DAY 90

"The Framers [of the Constitution] knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny." -Hugo Black

DAY 89

“The best angle from which to approach a problem is the Try-angle.”

-Author Unkown

Today it was back to the grind. As I watched them do their homework after school I couldn't help but think these two definitely came from the same genetic gene pool. They both slant their heads to the left as they write. It's rather odd.

DAY 88

I arrived home in Iowa today to find this! I guess they had 4 inches of snow last night. (These are both pictures of my tete a tetes in my front yard; the first picture was taken three weeks ago.)

I'd like to register a complaint with Mother Nature if I may. I don't know what her grand intentions are, if the fields need more snow to melt for drinking water or plant irrigation, but it's Spring and it's not supposed to be snowing.

DAY 87

John A Roebling Suspension Bridge, Cincinnatti

Few American cities can claim a landmark as distinctive as Cincinnati's Suspension Bridge. The Covington and Cincinnati Bridge, in 1984 renamed after designer John A. Roebling, and all the while called by locals simply "The Suspension Bridge", has been a symbol of the city since its completion in December of 1866. Images of the bridge can be seen today in all parts of the city hanging in homes, offices, restaurants, bars, waiting rooms, and as backdrops for the local television news. More than just a nostalgic decoration, the old bridge remains an important river crossing for thousands of cars and buses each day.

The bridge opened to pedestrians in December 1866, and the 1,057ft. main span was at that time the longest in the world, surpassing the Wheeling, WV suspension bridge (1849). Not only was the Cincinnati Suspension Bridge the world's longest, but it was also the first to utilize both vertical suspenders and diagonal stays fanning from either tower. This advance was next seen on the Brooklyn Bridge (also designed by JohnRoebling), which surpassed the Cincinnati bridge in length and almost every other statistical category in 1883.

This is the runner up picture of the day. These two boys worked all week on this ship and finally completed it! It's great to have a cousin that's as passionate about something as you are. Connor calls this room lego heaven. It's a room that has nothing but legos. Today Connor was trying to earn a little extra money to buy a new DS game for the trip home, so he organized the lego room and Uncle Dave paid him $10 for his 3 hours of work. Thanks Dave!

DAY 86

"Let each man exercise the art he knows." -Aristophanes(450 BC - 388 BC)

This is a picture of the ceiling at the Cincinnatti Museum Center. We had a fun morning playing there. I took lots of fun pics of the kids and although I had other favorites, this one was the most unique and won the spot for the photo of the day.

DAY 85

This is Haldan's finger. He tried to cut it off while cutting a board for the shed. I was on the way home from the caves and I called him to check in and he said, "Can I call ya back in a minute?" I thought it was weird, but I didn't think much of it. When he called back about 45 minutes later he said he was just getting stitches. Then I started freaking out. The story goes something like this... Haldan was trying to cut some wood and somehow the saw got stuck and the wood actually cut through his fingernail to his finger beneath. (I'm still unclear of exactly how that happened.) He went inside to try to wash it off and that's when he realized it was definitely going to need stitches. While he was driving to the ER he must have been in shock because he said he felt like he was either going to pass out or throw up. He did actually make it without crashing and was relieved to find valet parking. They gave him a shot of novocaine directly under his nail and he said that was excruciating, even though that wasn't his exact word. Haldan has tried to downplay this every step of the way. I think he said it hurt pretty bad and he felt like throwing up. He ended up with just two stitches (beneath the nail), but I wonder what will happen once the nail falls off.

Today I called to check in and he said his finger was swollen and looked infected. It was my recommendation that he go to the doctor to get oral antibiotics. He put some neosporin on it, but it wasn't cutting it. He actually agreed with me for a change and went in. He got some cephalexin (that should help prevent the spread of any skin infection) and the doctor suggested he continue the neosporin. I know it must be pretty bad because otherwise he would have never gone in.

It happened Tuesday, but this was the first chance I've had to actually see it. Haldan's friend at work, Mike, took this photo with his phone and was able to email it to me. I'm unable to blow it up, but I really appreciate the pic. Thanks Mike!

