Bruce & his lobsters

Bruce was on a team at work that won a contest. Their prize was live New England lobsters. They shipped them overnight to our house & we had to cook them the same day.

Here's Bruce with his little friends. They aren't really red until you cook them. Good thing they had those rubberbands on their claws or they would have pinched him.

This is after we cooked them in boiling water. Now they are red.

I'd never had lobster before. It was good. Luckily they sent bibs and a tool to crack open the shell or we would have been lost. It's work to get the meat out but that was part of the fun. Here's Bruce enjoying the spoils of his win:

Notice the kids aren't in the picture. Ryan was umpiring and Megan was out with friends. This was like "empty nester" practice for us & we did just fine :)

5 VG Boys in their 70s Video

I didn't take many pictures during the 4th of July weekend - I know, I'm bad - but I did get this video of Dad & his brothers in the parade. Aunt Kathy made a sign saying 5 VGs in their 70s and all their names. The sign was on the front of Dad's tractor. Dad led the way since he's the youngest, then Bob, Vernon, Dean, & Bub.

Dad was very careful to have the tractors as similar as possible. They looked great (I'm biased of course) and they got 2nd place in the antique category.

I realize most of us saw this live but thought I'd post the video for Brent & Amy's sake. Maybe Zella will enjoy it too :) Dale, Derek, Ty, & Bruce also drove tractors in the parade so I guess they didn't get to see Dad and his brothers either.

I did get this quick photo of Bruce - big guy on a little tractor :)

It was a fun weekend. Thanks again Mom & Dad for hosting the fun!

Missing link...

Amy VG provided a missing link to the hairstyle path over the past 40 years. This is Brent's hotshot id from 2004. It would fit in between the shiny & shaved look & the current (thankfully different) hairstyle.

Amy says this is called a "reverse head" & if you put the chin hair on his head, it would be quite the afro! I'm sure Brent's goal with this look was intimidation. He wanted to scare the fires out. You're a much friendlier guy than this look projected Brenter!!
Thanks for the pic Amy. I've got some cute little Brentie pictures to wrap up the tribute. I'll post them as soon as I get the scanner humming again :)

Brent - A look back...at his hair!

Here's a quick look back at the many phases and styles of Brent's hair over the past 40 years :)

As a blond...he's 4 in the picture:

Much darker & puffier...upper elementary school/jr. high

Zipper-headed...high school senior picture:

Flat-topped...early college fad:

Flat-top grown out a bit so it's more square...college with friend "Butler".

Side part...post college & probably while living in Colorado even though this picture is in Mom's old farmhouse kitchen (and with Ryan & Barney).

Shiny & shaved look...roughly 4 years after the previous photo since he's driving Ryan to KC after Ryan spent a week harvesting with Gpa.

Hair again - thankfully Amy convinced him to not shave it anymore! Photo at the rehearsal for their wedding in 2006.

I hope you enjoyed the look back via hairstyles :) Happy 40 years Brenter!

More photos from the past to come....

Thanks Brent!

Thanks for 40 yrs of fun with family Brenter! You were always the fun one in the family - always kept us laughing :)

Hanging out in AZ with Mom & Dad:

Taking us all for a mountain bike ride in CO:

Hunting with Art:

Hanging out with the nieces & nephews:

A visit from Uncle Brent was always exciting:

Especially when there was a new baby to see: (I think this is Trey)

We more serious types (aka as me) always appreciated having a fun, funny, adventurous little brother to keep things lively. And as we all get older, nothing adds more spice to life than a visit from Brent, Amy, & Zella!

Happy Birthday Brent & Derek!

Happy Birthday to Brent & Derek. It's the big 4-0 for Brent & #28 for Derek. They are both June 20th at 12 years apart.

I thought I'd post a little look back on this big occasion for Brent. Here are the boys showing off their fancy birthday cakes on birthdays #16 & #4:

Since I have Mom's old pictures and the scanner humming this morning...I've decided to do a little 40 year tribute for Brenter. Stay posted daily for a new flash from the past :)

Ryan's Tournament Weekend

Ryan had a big weekend in Nevada, MO at a baseball tournament over the weekend. His team played 2 games on Saturday & 3 games on Sunday. They played awful on Saturday & I never guessed they'd make it to the championship game on Sunday - but they did. They lost by 1 run and got 2nd place. Here's a photo of the team & their 2nd place trophies:


Ryan is front row, 2nd from the right. He wasn't too happy with 2nd place but everyone else is managing a smile. The team got 2nd place in their last tournament too. At least they give trophies to both teams who make it to the championship game.

The boys had a fun weekend in Nevada since they had a town festival going on & dirt track car races on Saturday night. Mom & Dad came down for the games so I had fun hanging out with them. Megan got on the bus to church camp in Colorado Springs on Sunday. She'll be back on Saturday.