TO MY SONS PAGE

MICHAEL & MARK

Updated December 2005

About My Son Michael

Michael is the oldest son. He was born in October of 1978 in Park Rapids, Minnesota. Michael spent his first 2 yrs. in a childcare in Park Rapids. He was quite an adventurer. One day his provider got a call from a neighbor telling her that Michael was walking down the street! When she caught up to him, he was 4 blocks from her home and he told her he was going to go see his mom at work! He was only 2 yrs old! Brave little adventurer eh? He also has a guardian angel watching over him!! Michael's favorite things to play with were puzzles, models, and fisher price toys, cars, typical boy stuff. He enjoyed putting things together and showed remarkable patience with doing so.

As he grew older his interests turned to sports. He was very athletic and participated in many sports. He excelled in football. His senior year he was co-captain of the football team and led his team to win the state championship. It was so exciting!! His junior and senior year he qualified to wrestle at the state tournament. Although he didn't go very far just getting there was a major accomplishment as he didn't start wrestling until his junior year! He earned an opportunity to play football with the All-Star team - another exciting experience. Michael graduated from MHS in 1997.

That fall he attended Augsburg College in Mpls. MN where he also played football for the Auggies. Half way into his 2nd year of college he decided that college at this time was not for him, so he left college and started working in the real world. During the summer of 99 Michael took a trip all by himself to Alaska. What a dream come true!!

In the fall of 1999, Michael enlisted in the US Army. He was stationed in Germany for 4 years and totally enjoying the experiences he has had in the army. He has been to many countries already - Denmark, Amsterdam, France, Italy, Turkey, and Switzerland. He said there is nothing to compare downhill skiing to in the Swiss Alps. His first time down he looked like a huge snowball. LOL He made good use of his free time while in Europe. While serving the US Army he was deployed to active duty twice, once during the Enduring Freedom War with Afghanastan, and again during the War with Iraq. Michael is a SPC - a specialist in the Army. His is now a member of the Wisconsin National Guard and going to college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at UWM. It will be wonderful to have him much closer to home. Michael is currently single and will be a loving husband and father someday when he finds the right gal.

4th of July weekend, 2003, Michael and his buddies went to 6 flags in Holland! Here is a picture of him and his buddies on a roller coaster ride. Mike is the one with the white t-shirt on "not" facing the camera. Looks like their having a blast! August 2005, Mike is on top of the Grotto of Redemption in Iowa. He was able to go with us to the Brueland Reunion this year!

About My Son Mark

Mark is the younger son. He was born in February of 1981 in Park Rapids, Minnesota. Mark grew up in daycare as I started doing childcare when he was 8 months old. I have often referred to him as my sunshine child. He has a remarkable ability to brighten up any day with his smile and charm.

Mark always has had many friends around him and would rarely sit still long enough for a serious conversation, LOL. Mark was a sophomore on the football team that won at state, so even though he wasn't a starter on the team, he did play and also earned a state championship medal! The only injury I've ever had in my daycare (to date) was when Mark was 18 months old. He was outside playing and got whacked on the top of his head by a swingset. It required stitches. I think I was more upset about it than he was. He was my 2nd adventurer son! Mark's favorite playthings as a child were cars, trucks, building things, and making play things out of things that weren't playthings. He had the greatest ability to find a use for just about anything. He never had the patience to put together a model though - he couldn't sit still that long! He was a busy boy.

He was very athletic also, but chose to work a job after school to earn money for a car instead of participating in sports. He did play football though and did very well. Mark graduated from MHS in 1999. He had a job all lined up after high school. He worked for a cousin of his in the metro area installing carpeting and flooring. He commuted to work an hour each way every day and never missed a day of work either. He was a good hard worker. (and still is) Toward the end of summer 2000, he was laid off from the flooring job due to lack of work, so he went back to his previous job at the local grocery store. They welcomed him back and offered him a full time manager position, but Mark had other plans. He had taken a trip to Hawaii after he graduated and yearned to return there. He knew of one way he could go there and live there - join the army! So he did.

He joined the US Army in the fall of 2000 and after basic training left for Hawaii and was there for 3 years. He re-enlisted for another 3 yrs and is now stationed in North Carolina, near Fayetteville. Mark was called to serve in Iraq on March 24th, 2004. He was there for one year. It is great to have him back on US soil again. The pictures below were taken while he was there. Mark is now a Sgt. in the US Army!! Way to go Mark!! Woo Hoo!! Mark is currently single and will make someone a loving husband and be an awesome dad someday.

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