Hey it's Brad updating my mom's blog. It's been a while since we've updated the blog so I have a lot to say. In February we went to Florida with Eddie and his family, Shelley and her girls, and Fudge, Grandma, and Gavin. We went to see great-grandpa Lindbloom because Tanner, Anna and I have not met him before. While we were in Florida we got to play at the beach, go parasailing, see grandpa Lindbloom, and a lot more. We convinced my mom and Shelley to go parasailing even though they were scared out of their wits. Seeing grandpa Lindbloom was great. We got a lot of awesome pics and a great family one. Playing at the beach was really fun. The water was warm and the waves were big. The only problem was that I was sick the first couple of days. After a little rest and puking I was feeling a lot better and I got to enjoy the rest of the trip. We got to visit Kennedy Space Center and tour around. We saw lots of alligators and tropical birds. We even got to go on a flight simulator ride. It was very realistic!
In March, we had spring break and my mom took us kids and three friends to Sunriver. We got to go ice-skating, get milkshakes, ride bikes, and play black jack and Texas Hold’Em. It was really fun. We played Texas Hold’Em with candy as chips. The last night Tanner got hit in the eye so he went to bed early. We headed home wanting more but, we had to get back to school. The third quarter ended and all of us kids had exceptional grades. We are now half way through the fourth quarter and summer is on the way. I am going to be in the musical “The Wizard of Oz” for my Ensemble at my school. I am going to be the Tin Man. In my journalism class my teacher is having us make our own newspapers all by ourselves. They have to be at least four pages long. I am really excited. Anna is half way through her soccer season and her team is still undefeated as my mom as the assistant coach. Dad works hard at work and at home. He is always helping us and our family out. Mom always works hard at home cleaning house and taking care of us kids. Tanner is busy working on his school work getting awesome grades. Our family is very blessed to have the life that we have. Oops! Time for dinner. I’ll talk to you all soon!

Busy, Busy

Brad made it back from the inauguration after many a plane delay. He had a great time and met some new friends that he is still in contact with. Check out the link to the right for his pictures. It’s great that he can take so many pictures, but keep in mind that he is a 13 year old boy, so they may not be the best pictures to capture the moment. Anna has had a couple of basketball games on Saturdays. Her games are actually really good. I think she understands the whole offense/defense thing, rebounding, and making good plays because she has watched the boys play for so long. She has rarely missed one of their games. She usually just brings a bag with Polly Pockets or something to color and spends hours watching basketball. It’s paying off now for her. She is really good. I like it when she gets to do something well and is recognized for it because she is so good at tagging along with the boys to their various activities. this picture is of her friend, Corinne, and Anna after a game. I can't seem to get a good picture of her playing. My camera is picking up the warm colors making everything orange and fuzzy. I'll look at the settings and try to get something to post later. We are almost half way through an every Saturday ski season. The kids are really progressing. The boys can not only ski every run, but are now working on skiing every run backwards. I saw them in practice last weekend skiing backwards down Comer. It was pretty funny. Tanner ended up needing new twin-tip skis this year. He chose red (his favorite color since birthJ) and can really cruise on them. We are getting a little exhausted with the busy schedule. Luckily the school ski program ended last week so we are now only at the mountain once or twice each week. Good thing we like it! We are headed to Florida next week to see my grandparents. I have wanted Chris and the kids to meet them for so long and we just had to make the commitment to go visit them. It is so wrong that they have never met. My grandpa has such a wonderful life story and I want Chris and the kids to meet him before it’s too late. We can go to Hawaii anytime, but grandparents won’t be there forever. We plan on seeing the shuttle lift off on the 12th. If all goes as planned, we hope to be visiting Kennedy Space Center the day of lift-off. The weather is really iffy in February in Florida, so we’ll see how it goes. I just need some sun!

