The Clothesline

Figure you might want to see what caused me all the trouble in the first place.

The Farm

Saturday we woke up and traveled the fifty miles south to the farm. This time it was much more enjoyable than last time. We made some lefsa, which is extremely good to eat fresh of the grill, and had much fun. I took a nice little trip on their four-wheeler, took a little walk which turned into a long one, and tried to stay as far from the work as possible. Jason, Leesha, Garret, and I left a little bit earlier to go hunting. Leesha was the one who was trying to fill a tag. She tried to shoot a deer at around five hundred yards, but missed. Later on she had another chance. The doe was running up a hill trying to escape, Leesha jacked her chamber and out came the bullet that was in the chamber. Her dad was getting very frustrated, yet she was able to stay calm. She reloaded the gun, looked through scope, and knowing that she did not have another bullet pulled the trigger. The deer was in mid-stride when she shot. Jason, being the master hunter he is, saw the deer drop its head. We all rushed up the hill to see if it was there and what we saw was very interesting. We saw the deer on the ground squirming around like it had been shot. Jason calmly walked up to it, raised his shotgun, and POW. The deer was dead. The rest of us walked up to it and saw the deer on its side, and the deer’s legs moving as though it was running away. I really wished I had my camera with me at that moment, but if whishes were horses beggars would ride. It was around this time that Garret and I had the pleasure of watching Jason and Leesha gut out the deer. Oh yea, I almost forgot to say that Leesha's shot was a perfect headshot that knocked out some brains, any eye, and part of the nose. 

Life

It is crazy that is already November. To think that I already need to buy Christmas presents again. Nothing amazing has been going on up here in the land of the North. This weekend we are going to the Sletten's farm to make some lefsa (something like a tortilla that is really good with butter and sugar). I told the Sletten's that they need to put a "No Jumping" sign on their clothesline because someone could really sue them over that.

Update

I went to the doctors today and there was some good news. Dr. Lane Lee said that I would need to come back in two weeks and we would have a CAT scan with a chance for me to be cleared.

Now I'm Back :)

Fall has taken on a whole new meaning for me. To the people that are not in the north it is rainy with the leaves turning colors and football season starting, but for all of us up north fall is just snow. The other day our church was having a family day at the Sletten's Farm. We were having a great time going on scavenger hunts in 30-degree weather. Until I got the brilliant idea I could jump over a clothesline. I successfully made it over the clothesline but unsuccessfully landed. Monday we set up an appointment with a pediatrician who then sent me in for an ultra-sound who then sent me in for a CAT scan. After that I went to the ER and then they put me into my room. The results were that I fractured my spleen in half and then in half again. This morning I was released and am feeling pretty good. I do not believe I am destined to be Superman though:( Here are a few pictures of me in the hospital room. Thank you for all the many prayers that have been prayed.

Guess Whats Here?

I am sure that most of you do not know the answer to the question. Most North Dakotans do not want to realize the answer to the question. The answer is
Snow!
We have had about two weeks of spring a few months of a cold summer and now a couple weeks of fall and it is already winter again. In the picture you can see the white stuff on the fringe of the field that is the snow. The crazy thing is that some of the snow melted away. Right now it is 29 degrees outside and with the wind chill it is about 15. Tell me how that snow melted.

They are BACK!!!!

Dad and mom just got back from General Conference yesterday. The good news is we are going to have some really good food today. They had a little bit of fun at the Mall of America and at St. Louis. Dad, mom, and the Pearsons stayed at the same hotel. The hotel room that the Pearson's had overlooked the St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadium. Here are a few pictures...

General Conference

With General Conference coming up the boys are home alone. Jess and Ruth headed East to Minnesota and the Mall of America Saturday and will turn the sights south toward St. Louis probably sometime Tuesday. Jessica is having the pleasure of staying the week with someone in the church. The boys are getting the opportunity to see what it is like being bachelors. They get to try their best to make macaroni and cheese different ways and eat some good ol' hamburgers.

News Update

Jared was spotted playing one-on-one basketball Tuesday night. Come to find out he was cleared by his doctor earlier that day. Jared is now able to play contact sports. His next goal? A slam dunk!

Youth Trip to Medora

Jared and Jonathan got back from a youth trip to Medora on Saturday night after the Huskies beat Idaho (what a delight). We went to Medora on Friday night and set up camp.

Our makeshift grill

Jim putting some food on the grill.Some of the youth groupThe youth went to the National Park and went on a four mile hike. Before they went on the hike they were able to climb a large hill.

This is the view of the hillThis is the view from the top of the hill. You can faintly see the truck and some of the youth.

They had to cross the Paddock River about eight times with a grand total of three people falling in, you had to jump across the river. After that we went up to Wind Canyon. This is a place where you can slide down these crevices which have sand in them, it was much fun. Then we drove to Dickinson got a bite to eat and headed home. Here are a few pics...

School

Tuesday we began school. Jessica has started 1st grade with Jonathan going into is sophomore year. Jessica has been doing well and Jonathan has been able to jump out to three days ahead. Tomorrow Jared will end his second week of college. He is going to the doctor right now to find out if his knee is healthy enough to play sports on.

