly Oxen Free or the Ally Ally Outs in Free debate.

Favorite Photo(s) Friday

Well - I couldn't choose just one picture, so I decided to pick one of Dave - that I know is a favorite for his family.... And one of me, that I know is a favorite in my family.

Here is Dave, I think a little over a year old - looking mischievous in the bathroom. On the back it says, "David doing what he does best - having fun!":


I think it is adorable, and very-telling.... even at a young age he had the ability to charm the girls, this one being his mom behind the camera. I think his siblings like this picture because it proves he isn't always the innocent one! Right Esther?

Here is the picture of me, taken most likely at the age of four. Sitting on a table in the screened in porch:

Now the story, according to my brother Joey, is that this is the day I received my first spanking. In fact, he says it is moments before. Apparently our dad had told me numerous times to not sit on the table, and apparently I kept getting back on the table. You can tell by the grin on my face, that I think it is very FUN sitting on the table. Probably because of the commotion being made, and the fact that the camera was out. If they ever fess up, it will probably come out that THEY were telling me to sit on the table...where would a 4 year old get an idea like that, anyway???

JSUK Monday - Commenting

JSUK - I am discontinuing JSUK Monday - but, only as a regular Monday appearance.... I'll still do it when I find interesting tidbits to share with you!! :)

Thanks for checking in! How about this, instructions on leaving a comment: See below where it says "X comments" X being a number between 0-infinity... do you see that? You click on that, and then type a message in the box, and you can click "anonymous" if you do not have an account, or would not like to have one. You can even leave it completely anonymous, and I will have to guess who might have left the message. (Please know, though, that I can delete your message if I find it hostile!) ;)

Favorite Photo Friday

Horseback Riding on our Honeymoon in St. Lucia. I had always wanted to go horseback riding on the beach...we had fun. The best part was that we were the only couple on our ride, AND the guide could have cared less how fast we went - so once we got to the beach we took off at galloping speeds. This is actually, the photo before the actual photo, but I like it as well - so I decided it deserved equal favortism.


And....the actual Favorite Photo Friday picture: (I admit the guy told us to hold hands, we didn't think of that on our own!) Why does my steed look so much smaller and unhealthy compared to Dave's?? Hmm... poor horsey.