"Iowa So Far" lyrics and video

"Iowa so Far" lyrics:

They say great cousins come once in a lifetime
and even though we’re from opposite ends of the family,
my heart tells me you’re the one for me.
B-J

I remember when it started, saw you in your room.
you were playin’ games, I was eating food
but I was feeling you, and even though I didn’t understand almost everything you said
you ain't wrong to me, so strong to me, so tall to me
The oldest boy cousin of the family
BJ makes my eyes pop right out of my head
Shot’s impossible- but it’s in instead
Can do anything, the only problem I see
is the chance of you not coming home to me.
Big, big loader- lot’s of fun- that’s not lie
Can’t express how I feel
Yo Daniel let’s ride

And Iowa, Iowa so far away
is your home, but in my heart you’ll stay

Ping- pong- he has no replacement
We could play for hours in our basement
my man, BJ is known for bowlin’
Rollin’, if he can still do it then I can
they call you Bowls, they say your skills are unmatched
When you dunk the ball, the rim never stays attached
Playin’ volleyball in the sand
And another nickname, some call you Rand
So I try to stop admirin’ but you can still see
with your sleepy brown eyes, butter pecan thighs
And your hairy legs…Yeah.

And Iowa, Iowa so far away
come home, and in my house you’ll stay
Used to look at the stars and dream
round the world same stars were seen
And a twinkle in your eyes B—J—.

Talk smooth to me, without a tie
jump to spike the ball, damn so high.
We can take a trip to the baseball game
Triple A cubs—it’s all the same
Hot dogs out of a cannon, and other food
hope you look in my eyes and say I’m havin’ fun too
They say Iowa don’t have the bomb but they already do
They should know by now, it’s you.

And Iowa, Iowa so far away
is your home, but in my heart you’ll stay

You crazy for this one BJ
you can deny Chicago all you want
but you can’t deny that there’s something between us
I know you say you might stay in Iowa
but you’re in Wisconsin now baby

it’s time to stop hiding,
and start living


Video:

Click the following link to view the original SNL version of this song:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/16771/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-iran-so-far

Hope everyone had a great Camp Slaw and had a few laughs along the way,

Matt

happy birthday BJ and Uncle Mike

Live from Camp Slaw 2008:

Happy birthday BJ and Uncle Mike! Hope you have a great day and a great Camp Slaw!

Matt

Happy Birthday Daniel!

...because somebody had to do it.

Just kidding. Have a good one, Daniel.

Matt

P.S. new slide show feat. Daniel

What to do on Saturday night of camp slew. August 9. Please say suggtions. love Jakey

MY AMAZING TRIP!

Hey, fam! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far because I sure am, especially this past week I spent in Atlanta with the wonderful Lincenbergs! I had so much fun spending time with just the girls (and Uncle Shel). Everyday was funfilled and packed to the limit with excitement. All the Lincenbergs so kindly took time out of their days to spend time with me, but it was easy to see they all have hectic lives. I loved the constont friends and action happening at the Lincenberg house, and there was no doubt it was very different from the Ettleson lifestyle.


First things first. Packed and ready to go, I said good-bye to Mom, and Dad and I were on our way to O'hare airport. We were able to cut right past the long check-in line, to a short line were they allowed Dad to accompany me to the gate. We found our gate, devoured a huge Cinna-bun, and it was time for me to board. Good-bye Chicago, hello Atlanta! The plane fortunately took-off on time, and with a smooth flight, I landed safely at the Atlanta airport. I walked right of the ramp be warmly welcomed by Aunt Julie and Paige. Yay! I made it! We went to get the luggage and we were on way...to Subway! After Paige very maturely ordered 8 subs to go over the phone, we stopped at Kroger (the grocery store) and picked up the sandwiches. Little did I know, tonight we were going to Stone Mountain! We continued to the Lincenberg home where I was hugged by 4 more, Uncle Shel, Kim, Devin, and Jamie. But wait there's one more! Jonathon, Devin's boyfriend, was already at the house, and I learned that I was the second Slaw cousin to ever meet Jonathon (BJ was the first). We caravaned over to Stone Mountain were we saw a huge "mountain" of limestone" and an unforgetable lasershow. By the time we arrived back at home, everyone went straight to bed.


On Sunday morning, Aunt Julie made us butterscotch and chocolate chip waffles. They were delicious! In the afternoon, we toured the World of Coke. I have never tasted such a variety of drinks in my life! I also liked the commercial room where they showed many old Coca-Cola commercials. Of course the heavy rain and storms slowed down the travel time, but we managed to stop at Roaster's were we had the most incredible hostess. I will never forget her, or maybe it's because she was Devin! We also fit some Singstar, ping-pong (Paige-pong), and fooseball in as well.

