Apolo Anton Ohno

Monsanto sponsored the National Speed Skating competition held in St. Louis this past Saturday. Being Monsanto employees we were given tickets for the event. Of course, no one needed to pull our teeth to go. As soon as we found out Apolo Anton Ohno would be competing we were soooo excited. We arrived early and got seats 5 rows up on the finish line. It was awesome! The final race was amazing. Apolo along with three other competitors were in the finals. About half way through the race Apolo stubbed his toe, went down and took 2 other competitors with him. The officials stopped the race. We were all confused on why the race was stopped. Apparently the officials thought someone was hurt and in this case they stop the race. No one was hurt but decided to disqualify Apolo since he was the first to go down. The boos from the audience were so loud (including my boo and I believe Jon's boo). After discussion with Apolo's coach and I believe his father, Apolo was let back in the race. Once again the official shoots the gun and the race begins for the second time. This time Apolo was in the lead up until 10 ft from the finish line when someone goes down again and takes him out. Both smack in to the wall then cross the finish line. All said and done Apolo came in third. It was so much fun and I can't believe how intense. We were cheering the entire time not really knowing what we were cheering about. Of course I'm a HUGE Apolo fan since he was on Dancing with the Stars. I made Jon and the kids hang out by the locker room until Apolo came out. Apolo really didn't want to take pictures but I kind of forced myself in to the situation. Oh well, it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with the family.
Below is a slide show of some of the 193 pictures Jon took. Yes, we got a new camera for Christmas and he is a little obsessed!

National Speed Skating Competition

Amsterdam

Jon and I are now in Amsterdam until I come home on Monday. What a crazy, busy place. It's not the cars you have to look out for but all the bikes and mo-peds. Yes, I think I will be getting my second Mo-ped! I'm very excited about that!

Today we decided to see if we could figure out the trains, trams and bus system. We set out to make it to Anne Franks Home. After about an hour of debating how to read the maps that are in dutch we picked a tram and went for it. Yes, we made it to our destination! Anne Franks home is amazing. I can't wait to get home and go to the library to get the book with her entries in her diary.

After Anne Franks home we decided to try and get back to the hotel by foot. Along the way we found a Mcdonald's, Subway and KFC! It was fun seeing something American. We also ended up in the Red Light District. It was just all of a sudden right there in front of us. I tried to walk as fast as I could to get out but we were right smack dab in the middle. Oh well, it was a culture experience. Right?

I thought my culture experience was over for the day when we got back to the hotel. But no, it was just the beginning. Jon decided we needed to go sit in the sauna and relax our bodies from all the walking. We put on our swim suits and bathrobes and went. Once there we found out we were the minority. No one and I mean no one was is their swimsuits. They were in their birthday suits (if you know what I mean!) My jaw hit the floor! I didn't know what to do. I was scared. Never in my life have I seen something like this. I quickly ran to the relaxing room where people were in their robes. I thought I would be safe there. After sitting in the relaxing room for 15 minutes I thought I would make a run to the door and go back to my room. Well, I come out of the door and right there standing in front of me was a man. Yes, I saw the full frontal!!!!! Someone Help Me!!!!! I was frozen. Jon was no where to rescue me. He was sitting in the sauna with his eyes closed because of all the women in their birthday suits. I quickly ducked my head and went to the sauna no one was using. I motioned to Jon I was out of there. He started laughing. When we got back to the room I told Jon my experience and I thought he was going to die of laughter. He just looked at me and said "Welcome to Europe!!!" I'm in overload!!!!

Day 2 in Holland

So today I saw my first windmill. They are beautiful! We ventured out of the city and headed towards the country and the ocean. It is so green with lots of farm (sheep farms) and houses that are amazing. We looked for housing in a village called Bergen. The homes remind me of the home Hanzel and Grettel lived in. They are very unique. We explored a school which is a European school. They cater to all the countries here in Europe. It was actually pretty amazing to see. There are four families in the school from America. We spoke with some of the children. They said they liked living here. There is hope for us!

Here in Holland (Netherlands) riding a bicycle is the best form of transportation. It's amazing to see the baskets and bags hanging off the bikes to carry their items. In fact, today we saw a lady with two children strapped to her bike along with a basket of groceries. She was holding an umbrella in one hand and steering with the other. It was also a down pour of rain. I found it so amazing. It looks like I'll be getting a bike!

I learned how to say goodbye in Dutch. It's hoi hoi. I guess this is the informal version of goodbye but hey, it's goodbye! Chicken is kip so that's nice to know when I go to eat. It seems like my choices of meat are chicken or salmon. I quickly memorized chicken due to my dislike of any seafood or fish.

