Trojahn Family Blog

2011 Trojahn Christmas Gift Exchange

2011-11-20T18:56:00.000-08:00

Adult gift exchange (Yes, Katie, you are an adult now)---$40 minimum. Ladies buy a woman's gift; Men buy a men's gift.

Kid's gift exchange---$25 minimum.

Jacob buys for Henry
Luke.....William
Ryan....Charlie
Sydney...Ryan
Thomas....Peter
William....Scarlett
Henry....Jacob
Peter.....Luke
Dotty....Miaja
Charlie....Thomas
Scarlett....Aili
Miaja....Dotty
Aili....Sydney

School Projects - Part 2

2011-11-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

Nathan had to build a Rube Goldberg type device for school. It had to use 3 of 4 types of energy (heat, light, sound, motion) to accomplish a task. At first I thought he just had to design and draw one - then I realized we actually had to make something work. Once again we ended up with a rather simple design that met all the requirements. [See post re: Ellen's physics boat]

Without Evan's mammoth speakers I doubt we could have produced a big enough sound wave to move that pinewood derby car off the starting block-even with the car only about 20 millimeters from the bass driver. Evan just happened to have an audiophile sampler of the William Tell Overture WITH real cannons. You never know when you might need that particular item.

My ears are still ringing. It took several tries to get it to work - even with something this simple. All with the volume turned WAY up. I'm surprised the authorities didn't show up.

And I just noticed... How appropriate that somewhere during the filming the screen saver on the TV reverted to the Starship Enterprise. Isn't that your TV wallpaper? Wait, what are you saying? You don't have a computer hanging from the back of your television to watch Hulu and stream iTunes? I'm shocked and embarrassed for you. It's the only way I know of to force you to use 4 remote controls, a keyboard, and a windows network login just to watch last weeks episode of Dancing with the Stars.

School Projects - Physics Boat

2011-09-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

When did school projects turn into parent projects? I already did my time in school. I don't need to do your homework too.

Ellen had to build a boat for physics class. The boat had to be able to hold a 5 pound bag of sand and float for 1 minute, but when the sand was removed and the boat was filled with water it would sink (completely submerged). The teacher also specified that the boat couldn't be box shaped with square corners.

Think about it. The physics is pretty straight forward - although I had to explain it to Ellen about 10 times. What is the major criteria of the boats design to allow it to float carrying 5lbs of sand but sink when full of water?

Figured it out yet? No. Ok, I'll tell you. The hull of the boat has to be capable of holding a volume of water that weighs more than 5lbs. If it holds less than that ,then the boat won't sink. So we know that a gallon of water (or milk) weighs roughly 8.5 lbs. So any boat what would hold a gallon would float with 5lbs of sand and sink when filled with water. So with no specifications on the construction of the boat other than the limit on box shapes, we moved onto the next step.

What can I use to make this boat that won't dissolve in water and requires the least amount of work? A plastic gallon jug! Ellen and I drove to the grocery store and bought a gallon jug of juice. Nathan started drinking large volumes of juice while Ellen cut a hole in the side of the jug large enough to allow the sand to be loaded. We tested it in the kitchen sink and Voila! Floated with a 5 lb bag of sugar (conveniently packaged in that size already) sank like a stone when filled with water. After one final adjustment (attached a weight to the bottom as ballast to reduce rolling if the load wasn't exactly centered) and it was finished.

$5 of juice + 10 minutes = one successful physics boat

Ellen's teacher didn't believe it would work and actually mocked the design. Fool! Bow to the magnificence of it's simplicity. It worked like a charm. A+

Memorial Day 2011

2011-06-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

2011 Trojahn Summer Activities

2011-05-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

ST LOUIS ZOO --Tuesday, June 14 (raindate Friday, June 17)

Meet at the zoo for the morning. Zoo hours are 8am-5pm. Admission is free. Extra charge for some attractions, but some of them are free for the first hour. Parking is free on the road side, but $12 per car if you park in their lot. Bring a picnic lunch and blanket to eat off grounds in a grassy area. Afternoon is up to you!

Check their website for more info
Stingrays $3 person under 2 free
Children's zoo $4 person, under 2 free
Carousel $3 person
Railroad $5 person
Sealion show $3 person

WILDLIFE PRAIRIE PARK, PEORIA-Wednesday, July 13 (rain date Wednesday, July 20)

Wednesdays are carload days. $18 per carload, up to 8 people. Regular admission is $6.50 for 13 years and older, $4.50 for kids 4-12. Kids under 3 is free. Cheapest admission applies. Park hours are 9am-6:30pm. Bring a picnic lunch to eat on grounds at 12:30. Buffalo and Elk are fed at 1pm. Single and double jogger strollers and wagons available for $5.

SCOVILL ZOO AND CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ILLINOIS, DECATUR-Thursday, August 11 (rain date Thursday, August 18)

Thursdays are free at this zoo! Hours are 10-5. Extra charge for carousel ($1.50) and train ride ($2.50). Bring quarters to feed the animals. They have a great play ground at this zoo. Bring picnic lunch. In the afternoon we'll go next door to the children's museum. Admission is $5, under 2 is free.

