Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours! Hope you had a great Christmas. We sure did. As usual lots of pictures were taken. We used my ugly green chair as our base for pictures this year. We actually couldn't get in front of the tree for all the gifts. The first two shots are of the tree and all the gifts. Ya think we had enough? The next one is my family. Aren't we a good looking bunch? Picture #4 is my children and Odie. Odie is Jim & Mandy's dog. Picture #5 is Jim with his brand new ISU sweatshirt! He was very happy about it. The last picture in the bunch is of all our kids. Barb, Jim, Mandy, Mike, Beth, Karsten and the newest member of the family -- Jackson. Jackson is Beth & Karsten's son. Isn't he adorable? We all think so.



Jim & Mandy arrived for the holidays on a snowy, icy, windy Saturday night. The Davis' had their Christmas Saturday, December 22nd at Duaine & Linda's in Luana. I got a call from Barb around 5:00 p.m. that they were heading out and that the roads and the weather were terrible. It took them over 3 hours to get here. Mandy & Jim drove one car and Barbie and her dad and his wife were in another. They all arrived at their respective homes safely but it was a bad trip for all. I was so happy to see Jim & Mandy when they finally got here. Thank goodness for cell phones. I was able to talk to Barb a few times to find out where everyone was! Jim & Mandy slept pretty good Saturday night -- they were pooped from the trip.



The weather didn't cooperate very much better on Sunday. My children were all getting together with their father in Cascade -- but there was a lot of ice and snow with windy conditions so Jim & Mandy made the decision to stay here for the day. I kept them busy getting ready for Christmas Eve festivities here. Barb made the decision to head back to Ankeny Sunday afternoon. Thankfully she made it safely. Monday dawned much better and the kids went out to do some last minute shopping. Odie and I held down the fort!! I had a couple of errands to take care of after lunch.



Glee, Ron and Mike arrived around 5:30 with Beth, Karsten, and little Jackson not far behind. Barb called around 3:00 and said she was on her way! She had to work Christmas Eve Day, the rest of us worked it out so that we didn't have to! We had plenty to eat while we waited for her. She got here around 6:30. It was great having everyone together for the holiday. We sat down and ate chili (which Jim & Mandy made) and cheesy potato soup.

Gift opening is always a lot of fun for us! Lots of gag gifts. This year Karsten got the CHICKEN, but I also got 2 more! One is a chicken keychain that plays the chicken dance song and the other crows! We'll see where those go next year!! Mike got Mikey money ($300). He told me when Jim & Mandy got married that I owed him $300 so that's what he got!! Jim and I had a good time putting that together! Mike also told me he needed candles for his home so . . . he got candles!! He got used candles, used candle holders and new candles! Barbie got her fuzzy pen again! Glee got some darling things for her rock garden. One was a frog from Jim & Mandy and Barbie found her a bug to put out when the weather is good! Can't wait to see what they all look like.

I fared very well. I got an ISU jacket from my daughter, beautiful towels for my bathroom (I'm changing colors, etc.) from Mandy & Jim, a wonderful pullover fleece from Jim & Mandy, music box, reed difuser, snowman lamp, Mandy & Jim gave me a beautiful book on their wedding (what a keeper!) and they also gave me the CD of their wedding. I promised a number of people books about their wedding so . . . this should keep me busy for most of the winter. I got other things as well, but sitting here and trying to remember is not working. The majority of them have already been put to use or put away. The tree will stay up for a while (when I get ambitious enough to put everything away), but I'll enjoy the lights and colors until I get to that point!!

Jim & Mandy took off for Council Bluffs after the gift opening. We just couldn't talk them into staying and leaving the next morning. They got into Des Monies around 3:30 or so and Council Bluffs a little after 6:00. They enjoyed Christmas Day with Mandy's dad's family. Roads were good going back to Des Monies.

We had a nice dinner on Christmas Day. Spent some time just visiting. Ron & Mike, Beth, Karsten & Jackson left after dinner. Glee stayed with Barb and I another night as she was picking up their new car on Wednesday! That was fun!! Barb and I went with her. Got some good pictures and got to see the new car. It's pretty cool!!!

Barb left this afternoon (Thursday). She helped me with some laundry, and putting some stuff away. We did some shopping both Wednesday and today. I had a couple things to return and was lucky and found something to replace what I returned. Hope Jim likes it! Barb should be home about now. Sounds like more icky weather coming for the weekend. Before Barb left we did some grocery shopping. I think I can handle whatever comes as long as I don't loose my electricity!

One of my gifts was a cutting system from Creative Memories from Barb. Can't wait to try that and a couple of other things out. I have Jim & Mandy's wedding to play around with, as well as a couple of books for my neice and sister. I'm going to do a baby book of Jackson for Beth & Karsten and a brag book for my sister and her husband. Should be fun!! I really do enjoy my scrapbooking!!

Well, it's about time I quit boring everyone and do something constructive around here. Like sweep the kitchen floor. It looks like it could use it!!

Hope all is well with everyone. Hope you all made some wonderful memories of Christmas and have many more in the new year.

Peace.

Where did the time go??

Can you believe that it's almost Thanksgiving? This fall sure went fast! Course we were a little busy with Jim's wedding, Beth's baby and my birthday. It kept us all pretty busy! Added some more pictures of wedding, baby and birthday.