We saw the ocean today. It was awesome seeing it looking west toward the USA instead of standing on the North Carolina seashore looking towards the east. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow and the adventure it holds.

I tried downloading some picture but I can't get it to work. I guess you'll have to wait for pictures until I get home.

What a SHOCK!!!

I just have to post a quick note letting all my blogging friends and family know we've made it to Holland. We are in a culture shock! I wasn't prepared for the housing options. What they call a home we call a small condo! There are no backyards they call it a garden. Which it literally is just that, a whole lot of plants and no grass! I asked where the children play and I was told in the street! The international school was amazing. I was very impressed with the curriculum and activities they offer. They even have a full day preschool for Talynn. What will I do with all my time?!!

Tomorrow we continue to look for housing. On Friday we are going to venture on the train. We are very nervous for this event! We don't even know how to buy a train ticket! It's amazing they let Jon and I in the country. Which for a moment I thought they weren't going to let me in. When the police checked my passport they did a lot of speaking in Dutch, flipping through my passport, putting it under some type of light and about 10 minutes of me sweating they finally stamped it and let me through. YES! I HAVE MY FIRST STAMP IN MY PASSPORT!!! Of course, they just stamped Jon's and let him pass. I guess I looked like someone they should be concerned about.

A quick thank you to Holly and everyone else who is helping with my children this week! I appreciate it! Love and miss all of you! Oh the stories I'll be able to tell when I get back!

Daddy Did It!

While I was at a church meeting Jon took the kids to the mall for some Christmas shopping. While there he decided Tally needed her ears pierced. So, he got them pierced! Yes, he pierced my babies ears without me even knowing such an event was going to take place! Needless to say when I got home my jaw hit the floor. I asked Tally what happened and she said "Daddy did it. Daddy ears mom, pretty princess." Talynn loves them. She calls herself Ariel Princess. She loves looking in the mirror and seeing her new bling. I have to admit, they are cute but I'm still upset I wasn't there for this BIG moment in her life.

TWILIGHT

On Friday night a large group of my friends (not all in the picture) and I went to the Twilight movie. It was so much fun! We arrived an hour and 15 minutes early to guarantee a good seat. Which was a good thing. By the time they opened the theatre the line was going clear out the door. I wore my Bite Me Edward shirt which I love (thanks Jodi). I found out once we were at the theatre that my Stake President (a man from Church who is the leader of all LDS people in about a 100 mile radius) was also coming to the movie with us. When he and his wife walked in they couldn't see us, so I stood up, stretched my arms all the way out and yelled "We're up here." He started laughing. When he got to our row of seats he passed by everyone stopping at me and said "Love the shirt." I was a little embarrassed. Today at church I was coming out of the Bishops (another man from church who leads the LDS people who go with me) office and the Stake President was going in. He said "Oh, Allison it's you. I didn't recognize you without your Edward shirt on." I just started laughing. He told me he thought it was great.

WARNING: If you haven't seen the movie yet you won't want to read the next part. There are some spoilers.

About the movie, I can't go in to everything I loved and disliked. I will just say a couple things. I wasn't excited about the person playing Edward. By the end of the movie he had grown on me and it was okay (just okay). I was disapointed in the meadow scene and I thought Alice should of played a bigger role. I loved when Edward popped the dent out of Bella's truck (that was unexpected and funny). I thought Jacob's character was well represented as well as Victoria's. I loved the ending and its made me excited for the second movie. Overall I would of rated it about a 3 out of 5. I still love the version which plays in my head the best! I would love to hear all your reviews.

Edward + Bella = FRIDAY NIGHT

Yes, It's finally here!!! The Twilight movie opens this Friday! Can't wait. Oh, I'm so excited I can hardly stand myself!!!! This will be DELICIOUS (if you know what I mean)!

I need to thank Holly for creating this post on one of my favorite quotes of Edwards. And a big thank you for Jodi who spent time creating the header to match my page. I'm so lucky to have such creative friends!

Get Ready, Get Set, . . . . . . . MOVE!

It's now official, the Rasmussen Family is moving to Holland (Netherlands)!!!! Jon accepted a two year job assignment which is located in Enkhuizen, Holland, Netherlands. We are soooooo excited! I've always wanted to go to Europe and now I get to live there for two years! Our adventure should start sometime in January. Oh, it's going to get CRAZY around here. We will go house hunting in December, start dutch language lessons ASAP and need to go through everything we own and decide whether to take, keep or garbage. I say bring it on and let the adventure begin!!!!

HALLOWEEN

For Halloween Bailee dressed up like Hannah Montana, Chase was a Fireman, and Talynn went as a Princess. They got TONS of candy. I think they are still on a sugar high because it's Sunday and they are still running around out of control!

