Today we wish George (Sandy’s dad) a very happy birthday as he turns 90 years young. We put an ad in today’s paper to honor the occasion, and we were delighted to see that he ended up on both the front page and on page A8! We’re taking him out to dinner tonight, we’ll be sure to take a few photos. Here’s an “enhanced” version of the newspaper ad, in case you missed it. 7/18/2010 Update: We just uploaded the rest of George’s Birthday photos from church today and from this afternoon’s party. Click here to take a look.
Category Archives: News
Brianna’s Graduation Party
We attended Brianna’s High School Graduation party today. Had a lot of fun and some great food! Take a look at all the pics!
Big thunderstorm does damage in Mike’s and Debbie’s Neighborhoods
We had a big thunderstorm pass through Kenosha today, and it did a lot of damage around town. Sandy’s brother Mike and her cousin Debbie both had some tree damage. Sandy went out and took some photos and Mike took a few himself. They’re all in the photo set I just uploaded. Click on the thumbnail to take a look.
Joe’s High School Graduation Party
We attended Pam’s son Joey’s High School Graduation Party this afternoon. It took place in their backyard, and everyone had a great time. The food was just amazing too. It did rain through a lot of the party, but they had a tarp for everyone to hide under, so it wasn’t so bad. Click on the thumbnail to view the photos we took, or click here for a nice slideshow
PTSD Seminar
Sandy and about 50 other participants attended a PTSD program that was held Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church. Michael S. Orban was the keynote speaker for the event. Sandy took several photos and also recorded the audio from the event.
47 years and still a geek
I just posted a few pics from my 47th birthday. 47. Man, where did the time go? The milestones slowly go from “YAY!” to “ACK!” I’ve noticed. Anyway, I’m not going to dwell on it. Every day I wake up is another gift at this point. I’ll take it. Now let’s see what I can do with it…
Pool Opening
We helped Woody open her pool last weekend. Ty asked if he could help open it, after helping us close it last year. He helped alright, then he asked if he could be the first of the season to go in. Unfortunately I forgot the camera, but Woody’s neighbor used her cell phone and snapped a photo. Click on the thumbnail to view it. It’s not much bigger than the thumbnail, but it’s all we got. The water was 58 degrees, so he got out pretty quickly, but ended up jumping in a few more times just to show off (and chill out).
Brianna had her baby!
Brianna had her baby just minutes ago. Her name is Tessa Jade. She is 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and 19 inches long! Brianna was in labor since 11:30pm last night! Wow! I’ll add some pictures in a day or two, after we take some.
5/8/2010 – Update: Sandy took some photos today. Click on this one to view them: 
Brianna & Jeff’s Baby Shower
Brianna had her baby shower today and Sandy attended. The baby’s name is Tessa Jade, and she’s due May 14th. Click here for the photos
April is here
A co-worker got me today with a simple, yet potentially very effective practical joke. I came back from lunch and sat down at my workstation to use the computer and the mouse cursor wouldn’t move. I moved the mouse around faster, trying to get some sort of response from it, but got nothing. Being the geek that I am–and having helped users with this same issue many times in the past–I started checking things. I guess I got lucky and did the right thing first–I flipped the mouse over to check the mechanism. On the bottom, covering the laser sensor, was a sticker that said “April Fools! :)”. Nice.
So I brought the idea home and did it to both Kevin and my wife. It didn’t quite work right with Kevin though. I asked him to check a website for me. When he couldn’t get the mouse working on his laptop in his room, I heard some violent shaking and banging around in his room, then he came out complianing that his mouse isn’t working. He looked angray and almost ready to cry. I told him to calm down and work through it. I asked him “What would you do to try to fix it?” He said “I checked, it’s plugged in!” I asked “Anything else you can check?” After a few long moments of considering this, he flipped it over to check it. Then he yelled at me, saying “You MEANIE!”. He was all set to tattle to his mother about me and I waved him off, silently motioning that I did it to her mouse as well. She was in the living room watching TV, and starting to get curious of what was going on and while Kevin was angry at me.