Any of you who might read this, could you do me a favor and check in with him. I've been pretty worried (that's how I am) and I'm not planning to be home until Sunday.

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On another note, Haldan needs to raise $2500 for the Hy-Vee triathlon he's doing in June. To find out more click on the link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ia/HyveeTri09/hrasmussen.

If you'd like to support him and help stop leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma from taking more lives please make a donation! Contact him at haldan@mchsi.com or call him at (319)361-6318. Every little bit helps!

DAY 84

"In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." -Gordon B. Hinckley

Today was a rainy day, so we went to the Jump Zone. I had a lot of fun watching my sister (who is 2 years older than me) play as hard as the kids. She called it her workout for the day. She made it look so fun I decided to jump in. I went down a few times with the kids. Normally they don't allow more than one person at a time down the slide, but we snuck in a few rounds with everyone. Thanks Tonya for taking some pictures!

DAY 83

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

"Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave. In fact it is so long that if the second and third longest caves in the world were joined together, Mammoth Cave would still be the planet's longest cave and have nearly 100 miles left over!"

Connor has recently set a pretty big goal. He wants to visit every national park. I decided we shouldn't waste any time. So we took the 3 hour drive south today (from Mom's house) to explore this park. We took the 2 hour New Entrance tour and then we hiked some of the trails. We saw the Green River, a couple snakes, a cave cricket (that looks more like a spider), and lots of beautiful rock formations. It was fun exploring this beautiful area.

DAY 82



"Cousins by blood - friends by choice." - Darlene Shaw

Loved watching these three interact today. They had so much fun together and it didn't matter what it was... if one did it- they all did it. When I painted their nails Brook really wanted these two colors together; definitely not my first choice. Of course the other two wanted the exact same thing. I tried to convince them to be original and pick something different, but no such luck. They wanted the exact same colors alternating "just like Brook". Too cute! Can you tell which one has those long Rasmussen fingers? (Hint: She's the one who still bites her nails.)

DAY 81

"The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe." Lawrence Kutner

We arrived in Kentucky at 5:30PM (our time), so we made record time. We left the house at 10AM and had two lengthy stops along the way, yet somehow made it in 7 1/2 hours (even with the stops). Don't ask me how we did it. It's 500 miles and for some reason my car says I only went about 100 miles. I pushed the button at my house and when we got to Indianapolis it was only reading 80 miles. Someone asked me last week if I believed in miracles and I wasn't sure. Maybe there is such a thing as miracles.

The kids hopped out of the car right away and went straight to the trampoline to play with their cousins.

I didn't get any pictures along the way, but I took this picture of my niece when we arrived. She's quite a character!

The winners are...

January 1st place


January 2nd place


February 1st place


February 2nd place



Thanks for all the votes. It was pretty close on a few. I had many more favorites in February than January so I can thank the warmer days for that. Stay tuned because March votes are coming soon. I added a new link on the side bar that says "Project 365" and it only has March pictures right now. If you want to recap the month quickly you can click on that link or go to March archives.

DAY 80 "Boring Saturday"

Haldan had a tournament game at the church today. I tried to get pics, but the lighting was bad and I couldn't figure out what shutter speed was best. I really need to take a class. This was the best action pic and it's still a little blurry. Check out the beard. Camille says Dad's becoming a mountain man. I'm not sure yet what I think except that it's scratchy.

I worked on a project for a friend. Love my Epson 1280. I was able to print a quote 24 in long. I hope they like the way it turned out. It's going to go at the bottom of a poster sized picture to close the gap.

Laundry, packing, and more laundry finished out the day. The kids and I are heading out to Kentucky to see family over spring break. I'm excited for the change of scenery. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up my project 365 from there. Haldan's gonna love the house all to himself!

DAY 79

"The gaudy leonine sunflower

Hangs black and barren on its stalk.

And down the windy garden walk

The dead leaves scatter- hour by hour."