On Monday, Paige and I made ourselves breakfeast and soon we were off to the neighborhood pool. Aunt Julie joined us when she returned from work. After our relaxing afternoon, it was off to Kroger to get tonight's meal. We were joined by two of Kim's friends for a dinner of spaghetti. Yum! I can't exactly remember if it was this night or last night that we watched My Best Friend's Wedding, but we watched it. We also rented P.S. I Love You and watched that which ever night we didn't watch the other movie. Although I fell asleep during this one. Ooops.

On Tuesday, Paige and I played a few games, watched a little TV, and we were headed to the ortho. After waiting a few minutes we continued to the Perimeter mall, conviently located right across from the W hotel that most of us stayed at just a few short months ago. Paige and I each bought something, and then, I saw this one coming, Aunt Julie couldn't resist from buying us matching shirts. You'll see them at Camp Slaw, don't worry. Aunt Julie also bought us Frappuccinos from Starbucks-very good! We stopped and visited Kim at the Atlanta Scrapbook Connection (where she works), and Paige picked up a few things. We stopped at Kroger to prepare for a delicous BBQ dinner.

On Wednesday, we woke up bright and early, around 9 am. We put our bathing suits on and grabbed some towels because were all ecstastic about our day at White Water! We went on a bunch of really fun rides. The Tornado was my favorite! Featuring a short yet steep drop and a side to side thrill ride, the Tornado was nearly an hour wait. Finally it was time to go home. We popped Paige's Bat Mitzvah Video in the DVD player and Kim made us all pizza.

On Thursday, I went with Aunt Julie to unfortunately her last tennis match. She played doubles, and I was very impressed. I has so much fun, especially since right after I got to play tennis at the neighborhood courts with Aunt Julie, Kim, and Paige. Then Paige and I went to the pool until it was time for our Girl's Night Out. Aunt Julie and Uncle Shel went out, Jamie was home on her day off, and the five of us went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. After, we just hung out at the house, and I played with Joey the gerbil.

On Friday, we spent a lot of time at the pool just fooling around and having tons of fun. Then with a little minor miscommunication we finally made to Nancy's Nails for a relaxing and enjoyable pedicure. Then we made on last trip to Kroger. Devin and Kim were out and about, and a wonderful Shabat dinner was prepared. We lit the candles and enjoyed a beautiful dinner. After, Paige, Aunt Julie, and I went for a "power" walk. We deserved ice cream so we drove out to Carvel. Mmmmm. To finish the day off the four of us watched Juno in their theatre.

Unfortunately Saturday came and it was the final hours, but we made the best of them. Aunt Julie made Rocky Mountain Toast. Then, Devin, Paige, Aunt Julie, and I went the Northpoint mall. We shopped around for about an hour, and came home to quickly change and head for the pool. After spending about hour there, we came home, and I finish packing up. We began our trip to the airport, but it was soon halted by heavy traffic. Jack, the GPS, helped us get out of our tricky situation. We got to the airport in the knick of time and ran to check-in. We raced to the gate only to find my flight had been delayed a half an hour. Ha! Finally, I said good-bye and boarded. My flight was further delayed while I was on the plane, but eventually I made it home. Dad was waiting at the gate and we both gave a big hug. I had so much to share with everyone, and I hope this got the job done for most of you.

Love, Lizzy

P.S. Thanks Jamie for taking your days off from camp counseling during the week I came to visit. I was really glad I got to see you. For those who don't know, Jamie is a counselor for Barney overnight camp so I didn't get to see her as much as the others, but I was happy to see her for short while than not at all.

P.P.S. As Paige has mentioned, she is running a very successful business by caring for people's homes in their absence. I enjoyed tagging along to all of the different houses and playing with their adorable pets.

25 days

Camp Slaw is only 25 days away.I hope everyone is excited.I alsaw think everyone is pumed about Rob coming! Camp Slaw 14 will be a blast August 6 to 10 at the abby!!!!!!!! Love Jay-K

Thirty days to thirty

Hello fam. As I begin to contemplate the meaning of hitting the big three-o, my first thought was that it would be fun to post a rhyming blog on the Dummyline. Then I started to think of words that rhymed with thirty--dirty, flirty, nerdy, squirty. Suddenly, that train of thought started to lose some steam.

A wordsmith I may be, but no assortment of words can express just how fortunate I feel that I will get to celebrate my thirtieth birthday in the presence of all the loved ones I care about most. Iowa has been good to me, but there just aren't any Slaws, Ettlesons or Lincenbergs around. There are a few Whites, but they're just pretenders.

You are all always so good to me when I'm up at Camp Slaw. I hope to elicit some smiles and laughs in return. Perhaps there will be another song, game show (a Monty revival!) and/or comedy act in the works.