Jared starts college next week. School is coming up for Jonathan and Jessica. Quizzing is over. Life is going on. Here are a few pictures of our trip to Nashville and of a couple other things.

Tuesday, August 4th

Yesterday we won both of our games. We played Louisiana 3 and Tennesse 1. Today we played the first game of the day against Texas 4. We lost to them. Texas 4 was the defending National Champions from last year. Now we are looking forward to next year.

Checking In!

Hey everybody! We are right now in Nashville, TN quizzing at Nationals. We played our first game tonight and lost 85-75. We went into overtime and it came down to the last question which was a quotation question. Jared hit the buzzer and missed the question by a word. Tomorrow we will quiz again. You can track it at upcquiz.com.

The Past Few Weeks

Nothing really interesting has happened these past few days. Birthdays have come and gone. But for the most part right now the family is getting ready for one thing - Nationals. It is going to be a Starr family team. The parents the coaches, the boys the quizzers, and Jessica I guess will have to be the one to cheer us on.

Jared being Jared

Here is a short video clip. I want you guys to look at this and take a guess at what he is doing. The person who guesses right gets a free lifetime subscription to this blog!

Family Vacation

Here are a few pictures of our family vacation..

Finally "Finals"

Finally we have reached finals. Our team won both games and now we will turn our sights toward nationals. It is going to be held August 1-5 in Nashville, Tennesse. Jared and Jonathan made it on the all tournament team.

Trip to Texas

This is the reason why it has been such a long time since I updated the blog.

Jared's Graduation

Jared's Graduation

With Jared's Graduation being less than five hours away and already a few surprises, I wanted to set this up so you could tell his something on his special day. Just click the "comment" button below and you will be able to leave a couple of words.

Mandan Indian Village

We visited a Mandan Indian Village just south of Mandan in North Dakota. You can see what the huts look like this in this slideshow...

Quiz Tournament

We have had yet another quiz tournament. This time we had only one team. The team consisted of Jared, Jonathan, Preston, Garret, and Clarissa. There were three teams at the tournament and we were able to draw number three. This meant we got a bye, then we beat Bismarck. Bismarck went to the losers bracket came back and played us again and we beat them. We had three quizzers on the all-tournament team Jared had 95 ppq, Jonathan had 72.5 ppq, and Preston had 10ppq. The next tournament is June 20 in Minot

Jessica's Graduation

Jessica graduated from first grade. Here is a slide show of the event...

Boy's Birthday

Jared and Jonathan had a great birthday. Here are a couple of pictures of how it went...

Trip to Bismarck

Monday we took our monthly trip to Bismarck. We went to a store called TJMax otherwise known as boys nightmare. While we were there a lady came over to Jared and asked him if he knew what this logo was (the logo at the top), Jared replied by saying that it was the Twins. The lady said that is what I thought it was and went back to her shopping. A couple of minutes later her friend came back and asked us if one of us was six feet tall, we told her Jared was. The lady wanted Jared to be a model for her so she could try some shorts up to him. Jared was happy that she did not make him go try them on for her.

Jared's Graduation

For Jared the month is here the time is three and a half weeks away. On June 1st he will be able to wake up and say "I am officially graduated from high school!".

Jared will be graduating on May 31st, 2009 at 3:30 PM. The graduation ceremony will be held here at Apostolic Faith Church. The address to the church is 2929 19th Ave. NW Minot, North Dakota 58703.

Here are a couple of his Senior pictures...

In Your Face!

Every once in a while you hear about people that are just "in your face" people. Well Sunday what Jared was having to deal with was not a "in your face" person, but an "in your face" pie. They had a bid on who was going to throw the pie in his face. An elderly couple ended up winning the bid and gave Jessica the chance to throw the pie in Jared's face. When it was time for her to do it she chickened out because she did not want to hurt her nice older brother. They had to search for someone to throw the pie now. Their search ended with Jonathan who willingly but heart brokenly threw the pie into Jared's face. Before he threw the pie he displayed his sorrow by saying that "there was no one else to throw the pie". Here are a couple of pictures...

The Past Week

This past week we have had a few things happen. On the top of the list of things that have happened is Jared had the opportunity to preach Wednesday. The title of his message was "The Tragedy of a Loser's Mentality". Another thing that happened this past week was Jessica finishing up with her learning to read program. This week she has no PACE work that she has to do, but she has to read a book every day and review some of her "sight words".

News Flash (Updated 4/15)

Well, life is going on as usual here in this Starr household. The boys are doing quizzing, Jessica has started school, and the snow just keeps on coming. Hope everyone else has enjoyed their first month of the new year. A couple of weeks ago Jared messed up his knee playing basketball. We took him to the ER and they told us if he could not put his full weight on it by the next week to call an orthopedic doctor. A week later he feels like he can put his full weight on it but still wants to call the doctor so he knows exactly what is wrong with it. The doctor told Jared he couldn't play basketball for 24-48 hours. My dad said if he played after 48 hours it would be over his dead body. Jared is going to an orthopedic on Tuesday.

