Steve

Wind Turbine Installation

Well, I'm keeping my eye on the (snow) ball this year! My career move from field engineer to field mechanic was excellent. Less stress, more time with the family. I'm home for dinner every night. This is the first year in 25 that I haven't traveled for work. I'm also spending more time in my community, actually getting to know people. And I enjoy being around to support my girls and their interests.

I'm re-realizing the benefits of being a democratic union member versus merely an employee in an aristocratic corporation. I gross a little less (How much money is enough?) but work fewer hours with less stress. I always remember that no grave stone epitaph ever read "I wish I'd spent more time at work!"

After a steep learning curve, I can now capture our family's activities on DVDs and the girls' music on audio CDs. It is fun for me, I'm pretty fast, and everyone seems to like the results.

Alternative energy is becoming a bigger focus for the world and for me. I was involved in the installation of a couple alternative energy systems this year and hope to make a business out of it in the near future. I'm often asked to do alternative energy presentations. People call me about alternative energy. That's a good thing. I've learned a lot about energy and about people. I hope to eventually roll all this into a retirement business.

I've been reading more, thinking, and subsequently writing. In all, it's been a great year. And oh, I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am about this past election!

Cathy

Pictures from the
UPHA Horse Show

It has been a full year since Steve made his job change and it has really eliminated a lot of stress for me. His previous job had him traveling a lot.

This past fall, we rented our beloved lakefront cabin to a friend, so no more buffers. It is full-time living at “The Rock.”

On April 1st, we held a 4-H sleep-over up at “The Rock.” Sometimes the spring melt holds off until mid-April. Not this year. We ended up tractor-trailing the gang of moms and kids down the four-mile stretch of muddy road. It was indeed an adventure.

In May, an avalanche of rain hit our immediate area, bringing Saux Head Lake to new levels and washing out several parts of our road to “The Rock.”

In June, I learned what it was like to be a horse show mom. It is fun (talking with other horse folks), exciting (seeing Gentian get her first ribbon), stressful (watching RiLee’s horse rear up on her), and exhausting (exercising our new horse at 10PM at night to calm him down).

July and August was a blur of visitors, garden chores, prepping for another horse show, and homeschooling. September and October were, as usual, very stressful with tending to the bountiful garden harvest and immersing into homeschool routines. Our apple trees produced very little fruit this year; but, the carrots, plums, peaches, Asian pears, potatoes and squash were all winners in taste and size. I experimented with several other varieties and learned that lima beans are not worth the effort in our garden but butter beans are fabulous.

December includes a 50th anniversary celebration for my folks and a 1st ever Waller Christmas party up at our house. The house will be filled to the brim with family until just before the new year.

Gentian

Dad and I performed at the Marquette Medley

Last winter I joined the ski team and learned how to skate ski. Skate skiing is like skating but on skis. I really enjoy skate skiing now and I am glad that I joined the team so I could learn. It is so fast that you feel like you are flying.

Last January, I competed in the Noquemanon Ski Race here in Marquette using my classic skis. It was so warm that day that one of the skiers wore shorts during the race. I was very happy when I found out that I placed second.

This year I really enjoyed messing with my horses. Since we just bought DJ this past spring, it has been fun but challenging training him. He is a young horse so he tends to get nervous easily. We just started him on trail rides, Western, and he is doing very well.

I’ve also had a lot of fun with Aikido, a martial art that I enrolled in last fall. I have taken two rank tests already and I am making a lot of new friends.

I saved up enough money to buy myself my first guitar, an Avarez RD10. It fits me perfectly and sounds great. I have been playing a lot of guitar now and am learning to appreciate how much musicians who play on the radio know.

I hope you all had a great year. I sure did.

RiLee

RiLee's B-Day Party

I did the Junior Noquemanon Ski Race and got third overall for my age division. I tried a Sunday ski program but I knew most of the stuff there.

I used to play an instrument called the Strumstick. It is a mixture between the dulcimer and the guitar. It has the fretting of the dulcimer and it is held like the guitar.

For my 9th birthday I got a guitar from my mom and dad. There were about four guitars my size at Elderly Music in Lansing, MI. I liked this one (Baby Taylor) the best because the frets were close together and I like the sound of it. I currently take guitar lessons with Corinne Rockow.

In April, we bought a new horse the day after my birthday. His name is DJ. I did my first show on a horse named Katsy. It was a fun show even though my horse reared up. I was riding English at the time but I managed to stay on somehow.

We did the U.P. State Fair in Escanaba, MI in August and this time I rode our other horse, Trouble. I placed 2nd with DJ in Showmanship, and 3rd with Trouble in English Pleasure.

Trouble

Trouble's First Pictures

Horses have something to say too? WE SURE DO! The Wallers can translate for us. This year, I went on lots of trail rides with Cathy. I've decided that going on a trail ride is not that big of a deal. (Actually, its kind of fun.) I am getting good at being the leader so that my buddy DJ, who doesn't have much experience on trail, can go in the back.

Also, I've been giving a lot of lessons to RiLee. (She thinks it's the other way around.) She likes to ride English, so I have to ride with different tack for her. I kind of like it, though.

Cathy and her family just got a package of peppermint flavored treats. They wanted to see which kind I liked better, so they put one in each hand so I could pick. I proved to be a lot smarter than they thought. I just grabbed them both at once. I don't know why they were laughing.

Unlike DJ, I didn't think the horse show was such a big deal. The only thing that I didn't like was standing in a stall all day. I was really happy when they trailered me home a couple of days early.

DJ

Read about us horses on our
U.P. Wallers Horse Page

I HATE TRAILERS! When they trailered me to the Escanaba State Fair Horse Show, I was terrified. Somewhere in the middle of the ride, I hit the top of my head on the roof of the trailer. I wouldn't let anyone touch the top of my head for several days. It made things very difficult for Cathy and Gentian when they needed to bridle me for showing, but everyone was very patient with me and the job got done.

Even though I had banged up the top of my head, I still gave RiLee and Gentian each a second place ribbon .

After I had shown, RiLee and Gentian hung my ribbons on my stall door. After they had left, I got bored and wondered if the ribbons were edible. When one of Gentian's friends found me, I had half of a second place ribbon hanging out of my mouth.

Ducchess

I've been sleeping, and eating, and sleeping, and sleeping...

Okay, maybe a little more than that. RiLee and Gentian have been teaching me how to do tricks. They make me sit, do a high five, stand up on my hind legs, and come on command. I can always ignore them when I don't feel like working, though.

I've had a great year. I got plenty of naps in.

Teddy Bear

I have been eating a lot of corn cobs and strawberry drops. Life as a teddy bear hamster is a lot of fun. I am only a year old, so this is my first year.

RiLee and Gentian taught me how to climb up the carpeted stairs all by myself in January so, whenever they feel I need more exercise, they have me run up the stairs. I have gotten out of my cage four or five times. It is too bad that RiLee and Gentian found me every time. Once Ducchess found me first.

Everything is very new to me, so I am very curious and love to check things out. Since I am mostly awake at night, RiLee and Gentian had to wake me up to get this picture.

One of my favorite things to do is roll around the house in my plastic ball. I frequently chase the cat when I'm rolling which annoys her. RiLee and Gentian like to let me roll around while they clean their rooms.

Happy Holidays! May your cheek pouches always be full!

Happy Solstice Everyone!