Brad in DC 5

Brad had a full and eventful last day in DC. They ended being able to go to the National Museum of American History. He got to see all kids of artifacts that have contributed to the history of the United States like the first American flag, the original Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch, the Ruby Slippers, and an entire exhibit about Abraham Lincoln. He learned so much about President Lincoln, his wife, and life. They also made it to Ford’s Theater to learn even more. He gained a new perspective and more respect for our 16th president. They then went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery has a portrait of each US President and a portrait of them with their dog. He really liked seeing the portraits and likes Ronald Regan’s dog the best. J They then got to vote on which dog the Obama’s should get, so of course, he voted for the dog from a shelter. They ate breakfast and lunch at the Ronald Regan Building again. He says he is about done with food courts. Dinner was going to be at his hotel so they could get their things together for the trip home. He is really excited to get back. As of last night, he had taken about 300 pictures. That’s my boy! He doesn’t want to get any emails of addresses of his roommates because he thinks they are juvenile. It bothered him when they would just go on and on about “lame stuff,” and try to pull pranks on the other delegates. He said it was funny at first, but got old. They are in 6th grade and the age difference was just enough to keep Brad happy for the week, but no longer. He met some other great people to correspond with and made some great memories while he was there. He wants to go back with family and show us around. Maybe next year...

Brad in DC 4

Brad called just after lunch this morning just to check in. They had just come out of a performance of “Sheer Madness” at the Kennedy Center. The play is an interactive murder-mystery. He thought it was really good. They had breakfast a t 6:45 this morning before heading out. They went to the News Museum first thing. After that, they went to the Kennedy Center. They ate lunch there and were going to the Spy Museum next. He is really looking forward to seeing all the Spy Museum has to offer. He’s planning on getting Anna and Tanner some cool gifts there. I can see exactly what he’s thinking: spy glasses and a watch that shoots darts. They were planning on a trip to the White House after that. Dinner tonight is at their hotel and then they are going to get their bags together for the trip home tomorrow. He said it’s colder today than it was yesterday because of the wind. He said he would check in after they got home tonight. It sounds like another busy and fun day for him.

Brad in DC 3

We have been waiting and waiting all day when Brad finally called tonight. We were at the South game so I took his call in the lobby. It was still loud, but I think I got the most of what he said. His roommates and he were supposed to be on the bus by 5:30 this morning and they woke up at 5:14. None of them heard the wake-up call so they had to scramble to get ready. They made it on time though. Brad almost forgot his phone and camera but his leader let him go back up to his room and get them. He then realized he forgot his lanyard which has all of his own personal information and his PTP info. He was too embarrassed to ask to go up to his room a second time so he went without it. He skipped breakfast because they were serving blueberry yogurt and little pastries that he didn’t care for. He thought they would have a chance to get something to eat a little later in the morning. The bus took them within a mile of the National Mall where they had to get out and walk the rest of the way. His group of 12 ended up about half-way between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building, near 7th Street. They had a great view of all the festivities. He took pictures of all the celebrities he saw: Steve Carell, Jamie Foxx, Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban, Shakira, to name a few, plus all of the political celebrities. He thought George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Bush were very attractive in their matching outfits. To entertain guests before the inauguration began, some singers gave concerts at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Monument. He saw and heard Josh Groban and Aretha Franklin sing a duet. When the inauguration was over, he got separated from his group. They had a plan in place in case anyone got lost so he didn’t panic. He said there were about 100 people in a 10’x5’ space with him, going in the opposite direction that he wanted to go. There was no way he could keep with his group. It took about 2 hours for the group of 12 kids and their leader to find each other and re-group. They didn’t stick around to watch the parade knowing it would take a while to get back to the hotel. They needed to be to their ball on time. The got back to the hotel at around 4:30 where he finally got to eat lunch. He was famished. The ball was from 6:30 – 10:00 at their hotel. He ended up asking, Hailey, a girl from Texas, to the ball. I asked if she was a Bush fan but he didn’t ask her. He didn’t want to make it awkward if she wasn’t. But he did win the contest for the cutest girl. He said the ball was so fun and they danced the whole night. There was a live band that was really good but he couldn’t remember their name. He really liked the ball and getting dressed up. He called me on his way to bed knowing I had called him a few times wondering what was going on. We just wanted to hear from him and know everything was ok. We knew he was fine, but it’s always good to hear it first-hand. They are going out again first thing in the morning to visit the Spy Museum, which he is really excited to see, the White House grounds, the National Air and Space Museum, and ending the day with a play at the Kennedy Center – another full day. He should be thoroughly exhausted when he comes home on Thursday. It was so good to hear from him. He sounded really light. He was in good spirits and obviously had a great day.