As I told you all last time I wrote, my birthday party was really a surprise. One of my gifts was a new digital camera. It's so cool! I'm still learning how to use it but some of these pictures are from it. The one of Barbie holding Jackson and the one of Jim & Mandy. Aren't we all a great looking bunch!! It was really fun!! Glad I dressed up a little more than I was going to. Marilyn suggested I might want to. Now I know why!!! My sister gave me some wine (just like what we drank in Colorado) and a couple of snowman items. I love snowmen! I'm not particularly fond of snow, but love those little creatures made of it!! She collects Santas and I collect snowmen! Not hard to figure out what to get us for Christmas!!

I'm celebrating Thanksgiving in the usual way. I'm putting up my Christmas tree and all the other goodies in my house. Have to do some re-arranging of furniture, but think I have it figured out for this year. My friend Marilyn, is coming for Thanksgiving dinner. Actually she's bringing the turkey, pie and cranberries. I'll supply the rest. She volunteered to help with the tree. Don't think she has a clue what's involved with putting my tree up. I'll have pictures! Don't I always?? My children are both busy this Thanksgiving. Jim & Mandy are going to her family and Barbie has to work. My sister invited me for dinner but think I'll just stay home and do the tree thing. Now if only the weather cooperates!! Sounds like a storm is brewing in the west. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Went to a craft fair in Dubuque over the weekend. Found a couple of things for family and friends. It was fun. Went with a co-worker and Marilyn and her sister Roni. I think I bought the most, but I do have a couple of people on my list already finished. And a good start on a couple more. Betsy and I went partially to check out what others do for tables, etc., at the fairs and we're thinking of getting a table for some spring shows and get our scrapbooking/card business going. We're planning on an ad in the local papers about scrapping holiday pictures. We'll see what that brings!!

Work is busy. I have two newsletter to get out before Wednesday. I know the one will go but have my doubts on our agency one. We have a number of people that just can't make deadlines and of course, that makes me late too. We'll do what we can with the time we have. Our agency has Friday off also as a holiday. Gives you a nice long weekend!! And I'm looking forward to it.

I'm working on some books for Christmas presents. They're going pretty well. Maybe I'm just getting faster at what I do. They still look the same!!

Well, it's 8:15 p.m. and I haven't had supper yet. Think I go rustle up something to eat and watch a little TV yet tonight. See if my ghost shows up again during the night. I have a touch lamp in my bedroom that goes on and off by itself. Hasn't done it for some time but started in again over the weekend. Weird!!!

Here's wishing a blessed Thanksgiving to all. If you're driving to your Thanksgiving dinner, pleae take care. Have a great one.

Surprise!

Well I had the surprise of my life Saturday evening. A friend came to spend some time with me for the weekend and said she wanted to take me out for my birthday on Saturday night. Sounded good to me and the two of us have a great time doing things together. She came Friday night after work. We spent the evening eating pizza and gabbing about anything and everything. Saturday morning we got up and went shopping! One of our favorite things to do together. She was looking for votives for her church so we made some stops at St. Vinny's and Salvation Army. Luckily she found some at both places. We also made a stop at Hobby Lobby to put together a gift for my daughter's birthday. Barb's birthday was early September but with all the excitment of the wedding and all I never did get a proper gift to her. We found something that between us we could put together for a fairly nice gift. I also spent a little money on more scrapbooking items as I have several projects I want to finish for Christmas gifts . . . hope I get the majority of them done!

We got back to my place around 3:30. Both of us were pooped so we spent some time just relaxing. I finally decided I better take a shower and clean up for the evening. I was going to wear jeans but Marilyn thought we should dress up a little bit. Glad she talked me into that! I was ready to go around 5:45 but she insisted that I watch the end of a football game we were watching and then we had to go to her sister's to deliver something she had forgotten! So off we went. I drove. We were going to Olive Garden for supper. Drove into the parking lot (and it's always full) and got rock star parking right across from the front door. I remarked that there were a number of people waiting, but noticed there was a bench free so thought we could just sit and talk some more before we were seated. She stopped to check in and the gal said follow me. I made another remark about knowing the right people and followed the hostess. Walked around the corner and there was my family!! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Cameras flashing and people yelling! Was I surprised?? YES! Very much so. My children, Barb and Jim & Mandy came in from Ankeny/West Des Moines, my sister and her husband were there and my neice, her husband and their new baby joined us. It was definitely a surprise, but a wonderful one. My birthday was the 17th but in the middle of the week and everyone was busy the weekend after. I thought maybe someone would come home the following weekend but they told me they were all busy, etc. Actually my children have a life of their own so I was disappointed but definitely understood, but the surprise of having them there was great! Thanks for making the trip guys. It really meant a lot to me.

I need to thank my sister, as I understand it was basically her idea. What a wonderful way to remember you 60th birthday! I haven't had a birthday party since high school, so this one was extra special!! My children got me a new digital camera (of which I love and can't wait for Christmas and all the pictures I can take). Jim set everything up on it so basically all I have to do is point and shoot! My sister and her husband gave me a bottle of wine (just like what we drank in Colorado), a snowman candy dish and another snowman for my collection at Christmas. Thank you so much. I love them both. The wine will get drunk real soon. We sure enjoyed it in Colorado! It's definitely a birthday to remember. Pictures next time!!