Until then, I ask that you all soak up every last drop in this next month of summer. Some of you are already doing just that, which pleases me greatly. My parents are taking the cruise of a lifetime in the Mediterranean, Lizzy is packing her bags for Atlanta, Rob and Jeni are in the honeymoon period of their engagement, and so much more. I am giddy with delight knowing that each of you will be arriving at Camp Slaw with stories to share.

Camp Slaw aside, many of you are wondering if BJ is taking his nomadic act back to the Chicago area. All I can say at this point is that it's a serious possibility. I have applied for a Professional Academic Advisor position at the College of Lake County, which looks intriguing to me. I should find out in the next week or two if I'll be asked to come out for an interview. A lot of chips would have to fall in place. There is a lot to my Des Moines life that I enjoy. The whole notion of starting graduate school all over again is another wild card that is infiltrating the mix. I could spend the next year researching and applying to top-notch Higher Education Master's degree programs, then go somewhere in 2009 and complete the Master's full-time in two years. I have to lay out all the cards on the table and try to ask myself which one is the best hand.

I can tell by the rumbling in my stomach that I have rambled here long enough. I hope all of you had an explosively fun 4th of July and I will see you down that long lonesome highway.

xoxoxoxo,
BJ

Blog version 2.0

To begin, see above on the top of the blog for an introduction to Slaw Dummyline v2.0. I hope these changes result in a more multimedia based blogging experience that everyone can enjoy. If you look to the right side of the blog, you will see the addition of the logo (The Dummy, Dummy Line f. Grandpa Bob), the poll and the slideshow features.

My hope is that (with the exception of the logo) you guys (and not just me) will be able to contribute to these new applications. The poll is not just there for people to vote (and to be hilarious... but seriously), it would be great if others posed their own questions and answers as well. Even though the vote says there are about 30 days left, it can be changed at any time. To do this, simply log on (username matt@ettleson.com, etc.) and then view the blog. In the upper righthand corner of the screen is the underlined word "customize." Click that. From there, you can edit the layout of the blog and the slideshow and poll apps.

The slideshow app is particularly interesting because it is a part of a larger project I have of creating an online collection of web photos (using a google program called Picasa) that all of the family members can contribute to and have access to. Part of the result would be a much more interesting and varied slideshow, but there would be other possibilities as well. I know we share photos online already, but having them all in one place in the future may be helpful.

Finally, let me know what you think about the blog. I think someone (BJ) suggested a blogging tutorial this camp slaw. While that may not be necessary, I would certainly answer any questions and concerns you folks have so that everyone is capable and comfortable with blogging (if they want to in the first place, of course :) ).

Matt

Atlanta Here I Come!

It's official. I (actually my mom - thank you so much!!) have booked my flight to Atlanta for Saturday July 12th. I am so excited not only to flying by myself for the first time but to see the Lincenbergs for an entire week! I am coming back on July 19th, but I'm trying not to think about that. I'll be sure to blog and tell in person all about it. Can't wait!
Love, Lizzy

We're Engaged!

So you've all heard, but here's the actual story...in Rob's words....

I surprised Jen with a trip to the Daytime Emmy Awards (she’s a big “General Hospital” fan). We got in early Thursday morning (5am PT – 5 hour flight delay, though Jen was happy because “All My Children’s” Cameron Mathison was on our flight – he co-hosted the Emmys). After some rest, we headed up the coast to Malibu to El Matador Beach. It’s a really beautiful, natural beach – lots of rock formations. I guess this was a good choice of a beach – because there was an all-day model photo shoot happening (I swear I didn’t plan it that way!).

After a couple of hours in the California sun (yes, I was wearing my 55 SPF and still am pasty white), Jen and I went for a walk to a secluded part of the beach. We sat down and I told her that before we left I had another surprise for her. I pulled out a 25th Anniversary of Luke and Laura’s Wedding “General Hospital” lunch box (You can see what it looks like here: http://abctvstore.seenon.com/detail.php?p=14019&alt_view=TRUE).

At this point I took out my video camera (we had been shooting some scenery at the beach) and started taping Jen, while I said “Open the box, there’s another surprise in there.” She loved the lunch box – and was shocked to find another box (with the “rock”) inside! Of course, while all this is going on, I’m still taping her reaction (remember, this is “me” we’re talking about). Then I shut the camera off for a private moment. (I think she would have said “no” if I kept rolling!).


Attached you will find a few pictures of us, the ring and the surroundings. By chance, a professional photographer was at the same beach at the same time shooting another couple – and she graciously took a few great pictures of us.

Jen and I are both thrilled and happy to share this special moment with you!

Love, Rob and Jen

Congratulations Rob & Jen!!!!