Kevin kept quiet once he realized what I was saying, and Sandy dropped the questioning, so I figured I might still be able to pull it off on her too. I had to go out shortly after this though, and she only mentioned passively later on that she had found my April Fools joke. Kevin says he didn’t spoil it, but I’m not buying it. Kevin’s a mama’s boy and he can’t keep a secret. I’m sure he helped her as soon as she ran into trouble. I thought she might call me on my cell while I was out if she had a problem with the computer, as usual, but no such luck. Kevin probably bailed her out, but no one is fessing up, so I guess I’ll never know.
I thought it was a neat little prank though, much better than finding out your wife got picked for JURY DUTY! Which I convinced myself was an April Fools joke my wife was just taking to an extreme…until I got home and she showed me the official letter from the court. Can you believe that? What a day to get picked for Jury Duty! Now, time to go over the postal stamp and verbage of the letter for signs of an intricate hoax…
UFO Museum
I finally uploaded another batch of photos from our AZ to WI road trip. These are all from our stop in Roswell, New Mexico to check out the UFO Museum. Lots of fascinating evidence and artwork! I uploaded over 100 of the photos I took. Enjoy!
Living on the Edge
We got a new car this week. A Ford Edge. Sandy chose the color, I chose some of the innards. We have a lot of learning to do with these newfangled computerized car thingies everywhere. Even a geek like me can feel overwhelmed at times. I uploaded a few photos, take a look. Yes, a lot of it is powered by Microsoft, and I know the drill””My car could possibly give me the Blue Screen of Death or even require weekly updates and antivirus protection””but so far so good, no evidence of any of that stuff. I haven’t heard anything bad about Sync, but I think it’s fairly new. After reading Daemon and Freedom by Daniel Suarez, I know we’re taking a risk, but I don’t think the world is quite at the “Auto Mate” stage just yet. The goodies are a blast though, that’s for sure.
Ginger Wegmann
Ginger, Sandy’s brother Mike’s wife, passed away last Sunday, after a long struggle with cancer. She will be greatly missed. Here is her obituary from the Bruch Funeral Home site: Virginia A. “Ginger” Wegmann, 54, of Kenosha, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family Sunday, February 21, 2010 at Washington Manor. She was born on August 31, 1955 to James and Margie (Kegley) Hamilton in Zion, IL. She graduated high school from the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped in Janesville.
She then received her associate degree in Human Services from Gateway Technical School. Ginger married Michael Wegmann on August 2, 1986 in Kenosha. Ginger was an active member of CrossWay Community Church. Her dedication and love for the church touched many lives and was returned just as strong, particularly during her bouts with cancer. She also helped her dear friend Annie take care of her handicapped daughter through Society’s Assets. Ginger was an avid doll collector, with Princess Diana and Shirley Temple being her favorites. She enjoyed camping, PartyLite candles and collectibles, bowling on her Wii system. She also loved Tinkerbell, which she got to meet on a special trip to Disney World, where Ginger got to enjoy the experience through the eyes of her very dear neice Britney.
Ginger is survived by many loving relatives, including her husband Mike of Kenosha; her children, Timm Sinnen of Cudahy and Tiana Honey of Elkhorn; her father James Hamilton of Rockford, IL; her sisters Deb (Bob) McDermott of Pleasant Prairie, Sue (Tom) Rasmussen of Rockford, IL and Mela Hamilton of Kenosha; her brother Kelly Hamilton of Germany; her stepson Scott M. Wegmann of Norfolk, VA; and her father-in-law George Wegmann, brother-in-law Rick Wegmann, and sister-in-law Sandra (Jimmy) Trottier, all of Kenosha. She is also survived by her niece Britney Gates, with whom she helped raise and felt a mother-like bond; Maryann Engelhart of Union Grove, and her mother Isabelle Johnson, whom Ginger considered a second mother; Linda Brocksom of Kenosha; Terrie Gilliland of Kenosha; and many nieces, nephews, and close friends. She was preceded in death by her mother Margie, her brother Frank, and her brother-in-law Dennis Wegmann.