Brad in DC 2

Brad called again tonight, tired and anxious for tomorrow. He had a very full and exciting day. They started off by going to Arlington National Cemetery. He was there when they had the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He wanted to know if we had ever heard of it! We laughed out loud at that. That was funny to me because I remember having a conversation with him about it when Stephanie and Jeremy went there last year. I guess he didn’t pay much attention back then. He thought it was really cool how the attending soldier walks 21 steps in each direction back and forth until their hour-long guard is over and the next solider begins. He kind of ‘got’ the revered responsibility of the guards and really respected their job. He saw Robert F. Kennedy and JFK’s graves and eternal flame. Buried next to JFK is, of course his wife, but I didn’t know they had 2 children that died in infancy that are buried there as well. JFK and President Taft are the only 2 presidents buried there. All others, except Woodrow Wilson are buried in their own home states. They went to the Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center for lunch. After lunch, they went to Mt. Vernon. He loved seeing George Washington’s home. There were about 25,000 people there when he was there today. His leaders aren’t really worried about their security, only about the crowds. They went to Mt. Vernon as a test of sorts. Everything went well. He saw George Washington’s dentures. They aren’t actually made of wood, but human and animal teeth. The group spent most of their time in the museum because of the crowds. They then went to see all of the presidential monuments and war memorials. He got a picture and a pencil rubbing of a Charles Lindbloom. I’m sure we are related somewhere. While at the Lincoln Memorial, which they could only see from a distance because it is closed for the inauguration, they saw Bono from U2 giving a “very loud” concert. He heard that Josh Groban was on stage but didn’t see him. He knew I would like a picture of him, so he really searched, but couldn’t find him. Guess we’ll have to just go to a concert. He saw the CIA Building, the Pentagon, and the White House. He is looking forward to going to the Spy Museum and touring the White House grounds. There aren’t any tours of the inside of the White House this week, so the grounds will suffice. He got into a slight argument with a girl over Sarah Palin. The girl didn’t like Sarah and had a bunch of nasty things to say about her, calling her stupid, irresponsible, etc. He said he had enough of the girl and told her that if Sarah was really that stupid, why could she continue and finish her speech even after a teleprompter had shut down. I had totally forgotten about that. It sounded like his opinions were backed with intelligent answers. I told him not to argue with anyone anymore because emotions are high right now and people like that will go on and on – don’t waste his breath on lame girls that just say what they have just heard their parents say. He agreed with a “humph.” He is excited for the Inaugural Ball tomorrow night. He and his roommates have a bet going to see who can take the cutest girl as their date – he won’t be asking the Palin hater. We went over all of the reminders of being a gentleman. He is taking his phone with him so he can send a picture message to us. He really loves the whole experience and sounds so excited for the next adventure. We miss him of course, but know the things he is learning cannot be taught in school. He is witnessing history first hand. Good for him to embrace it all.

Brad in DC 1

These pictures are of Brad in his suit that he is wearing to an Inaugural Ball on Tuesday night. I wanted to take his picture to make sure we got to see him dressed up. He wasn’t so up for it. He can tie his own tie and everything. Now if his luggage will just get there. His luggage got sent on a different plane than he was on. That plane got diverted to Las Vegas because of mechanical problems. It is supposed to arrive today. He has called a few times to check in. This morning, they went to listen to a speech given by Mary Eisenhower and another by Ken Walsh, the editor of US News. Brad called when they were on their way to Union Station for lunch. After lunch, they were going to the Vietnam Memorial and Arlington. He said it is very cold with snow on the ground. He took his ski coat so he is keeping warm. One of his roommates is from Florida and the other from Wisconsin. He said they are nice but a like to bend the rules just a little; that’s good for him. He says DC is just like any other big city. They aren’t supposed to be on their cell phones, so he had to go really quick when his leader came walking down the bus aisle. He’ll call again tonight.