Can't write in my blog without wedding pictures (or some pictures of some kind). Since the wedding it the last big event in our lives (baby baptism coming up next) you get wedding pictures. These are some of my favorites. I have no clue what was so funny but Barb, Jim and I are certainly having a great time. I love the one of Barb and I. It's a keeper! The one of Jim & Mandy is one of my favorite snapshots I've seen so far. They look so happy! My sister had a great time and hamming it up with Jim is one of her favorite things to do. The picture of Barbie and Glee is great too. Lots of memories.

Jim & Mandy have got some of their pictures back from the photographer. I'm getting ready to order my prints. I definitely want a couple of larger prints for my livingroom wall. I also want a number of the 4x6 size shots for scrapbooking. Want to make up a number of books for different people. I'm looking forward to that project. I love weddings, and this one was very special.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Obviously I do. Work has been busy. It's end of the year for me. Our fiscal year ends September 30th so there's all kinds of statistical reports due to Des Moines. I've requested an extension on those. I should be able to get everything together by November 16th. Or at least that's the plan. We had an all-agency staffing today. Lots of work goes into those meetings. I also had a CSBG (community services block grant) stats meeting this afternoon. We went over all the stats for the year and plan on some changes in our reporting data. It's good to get together like this, but we had so many priority projects going at once it's a little hectic. The agency is also involved in a day-long workshop entitled "Bridges Out of Poverty," We're doing the registration part of it. Well we also sent out the flyer. We used snail mail as well as emailing a little over 100. That was an experience. I had a terrible time getting them out but finally they all went but 3. Bad addresses, I guess.

Hopefully things will slow down a little in the near future.

My sister and I are traveling to Ankeny for the weekend. Ankeny has a big craft fair this coming weekend. We're doing the 'early-bird' thingy. Barb and her friend Katie are season ticket holders to all ISU football games and there's a game being televised Saturday. When they televise games they start earlier in the day. This one starts at 11:00 or 11:30. Anyway, to make a long story shorter . . . Barbie is getting us early-bird tickets to the craft fair and my sister and I are going to spend our Saturday morning attending that. The early-bird part is a hot breakfast, goodie bags from vendors and the chance to shop early. Hopefully we'll find something we like and want to buy. I'm hoping Mandy can join us later in the morning to shop with us. She told me Sunday she really didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday for a craft fair. She gets up around 5:30 every morning for work. Guess we'll let her sleep in. Hope she can meet us later in the morning.

I'm hungry. Think I'll go find something for my supper. Just wanted to post some more pictures and thank my family for the wonderful birthday party. Thanks guys. I love you.

More wedding pictures!

I just couldn't resist putting more pictures in my blog. They aren't in any specific order (as you can see) but the way I uploaded them. I always try and put them in the body of my blog and that doesn't always work so thought I'd try it this way . . . this time.

Don't Jim and Mandy look happy? They were just coming out of the church on this shot. They had an absolutely beautiful day for their wedding. Next we go to the reception and Barb & Dan. Barbie walked with Jim's college roommate and friend, Dan. They make a great looking couple, don't they? Dan and Sara are the proud parents of a baby girl, Grace Addison, born in July. Dan and Sara live in Des Moines also.

The next picture has absolutely nothing to do with the wedding except that he's the newest member of our family. My neice, Beth, gave birth to this beautiful baby October 1st. His name is Jackson Dean. He was 8 lbs. 2 oz., 20 inches long and according to his Grandma Glee "wonderful!" Jackson was born in Dubuque so I was able to visit Beth & Karsten while they were still here in town. He really is a beautiful baby. What wonderful eyes!!

I'm just all over with these pictures but . . . the next one is two of my old neighbors and oldest friends from Epworth -- Cheri Clancy (Amke) and Doris Bierman. Doris and Amke were able to attend Mandy's wedding shower and we just had to have a picture for old time sake! We really must get together one of these days and hash over old times!!

Back to the wedding. Mandy and her bridesmaids. That's Barb on the far right. They all looked so beautiful in their black dresses.

Last, and certainly not least, the bride & groom at the reception. By this time they were very relaxed and took some great pictures.

The photographer Mandy & Jim had took over 1200 pictures of their wedding. They have them posted on-line and I can't wait to get a hold of some of them to do some scrapbooking. I promised Jackie (Mandy's mom) a book, would like to make one for Jim & Mandy, Barbie and myself. That should keep me busy for a few evenings!

What a rainy weekend. Did you get a lot done at your house? I worked a food giveaway on Saturday morning and came home and took a long nap. I think it lasted until later in the afternoon. I did see our Hawkeyes beat Illinois. That was a surprise! Didn't accomplish much on Saturday. Sunday I got in the spirit of cleaning and got a few things done. It needed it. Being out of town for a couple of weekends in a row doesn't do much for my cleaning!!

I finished a scrapbooking project and spent some time organizing pictures and my room before beginning another project. I love to scrapbook, but sometimes it takes a bit to get me going on a new project. Once I'm started I'm okay.

I should probably get a little more done around here tonight before I call it a night. I just had to add some more pictures. I'm sure more will be coming! It really was a nice wedding and everything turned out so well. And Jackson is a cutie!!