-Oscar Wilde

DAY 78

“Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier.” -Susan Rabin

Scootering is one of Camille's favorite pass times right now and she's getting pretty fast. I picked the kids up from school yesterday and before I was even out of the car Camille was riding down our hill (for those of you who have seen our driveway hill you know what I'm talking about) - no helmet, flips, and a sucker sticking out of her mouth. I nearly died, being the overly protective parent I am. Haldan's only response was, "Close your eyes." Luckily she took the sucker out and I think she even got her helmet, but today when I got this pic she was helmet free yet again.

DAY 77

Can you guess what these are?

DAY 76

"Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal." -Unknown

I was going to take Camille out of school for the St. Patrick's Day parade, but Connor was home sick with Dad and I thought he might feel bad. I'm not Irish and have never been much into the holiday anyways. I did attempt to go over before the parade and take a few pics of people setting up, but nothing fantastic to share.

So, after I picked Camille up from school I took the kids for some ice cream. Figured Connor could use a little outdoor time. Besides, it got up to 85 degrees today, at least that's what it said on our thermometer and we're lovin' it! You have to take advantage while ya have it 'cause you never know when it might come again. It's supposed to drop in temp tomorrow and be rainy. I'm hoping my neighbor is wrong about snow this weekend.

I think Connor is going back to school tomorrow. He has been fever free now for over 24 hours (so long as it stays down through the night). Keep your fingers crossed!

DAY 75 "Spring"

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." -Anais Nin

This is the first bud on my little miniature weeping pussy willow tree. I love my little tree!

It's been fun watching it through the changing seasons out my large front window. I thought it might die two winters ago ('07-'08) when we had the second ice storm. It's little branches drooped to the ground and it became so heavy with ice it started to tip over and expose the root ball. We did our best to stake it back up the best we could with the ground frozen. But spring came and it surprised us all... it came back to life. Towards the end of the summer it started to look sick and I began to worry. The japanese beetles got the better of it despite our efforts to protect it and then it looked as if it had developed a fungus of some kind and the leaves started to fall prematurely. Two more seasons have passed and here we are to spring yet again. Somehow that little tree pulled through. It makes me so happy to see those first buds, especially with all it has been through in it's short life.

It got up to 70 degrees here today and it felt like heaven. Spring is slow coming, but it is coming none the less.

Here's just a few reasons I love Spring... tulip festival, no more coats or static electricity, easter, outdoor activites, catching butterflies, rainy afternoons, the sound of birds chirping, BBQs, the scent of budding flowers or freshly cut grass, a reason to paint my toe nails, bright colors in fashion, can crack the windows and air out the house, spring cleaning, soccer, and great photo ops.

What do you like about spring?

DAY 74 "Fate?"

"Fate only takes you so far. The rest is up to you." -Unknown

I have a confession to make... I wanted to quit today. It's gotten to the point that I've exhausted every last brain cell I have, or so it seems. I'm probably just having a bad day, but it's been pretty challenging this past week. I told my husband that Iowa in March reminds me of "the lone and dreary world" they talk about in the scriptures. He chuckled, but it wasn't intended as a joke. My job is to look past that and see what I can capture through my lens. I went outside and looked around, had a couple deep sighs, and was ready to throw in the towel. My husband actually came to my rescue. He decided we were going on a long Sunday drive... destination was to be the Marion Airport. He thought it was a nice day and there might be some planes out flying.

A couple days ago we saw this powered parachuter and I tried to take some pictures from the car, but they turned out blurry. When we got to the airport that same parachuter was there. Haldan got out and talked to him a bit and he was just taking off. I took down his email and I'm going to send him some of my best photos. It was fun to watch so close and I was able to get some great shots standing directly under him. Thanks Haldan for not giving up on me! So, do you think it was fate or just dumb luck that we ran into the same guy twice in three days?

DAY 73 "BBQ This" to the Rescue


Haldan drove over to Boyson Rd across town today to pick this up for lunch. Boy did it hit the spot.

