Events of January

January is almost gone.  It's been a month with cold weather and nice weather...snow and rain.  We've been working, relaxing and overall just enjoying the month!!

We had a great weekend when Mike, Amanda, Dane and Nora and Ben and Jen came to visit.  With the Anderson's living closer we look forward to more opportunities to spend time together as a family.

Nora is helping Grammy make caramel rolls!

Little Miss Sugar Face with those beautiful blue eyes....The sugar and cinnamon

on the caramel rolls tastes good!

              

Just hangin' out....

Grammy had found this awesome little starter guitar recently

and Dane thinks it is great to play with Uncle Benny.

Dane shared his little guitar with Jen.

Grampy enjoying some time with the little snuggle bug.

Nora just loves to snuggle!

The weekend after Pearl turned 50 her sweet hubby spoiled her and took her to a lodge.  It was very relaxing including a wonderful massage at the spa!

 

Our wonderful friends Bruce and Rhonda also spent a night at the lodge. 

A Godiva chocolate basket from them to console the 50 year old!

We had the renewal spa room which had a whirlpool tub and fireplace. 

Both felt fantastic on that cold weekend.

There was even live music Saturday evening in the lobby/sitting area.

This is the mean thing that happened on Pearl's 50th birthday. While visiting a patient in her home, the neighbor backed out of his driveway and ran into the Jetta!  Never mind that Pearl is old now and didn't see that she was parked in a "no parking zone."  It was a stormy blustery day and really no options of where to park, but honestly didn't see the no parking sign.  Our body man will soon have the Jetta looking as good as new! 

Wonder what it would take to fix up Pearl's 50 year old body?!!!

This is how 2010 greeted us....BRRRRRR!

                 Brian and Julie spent New Years weekend with us. 

We decided to celebrate at home with steak and lobster. 

                       Brian was a pro at preparing the lobster tails.                    

                                  

Lobster tails ready to broil.

Yummy!!

                                                 

December Fun with Family

We were able to get together at Christmas at a motel in Bismarck....we thought for a couple days we may not all be able to make it, but we were fortunate to all get there during the "window of opportunity".  It was fun to all be together again and we all had a safe journey home  too!

Pearl's sisters thought this the perfect time to celebrate an upcoming milestone birthday

"Excuse me, but I prefer my own glasses! "

Those "coke bottle" glasses look much cuter on Dane!

I guess Grandpa was hungry...it had likely been all of four hours since we had last eaten!

Time for some swimming!

Nora found a friend in Linnea to play in the pool!

Nora loved the pool and wanted her swimsuit on the first thing in the morning.  She went to breakfast in her swimsuit both mornings!

Of course, there has to be time to play games!

The girls were kind enough to let the "little people" play on the bed while they visited.

It was blizzarding on Christmas Day, but we were able to make it far enough to have a Christmas buffet dinner.

Dane and Nora came and spent the weekend before Christmas with Grampy and Grammy.  It is so wonderful having them close enough to do this.

Bedtime stories with Grampy!

Bathtime is always so much fun....

Playing in the little park by Grampy and Grammy's.

Dane likes the "vintage slide" in the little park!

Nora loves to swing! Big smiles for Grampy!

Making sugar cookies with Grammy....Nora liked to eat the dough!

Helping Grammy decorate the cookies is fun ....

.....but eating them is the best part!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Chad and Sasha hosted a great Thanksgiving dinner and weekend at

their home. The pressure is on Chad as he has an audience

watching him carve the turkey!

He gets a little advice from his dear old dad, Gary.

Here is all of Gary and Diane's family along with Grandpa and Grandma.

Jen got Grandma to do some bowling on the Wii....

....and Grandpa too!

All eyes are on Steve now!

Here's the gang that spent Saturday after Thanksgiving at Chad and Sasha's.

Fun times playing games!

And tipping the furniture upside down to find lost cards!

Ben's buddy Dane!!