Best go. You all take care. God Bless.

Wedding!

The biggest event of late was Jim & Mandy's wedding. They were married on Saturday, September 22 in Omaha, Nebraska. I've posted some snapshots that Barb or I took at the wedding, rehersal and reception. I'll add more at a later date. They aren't in any specific order but turned out pretty good.

The first one is the bride & groom! They and the wedding party took a boat ride between the wedding service and the reception. As you can see it was an absolutely beautiful day!!
Next we have Barb & Jim taken at the church during the official picture-taking! Don't they look happy! I think Glee took the picture but we're all happy about the event that's going to take place!! My family!! Another shot of Barb & Jim. Barb had a beautiful dress and looked great. Next is Mr. & Mrs. Jim Davis as they left the altar at the church. Got a great picture of Jim, Harry and LInda (Harry's wife) at Spagetti Works in Omaha at the rehersal supper. Mandy had a picture taken with each of her attendants and this is the one of Barb & her. Last, but not least (for this trip down memory lane) is JIm, Harry and I. We clean up pretty good, don't we???




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I had a great time. Jim booked a room for Barb and I at the Holiday Inn at the AmeriStar Casino. My sister and her husband and son came in on Saturday and stayed at the same hotel on Saturday night.

Jim and Mandy had a note on the back of their program for my niece (or Jim's cousin) that read Good luck especially to Jim's cousin Beth who is having a baby boy any minute! What a sweet thing to do on your wedding program. Unfortunately, Beth hasn't had her baby boy yet. She had another doctor's appointment today so we'll see if anything happens in the real near future.

I personally had a great time. More pictures to follow at a later date of the reception. I'm real anxious to see the pictures that the photography took. He took a lot so my checkbook may get clobber real well.

Best look for something for supper and do a little housework. Hope all are well. Have a good week.

More Colorado

I have no clue if anyone even reads this blog but I do know that I worked on this a couple of weeks ago and when it was time to post I screwed something up and didn't have time to go back in and correct -- so here I am today!

I'm still enjoying looking at my pictures from Colorado. As always, I want to share them with whomever may be taking the time to read this.

After spending Saturday night 'star gazing' we headed out for some hiking on Sunday. First stop was Alluvial Fan. I love waterfalls, mountains and lakes (but I'm a terrible hiker) but enjoyed the short hike to the Fan and we took lots of pictures while we were there. The top two are at the Fan. That's our group, minus the picture taker (Glee). That's Barb, Rob, Mary, me, Ron, Diane & Jim with the fan behind us all. As you can see it was a beautiful day for a hike.

After our stop at the Fan we continued onto Old Falls River Road. It's a beautiful drive up the mountain on a gravel road (one-way). We made some stops for pictures and took a short hike at Chasm Falls Trail. Our destination for the day was the Alpine Center and the hike??? up to the top. As you can see Barb and I made it to the top. It took some doing but we did get there. Glee, Ron, Barb and I were the adventurers for the day! Glee got the shot of Barb and I just as we got to the top of the stairs. It's a bit of a stretch from there to the sign that Barb and I are at but I'm so glad that Barb prodded me into doing the walk. Barb experienced a stomach ache just about the time we got to the top, but we sat for a few minutes on a couple of rocks and she felt better. It was a beautiful view from up there!!! The rest of the day was spent in dodging rain! And road work. When we came into the park there was a sign explaining work was being done on Ridge Road but we didn't pay much attention. Well we found out where and what. It took us hours to get down off the mountain and it was icky! Rainy!!

We had two birthdays while we were in Colorado. Rob's was on Sunday and his wife, Mary, celebrated on Friday. We decided to go out for supper on Sunday night so made reservations at GrubSteak for 7:30 and off we went, minus one. Ron wasn't feeling real good and decided to stay home and rest. The meal was great. We talked the waitress into giving Rob a free beer and singing Happy Birthday to him! They had just brought the beer and were getting assembled to sing when Rob & Mary's phone rang. It was Ron and he wanted someone home as soon as possible. He was extremely ill. Barb, Glee, Rob & I took off in her car and got back to the cabin as quickly as possible. Ron didn't look very good when we got there. He had tried to get a hold of Barb but her phone had died as we left the yard for supper, and was finally able to get through to Rob & Mary. Rob and Glee got him into Rob's car and Barb & I took point to find the hospital. I had the phone book in my hand (lot of good it did me, I'm not very steady in a crisis) but with a little luck saw the hospital sign and Barb got everyone there okay. Estes Park has a very small hospital, but they did a great job on Ron. He had High Altitude Sickness. Jim, Diane and Mary found us and waited for the results. We headed home while Glee and Rob waited for IV's to help Ron through the crisis. Haven't heard yet what the bill was but the personnel at the hospital were very nice and we were all thankful they were there. Ron was restricted to no hiking for 48 hours, no intoxicating beverages for that same amount of time and lots of rest!

Monday morning saw Jim, Diane and Rob heading out for Cheyenne to check on daughter Erin's house. Glee, Mary, Glee and myself took off for Lily Lake. It's a very easy hike around the lake and a great way to start the day. And we got some beautiful reflection shots!

We took our hike and then headed back into town to pick up Ron for breakfast. We ate at the Egg & I. The food was great! If you're ever in Estes Park, Colorado, stop in.

