Family Photo!

The Zimm's

FINALLY! A Family Camping Trip.

The five of us finally had a chance to go on a camping trip. We went to Myre - Big Island State Park in Albert Lea, Minnesota. It was a great 3 days!

The kids and I (Holly is behind the camera...she looks great, doesn't she!)

We had a good time hiking on the miles of scenic trails. We had fun skipping rocks. The kids found a black snake, a fishing spider, pelicans, turtles, and TONS of toads, leopard frogs and snails.....just to mention a few of the many critters! Holly really enjoyed looking at the wild flowers, and I just enjoyed just getting out into nature! At night, millions....okay, thousands...of fire flies came out and flashed there fannies for a really neat night time show. After the fireflies got......what they were looking for, we were visited by at least 2 Barred Owls. We never actually saw them, but we heard them calling back and forth to each other. At least one of them was probably in the trees right above our campsite. Oh...I almost forgot the sneaky little raccoon that we had sitting under our picnic table, only 6 feet or so from Holly and I.

One spot in the miles of hiking trails.

Skipping rocks

On the second afternoon, we all went for a canoe trip around Big Island on Albert Lea Lake. The lake is pretty secluded, and it was just the five of us, the jumping carp, and the man eating mosquitoes! Despite our decreasing blood levels, and increased risk of West Nile, we had a really good time!

Canoeing on Albert Lea Lake

Our journey to southern Minnesota was a mosquito smacking success! We went during the week, so we had the park almost entirely to our selves. We also had simply gorgeous weather. If you are looking for a really nice state park to enjoy some DEEP woods and native prairies, Myre - Big Island comes highly recommended by Zimm's clan!


I pray you all are enjoying your summer!!

The Zimm

New Job!

I went and got myself a new job! This past Tuesday, I started with Mdewakanton Emergency Services (http://www.shakopeedakota.org/mes.html) as a Firefighter/EMT. I am working 12 hour orientation shifts this week, and join my regular shift on Sunday.

Until we meet again!
Zimm

Congrats!

On June 22nd, my good buddy Mike Sheehan was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. I had the distinct honor to be the first enlisted man to salute the newest officer in the Navy. Mike and I go back...almost waaay back...and have had some good times! Now that he has jumped over to the "dark side", I look forward to being the first enlisted man to kick his butt in the next grill challenge!

Congratulations Ensign Sheehan!

Zimm

Not So Random Pics!

I was over in St. Paul and stumbled upon this old tank car. Thought it was pretty neat, so I snapped a couple of pictures. The tank was built in 1926, 82 years ago! The rail car's under carriage is a little newer, it was built in 1937. I thought it was a cool find, and had to share it!


Zimm

Grillin' Season!

A couple of weekends ago, the weather was finally perfect! So, we called Mel and Corey, and they came over for a good old fashioned grill-n-chill. We lit a fire in the chimnea, ate some great food, had a couple of brews, and relaxed....it was GREAT! We grilled up some steak, veggies, hot dogs, sausages, chicken, and even some crab claws.

Corey, Holly, and Mel enjoying the weather.

Corey and The Zimm, the "Grill Masters"

Corey's Sausages!

Steak with onions and peppers, potato salad, warm bread, and grilled crab claws

Corey, Mel, and Holly pigging out!

Bryen, I just had to show you what your missing!

Tonight, Holly and I grilled up some chicken stuffed with cheesy potatoes, shrimp, mushrooms (for Holly.....YUK!), and a nice thick juicy steak.

Happy Grilling!
Zimm

Rib Cook Off

We had a great time on Saturday evening. After several years worth of delays, Mike and I finally had our rib cook off! Mike and I are friends from the Navy Reserve, and we had several of our mutual friends over to my place as judges. Even my neighbors came by to try to decide the winner! I have to say, it was a tough choice.
And the trophy goes to..................

Anita, Alan's wife, for her Tres leche (three milk) cake....it was out of this world! As for the ribs, I guess we will have to have another cook off to try and decide....darn!

Till next time,
Zimm

Word Verification

I am getting spam comments on my blogs (%#&%$*@ spammers!) So I have added word verification to the comments. If you want to post a comment, just copy the word you see. If you want to buy Viagra, check someone else's blog.

Till next time!
Zimm

Our Guest Jerry

Lizzy's Kindergarten class has a "mascot" of sorts, he goes by the name Jerry. Jerry is a little (and very fat) giraffe. The students get to take him home for a week and then log what Jerry "did" while he was with them. Lizzy had Jerry at our house for the past 2 weeks. Today, Lizzy wanted Jerry to see the fire trucks, so I took everyone in to the station for a little tour. I really think Jerry enjoyed it.....

Jerry and Lizzy in the ladder truck

Lizzy, Jerry, Eryn, and Zachary inside the truck

An Evening of Fine Beer and Entertainment!

I had a LOOOOONG weekend, so I decided to chill out this evening with a nice cold micro brew. The Breckenridge Vanilla Porter is.....well.....as the bottle reads, quite "partakable".

For entertainment, we went old school! I grew up watching good ol' John Guage and Roy DeSoto, and it is just as entertaining as when I was a kid! Perhaps a little more corny....but entertaining none the less!

Talk to you all later!
Zimm

Christ Is Risen!

Happy Easter to all of you!!

Happy Vernal Equinox?

Greetings to you all on this lovely spring day!

It's been a while since I've had a chance to relax, so I thought a nice cold beer was in order, now that spring has "sprung"! Call me crazy (most of you do anyways) but I think mother nature forgot to flip her calender once again! Of course, March is the second snowiest month in God's country, and maybe that's why I love it here!

I have more beer in the snow bank, so feel free to stop by for a "cold beer" any time! Holly may even let us sit inside!

Smiles Everyone!
Zimm

A "COLD Beer"!

New Bike?

So, I've decided to start looking for my next bicycle (as if I could actually buy one right now!). I tossed around all of the latest frame materials; steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, or maybe bamboo! Yes, I said bamboo! Bamboo bikes feature amazing vibration damping (Even better than Carbon fiber), they weight about 4 pounds, have good stiffness, and are crash tolerant. In fact, bamboo is a lot of tougher than most people realize. If nothing else, it looks cool! I think it's work of art! I posted a picture, or you can come by the garage and see for your self.........in my dreams!

Update Time! (finally)

Sorry for how long it has been since my last update!

Life here in Zimm's world is just screaming past!! I started my 4th year of college. I'm taking 12 credits this semester, so I will be about 3/4 of the way done with my 2 year degree!

I've had the chance to do a little ice fishing. As of last week, the north end of Prior Lake had a good 24+ inches of solid clear ice........and no fish! Word on the streets is that decent size crappies are hitting minnows on Karls lake. If anybody want's to test the theory, I have a portable ice house!!! If nothing else, the "bottle bass" are always biting.

Well, nothing new at the fire department, work still blows, and I am never home (12 credits, remember!) so I am out of things to write about.

Till next time!
Zimm

What I'm Drinking

MMMMM.........Tasty!!