2/03: Jared went to the orthopedic and they figured that it was probably a meniscus tear. Wednesday he will get an MRI done and the results will be back by Friday. It would be good that his meniscus would be torn rather than his ACL or something along those lines. I will try to keep everybody posted on it.

2/05: We just got the MRI back and there is good new and bad news. The good news is that there is a slight tear in his meniscus. The bad news is that he also achieved tearing his ACL. The meniscus, depending on how bad it is, may be able to heal by itself. The only way the ACL can be healed is by surgery. Hopefully, everything will turn out alright!

2/10: Jared just got back from the doctor. The surgery has been scheduled for March 12. The doctor said that there would be five to seven months rehab. He also said that Jared would not be able to play until it was 95 percent. They have a machine that they are able to tell what the percentage of the knee is. The really sad part is that he won't be able to take out the trash or do the dishes. He will be able to sit in the corner and play the Xbox 360 though. I will keep you updated after the surgery and beyond!!!!

3/2: Today is Jared's first day of physical therapy. Last night he ran the aisles, so we are hoping he will be able to play basketball soon :) Jared is hoping that with this physical therapy he will be able to dunk by the time he is able to play basketball again. His surgery is 10 days from now.

3/12: The surgery is over! Jared has a brace on his right leg which makes it where he cannot bend his leg at all. He had to be at the hospital at 5 a.m. this morning. Jonathan and Anthony came to the hospital at around 8:30. They sat and did pretty much nothing till around 2:00 p.m. Jared is taking about 5 different medications right now. The doctor said that he had around 80% of his meniscus left and that a little bit more would grow back. I believe that he has to keep his brace on until the next time he sees the doctor, this means he will have to sleep with that thing on.

3/24: Jared went in for his second check-up since the surgery today. They took out the staples that were in his leg to keep the incisions together. He said that he was very happy that the staples were out. He is becoming very mobile again and can bend his knee at a 90 degree angle. For some reason (beyond my knowledge) he is not yet able to do the dishes. I would post some pictures of his leg with the staples in it, but I am not at liberty to post them. There is a slideshow of him at the hospital a little bit farther down.

4/15: In two weeks Jared will get the pleasure of not having to wear a brace. As it is know he does not have to wear a brace when he is inside the house. Which means to him he can go downstairs into the gym without a brace on and play volleyball with the rest of the youth group. Technically speaking he is still inside the house, but for some reason he did not what to tell the docotor about that. He is hoping that when the brace goes his job will come. He has not yet talk to the doctor about going to work with his brace on.

Here is a picture of him on crutches...

He wasn't able to bend his knee much more than that the day he hurt it.

Quiz Tournament

We had a quiz tournament in Bismarck the other day. Jared was not able to attend due to schooling reasons. Minot only had one team which consisted of five quizzers (Jonathan, Preston, Leesha, Garret, and Clarissa). Minot still was able to pull it off and get first place. We had three quizzers on the all-tournament team, Leesha led the way with 68 ppq, Jonathan had 61 ppq, and Preston had 11 ppq. We are not exactly sure when the next tournament will be.

The Big Surprise

The big surprise is that Jessica got the Holy Ghost !!! She was praying really hard tonight and finally God gave her the Holy Ghost. Bro. Vaughn Pearson preached because we were supposed to be preaching somewhere else and be on our way to District Conference. Elder Pearson cancelled District Conference Tuseday with the chance of all the flooding in Fargo. My dad was thankful that Elder Pearson cancelled District Conference. Here are a few pictures...

Jessica receiving the Holy Ghost

Jessica's Birthday Party

Jessica had her birthday party last Saturday. She invited six friends over for her sixth birthday. For her birthday she had a tea party. She has not received any of her birthday spankings yet. Here are a couple of pictures...

Hospital Visit

Just a Little Talk About the Weather

So as of March 22nd we were believers that spring had finally come. A portion of our parking lot had become a small lake and we almost went fishing in our yard. On monday they decided that Fargo was going to be having major flooding and would need close to two million sandbags. And on Tuesday we decided that winter wanted to say at least one last farewell. Yes, it snowed some more. My dad drove in it a little bit and he said that it was the most treacherous weather he has driven in yet this winter.

Quizzing

Saturday we had our second quiz tournament of the year. Jared's team (Minot 2) consisted of Jared, Clarissa, and Leesha, while Jonathan's team (Minot 1) consisted of Jonathan, Garret, and Preston. Minot 2 was the winner of the first round beating everyone pretty good. It was in the second round that some competition showed up. It was the championship game Minot 1 had to beat Minot 2 twice. In the first game Minot 1 had to get the last four questions, they did. In the second game after many deliberations and two five point fouls against Minot 1, it came down to the last three questions. Minot 1 again had to get them all, Jonathan got the first one incorrect. It was a close tournament Jared had 136 ppq and Jonathan had 99 ppq.