We spent a lot of our afternoons and early evenings playing baggo or cornhole, or tailgate party games. Jim made a number of the games for Christmas presents last year and we put Barb's to work. That's Rob and Barb working out their game plan. We had a great time with that game.

Hopefully all the pictures I posted will be there. I loose some every once in a while! Guess I'll have to have Mandy give me some more lessons in Blogging 101!

It's time to get something done around here for the day. The weather is beautiful (September 9th) and I need to push some dust around. Wedding plans are about complete. I've bought another dress for the wedding. I think I like it! I'm looking forward to the day and all the excitment a wedding brings to a family. I'm sure I'll have many pictures to share with all of you. Probably more Colorado too. I do enjoy writing this blog even though it frustrates me at times! Senior Moment!!!

Go out and enjoy the day! Soon we'll be complaining of snow, sleet and ice. That I am not looking forward to!

Have a good week.

More Vacation!

COLORADO!

Vacations! Aren't they great? I got back from Estes Park, Colorado on Sunday, August 19th. We had a great time. Estes Park is one of my very favorite places to visit. The biggest problem is getting there. You have to drive all the way across the state of Iowa and then you get to be in Nebraska!!! There's not a lot to see in Nebraska, but we made it without too much mishap.

Barbie and I met up with the rest of our bunch in Kearny on Friday evening. We actually made pretty good time and got into the hotel around 9:30 p.m. We were up and off the next morning by 8:00 a.m. Here's the Rockies!! They are so awsome!! Majectic! Beautiful! If you haven't figured it out already I dearly love the Rockie Mountains. I'm in awe of their 'biggness' and the wonderful of nature when walking in them or just standing there and looking at them. The first picture was taken as we were coming into Loveland, CO and our first sight of the Rockies!!

There were 8 of us this year at our 'home away from home' in Estes Park. My daughter and myself, my sister Glee and her husband Ron, Rob & Mary Sass and Jim & Diane Sass. Rob and Jim are 2 of Ron's brothers. We celebrated 2 birthdays while we were out there and did a lot of walking, talking, eating and drinking!!! Oh, and picture taking!!!

We got into Estes around 2:00 p.m. MT on Saturday. Diane and Jim were already there as they flew into Denver that morning. They had some business to attend to in Cheyenne during the week and had to leave early for another vacation planned in northern Minnesota. Shopping was the first thing on the list. Diane, Glee and Mary headed for Safeway while the rest of us put beds together and clothes away!

Saturday night the chefs (Ron, Jim & Rob) decided chicken on the grill sounded good. As you can see they worked real hard at that meal. It tasted great! We did a lot of grilling when we ate at the cabin.

Another of our favorite pasttimes in Colorado was playing Baggo! Son Jim made a number of sets of these games for Christmas. Barb's was an ISU set and we used it practically every day during our stay in Estes. Barb and Diane played against Mary and I in this game. Notice Barb's form -- beer bottle in hand she threw her big and probably put in it the hole! We had a great time playing with this game.

Notice the garbage can tipped over in the background? We found bear claw marks on the top of the can. In the journel left at the cabin it was mentioned that a black bear when through the yard 2 weeks before we got there. We didn't see one (thank you very much) but the fact that they're around does make a person think. We left the garbage can in the garage when we left!! Thought it was safer that way!

Saturday night the decision was made to watch the metor showers. After fooling around in the cabin yard (we were trying to put the yard light out) for some time we decided to head into the park and find a nice quiet, dark spot to watch the show. We piled everyone into one car (that's 8 of us) and off we went. It was a spectular sight! Some of us saw more than the others but we all saw some of the show. Thanks Jim for telling us about this awesome sight!!! The majority of us woke up with a slight stiffness in our neck from all our gawking but it was worth it!!

Did a lot of hiking (both short and long hikes). I even did some this year. Like I said I love it out there!

It's 7:00 a.m. and I need to get ready for work. More pictures and more comments later in the week. We have a lot going on in our lives right now. Baby and Bridal showers this weekend, then a holiday weekend (yea 3 days off!) and a wedding the end of the month. I'm not sure this old lady can keep up!!!

Talk to you soon. Have a good day!

Vacation time

Vacation time will soon be here! My daughter, my sister and her husband, and 2 of her brothers-in-law are heading to Estes Park, Colorado for a week. I'm really looking forward to it. Jim & Diane are flying out and will meet us there. My sister and her husband along with Rob & Mary are driving out and will meet Barbie and I in Kearney, Nebraska Friday night or Saturday morning, depending on what time of night we get in. The Sass bunch is leaving Friday a.m., while Barbie and are leaving sometime Friday afternoon. Both Barb and I are working part of Friday. I can't wait to see the beautiful mountains of Colorado again.

I've been busy. Went to a family reunion July 29th in Rochester. Our numbers are dwindling but we still manage a few people every year. Next year it will be back in Iowa. Maybe the Iowa kids will all make that one!

This past weekend we congregated at my sister's to spend some time with my brother and his wife. I was lucky and both of my kids were able to be with us. Unfortunately Mandy, Jim's bride-to-be, was unable to be with us. I was so hoping she would get to meet Jim's godfather before the wedding. Jim came home on Friday night to go to a surprise party for one of his friend's and Mandy had plans to have a yard sale. Rain delayed the yard sale but Jim was already here so he joined the rest of us. We had a nice meal together and catch up on what everyone's been doing lately.