Hair Raising Syd

2011-04-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Do you think I should wear my hair like this more often????

TROJAHN TRAIT

2011-04-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

The newest addition in the Trojahn Family entrepreneur trade! Soon William will be hanging drywall like his daddy or Papa Trojahn!

Annual Trojahn Christmas

2010-12-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

It is official. Everyone has agreed. The Annual Trojahn Christmas will be Tuesday, December 28th at the gymnasium. If anything goes wrong, it is solely the fault of Mike Trojahn.

Updated Christmas Gift Exchange

2010-11-26T17:07:00.001-08:00

Only one change. Luke buys for Preston, Preston buys for Peter.

Christmas Gift Exchange

2010-11-20T07:05:00.000-08:00

ADULT GIFT EXCHANGE

Adult children bring one gift each. Men bring a gift for men; women bring a gift for a woman. Price limit is $25 or above. Gift exchange will be "white elephant" style, where you can choose a gift to open, or take one that has already been opened. (Mike and Beth do not want to be included in this exchange this year, but probably next year we will do the same, and they will be included.)

CHILDREN'S GIFT EXCHANGE

Kids also have a price limit, $25 or above.

Maija buys for Dotty
Aili.......Thomas

Ellen buys for Charlie
David......Scarlett
Sam........William
Nathan.....Ryan

Henry buys for Sydney
Peter.........Jacob
Dotty.........Katie
Scarlett......Luke
Charlie.........Maija

Sydney buys for Henry
Thomas............Nathan
William..........Aili

Katie buys for Ellen
Jacob .............David
Luke..............Peter
Ryan............Sam

Family Trip to an Apple Orchard

2010-10-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

We all had a wonderful time picking apples. What a beautiful day it was. There were so many to pick, but I picked only one little apple! Came to the conclusion that this apple is spoiled rotten!

Homecoming 2010

2010-10-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

This picture is an accurate snapshot of life in the Auburn Trojahn's home. Our children are always smiling, clean, and well-dressed. They all get along and usally call each other by names such as dear brother, sweet sister, or loved sibling-of-mine. In this case, they couldn't bear to be apart on Homecoming, so they went together with a group of church friends.

NO, I WASN'T IN A BAR FIGHT!

2010-09-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

Hard to say who lost, though. We killed the hornet, but Luke was no winner. His eye was swelled nearly shut for two mornings. Trojahn's DO NOT like hornets.

Labor Day Picnic 2010

2010-09-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Minnesota 2010

2010-09-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

There were many things to be fixed this week at the cabin. One day one, we all realized how leaky the roof was. (We couldn't find any cake pans because they were all around the cabin catching drips!) Dave, Ben, and Mike worked on the roof for a full day, and then some. At one point there was a good-sized hole in the roof and Jacob came in to retrieve tools that had fallen through to the loft.

The old truck also got power washed and fixed. Dave and Ben summoned their inner lumber jacks and felled a dead tree. That included a chainsaw cutting competition (of course). The best part was watching them try to throw a rope and an anchor up to the "Y" in the tree.

Dave fixed the pontoon boat a couple of times. The shower head was replaced. The hole in the out house roof did not get fixed.

Yogi was a vicious dog. He terrorized the neighbors for a few days. Thomas and Luke terrorized each other. That went on for the whole week.

There were some interesting questions asked this week. Beth and Mike will remember, "When is hamburger night?" What Beth went through to find hamburger night! Turns out it was worth it, because hamburger night at Britt's Lounge is to die for. All of us ate for $54, and Ben paid the entire bill.

Thomas asked his Mom, "What are those orange, round balls?" "Oranges," said his Mom.

Jacob discovered Taco night----No, Taconite (a mineral). He also discovered that he DOES NOT like hornets, and vice versa.

Katie bought 20 steamy novels for $1 at the local thrift store. We saw even less of her after that.

Luke caught a leech in the lake. He also embarrassed his Mom at the bear sanctuary by loudly saying that he was going to "shoot the bears."

Sydney proved to be a master berry finder. On a morning walk she collected the most raspberries, and she was the first to spot blueberries.

Grandpa got into trouble...Once when he power washed the deck and boat instead of helping with supper. Again, when he made second breakfast (cinnamon roll pancakes) after Grandma Beth had made homemade biscuits and gravy. (There were other times not mentioned here.) In retrospect, it seems to be all about timing.

Lindsey was really surprised when we gave her cake and ice cream in honor of her birthday. Ben bought her a dress from down town that she had liked the day before.

By far, the biggest surprise of all was when Thomas went outside to go potty. Lindsey and Jacob discovered...Well, let's just say he went in the woods (or the yard).

All said, it was a wonderful, fun week at the cabin--TROJAHN STYLE.

2010-04-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful Easter at Nana and Papa Trojahn's house. We found eggs filled with sugar, we got to play in the camper, and we got put to work... picking up gumballs in Papa's yard!

Guideposts

2010-02-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my Grandma with Luke. She has been a big part of my life. I remember one time she said (and I quote), "I always thought your hair looked nice, but it's been looking kind of wild lately." Maybe it is something only a grandma could get away with, but it was these kind of gentle nudges that kept our family in line.