I don't know when this happened, but the Dickeys on Edgewood is officially closed. As far as I know there was another one downtown on 2nd St that was flooded in June.

Update on the mystery person in my house last night:

So, I couldn't muster up the courage to check the house by myself, so I attempted to wake up Haldan twice more. He finally got up. He was super annoyed, but agreed to look around. He found nothing. Somehow it didn't make me feel better. He was snoring again within minutes of getting back into bed. I left the lamp on beside my bed and stayed awake as long as I could until I drifted off. Thismorning we were all discussing this when I could tell something was weird with Camille's face. When I questioned her again about going to the bathroom she finally fessed up and said she went to get a drink of water. I couldn't believe it- she really had me fooled last night!

Good news: There was no mystery person in my home last night and Camille's a great actress.

Bad news: I lost sleep over absolutely nothing, Haldan's convinced I'm crazy, and Camille is a great liar!

BTW, winning pictures are coming soon. I'm still waiting on a couple family member's votes. If you haven't voted yet, it's not too late!

This is the kicker... of all the friday the 13th haps around here.

It's midnight... I'm sitting in the office finishing my project 365 for the day (journaling, etc.) and I hear Camille get up and go to the bathroom. Then I hear the door open and close and then she goes back to bed... or so I thought.

I went in to check on her and she was sound asleep. I turned on the light and woke her. I thought I possibly mistook her bathroom for the Connor's bathroom directly under it. So, I went downstairs only to find all the lights out and Connor grinding his teeth. He was in a very deep sleep. Totally freaked!

In a panic I went to check on Haldan hoping he was awake and had just used one of their bathrooms, but he was also sound alseep snoring. He was not easy to wake up. He said, "There's no one in our house."

He thinks I'm crazy ever since I told him I thought there was a person living in our attic in Washington. He did recently send me an email to a news link about a man found living in someone's attic though. (At least he's admitting it's possible now.) Needless to say, I'm on my own to check the house.

I did the upstairs, but there's no way I'm going downstairs again by myself again. I went to Connor's room and didn't venture past that.

I'm too afraid to go back to the office, so I'm on my laptop in my bedroom while the rest of my family sleeps.

It's not windy outside tonight either. That's always Haldan's excuse for any kind of unexplained noises. This couldn't possibly be my imagination. I really heard someone. I thought it was strange that Camile didn't come into the office when she was finished 'cause the office lights were on.

What good is having a husband home if he won't go check the house when you hear strange things.

Wish me luck...

DAY 72

"We all live under the same sky, but we don't have the same horizon." -Konrad Adrenauer

Friday the 13th Highlights:

• SICKNESS CONTINUES!!! Took Camille to school today (because she was fever free 24 hours) even though she was complaining of tummy ache and still had cold symtoms. Received phone call at work a little before noon that Connor had a fever of 101 degrees and said it hurt to raise his arms or legs. Picked up both kids 'cause Camille didn't eat breakfast or lunch and her tummy still hurt, she looked very pale, and I knew I didn't want to go back to the school an hour later. Haldan sent an email that said he had a bad headache and felt queasy, which is how Camille's sickness started. Should be a fun weekend.
• Great 30% off sales at Old Navy and Gap today. Too bad we no longer have a Gap store here. Saved big at old navy on new swimsuits for Camille. Hopefully one works.
• Went to get dinner at Dickey's tonight. We were all craving BBQ! When I got there it was dark and there was a sign on the door that said, "Out of Business". Totally annoyed!! This only further supports my argument of why Cedar Rapids bites.
• Got our new debit cards in the mail today. It's the 4th new card in about 18 months. The bank keeps saying there is "fraudulent activity" on our account. How is one supposed to remember their password when it keeps changing? Does this only happen to us or is it a sign of the times?
• Haldan and I attempted to have a "House" catch up night, but after 2 episodes we were both ready for bed. We're getting old. We still have 4 to go.