My brother's son is getting married one of these days. He's in the Navy and everytime they plan something orders come in for Nick to leave. They're going to continue to try and hope to be married before the 1st of the year.

We have a new baby coming in the family. My neice, Beth (and my godchild) is expecting her first baby the same weekend Jim and Mandy are getting married. We have baby and bridal showers planned when we get back from vacation. Keeps us all busy!!

Jim and Mandy will be getting married September 22nd. We're still making plans for some of the wedding but the majority of the plans are finished. I'm excited about the whole thing. It'll be a long weekend and a short one. It'll all be over before we know it. I'm hoping for lots of pictures from everyone so I can do a book for them for Christmas (2008). I'm a little slow in finishing that type of project, but they usually turn out real well.

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over. I worked the Dubuque County Fair, helping park cars. The weather wasn't too bad for standing out in a field and telling people where to put their car! I said this was my last year, but last Saturday I had breakfast with Bill and some of the other guys and they're talking about doing it again next year. I still think a 60-year old woman doesn't belong standing out in the field with the sun beating down upon her! We'll see!! I only worked the week evenings this past year. Gave up the weekends because it's just too long hours.

Time to get at some other stuff around here. I've been doing some packing for the trip. Want to pack the majority of my stuff on Thursday evening so that I can take off from work. It should be a fun trip! I'll post pictures!

Have a great week.

Hi there you all!!!

Hello all! It's been a few months since I last updated my blog. Where did the time go? It isn't that I've been that busy, or maybe I have. Or that I'm just lazy!!

The weather is beautiful today. Getting a little on the warm side but still a great day to be outdoors. It's days like today that I wished I had a backyard that I could enjoy. My deck is just to warm to be out on when the sun is out. I have a westside deck so get lots and lots of sun. My kitchen is always warm and sunny!

I've been hard at scrapbooking. I'm almost finished with Jim's first 5 years of his life. Some years go quicker than others. And I've noticed that I take longer on some pages than others. I've been planning out my pages in a different way and I think they've all turned out quite well. Hope my family does too. Whatever they think and/or feel I'm enjoying the time spent in working with my pictures and making memories to keep!

Spent part of today at the funeral home. A co-worker's mother passed away suddenly this past week and the wake was today. Lots of people there. Lots of other co-workers too. I hate going to funerals and wakes. Fortunately a friend of mine went with me and that helped. Brenda is doing well. Her husband said she's not sleeping much, but she looked well. I had an awful time talking to her so basically just gave her a big hug and a squeeze and cried! I seem to have the problem lately!!!

Betsy and I spend an enjoyable afternoon making invitations for Mandy's bridal luncheon planned for August 26th. We really had a good time and the invitations turned out real well. Hope the majority of those invited are able to come. It was fun doing the invitations.

My neice has mentioned that she thinks I should open a business (on the side of course) with my scrapbooking and cardmaking goes along with that. I'm thinking more and more seriously about this venture. No definite plans will be made until after Jim and Mandy's wedding but . . . you never know.

Barbie is in Vermont on vacation, my sister is in New York attending a family wedding so I feel left alone. No one to talk to. Vacation time is coming up for me too soon. I'm heading to Colorado again. I'm going with my daughter, my sister and her husband, and two other couples (in-laws of my sister). This should be a fun vacation!! I'm looking forward to the mountains, lakes and streams of Rocky Mountain National Park!!

As I was saying before, I'm working on Jimmy's first 5 years of his life -- here's one of my favorite pictures of him. We were on a picnic in Murphy Park in Dubuque. What a smile!!! The kids had a great time that day.

We also spent some time with Spiderman! Got a picture of Jim with him! That picture was taken years ago when Spidey was in the comics and on Saturday morning cartoons! Well, he's back and has his own movies and everything else that goes with it. If I remember right, we had the underoos and everything during the Spiderman years!

I hope this nice weather stays. I can certainly live without the high 80's and 90's. July 24th is the beginning of the Dubuque County Fair and they talked me into parking cars again this year. It's for a good cause, but my body has decided that if it's really, really warm (like hot) it ain't going to work!!! Hope for nice weather!!

I have a state monitor coming this week at the office. Greg is my counterpart on the state level with the CSBG grant. He'll be here Thursday before lunch and leave sometime Friday (after lunch). I think we're going to stop at the CACFP office in Dyersville and then head for the Manchester Outreach office for this visit. Greg likes to watch the dogs run so we'll probably hit the greyhound track for supper and some racing on Thursday night. Usually our visits go very well and I'm hoping that this year isn't any different!! It's always an experience.

I put my air conditioning on a bit ago. It was getting warm in the kitchen and Betsy and I were working on the kitchen table. I just got a new unit this past week. It'll be nice to know that I have air again. Came home one evening to nothing -- it was blowing hot air and finally quit running completely. It was one of those 90 degree days and my place was a tad on the warm side that evening.