Dear Jen and Rob, We wanted to be the first to congratulate both of you on your engagement. You had a fairytale weekend and I hope you savored evey minute. Rob, we are proud to welcome you to our nutty "dummyline" family. I am so excited about the planning to come and of course your wedding. May you have a lifetime of love, joy, friendship, companionship and contentment. All our love and best wishes. Dad and I will be on our cloud for a long time to come. Stay on yours. We love you! Love, Mom and Dad

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all the fathers!


love,
devin =)

CAMP!!

Hey! I leave for Camp Barney Medintz today and return on July 3. This will be my 5th year going! Jamie's there too, as a counselor, so she'll be there til the very end of July. We both love receiving letters and will definitely respond back, so here's the address:
(Jamie or Paige Lincenberg)
4165 Highway 129 North
Cleveland, GA 30528

We can't wait to hear from you! Love, Paige

Happy Birthday Julie!!!

Happy Birthday Julie! I hope that you have a great day. I hope that you do something special on your special day. We are sending good wishes your way! Love, Jeri

The End of the Year: AEPi formal and rafting

First of all, congratulations bloggers on having 150 posts. I'm not sure when I started this blog if this whole "website idea" was going to stick, but it did and that's great.

Now to more pressing matters... the last days of school are finally upon us here at Northwestern, and it's about time- but I have had a very memorable year. AEPi has many of its biggest events at the end of the school year, including AEPi formal and our rafting trip.

AEPi formal was a lot of fun, and it was at the Drake, so, good memories. I went with a friend from my dorm, so that was good. Some of us arrived a little late because there was an engineering quiz right before the formal, so we went to Steak and Shake afterwards.

The rafting trip was a lot of fun, too. We drove for about 6 hours north to Crivitz, Wisconsin and the Peshtigo River. It rained a little, we got lost a few times, but it's always fun spending time with the brothers. The actual rafting was a little nerve wracking, and I actually fell out of the kayak at the bottom of a drop (for the record, it was not my fault). Despite getting a little wet and having sore arms for a few days, I'm definitely planning on going again next year.

After it all, I can't wait to come home and see everyone again. I hope everyone is doing well, and I will see you all soon.

Matt

Me and Vanessa

AEPi Formal- my pledge class

Everyone sleeping in the van (except Dima and me)

Jamie's 2nd prom!

Hey Everyone!
So, this past weekend i was in Milwaukee for Rosey's prom! I had an amazing time and i was so happy that i got to finally meet all of his friends and his family, because he had already met mine...twice! Here are just a couple of pictures...

Also, i have not filled you all in on my March of the Living trip in Poland and Israel. It is a lot to type and it is hard to describe from the computer, so please, if you are at all interested, ask me about it at camp slaw and i will be happy to talk about it! In the next couple of days i am going to put up all of the pictures from that trip on an online photo album, so i will send out an email to everyone with that link!

Love you all! See you in a couple of months!

Here are a couple pictures from this weekend:

Relay For Life

AEPi and Friends- the team I set up on behalf of our fraternity (and friends)- recently participated in Northwestern's Relay For Life. It took place in our gym on the lake front, which was neat when the sun rose at a little after 5 in the morning. For those unfamiliar with the event, teams representing student groups, athletic teams, fraternities, and sororities raised money for the American Cancer Society and took part in the 12 hour (6 pm to 6 am) event. As part of the event, two members of each team are supposed to be walking at all times during the twelve hour period. There was also a memorial service for those who the Northwestern community has lost to cancer over the past year. As a fraternity, we raised over $2000 with the help of hot dog sales around campus the week leading up to Relay For Life. Everyone had a great time (despite the sore knees), and we all want to do it again next year.

Here are some pictures:

AEPi & Friends

Matt

Kim & Devin are off on a crazy adventure...!!!

Tomorrow, more precisely, 11 hours from now, Devin and I will be on our way to New York...the first destination of our three week long worldwide adventure!

We can't wait to see Jeni and Rob tomorrow...and then on Saturday we are off to Rome!

Just wanted to let you all know that it's happening- when we return there will be a very long description of our experience...you know you're excited!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!
~kim and devin~


p.s. kim graduated! woo-hoo!

Happy Birthday Jeni!!!!!!!

Jen- I really hope you have a fantastic birthday month. I say month because I know the festivities are spread out. Anyhow- I hope you take the time to today count your blessings, because I feel very blessed to have for a sister.

Love, Jess

Happy Birthday Matt!

I cannot believe that you are 19 years old today! How is that possible? This is the first year I believe that I won't be seeing you on your birthday. But, I look forward to seeing you this week-end. Matt, I hope that you have a wonderful birthday. Do something special. Enjoy the day. Know that you are loved. That is the best gift of all. Have a good one.....love, Mom