DAY 71

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired." -Fannie Lou Hamer

After 4 1/2 hours of sleeping today Camille finally woke up around 3:30PM! I decided a few minutes of fresh air might do her some good. We were outside less than 5 minutes when she was ready to come in. By 6 PM she put herself back to bed. This is the strangest virus. It seems to mimic mono. Yesterday morning she got up and was a little more lively, at least for a little while. Her fever seemed to be down. By 5PM her fever spiked and she was feeling pretty lousy again. She had another nose bleed, this one lasting about 45 minutes. I think the congestion could possibly be contributing to that. She's fine one minute and sick the next. The school wants her to be fever free for 24 hours without meds before she returns. I keep waiting. I hope she feels better soon.

My dear friend, Vicki Garbett, hand knitted this hat for Camille. It's different shades of purples and isn't it the most adorable thing you've ever seen? She is one talented lady. We've had a bit of a cold spell the last few days, so she finally had an opportunity to wear it.

DAY 70

“Don't wait to make your son a great man - make him a great boy.” -Unknown

This is definitely a work in progress! Connor grabbed Daddy's glasses and I couldn't help myself. I had to get the shot. He looked so grown up for a minute. Connor is so full of personality and mischief, but there are those moments that let me know he's growing up and he's going to turn out just fine.

DAY 69 "Sicko"

My poor baby was so sick today! She was up the better part of last night in tears feeling "yucky" as she put it. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of virus. The nurse thinks it sounds like Influenza Type A, but didn't think it was worth coming in just to have it "named." My thought is why expose her to even more germs. I'll keep an eye on her and play it by ear. The nurse said if things didn't improve in 3 days or if her fever spiked above 105 to come in. She also said it should be milder since she had the flu mist earlier in the season, but I realized today that I only took her in for the 1st dose and forgot to do the 2nd. Then I felt really bad. I tried to let her rest and pushed the fluids. I'm praying that I don't get it. I already had the flu this year. Once is enough!

Symptoms include:

• no appetite for several days now
• fever (off and on) of 100-102 degrees
• sore throat/ cough
• headache
• body aches (I think that's the feeling yucky)
• runny nose/ congestion
• lethargic (I've never seen her sleep so much)

Just when I thought she couldn't feel any worse she got one of her bloody noses!

Haldan was very against my posting this picture. So, for those of you thinking I'm a horrible mother for taking this picture... let me just tell you that I've never been one of those mothers that takes pictures like this normally. When one of my kids fall off their bike or get hurt or have any kind of crisis... I panic! I never think to take a picture. Also, Camille gets bloody noses on a very regular basis. You'd think after so many she wouldn't freak out so much when she sees the blood. She ended up making quite a mess on her clothing and in her bathroom with this one. It got much worse before it got better. This project has forced me to think to grab my camera even more than I used to, if you can believe that. So, with camera in hand I snapped a picture. I think it's important to document the good and the bad! There ya have it!

DAY 68

"Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men." -Chinese Proverb

DAY 67 "Ice"

“To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, ...it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who knew something this beautiful and clear could come out of the brown Cedar River.

DAY 66

"Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring - quite often the hard way." -Pamela Dugdale

Before I was even out of bed today I heard screaming and crying coming from the basement. Turns out Connor didn't like something Camille said or did so he kicked her- I never got the whole story; there were consequences. About an hour later as I was doing Camille's hair she showed me the mark it left on her back. I decided Connor really needed to see this red welt. When I showed him I was actually surprised by the look of sadness and pain on his face. He voluntarily offered a heartfelt apology and asked her forgivness. It was a sweet, tender moment I was able to capture with my camera. Wish there were more of those.

Other highlights:

• We found a fox sleeping on our front door mat tonight (after finding gobs of what we thought was cat hair this morning) and the bird is still living behind our light on the front porch.
• Connor enjoyed some Daddy time and Camille is not a good napper.

{STILL NEED VOTES!!}

I'm talking mostly to family now, but if you pop in to check out my blog please give me feedback. I know it's a lot of pics to go through, so if you remember one you particularly liked just describe it. You can also go to the side bar and click on Jan or Feb in the archives. It will quickly take you through all of them. Another option is to go to the moments by months (I think both are posted in Feb). January's won't enlarge if you click on it, but February will. You can either tell me the date, the number of the photo (DAY whatever), or give me a description.