I've also been thinking a lot lately about how her beauty had nothing to do with fashion and little to do with clothing at all. Her life is a reminder that beauty has everything to do with the heart and the soul of a person.

I am thankful for my Grandma's life and legacy. She knew many losses in her life, but she was always willing to adapt to change with God's help. She was the best listener; and her advice will be greatly missed. I am grateful for all of the guideposts in my life.

Talented Tot

2010-01-18T05:48:00.000-08:00

You've heard Mozart and Beethoven, but now you can listen to Luke.
He may only be two and still take naps, but give him a piano and he will blow you away.

End of an Era

2010-01-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

It is official. Jack has found a new home, and a better one, I might add. Back to that in a minute. My old Jack has been out on a leash for a couple of years now. My heart ached to look out the window and see him out in the weather. Sometimes I avoided looking out the window altogether--you understand.

He now lives with the Meidel family in Chatham. He is an indoor dog once again, enjoying high end Iams food, which the GROOMER recommended. Let's face it, at our house he was lucky to enjoy his monthly heart worm medication!

He was a good old dog. He fit my life perfectly for ten years. I'm so glad that there is a family willing and able to give him the care he needs at this point in his life. I doubt this Trojahn family is done with dogs. I think when the little boys are bigger there will be pets. Until then, happy retirement, Old Dog.

My New Hat

2010-01-05T13:54:00.001-08:00

My Aunt Debbie made me this really neat hat.
It totally brings out my eyes... literally!

Holiday Attacks

2009-11-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

Peter had the Halloween attack. It was bad. Lots of tears, a bath, a fresh costume, and he was on his way.

Luke had a Thanksgiving attack. It was worse. No tears, but there was a trail--and a bath.

It seems fair and likely that the next attack will happen at Mike and Beth's house at Christmas dinner by a member of the Ben Trojahn family. Here's hoping that its a kid! (By the way, seems like we're having Christmas at your house, Mike and Beth.)

Grandma Trojahn's Frozen Custard

2009-07-31T21:27:00.001-07:00

Grandma Trojahn's Frozen Custard

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups whole milk
18 egg yolks
3 tablespoons real vanilla
12 cups heavy cream

Yield 6 quarts.

In a bowl, beat and mix together the egg yolks and sugar until thick. Pour the milk into the mixture of egg yolks and sugar whilst stirring. Pour the mixture into a large sauce pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens (about 180 degrees). Do not boil or the milk is likely to curdle. The custard will form a film over the back of your spoon when its ready. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Leave to cool. When the custard base is cool, stir in the cream. Refrigerate overnight. Transfer the whole mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Reunion Shirt Update

2009-06-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

I just can't seem to let thinks go and stop tweaking the design for the reunion shirts. Will stop only when the printer is doing the shirts. There is the latest design. This shows the how one family's gray shirt would look with red ink.

Color Selections:

Mike's family: Grey with ink colors for each family

Gerry: Karen say's she looks best in "Goldenrod". Black ink

Karen: Lime Green, Black ink

Bill: Still sticking with the Old Navy 4th of July Shirt in blue.

We still plan on having the numbers on the kids back that will be their age. Adults can have that too, if they want. Karen Flaugher doesn't want!

We were going to have their names but were advised against that for safety reasons.

I plan on turning this over to the Tee Shirt guy next week.
Be sure to check back for latest revisions!

2009-05-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here are the shirt sizes for the Auburn chain...
Dave: size XL, number 36
Debbie: size L, number 34
Katie: size M, number 16
Jake: size Youth M, number 13
Luke: size 4T, number 2
Ryan: size 3months, number 0

Best baby gift EVER!!

2009-05-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Debbie's aunt Trish was over today to see the new baby. (Aunt Trish is Debbie's weirdo dad's sister.) So Trish brought over some "normal" baby gifts, like daipers, a sleeper some wipes but also a box of goofy crap. Most of which looked like the garage sale left overs.

There was a Genius Book of World Records, circa 1978(ooh boy! I've been looking for one of those for 15 years)

A stuffed Moose holding a basket.....very stylish

A Baby food jar of Pot-pourri,,,it holds about a tablespoon, enough the make your mailbox smell like a garden meadow.

There's was a bunch if other worthless crap but we left the best for last......

Yes last right!!!! Our very own cassette tape of

"FARTING CONTEST ++Christmas Music: November 1985"

Reunion Shirts

2009-05-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

This is some proposed art work by Katie and Mike, for the Hot Springs reunion. We can get shirts for no more then $8 each. Max of three colors inks. The more shirts ordered, the lower the price. I have ordered many shirts from this supplier and he always gives a great price in the end. I'll just have to twist his arm more.

Mike's family is leaning toward gray with red and black ink. Bill's family at this time, are going with Old Navy July 4th navy blue shirts. Karen wants orange for her family.

Karen Flaugher has suggested that the kids (and maybe adults) have their name somewhere on the shirt. She thought that having kids ages as a number on the back would help those memory challenged.

Should you wish shirts, let me know sizes you will want. They also had the onesies for infants.

Ryan Levi Trojahn

2009-05-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

Ryan Levi Trojahn.