I had my blood work done this past week. All is well. I have a wonderful looking bruise on my left arm. The nurses had an awful time finding a vein and poked me a number of times! I gave the doctor a rough time about it on Friday as the bruise was very noticeable!! I did the results of my tests and an eye exam all in the same day. Might as well get it done at one time. Eyes are fine. I am going to order some prescription sunglasses for Colorado this coming week. I'm tired of squinting all the time. Should have done this before but . . . I have plenty of money in my flex plan and need to be using some of that before the end of the year.

Well, the race is almost over and it's heading toward 6:00 p.m. so think I better find something to eat. I just might go out tonight. I haven't had much of anything for the day and pizza sounds really good.

Hope everyone is having a great summer. We still have all kinds of fun things coming up in our families. Vacation (Colorado), a baby shower (for Beth) a bridal luncheon (for Mandy), and Mandy and Jim's wedding the end of September. There's a possibility that there may be a reception for Nick and Danielle (nephew) over Labor Day. That should keep all of us out of trouble for a while.

Take care all. CU!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! Hope every one of you mothers out there had a great day! The beautiful flowers are from my daughter Barb. She had them delivered to the office on Friday. It was a wonderful surprise! I heard later she called the office on Thursday because she couldn't remember the address or wasn't sure of a florist. They delivered them already at 8:30 a.m. so it reallly was a surprise!

I had a terrible time getting into my blog tonight. I forgot my password and that I had changed my account. I think I have it all written down so that this won't happen again! Senior Moment!!!

My children weren't able to come for Mother's Day, but will be with me next weekend. They have a wedding on their dad's side of the family and will be staying here with me. I'm really excited about that. I love having them around.

Barb and Jim were here a couple of weekends ago and we got scads of things done around here. Jim is great at electrical things and helped me greatly! Between the two of my kids they got my entertainment center back where it was before the holidays. I'm a little slow in getting things back where they belong. I needed help and Jim hasn't been here since before Christmas so . . . had to wait until he got here. He also hooked up the turntable to my stereo set so I now can listen to some of my OLD albums that I haven't replaced with CD's. Also found out that there was a loose wire in my center speaker for the TV/DVD etc., and he was able to fix that. We took all kinds of cans and bottles to the redemption center, went shopping for a new microwave (mine died), took a bunch of stuff to St. Vinicent DePaul and installed a different TV in my craft room (second bedroom). Barbie got one of those new LCD, flat panel TV's and graciously gave me her old one. I'm not used to a 27 inch TV in my craft area, but it's great. I can also now use the DVD player and the VCR without rewiring a whole bunch of things. Jim also did some work on my computer. Thank you guys I appreciate all the help. Next time we'll just hang out and rest!!

Got a very upsetting phone call this a.m. It was PayPal checking on my account. I don't use one of my email accounts very much and hadn't checked it lately. Guess maybe I should have. The gal ask if I had approved (or whatever word I should use) a $1,500 payment??? Wow! that about knocked me over. I of course said no!! I use my PayPal account on a very limited basis. Very seldom, but someone got a hold of it and tried getting the $1,500. They gave instructions on what to do next time I use the account. There has been a limited level put on it for the time being. I checked email later this afternoon and there it was. The request from PayPal for verficiation. Glad someone caught that or I'd have a terrible time explaining that to the bank!!

Don't you love the picture of my kids? They both take great pictures. Can't wait until Jim & Mandy get married and all the pictures I'll have to scrap.

Speaking of scrapbooking -- I've done a 6x6 book of Chrsitmas 2005 for Barbie. It was the first year in her new townhouse and everyone was there for the holiday. I have since finished an 8x8 book for myself for Christmas 2005. I'm having a ball using different formats for my pictures. I did some shopping Saturday and found some great paper to use in upcoming projects! I'm still working on Jim's baby book, or at least the first 5 years of his life. He'll probably be married before I get that done!!

We've been extremely busy at work lately. The agency is co-sponsoring a workshop the end of the month and we're in charge of registration. I've taught myself how to use Excel and how to use a spreadsheet. I still have a lot to learn but have been able to get all those that have registered on the sheet and it actually looks fairly professional! There's hope for me yet. My major grant is also due June 1. I work on that between everything else that I'm responsible for. Think this coming week it's going to have to be my priority so that it gets finished in a timely manner.

My sister, my neice and my daughter and I have been trying to get together to do some shopping now for about 4 months. Sounds like we may have a date in June that will work for all of us. Hope so. We went shopping together in November and had a ball. Looking forward to doing something like again soon.

New baby coming in the family. My godchild, Beth, is expecting in September. Actually she's expecting the same day as Jim & Mandy's wedding. Needless to say, her and her husband won't be able to make the wedding, but I'm hoping we can all get together after the wedding and the birth of their first child. All kinds of exciting things happening in our family right now.

One last shot of the flowers. I love flowers! Wished I had some space to plant some, but maybe in another year or so. Thanks Barbie, they're beautiful.

I will try and write more often. I never think I do much of anything that's interesting but once I sit down (and get into my blog) I think of a few things so . . . guess I'll try a little harder to get here more often.

Everybody have a great week!

It's been a long time . . .

Wow! It's been a while since I blogged! I hardly remember how to go into my account. Senior moment!! I wrote it down this time so I wouldn't forget.

Nothing much happening lately. The weather has been great. Spring must actually be here. We had a lot of thunder boomers last night. Lots of rain. We got over 2 inches, according to the radio this morning. I just said the weather's been great and now I hear it's going to get cold again. Thought I could give up having a jacket with me, but guess not.

