October Fun!

Stephanie and her boys, Noah and Cooper, were able to come visit the middle of October. We had so much fun with them! We made sure to go see the zoo, Vala's, and Nebraska City

Arbor Day Treehouse Trail.

I never get tired of having my children come with their children to visit. Sometimes (alot of days) it gets very lonely.

Although Rick and I have work to keep us busy...it's family that makes life worth living. We have joined and adjusted to the empty nesters but I remember the joy that my mom had each time her children and grandchildren came to visit whether it be from out of town or those living nearby...it was always such a welcome happiness. I now know how she felt and why!

Family is what life is all about nothing else matters....no blessing in our life is greater and it doesn't change when you are an empty nester....you will always love having your children around you. We want all our children and grandchildren to know how important you are in our lives. We love you all very much!

Nebraska City Arbor Day Treehouse Trail!!!

Playing the wooden xylophones!
There was so much for kids to do from swinging bridges, treehouses, guessing game of animal footprints, logs to climb through, building games, etc. Stephanie's boys had a great time discovering everything!

Our trip to the Zoo

Jason, Lacey and their family (even little Kael) joined Stephanie and her boys and us for a afternoon at the Zoo. We all had a fun time and wish it could have been longer.

Running through the tree roots in the Rain Forest!!! I loved watching my grandkids chase through here. They don't get to spend much time with each other and to see them interact was really fun!

The Gorillas were the hit of the day....but my were they rather scary. One had a staredown with Cooper!








Kaiden's Soccer Game

Jason and Lacey invited us to watch Kaiden's last soccer game of the season. It was fun to see him in his uniform and to see him be such a great little player!






Vala's Pumpkin Patch

I have always loved going to Vala's Pumpkin Patch but haven't been for quite a while....It has changed alot and many, many more people! I think we just picked the busiest day but we did have fun and were able to do alot of fun things.





The Boys loved climbing on the tractors (above), dressing the scarecrows (below) and going down the huge slide that goes down the side of a barn. We fed goats, rode a train, saw a puppet show and had hot funnel cakes (yummmm!) Not too good for the diet but ahh who cares when you are having fun!










Rick, Stephanie and the boys riding the little train. I opted only for the big one!



Riding the big TraiWe love you, Stephanie, Noah and Cooper and are so glad you came...we missed you, Brett! Hopefully, you will be able to come next year! Not the same without you!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Today is Katie, our daughter-in-law's birthday! We are so happy that she is in our family! She is a great wife to Matthew and a wonderful mother to Carter and Keegan. They are very blessed to have Katie as their mother. We appreciate her kindness and love towards us and others in the family. She is very giving and would do anything for others. She is also a very good cook (I love the cinnamon rolls and the fun dishes that she makes whenever we visit).

We love you, Katie, and hope you have a great day.

Happy Birthday!

P.S. Thank you for the Halloween goodies. So yummy!

Meeting Little Kael!

We are so excited for the arrival of our #10 grandchild....Jason and Lacey had a little boy on October 2nd...Kael Reed was 7 lbs. and 13 ounces! He is such a beautiful baby! It is such a wonderful experience to hold these little ones in your arms...to know that they just came from their Heavenly Father and are such choice spirits. The awe of seeing my son or daughter having a new little one of their own never stops amazing me.

Congratulations to Jason and Lacey and their family!

White Coat and Birthdays!

I finally am catching up on posting....The end of September is already here. September brought a fun trip to West Virginia to Eric's White Coat Ceremony. It was fun not to have to be tired from traveling and driving and to just enjoy! The ceremony was very nice and it was great that Joy's brother-in-law, Mike, was able to come and present Eric his white coat. It is hard to imagine my baby being in the next segment of his life. Wow! We also enjoyed going and seeing the Greenbrier (a hotel/resort built in the 1790's). It was easy to feel the ambiance of the place. We were treated with some special dinners made by Joy and a morning to a museum. Thanks Eric and Joy for the wonderful time.

We also had fun in September going out to eat for our grandkids, Maddie and Kaiden. It was fun to see their faces as they opened gifts and to celebrate with them. Thanks for inviting us!

Waiting for ceremony to begin!

Seats for the med students!

Eric's brother-in-law, Mike, putting on Eric's white coat!



Afterwards in the quad area. We were able to go see inside the buildings and to visit the anatomy lab with Eric and.....that was....very interesting! Actually it was pretty amazing!





Aren't these two pictures below so alike? I think they are pretty cute!

The Visit to the Greenbrier....What a great place! It's hard to believe it was built in the 1790's.



The pictures below don't really do it justice...It was awesome! It had shops below to browse in and then we found out later that they also have an area out back with working crafters that you can watch!

Olivia and seeing the horses!




What a Cutie!!!









We had fun going out to eat with Jason, Lacey and family for Maddie's Birthday and then for Kaiden's birthday. It was fun to see their excited expressions as they opened their gifts from us and to wish them Happy Birthday! They are both such cute grandkids!





Maddie opening up her gifts!

Kaiden opening up his gifts!



Kaitlyn

Grandpa and Kenzie!

The Deck and West Virginia (July)

Wow, I am so slow getting everything posted but here are a few pics from the end of July. Eric put in a lot of sweat in tearing down the our deck and putting up the supporting structure before he headed to med school. When I say he put in alot of sweat, it was about 96 degrees outside and humid and he stayed out there all day two days straight so he could get it done before heading to West Virginia. We are so thankful for his labor...it saved alot of work and struggles for his good ole dad. Doesn't it look great so far!

These pictures below were taken when we help Eric and Joy drive out to West Virginia. It is such beautiful country and tons and tons of trees. We had a great but quick trip the last of July. We ended up going again the weekend of Sept 11, for Eric's White Coat Ceremony. I will try to get those pictures posted in a few days.

Follow that rental!

A big surprise...we found that Rick's brother was a famous painter in this part of the world. :)

Happy Birthday to Cooper and Kaiden!

Happy Birthday this week to our cute grandsons, Kaiden and Cooper!

Cooper is so cute! He is full of endless energy (I wish I had some of it), he is hilarious and makes you laugh (brings sunshine to life), and is such a sweet, little guy! I just love it when he talks on the phone to me, although most of the time he is nodding with me talking but he does say, "I love you, grandma" and I just love hearing it!

We love you, Cooper! Happy 3rd Birthday!

Kaiden is growing up so fast! He reminds me alot of his father at that age! He is very smart and full of life and is all boy in a house full of sisters. He has a twinkle in his eye and the cutest grin. He always makes sure to give Grandpa and Grandma hugs when he sees us and we so love that. Right now it is Grandpa that has his attention and it makes Grandpa's day!

We love you, Kaiden! Happy 5th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our little granddaughter, Maddie. I always smile when I think of Maddie! She is such an adorable and smart little girl. Last time we were visiting, she was singing songs for us that she was making up. It was so cute, she kept singing and singing. What a wonderful little granddaughter...such a delightful sweetheart!

We Love You, Maddie, and wish you a Happy Birthday!