Dane likes Ed too...and I think Ed likes Dane!!

Dane liked the Wii too and here he gets some instruction on tennis from Chad.

 

Not sure who is teaching who on this one!?!

Maybe Nora is getting some lessons.

Thanks to Chad and Sasha for a fun time!

One last trip to Vegas to visit the "kids"...

A couple weeks ago we made a trip to LasVegas...very likely our last for a long time! We are so thrilled that the "kids" are moving back closer to us. It will just be a two hour drive now...just a "hop, skip and a jump!" Dane and Nora are both growing up so fast and it will be wonderful to get to see them more often.

Dane helps Grampy disassemble the playhouse to be moved to Minnesota.

Oh this park....lots of wonderful walks through the desert to get to the park. It was about a mile and a half and they frequented it nearly every day. A great place for the kids to wear off some energy!

We will all miss the park, but it will be awesome when they, including Teddy, can run and play on the farm!

Nora toots her horn!

Nora thought she was pretty clever when she could make this horn toot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4DtZFINGHY

Another weekend trip and more family

We went to Al and Pam's in Winona, MN last weekend. Their oldest son Lee and his two children were visiting from California. We got to see their two daughters and their families, too. Sabrina and Jenny live closer to Al and Pam. Steve's brother Doug, his wife Brenda and daughter Karlee also came for the day. Two of Pam's sisters and two brothers were also there so it was a big family gathering! We spent Friday night at Ben's house in Richfield and he and Jenn also drove to Winona for the day.

Lee had baked and was decorating a delicious carrot cake.

It was a hot day, but a perfect evening to sit and visit on the front porch at Al and Pam's.

Jerry and Sabrina's oldest child, Jaina, acted as our maid and served us cake on the front porch.

It was Jerry and Sabrina's 17th wedding anniversary!

Sunday Jerry and Sabrina had us all out for a yummy grilled pork loin for lunch.

A Busy Weekend with Family and Friends

We enjoyed having Mike, Amanda, Dane and Nora home for a few days the first of August. We had some potlucks while they were home so that they had a chance to see family and friends. It looks like Grammy is more excited to see Nora than Nora is to see Grammy! I think she had some exploring of these new surroundings on her mind.

Several of the family joined us for a picnic at Dead Colt Creek Recreation Area on Saturday evening. It turned out to be a beautiful evening, even though the day started out rather chilly.

Dane and Cade became "buddies" at the picnic on Saturday evening.

Sunday we had a potluck at our house for lunch. Unfortunately, I guess we were too busy to take many pictures! Dane and Payton are just 8 days apart in age....they were having a blast wrestling!

Sedric, Shar, Levi and Emily came to visit us at the campground on Sunday evening. Second cousins, Dane and Levi, are really concentrating on their construction work!

We camped at the park on Sunday evening and enjoyed some time there on Monday.
Dane picked "Momma" some flowers while he and Daddy were out walking.

Great Grandma entertains Nora with a little "Quiet Book" that Great Auntie Diane made for Nora's mommy when she was about the age Nora is now.

Medora and the Beautiful North Dakota Badlands

We met Calvin and Eileen at Medora for a couple nights of camping one weekend during the middle of July. We enjoyed the Medora Musical, Pitchfork Fondue and the beautiful scenery. We had beautiful weather and enjoyed our time there.

We saw lots of wildlife out in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We saw some wild horses up close and personal.....

....and lots of buffalo.

Some of them were up close and personal too, but not in this photo.

We saw several elk. These looked so majestic up on the ridge.

A beautiful sunset over Wind Canyon.

Danella was working at Medora this summer. She went out into the park with us Sunday evening to do a little hiking.

A picnic supper. Danella's cousin Kristina worked at Medora this summer too.

Lael

Steve's Dad's cousin Lael from Washington has been traveling this summer to visit friends and family in the midwest. We were very privileged to have him spend a few days with us!