May 20, 2009 8 pounds 1 ounce 21 inches long.
woo hoo the baby is here!!!!!!
he's so little. Luke likes him a lot.
Everyone's finally home.
Ryan sleeps a lot, poops a lot, and cries little.
He's a good baby...so far.

Do I even want to know why?

2009-02-13T14:24:00.000-08:00

I haven't downloaded pictures off the camera in forever. When I finally got around to it this week, I ended up with almost two years worth of pictures. Right in the middle of that huge download was a series of pictures of Sam. I have no idea when this was and I'm sure I wasn't around or I would have put a stop to the 'carrots up the nose' thing way before the camera was taken out. Sam's always good for a laugh.

Suzi's Digs

2009-02-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

I was downloading some photos off the camera this morning and found these pictures of Suzi's hospital room the day they admitted her. We called her room the 'ghetto room'. I don't know who Suzi ticked off, but someone was obviously out to get her when they gave her this room.

The clock was broken. It was perpetually 10:45 all day long. At least the clock was right twice a day.Her TV had over sixty channels. Unfortunately, all the channels were showing static. If you squint your eyes and turn your head over to the left, you can just make out the a vague outline of a talking head. Too bad that talking head was speaking Spanish. Luckily for Suzi, she had an excellent view out her window to make up for the lack of entertainment.Fantastic view! And even better than the view was the fact that the large ventilation fan outside the window made a loud whooshing sound all day and all night. Babies love white noise. The room even came with a frig. It worked but it was sadly stocked only with a case of diet Coke.

Caffeine free diet Coke, at that. Oh! the horror! That didn't stop me from drinking a few of them for her though.
And here is Suzi looking relatively relaxed considering the sorry state of her quarters. What is that on your shirt? I think it looks like Taco Bueno. In a couple of days Suzi was upgraded to a much better room. Unfortunately, the babies decided to make an early appearance right after Suzi moved into her upgraded digs. I think they missed the white noise from that mammoth vent on the roof.

More of the same ol' same ol'

2009-01-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

Let me just say that I was never meant to be the mother of seven. Not even for a couple of days. I've got Suzi's kids here for a while. Everyone is happy and doing well. Doing well = very noisy. I was very glad to see bedtime come last night. Luckily, we didn't have to threaten beatings to get the boys to settle down. Dotty is very sweet and a complete and total busybody. This morning she took off her blanket sleeper then took off a poopy diaper and ran around like a crazy person upstairs with poop butt until the boys all started shrieking and told me what was going on up there. Nice. She wanted me to carry her down the stairs. No way, Jose. Walk it, sweetheart, cause I'm not going to get your nasty backside all over me. So Dotty got a bath this morning.

Evan and David are out working on an Eagle Scout project for one of the boys in David's troop.

I'm still trying to dream up a way to get a laundromat in my house. It's on my dream house list.

Dream house:

A basement - preferrably a walkout basement
A mudroom with lockers for each kid
A laundromat - at least 2 washers and dryers
A laundry chute to feed dirty clothes into my laundromat
A garage big enough to park a Suburban
Mature Trees
A nice sized yard
A screened in porch
Radiant heated floors in the bathroom
Tankless endless hot water
Whole house vacuum.
a media room in a remote part of the house for Evan's stereo
Real window casings around double hung windows.

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting.

Where's Waldo?

2009-01-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

Or more interestingly.... where are Ben and Dave? I expected to see a post from them shortly. I've heard the seats in the Barracuda (which is also my best song on Guitar Hero) leave something to be desired. Dave compared the vinyl on the seats to duct tape. Nice. They couldn't find the Sequoias and said they were going to the Grand Canyon from Albuquerque...which if you look at a map is about 700 miles wrong. I'm sure they'll clarify at some point.

I'm slaving away at the VA medical center here in Dallas. Patients faint while waiting in the lines at the pharmacy. I think there were 5 or 6 people that passed out last week. It's pretty sad. They're remodeling some of the pharmacy windows (making them bullet proof) so the lines are terrible. Two more weeks at the VA and then 5 weeks in the ICU at Parkland (where JFK was taken when he was shot). After that (middle of March to mid April) I have five weeks in the health clinic at the Dallas County Jail. Then I am done done done done done. Graduation is May 16th at Creighton in Omaha. Be there or be square.

We're going to San Antonio the first weekend in April for the national pharmacists' convention. Party like a pharmacist. Actually, I'm taking a preparation class for the pharmacy licensing exam. Evan will be worshiping at the shrine of the Alamo and checking out high end audio stores.

Evan's working at St Jude's Medical in the 'advanced neuromodulation' division. Kids are doing well. David has his first follow-up appointment with the endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. We should see if the growth hormone is working.

Suzi's excitement has been keeping us on our toes. I made Jeff and the kids some lasagna and some chicken enchiladas tonight. I just need to get them over to their house. We all hope she can keep those babies in there cooking for at least another three weeks. Six weeks would be even better. So far, so good. Not good enough for her doctors to let her out of the hospital, but still doing well. Noki tried to eat Evan's mother when she unlocked Suzi's front door on Friday. If you didn't know, Noki hates little old ladies. They are evil and scary and he must protect us from them. Stupid dog. He quit growling when she scolded him and told him he was a bad dog.