A celebration of Ginger’s life will be held on Saturday, February 27th at 3:00 p.m. at CrossWay Community Church (13905 ““ 75th St.). Visitation will also be at CrossWay prior to the service, starting at 1:30p.m. Memorials would be appreciated to the American Cancer Society, CrossWay Community Church, or to the Wisconsin Council for the Blind. The family would like to thank the staff at Washington Manor, Hospice Alliance, Dr. Jeffrey Trimark, and CrossWay Community Church for the loving care given to Ginger. Bruch Funeral Home 3503 Roosevelt Road Kenosha, WI 53142 262-652-8298 Visit and sign Ginger’s Online Memorial Book at www.bruchfuneralhome.net
Snow Sculpting 2010
We went to the US Nationals Snow Sculpting Championships this weekend! The competition was all this week and the judging was yesterday. Today was viewing day, so we went today to check them out. There were several great ones this year, and it looked like only one of them collapsed this time. Click on the thumbnail image to view the photo set. As usual, there are several photos of each sculpture along with their original drawings and the team signs. I missed the actual names for a couple of the best sculptures though, so I did my best to name them appropriately. There’s also a few photos of Kevin and Ty who accompanied me. We listened to the audiobook “Daemon” by Daniel Suarez on the trip there and back. I got Ty hooked on it–now he wants to listen to the whole thing. It sure made the drive go by quick–as usual!
The Flight
I posted another batch of photos from my Arizona Trip. Chronologically, this is the first batch–everything taken during my flight to Phoenix. It was the first time I’ve flown too, so it was an interesting experience. I had a window seat, so I took a lot of photos during the flight. I didn’t realize plane windows were so tiny though–it made it a little bit restrictive, but I think I managed to capture a few good ones. The sunrise shots from above the clouds are my favorites from this set. Click on the thumbnail image, or here, to view the set.
Ty’s Surprise
This is the video I took when we arrived back from Arizona to surprise Tyler. Jay called Ty once we got into Kenosha after driving from Arizona and he told him on the phone to get on the PS3 in about 15 minutes so they can video chat. Ty had no idea his dad was actually in Kenosha. When we arrived, Jay came into the house behind me and was bundled up to cover his face. He even spoke a couple times before Ty finally realized who it was.
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And while we’re talking about Ty, here’s another video of him flying a tiny radio-controlled UFO that I picked up during our recent Arizona-to-Wisconsin road trip. We stopped in Roswell, New Mexico and I found this UFO in the gift shop at the UFO Museum. I thought it would be the perfect souvenir for Kevin, so I picked it up. This is one of Ty’s more successful attempts at a perfect flight.
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Dylan’s First Birthday Party
Dylan (Linda and Kerry’s son) had his 1st birthday party last weekend at Chuck E. Cheese’s. We attended the party with Kevin and took lots of photos. As usual, you know what to do to view them…
Arizona-to-Wisconsin Road Trip
I just uploaded the first batch of photos from the road trip that Jay and took from Arizona to Wisconsin. This first batch is mostly mountains. I was very fascinated, having never seen a mountain “in-person” before. Jay took me up to the top of South Mountain in Phoenix, where I was able to just go nuts and snap hundreds of photos of everything I could. Time was very limited though, as we were on a rather tight schedule, so most photos were take from the car while moving. I did my best to take the best of them, punch them up a bit, and post them here, so I hope they look ok. Click on the thumbnail image to view them. The next batch coming up after this one is from our stop in Roswell, New Mexico. Still editing those though, but they’ll be up soon.
The Achmed Files
Jay and I recently went on a cross-country road trip from Arizona to Wisconsin. We took Achmed The Dead Terrorist with us on our trip and he forced us to take a photo of him at each milestone stop we made. Here are the photos–which he also forced me to post immediately. We took hundreds of other non-Achmed photos and had a great time, but I’ll be sifting through all of those for a few more days before posting the best ones on the site. For now though, check out Achmed in each of the states we travelled though.
In Alien Territory
Greetings from Roswell, New Mexico! Jay and I are here searching for alien phenomenon during our cross-country road trip from Phoenix to Kenosha. Achmed the Dead Terrorist is tagging along with us, and he insists on us taking his photo at every stop we make, so we’ll be sure to post those soon. He doesn’t like to share the covers either, so it’s going to be a cold night for one of us in the motel room tonight! Whenever we try to take the covers back, he screams “I KEEL YOU!”. With any luck we should be back in Kenosha some time time Monday, December 28th. We’re going to stop in St. Louis on the way home too and get some pictures of the Arch. It’s a blast! Be back soon with the photos!
JimTrottier.com 