The Day After Christmas....

Well, the day after Christmas was relaxing, but we had a few things to accomplish...

We actually took a trip to Wal-Mart in the morning. We went there about 9:30. We were thinking it would be busy, but it was not busy at all. It was actually kind of nice.

Our purpose for being there -- we had a gift card of Luke's to redeem, and we needed a couple of other things.

This gift card of Luke's was a gift from the owners of Graber Backhoe -- the small excavation company I do some very parttime work for. We feel very touched that they provided Luke a gift for Christmas.

What did Luke get? Well, take a look at the "popper" -- you know, one of those classic toys that we all had and that probably many kids have today.

The toy has been a H.U.G.E. hit in this household. Luke has loved it!





If you look closely in these photos, you'll notice Luke has a Lionel Train t-shirt on.

That was one of those "unplanned" purchases....Marc saw them on sale for $3 during this trip. We thought they were cute. We knew we had $3 to spare in the family budget.

He wore it today (Sunday). He looked very cute in it -- at least in our opinion.

After the brief shopping trip, we hung out at home.

After Luke's nap in the afternoon, we had a birthday party that we were invited to attend. The party was for our neighbors -- Erwin & Gertrude Olson, or Dr. & Mrs. Olson as some know them.

Dr. & Mrs. Olson are a fantastic couple in our neighborhood. They're of "elderly" age, but they certainly don't act elderly. The birthday party was a double party celebrating their 90th birthdays. Yep -- I said 90th birthdays.

Dr. Olson's 90th birthday was back in November. Mrs. Olson's birthday is coming up in May, 2010.

Marc and I think they're 90 going on about 55 or so.

Seriously, they are the most "going strong" 90 year-olds I have ever seen in my life.

They've been married nearly 70 years (I'm not sure of the exact number), and they really do spend time together :) But, for some reason, I wasn't able to get a photo of them together.

First, here's a photo of Mrs. Olson -- with the red lipstick, looking up -- talking to a guest.



And, here's Dr. Olson -- in the suit and tie.



And, when I say going strong, here's what I mean --

**Dr. Olson still skies in Colorado each winter.
**They both still play golf.
**They still live in the same house they've probably lived in for 50 years or so -- a two-story house.
**This house has a indoor swimming pool that they still care for.
**They still swim laps more than once a week in this indoor swimming pool.
**Last year, they traveled up to Minnesota to watch their grandson graduate from college.
**When the ice storm hit our area five years ago, they were the first in the neighborhood to have their yard cleaned up.
**They both still do yard work.
**I still see Mrs. Olson hanging laundry on the closeline when it's nice outside.
**When we've had neighborhood gatherings, Dr. & Mrs. Olson are the prime entertainers.
**Mrs. Olson still plays the piano and violin.
**Dr. Olson sings in his church choir.

I could go on and on....They really are inspirational.

Some of you may know Dr. Olson as he is a retired pediatrician in this town. They've also been quite involved in the community throughout the years.

When the weather's been nicer, they've frequently talked with Luke and me as we've been out on our walks. They LOVE seeing Luke in the jogging stroller.

So, back to this party....

Their children and grandchildren threw this party for them. They had many photos to share in the hallways.



Here's a poster of many more photos that were shared....Sorry -- it turned out a bit blurry.



And, my personal favorite of photos -- their wedding photo. Again -- I'm not sure of the year. I'll have to ask them sometime.



When we first received the invitation, I didn't see anything on the invitation about kids being invited. So, when I e-mailed their daughter-in-law for our R.S.V.P., I asked about small children. She said, "Absolutely, bring him along."

So, we took Luke....He did fairly well. At first, he was typical Luke and was very shy. Then, he came alive and walked all over the place.

But, of course, he did receive some attention....



That was one party we were thankful for the opportunity to attend....

Happy Birthday Dr. & Mrs. Olson! You're fantastic neighbors! We can learn a lot from you guys!

*****

And, for my "blog posting thankfulness," today, I picked # 556....Smooth Peanut Butter.



Don't laugh -- you know you all have your favorite peanut butter. We do too in this household.

I MUCH prefer creamy peanut butter. Marc prefers the crunchy kind. But, since he doesn't eat peanut butter that much, I merely stock creamy peanut butter in our pantry.

And no, from this photo, you can tell "generic" doesn't bother me.

I am thankful for the creation of peanut butter!