I've taken the leopard gecko, Lego, to the vet twice in the last 10 days. I have to give him eye drops twice a day and an injection of antibiotics every three days for three weeks. After stabbing David and his lizard every day, I'm pretty skilled in the injection department. Did you know geckos can scream?

I'm supposed to be teaching Relief Society tomorrow, so I better get cracking on my lesson.

M

Clines Update - Twins & Peter... and all that stuff

2008-10-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

I would type up a nice long update on where we are at with the twins, with Peter's accident and all that stuff... but since it's all posted on our blog I figured I just put a link here and redirect everyone to our blog.

http://familyclines.blogspot.com

Camp Wannaweep T-Shirts

2008-07-27T17:52:00.001-07:00

So I designed a camp t-shirt. This is totally optional. But if you would like one, I've attached the file HERE so you can print it out on transfer paper and iron on the design to as many shirts as your heart desires.

Contact with Lake of the Ozarks

2008-07-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone with the gal at the camp I guess it takes a week to return calls. All the business is squared away for us to arrive on the 7th at 2pm. Here are some details that I was able to ask her:
NO Pool- there are other state parks that have pools but not Lake of the Ozarks, we get a private beach on the lake. Now Jeff can use his professional Lifeguard license for a summer job ;-)
Cabins: all have electricity, but if there is too many extension chords or things plugged in circuits will break. Fans are ok. A/C units are not.
Dinning Hall: the Kitchen area had a window air conditioning unit, dinning area is in closed (has walls), but can open windows for circulation. Might need an oscillating fan.
Water hook up: there is an outdoor facet to hook up a hose behind the Dinning Hall. SO dad if you want to bring the slide I'm sure the younger kids would love that, although I'm not sure how close an open area to set it up is.

There is not a Sam's Club within a 50 mile radius but there is a Super Walmart 2.2 miles away.

If you have any other questions about the camp then you have to wait until we get there!

Camp Wannaweep

2008-07-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

Dad made a spread sheet with the expenses of Camp Wannaweep. Evan's brother isn't able to come but maybe one of his boys will. So once the final decisions are made I'll send out the spread sheet. I do find it easier for one person to pay for every thing, so if everyone can get their $ ready before you get there it would be good. If at all possible cash would be the best so that no one is putting out all the money and waiting to get home to deposit it all. Roughly it's going to be around +/- $175 per family depending on how many people you have in your family.

I'm working on a menu and would love any suggestions, I figure since we will have a kitchen we don't have to have the same food we always eat when we are camping. Once the menu is done then I will make a shopping list and a binder that will contain the menu and recipes. I was also going to get all the groceries there instead of people hauling it with them. Each family will be assigned kitchen duty sometime during the weekend.

Since we are staying in cabins you won't need to bring tents, but will need appropriate bedding (pillows, blankets, sheets), and what ever else you will need. Every family should be able to have their own cabin, but as far as which cabin we won't be able to make that assignment until we get there.

We are also responsible for bring all cleaning supplies for the kitchen and bathrooms including brooms, dust pan, toilet paper, paper towels. I figured we could use the grocery money to pay for the cleaning products unless someone would like to donate them. I purchased wash clothes and towels last year for the camp and will bring those. The website says that the kitchen is stocked with pots, pans, cookie sheets, plates, utensils etc... but I don't think we should relay completely on them to have every thing so based on the menu we should bring extra supplies.

There is a basketball court, volleyball court, and a private beach on the lake. There is a question about there actually being a pool and the lady in charge at Lake of the Ozarks is very difficult to get a hold of. Jeff is at lifeguard training this week end in hopes that there is actually a real pool at our disposal. There is one at the park by the stables but I don't know if it cost anything to get in. It is also on the other side of the park than Camp Wannaweep (about 7 miles). We can't plan for everything since this is a new place that we are going to and not sure what it all has but there is a first time for everything.

If you have any questions that I need to track down then let me know, also suggestions about meals is needed.

It's that time of year...

2008-06-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. It's Scout Camp time. David and Sam had camp this week. David went to Camp Constantine and Sam had a week of Cub Scout Twilight camp. Jacob was also at Scout camp this week. In fact, I think Dad went a few days as well. Jeff leaves for Scout camp tomorrow with his new troop. This is his first summer camp as Scout Master. I have a tip for Jeff. Personal hygiene is NOT optional. Make sure the boys take at least one shower during the week. Scout Masters don't seem to think that's a big deal, but mothers do.

David seemed to have a good time. He earned several merit badges this year (last year he earned 0 as he missed several of his class). He'd taken to calling Camp Constantine the 'Place of Evil' after his experience last year. Camp Constatine is a couple of hours west of DFW located on scenic Possum Kingdom Lake (seriously, that's the name) and it's know for it's blazing hot and arid condition. Last year it rained the entire week - a once-in-100-year event. David came home with his pillow covered in mildew. This year it didn't rain, but the fire ants were out in force. Camp Constatine may not be a place of evil, but fire ants are truly the devil's spawn.