Thank you to all who have responded and shared your favorites! I think I have ten in now and would really like more. It would appear there are a couple pics in the lead, but just a few more people could sway the vote.

From now on I will just do it monthly. I know 60 photos is a whole lot to remember. I sort of thought of this idea late and decided to jump in. Better late than never. I've had some ask what a photo of the month is. I guess to summarize, it would be a favorite picture every month out of that months' choices. I just thought breaking it up by months would make it a whole lot easier to have a vote on the photo of the year, which I've wanted to do all along. Hope that helps.

DAY 65 "Dad's Back!"

He may have been a bit of a tired Dad, but we were glad to have him none the less!

The kids didn't have school today and Haldan's last night of the outage was last night. (A little earlier than expected; I've been jumping for joy- in my head.) Haldan wanted to turn around hard so that he could play in the basketball tournament tomorrow, so he tortured himself a bit and stayed up for some 27 hours before he finally crashed around 6PM. As predicted, around 4PM he started to shut down. I think I was talking on the phone when I noticed he was drifting into the other lane with oncoming traffic. No worries... we're all still alive!

It was actually a fun day. The boys took me down to the river where they had their morning run to get some pictures of some cool ice chunks up along the bank. Then we headed for Coralville. We did a little shopping, went out for lunch, and watched "Coraline" (Camille's been dying to see it). On the way home we stopped at the Fossil Gorge. It was a beautiful day in the 60s and the kids had a blast exploring. It's pretty devastating what the flood did to that area.

I must have taken some 300 pictures today. I had to delete gobs. I actually had several pics that were much better photos than the one I chose, but I thought it was important to have Haldan in the photo of the day today. Since I can only choose one... I choose this one. It's much harder than I ever imagined!

DAY 64

"And remember, no matter where you go, there you are." -Confucius

I need your help!

I'm trying to pick the photo of the month for Jan (days 1-31) and Feb (days 32-59). Please tell me your favorite. I was going to narrow it down by choices, but I'm emotionally attached to all of them. I need some more neutral opinions.

Eventually if I make it to the end of the year I'd like to do a photo of the year, in which case I'll have 12 to choose from.

You can leave a comment on my blog or email me at lish@mchsi.com.

DAY 63

"Have a place for everything and have everything in its place." Anonymous

This picture was actually motivated by a "daymare" that I had today. I was feeling a little under the weather, so I layed down for a short nap. I dreamt that our house was ransacked and when I got up there was absolutely nothing in our living room but the carpet! It was just one of those dreams that felt so real. I was of course relieved to find that we still had furniture. In my dream I couldn't remember everything that was missing. So, I now have a photograph to document some of our furnishings. I know it's all just "things" and we don't even have anything too special, but it's our home; it represents who we are. Now that the day is coming to a close, I like to make sure everything is in it's place. I always seem to sleep so much better when my home is in order.

DAY 62

“It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.” - The Golden Girls

DAY 61

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." -Robert Brault

Pause the music on the right and click on this video for an uplifting message about creativity and talents from Pres. Uchtdorf.

DAY 60

Tonight was the great to be 8 program for Camille. I can hardly believe she will be 8 this August! She has a very small class, so there were only 2 other children there. I think there were more leaders from primary and the bishopric in attendance than families present, but it was a nice program. They gave instruction, had acouple small talks, and gave the children a tour of the font. My favorite were these cute cookies done by Indi Anderson. Towards the end of the program they handed out little gifts for the kids and then asked if there were any questions. Camille wanted to know what was inside the wrapping, but they wanted them to wait until they got home to open it so they didn't open it in front of the other children. Camille didn't much care for the waiting part, so she opened it in the car before she got home. It was a small journal with notes and testimonies throughout from the primary leaders, her teacher, and some of the bishopric. Hopefully it will become a special "treasure" to her.

Moments by Months February 09