Troop 966 went Camping

We experienced our first scout campout this past weekend. We loaded up the truck and headed to Cuivre River State Park. The men in charge had lots of stuff planned for the scouters.

We listened to a Forest Ranger talk about animals seen in the park. He let the kids pet a snake. Both Talynn and Chase thought that was awesome.

We went on a hike. It's hard to tell in this picture but the park was beautiful. I couldn't believe all the colors of the leaves.

We helped gather prairie grass seed so the rangers could plant it in other places to help the vegetation.

We enjoyed relaxing and hanging out with new friends at our camp site. The best part of the camp out was the program Saturday night. It was too dark to get pictures but the scouts and leaders performed skits, told scout jokes and sang scout songs. Some of the skits and songs were absolutely hilarious. I don't think Jon and I have laughed that hard in a long time. It was great spending time together as a family.

HOLLAND

Just wondering, Does anyone know anything about Holland as in the Netherlands?
Okay, so Holly wants me to be more specific. I'm actually wondering about a little town in Holland called Enkhuizen. I would like to know if any of you have ever visited Holland and can give me some insight on the way of life in that part of the world.

Tiger Cub

It's official, Chase is a Tiger Cub!!! He had his first Den Meeting last night. I don't know who was more excited Chase or Jon. Don't they look so cute in their uniforms?! Jon was trying to convince Chase to wear his uniform on Halloween. Jon told him everyone will give him lots of candy when they see he is a Boy Scout.

Corn Maze

On Rita's Farm is a corn maze. While we were at the farm we decided to go through the maze. Bailee and Jon have been through it so many times they have it memorized. It was getting dark when we started. Within 15 minutes it was very dark. Bailee was carrying the flashlight when we noticed Jon was missing. I knew what he was up to but didn't want to scare the kids. We found all the markers in the maze and was on our way out when Jon popped out of the corn and scared us. Bailee and Chase screamed (okay, I did too). Talynn just looked at me and said "daddy". It was great spending time together.

Rita's Farm

There is a cute little farm just down the road from us. I think Jon found it the first week we moved here. He takes the kids there all the time. Last night for Family Home Evening (we reserve Monday night to do something as a family and call it Family Home Evening) we went to the farm. There was a new batch of baby kittens so we walked back to the barn to see them. Talynn LOVES the kittens.

TALLY

So, last night I'm helping Bailee and Chase with their spelling words and I hear Talynn talking to someone. I look over and she has her purse (of course), stroller and baby. That's when I noticed her other accessory. She had put on Chase's church tie. I started laughing. She has always been about her accessories and apparently she thinks this tie is a good fashion statement. I couldn't resist taking a picture. It really cracked me up!




Since this post is about Talynn I thought I would insert something else she did today. While I was working on some church stuff Tally was playing in her bedroom. I could hear her talking to her baby doll. I thought for sure everything was okay. Then, she came in to my bedroom and I saw what had been happening. She had found a blue sharpie and colored all over her baby. I said "Tally, what are you doing?" She replied, "Church mommy, Church". That's when it all came back to me. A couple weeks ago at church Jon wrote "I love daddy" on Tally's hand. Now her baby has the same marking, except it won't wash off. I thought to myself, "perfect opportunity for a teaching moment". So, I tried to explain to a two year old that we don't write on ourselves or our babies. I told her it makes us look ugly. She replied with "No, mommy. Church, daddy." Another teaching moment down the drain!

Time Out for Women

Last Saturday I left my family behind and went to a conference called Time Out for Women. For those of you wondering what this is, well, it's a day full of inspirational talks and music. I've never gone before but when I found out Jane Clayson Johnson was going to be there I knew I wanted to go. For those of you who don't know Jane Clayson Johnson, she is a Journalist who first worked for KSL News in Salt Lake City and later moved to New York City and co-hosted the CBS morning show with Bryant Gumbel. I have always loved Jane Clayson. She was my news woman growing up. I always thought she was beautiful and stood for what she believed in. She has recently written a book called "I am a Mother". I'm currently reading this book and it is amazing. I would recommend it to every woman.












I know this picture looks like I'm crying but I really wasn't. I was just telling Jane how much I love and adore her and I guess I was just in the moment. After all, she is a celebrity.

Hilary Weeks also performed. This was the first time I've ever heard her music. It was fabulous. I ended up buying her CD and have listened to it several times everyday. (Ela you would love it.) She has a song called "Just Let Me Cry". I love this song. It's about someone you love becoming sick and dieing. I have many days when I want to talk to my mom and I end up crying. This song reassures me that it's okay to cry, just let it out so you can feel better.

This is a picture of some of my friends who also went. There were about 20 of us total. I'm so glad I took the opportunity to go. I learned so much about myself as a person, a wife and a mother.