So David's been telling me stories from camp this week that generally revolve around various humorous-to-13-year-old-boys body sounds. David earned a merit badge in Reptile Studies while at camp so when he told me that he saw two diamond back rattlesnakes, I assumed this occurred in Reptile Studies class. I suppose one shouldn't assume. Evidently, Camp Constantine is not only overrun with fire ants, but also has a sizable number of rattlesnakes. David told me that he and another scout, AJ, found a rattlesnake on the path one afternoon.

"I knew it was a rattlesnake, because it was shaking it's rattle at us. And then AJ poked it with a stick and it rattled even louder!" Ack!

Slave Labor Update

2008-06-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Evan says (behind my back when he thinks I can't hear him) that I've had a personality transplant since my last semester of pharmacy school course work ended last month. I do feel like a tremendous load has been lifted from my shoulders. I started my clerkship rotations on June 2. So 2 weeks of my 40 weeks of slave labor as a doctor-of-pharmacy-wanna-be are completed. 1600 hours of working for free and paying tuition to Creighton for the privilege. Who made up that rule?

I'm working just down the road at a local chain pharmacy. Working with the public is always interesting. Here's what I've learned so far...

If someone comes in with prescriptions for both intestinal worms and pubic lice, use rubber gloves and a long stick to hand back the medication or you'll feel like bugs are crawling all over you for weeks.
If you must smoke while simultaneously using bottled oxygen, please don't use the pharmacy drive through to pick up your asthma inhalers. When you explode into a fiery ball of nicotine stained chunks, I'd rather not be standing 3 feet away with only a plate glass window to protect me. What kind of fool blows oxygen over an open flame? Evidently, lots of them.
Old ladies complain about paying $4 for 30 pills that will probably save their lives. Old men willingly pay $10 a pill for Viagra that will probably kill them, yet they never complain about the cost.
No, I don't want to see your rash and, yes, you probably can spread jock itch to your face.
If you took your Viagra an hour ago but then your wife called and said her appointment at the beauty parlor ran late and she won't be home for a couple more hours, don't call the pharmacy and ask me what to do about it. Really, don't call me.

I completely FORGOT!!

2008-05-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

I was scrolling through my old email Icame across the Trojahn Blog. Out of sight out of mind, sorry I really do love you guys ;-).

I had a wedding this weekend and just received a call from the mother of the bride. I was terrified that she was going to tell me all the flowers fell apart and I ruined her daughters most important day of her life! My nerves quickly calmed down once she told me how many compliments she got on the flowers. She said the pictures from the Temple looked awesome and the bouquets were perfect. She told me I should have left business cards for her to hand to people. I wonder if she talked to Michelle? Shell tells me all the time I need business cards. Cards shmards!

Anyway I was very pleased with how it turned out; there was only one thing that was wrong I guess more like 90 things wrong. Half of the ranunculas that I ordered were fully opened and dropping their petals, I had a feeling that since I needed 160 stems I should have ordered them straight from the farm. In the future I will strongly advise brides not to have ranunculas for the only flower. She wanted her bouquet, 6 brides maids bouquets, and 5 corsages to only be ranunculas. Luckily my supplier had double tulips the same color that I was able to use for the brides maids, and the corsages had to be roses, they are one of the few that can handle the beating. I'm waiting on pictures of the bouquets from my client, but here are pictures from the reception.

Don't laugh, you should see my Dad in his bottlecaps!

2008-04-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Consider us moved! (Again)

2008-03-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Yeah! We in the Dave Trojahn family are settled at 430 N. 7th Street! And for sure we are NEVER moving again. Can you believe that I now admit to being a city girl? Yes, we all love the new house, even Jacob, who was the only one hesitant to leave the country house. The new house has just the right amount of space for everyone. We are not unpacked, but I say, what's the rush? It's not like we're going anywhere.

We had lots of help with our move. Thanks to Mike who worked many a day getting the old house ready to move into, then sell. Thanks to Ben who also put in some back-breaking labor and who also neglected his family for our sake. Lest I forget, thank you to all of the "vacationers" at Christmas-time who helped with the dining room ceiling. (So who cares if most of it fell down??) By the way, Luke LOVES his new microwave--thank you Howarth's.

The list of thank you's could go on and on, but in particular I want to thank God for allowing us our (my?) heart's desire--a big beautiful, well-kept house. We worked very hard for this house, but some things were just out of our control. Those things simply worked out at the last minute. We locked in a low interest rate, making this house more affordable than the last, even though it is worth more. At the last minute, our water test passed, even without the help of the well whisperer. (He was hospitalized. Seriously.) Even the fact that this house was still available after eight months is a miracle.

I just walk around the house, saying, "I can't believe this is our house." It's that nice. You are all welcome anytime. And thanks, thanks to all of you. Thanks to God. And thanks to Dave for carrying the weight of the world, the burden of three houses, and oh, yeah, me.

While I'm talking to myself

2008-03-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

While I'm talking to myself here... Since the movie theatre opened up down the road and we now have a built-in babysitter, Evan and I see a lot of movies. I'd highly recommend going to see the movie "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day". Here's the trailer. It was really entertaining. http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/misspettigrewlivesforaday/trailer1/

Hello! Is this thing on?

2008-03-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

Where's my happy birthday post? Do I have to do it myself?

So no one has had anything to say lately. Things are the same here in Texas. I'm swamped with school. I counted today and I have only 59 days until the semester is over. Then NO MORE TESTS. Well, except for the pesky NAPLEX exam that I have to pass to actually be a licensed pharmacist. But that's next year. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. I start clinical rotations in June at yet undisclosed locations but I suspect they will be scattered all over the metroplex.

The kids are doing well and are generally as rambunctious and noisy as ever. Last night for family home evening we took the family to see The Chipmunks Movie at the dollar theatre. But as it was Monday night, it was only 50 cents. If you round up, the movie might have been worth that much to see. The crappy cartoons I watched as a kid were better. The boys, however, thought it was hysterical. After all, there was bathroom humor. Evan brought along his iPod and a Stereophile magazine. I brought candy.

Speaking of Evan, he's beginning to hate his car and the numerous minor yet annoying problems that have developed recently. He fell in love with a 2007 VW GTI at the used car lot. The red plaid upholstery (seriously, like a kilt) and integrated iPod dock were singing a siren song that only Evan could hear. He came to his senses eventually and decided to start fixing the worse of the problems on the Neon. While replacing the faulty door lock in the Neon (that strands him periodically on the side of the road when the door fails to unlock when the door is opened), he embarked on a quest to upgrade to the woefully inadequate and partially non-functional audio system. The door was already taken apart, why NOT replace all the speakers? You know all those pesky little parts that fall out when you take the window controls apart? No? Well, keep track of them because they're expensive to replace - twice as much as the door lock to be exact.

Now all he needs is a new head unit and a subwoofer 'bazooka' for the trunk. I'm pretty sure the day he gets the audio all jazzed up like he wants it will be the day that car bursts into flames while idling at a stop light. But until then it has manifested its disgust at being tampered with by spontaneously generating a huge crack in the windshield while parked in the driveway.

I noticed there was a late blizzard in honor of Dave and Debbie's move to their new (or should I say newest) house. It was nice that the weather cooperated like that. It would be a shame if it were pleasant and sunny while you were trying to move. Speaking of pleasant and sunny, Evan and I are going to San Diego for the weekend obstenibly for the American Pharmacist Association national convention. Woo hoo! No one parties like pharmacists! Well, I'll be partying with the pharmacists. I think Evan will be visiting all the high end audio stores in the area. Or the beach. Or both.

Life SIZE disembowelment, dismemberment, and decapitation

2008-01-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Dad (you're the greatest Dad EVER!) we can now enjoy not just life-like grosteskery but now it's also LIFE SIZE! Mortal Kombat has never been a better father and son bonding experience! With more than 36 SQUARE FEET of epileptic-seizure-inducing goodness, Dad's LCD projector is a electronic miracle of love. It's like you are ripping the heart out of a REAL LIVE evil Ninja IN YOUR LIVING ROOM! For those who know little of the family friendly goodness that is "Mortal Kombat - ARMEGEDON", here's a glimpse of what you are missing.

I ROCK the house....big time!!

2008-01-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

Man! am I good at football! I'm not talking about my recent Championship win in my"Fantasy Football" league, no, no I'm talking REAL LIFE here people!!

Here I am striking a devastating and demoralizing, not to mention dashing (note: saggy crotch sweat pants) taunting pose, after a stunning and seemingly impossible interception during the Dickey-john company football game. Everyone of the 10 people who were there was very impressed. Now all my family can be too.

ps.. we lost 7 to 3, obviously i can't do it all. :(

Insurance Rant

2008-01-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

At the risk of ruining my reputation as a "reasonable" Trojahn, I thought I'd let you in on my rant to the insurance company. I've been trying to get claims from September processed for months and this lame email response pushed me over the edge. They'll probably round file those claims now that I've sent them this nasty-gram but it made me feel better...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear MH,

Thank you for your question regarding the status of your
claims.

We have located a copy of the documents you faxed on November
21, 2007. The claims have been forwarded as an expedited
request to the appropriate department for processing. An
Explanation of Benefits will be issued shortly.

If you need additional information please call the member
services number on your Blue Shield ID card. We are here to
help.

Sincerely,
The Blue Shield Customer Service Team

----------------------------------------
Dear Blue Shield Customer Service Team:

Regarding this email you sent to me yesterday - your response is a complete and total lie. You didn't even look into the matter. If you had, you would have seen that I had submitted that claim by mail in October, again in November, and then by fax on November 21 for a THIRD TIME since you conveniently lost the first two submissions. You also would have seen that Blue Shield REFUSES to process these claims because they need a TAX ID# or NPI# WHICH NO ONE BOTHERED TO TELL ME WAS NEEDED THE FIRST TWENTY TIMES I CALLED. I assume the idea would be that the NPI# would magically appear while Blue Shield customer non-service employees sat around doing nothing for 14 weeks. It would have to arrive by magic since I couldn't possibly submit a number because no one mentioned that it was missing. Why would anyone pass on trivial information like that when the NPI# fairies can deliver it?