It Finally Happened!!!

Chase is an official BIKE RIDER!!! We've been trying for 2 years to get him to ride his bike. The other night I was gone to a meeting (imagine that) and Jon told him to get on it and go. He did and now we can't get him off. He rides it before school, after school and any spare moment. Way to go Chase!!!!

I've been TAGGED!

3 Joys
1. My husband (I think he's handsome). I love his personality but he really makes me laugh when he's done something to himself AGAIN.
2. My kids
3. Running, I know that sounds wierd, but I love getting up in the morning and running.

3 Fears
1. Mice, Rats and any Rodent of such
2. My house burning down (don't know why but I always hold my breath when we are returning from vacation waiting to see if my home is still standing)
3. Something happening to Jon and I raise three kids alone

3 Obsession/Collections
1. Right now my obsession is my blog.
2. Running (can't get enough)
3. One collection is Christmas ornaments (got the idea from my sister-in-law and my friend from North Carolina started mine, Thanks Diane!)

3 Suprising Facts
1. I've skinny dipped. (don't think this is too exciting, it was only with girls.)
2. I'm not having any more children. (that will be surprising to some because many of you thought I would have atleast six)
3. I didn't like Chase's name at first. Jon picked his name and I really didn't like it. Of course, I can't picture him as anything different but at the time I really wanted to name him Kade.

I tag Karen, Amy Rhoades, Crystal, and Michelle (maybe this will get you to start a blog!).

Nancy

Just wanted to introduce you to the newest member of our family. This is Nancy. I started babysitting her a couple of weeks ago. She is two years old and full of life. Talynn's newest word is share. I think it's because I'm saying it non stop while her and Nancy are playing. It has been nice having someone for Talynn while Bailee and Chase are at school. Oh, and just in case you are wondering why Talynn is in a swimsuit, well, it's her new thing. She wears a different swimsuit everyday. The neighbors get the biggest kick out of it. Even if she has clothes on, the swim suit is underneath. Wonder how long this will last?

Guess Who?

I came across these pictures and I can't figure out who these people are. Does anyone have a clue who they might be?

And the Winner is . . .

For Labor day our Church had a picnic. There was a cookie contest. Bailee decided she wanted to enter. So, Monday morning she made her first batch of cookies. She made peanut butter with a hershey kiss on top. She did a fabulous job. After the judging took place they called her name for first place. She was so excited. She got a gold medal. Congratulations Bailee!!!

1/2 Marathon Pics

Pictures of Lori and I starting the race. We started at 6:00 a.m. We saw the sun rise over the mountains. It was beautiful.

I finished the race a little before Lori so I got a good picture of her crossing the finish line.

Us at the end of the race with our medals. I'm so proud of my medal. I show everyone that comes to visit. It drives Jon crazy. So now I wear it just to bug him. Jon didn't think this was a big deal and thought anyone could just go do it. So, he got on the treadmill at work and ran 13.5 miles. He finished but now he can't walk and has hurt his ankle. He now knows it is a big deal and respects me more for completing my goal.

On our way home we stopped and took a picture of this awesome rock tunnel. Lori wanted me to walk closer to get a better picture but I could hardly walk (I didn't stretch good after the race) so I told her to just hurry and snap the picture. If you look super close you can see my medal (I'm inserting this note for Jon. HE HE!)

UNLIMITED PLAY VIDEO from Ty Cobb on Vimeo.

We helped film this video for Zachary who is in Bailee's Primary Class. If you look closely you will see Bailee and Chase in some of the shots. The Blakemore's are our good friends. I taught Zach in Primary when we first moved here. He is the sweetest boy. His dad is a huge LA Lakers fan so him and Jon watch basketball together (even if they both hate each other's teams). This park they built is fabulous. My kids love to go there. If any of you come visit we will take you there (hint, hint)!

First Day of School

Today is the first day of School. The kids were so excited. Bailee is a big 3rd Grader and Chase starts 1st. Chase has been so worried about me being home without him. I had to reassure him this morning that mom would be okay and Talynn would take good care of me. Bailee was excited to get back to all her friends. Bailee also wanted to show off her new backpack. She is very excited about it because it rolls like a suitcase.

I'm so obsessed with watching the Olympics I had to change my background. GO USA!!!

Another Hair Cut

I don't know what the deal is around here but we had another "accidental" hair cut. Bailee found gum in her hair and decided to cut it out all by herself. This resulted in visiting the beauty shop because I couldn't fix this one. She had to cut about 3 or 4 inches off. I actually think Bailee looks adorable in this cut. Bailee still isn't talking to me because she thinks I had too much cut off. Oh well, it's just hair, right?