So the idea that you are going to process the claim "shortly" is a total load of crap and a complete lie. I faxed in the NPI# to Bridget yesterday so have someone actually look into this and do the job they are getting paid minimum wage to do and process the claim IMMEDIATELY. Not tomorrow. Not after Christmas. Not next year. IMMEDIATELY. I need an EOB saying I've met my deductible so I can send dozens of claims to my NEW insurance company that Thank Heaven and Praise The Lord ISN'T Blue Shield of California.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Just FYI - it's now January and more than six weeks since I sent this rant and they still haven't done a single thing with this claim. I wonder why?

Boy, is it quiet around here!

2008-01-06T20:09:00.000-08:00

It 10:00 PM Sunday night, Beth, Lucy and Yogi are all sleeping. There's no one else here!

We really enjoyed having everyone here this Christmas and even thought the quiet is great, there is something to be said about all the noise and commotion. Grandkids running everywhere. Legos and Nerf Darts all over. What a wonderful time we had. By the way, does everyone know that I won the Monopoly game Saturday night?

Now, who is in charge of the July 4th family camping planing?

When Good Yarn Goes Bad

2007-12-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

I found a book entitiled, The Museum of Kitschy Stitches: A Gallery of Notorious Knits by Stitchy McYarnpants, at Half-Price Books. I purchased it for the gift exchange at our scrapbook group's annual Christmas Party. It was a big hit.

While perusing the pages before the party, Evan and I were laughing hysterically. This led me on a hunt for for more Notorious Knits. I wasted several hours on Stitchy McYarnpants' website. There I found this timeless treasure, a lovely ski mask for girls. I begged Suzi to knit one for me, but she says she doesn't knit, she only crochets. I'm devastated.

In honor of the Holidays (Merry Christmas Everyone!) you can see Stitchy McYarnpants Christmas Craptacular HERE.

Adventures at the Band Concert

2007-12-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

The Jr High School had their annual Christmas Concert Tuesday night. Since the concert wasn't the same week as Creighton finals, I volunteered to head up the refreshments. As Grand Poobah of Cookies, I had to get to the school an hour early to help set up.

As we pulled into the near empty parking lot an hour before the concert, we saw the band director parked at the front doors of the school unloading gear. Just as he walked away, a mom in a mini-van backed out of her parking space and slammed into the side of his car. The gal then jumped out of her van to examine the damage but evidently she forgot to put her van in park. The now driver-less van slammed into the band directors car a second time while she watched with a look of abject horror on her face. Luckily the band directors car blocked the idle speed renegade van or it might just have kept going right through the front entrance of the school.

The first hit made me feel bad for her, the second hit just made me laugh. I should have had a video camera.

The Move is On

2007-12-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

Dave and Debbie and Katie and Jake and Luke and Jack moved today to the "country home". We are excited and wish them the best as they settle to their new home.

I didn't think it was a good idea to list their full address on this blog - it is public. But I did add Dave and Debbie's new address to the contact list on the Trojahn Family Airset tab.

2007-12-08T10:48:00.001-08:00

Update on Christmas Gift Exchange:

I received an e-mail from Michelle about the gift exchange. Here is the proposed change: Trojahn siblings buy 20-25$ gifts for the children of the next oldest sibling and a family gift for the whole family. No more white elephant. You might confirm this before you buy stuff, however, because at this time not everyone has agreed. Happy shopping!

Happy Birthday to Dave

2007-12-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Dave!

I couldn't find a picture of you with a shirt on, but I did find a picture of your hat.

Trojahn Family Calendar

2007-11-30T09:26:00.001-08:00

I've created a Trojahn family calendar on Airset. You'll need to join Airset and then you'll have access to the online calendar with a Trojahn Family tab. There is also a 'Contacts' section. Please enter your name, address, phone numbers, emails etc. Then we'll all have updated contact information that we can access on the web. Just FYI, I entered all the information starting in January so the November and December 2007 calendars don't have complete information.

You'll need to have an invitation to join the Airset group to access the calendar. This ensures that the contact information etc is confidential. Send me an email if you didn't get an invite.

My Compliments to the Chef

2007-11-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

A quote from Sam at the dinner table to Nathan:

"Just because it looks bad that doesn't mean it tastes bad. Taste it! It looks terrible but it tastes good."

I guess that's a compliment, right?

Trojahn Christmas 2008

2007-11-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

Howdy Trojahns!

This year the Trojahn family will all be together for Christmas. Dates are undecided and will be posted later. We have decided on this year's gift exchange and here it is:

The four Trojahn siblings will buy gifts for the children of the sibling older than they are. Shelly gets Ben's family. Price limit is approximately $20 per child. Adults will bring 2 white elephant gifts each. Grandparents are buying only for grandchildren. It should be fun!

Ok! The date has been set! Christmas Eve at Mike and Beth's house.

Hey! That's Grandpa's Van!

2007-09-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

In August we went on vacation to North Carolina. As we were driving up the windy mountain road to our cabin, the kids spotted a big blue van just like Grandpa's. So we stopped and took some pictures. On closer inspection Ellen determined that this van was 'way nicer' than Grandpa's. Maybe Dad could improve the looks of his big blue van by adding a large wooden contraption to the roof.