Easter is fast approaching. I'm planning on spending the weekend with my daughter Barb in Ankeny. We're having Easter dinner with Jim and Mandy at Barb's place. Barb is on-call for the weekend so we're hoping that the phone doesn't ring on Sunday morning.

I have Good Friday off as a holiday so will have plenty of time to get to Ankeny. Plans are to leave sometime on Friday. Barb has to work so . . . I might as well get my laundry done here for once and take care of a couple of other things -- like some cleaning.

I've been doing my usual scrapbooking. I finished my Colorado project for myself. I did books for my daughter and a friend for Christmas but never quite got around to one for myself. Got that finished in early February. From there I went onto a different format. One that I have never used before. I found that I really liked the 8x8 format but at one time or another bought a 6x6 book for Christmas. I did it! I made a book out of it. It's so cute! It was a real challenge to get more than one picture on a 6x6 sheet, especially since the majority of our pictures nowadays are 6x4. I re-did some of the pictures and used my templates for others to make them fit. It turned out real well. I'm very happy with it. The real test will be this weekend. I made the book for Barbie. It's Christmas 2005, which was the first Christmas in Barb's new townhouse. We'll see what she thinks this weekend!

I'm looking forward to spending some time with Jim and Mandy too. I want to hear all about the wedding plans. I have a couple of projects in mind for their wedding too. I can probably keep myself busy for the next few months.

I have plans to spend a week in Colorado again. I'm looking forward to that and it's not until August. We have a couple other weddings in the family this summer too. My cousin's daughter was married in January but will be having a formal reception in July in New York City. I'm not sure that I'll be able to get to that one or not. I don't know if I have the vacation time I'll need, but we shall see. My nephew is also getting married sometime this summer with a reception being planned for the Labor Day weekend. My son is getting married in September so looks like a busy summer for weddings.

I am also going to be a Great Aunt (whee that makes me feel old)! Beth is expecting in September. Actually her due date is the same date as Jim and Mandy's wedding. We'll certainly miss Karsten and Bets at the wedding but hope to do some celebrating with them after their baby is here. Congratulations Beth & Karsetn!

I'm assuming there will be showers for weddings and babies this summer too. And I have to find time to go to work in there also!!

Couldn't resist the picture of the children! And they really were little on that one, weren't they. That's Barb, Beth, Mike & Jim on an Easter Sunday way back when. It was taken at my parents' home. Wow! Time sure does fly when you're having fun!!

Take care all and have a great holiday.

Burrrrr!!

Baby it's cold outside! It's been a while since I've written anything to anyone but I did take some time today to get this picture of the snow. We couldn't wait to have snow in December, well, I've had enough. I'll take the brown scenery until spring green gets here!! Haven't checked to see how much is out there but it's still coming down.

I keep telling myself I haven't done much lately and have nothing to share with anyone, but then I think about it and I guess I'm not a total lose in that department.

I spent the weekend with Barb. We had tickets for "Phantom of the Opera" at the Civic Center in Des Moines so made the trip down on Thursday (2-1). We went to "Annie" in November, that was my birthday present, and "Phantom" was my Mother's Day present. Cool gifts, huh!! It was cold, nothing like the weekend we've all been through, but chilly! I got to Barb's around 4:30 and started a load of laundry before she got home. I always take my laundry with me when I go to visit my kids! One of these days I have to bring some laundry detergent as a thank you!

Barbie got home around 5:00 and Jim joined us not much later than that. Mandy was busy for the evening but Jim said he'd have some time to go out to supper with us. We went to "Bear's" in Ankeny. It's a very homey and warm place to dine. The food was great! And I was hungry! But I think Barb has the leftovers again because, as usual, I left them in the refrigerator.

Phantom was wonderful, as usual! It's my favorite show of all. This was my third time in attending and I loved it as much this time as the first. Barb has been in the Des Moines area long enough to understand the skywalk system so we parked in one of the ramps, left our heavy coats in the car, and walked to the Civic Center via the skywalk. Cool!

I took Friday off and enjoyed sleeping in that morning. Never even heard Barb until she opened the garage door and as soon as it closed again was back to sleep. I spent a very quiet day watching TV in front of the fireplace. Developed a bit of a cold and so babied myself a bit so that I was able to go out Friday night. Our plans included a gymnastics meet at Ames. But before we went to the meet we went to visit the triplets! Barb's friend Katie's brother and his wife had triplets last March. Kathy & Matt (the triplet's parents, Katie's brother) took a short vacation and left the kids in the care of Katie, Mary (Matt & Katie's mom) and Kim (Kathy's sister). Barb spends probably one evening a week with Katie, Kathy, Matt and triplets. They are absolutely darling. I must remember to send a quick note to Katie and Mary and thank them for letting me spend some time with them. They're beautiful children -- 2 little boys and a darling little girl. It was obvious that Barb's been there before because she got right down on the floor with Mason and started working with him on crawling. Carter is already crawling and Alexia (hope I spelled that right) is still in the sitting stage. Because they're triplets they're a little bit behind in their physical growth, but are coming along fantastically! We shared a pizza with Katie, Mary and Kim and lucky me -- I got to hold little Carter. I wasn't sure he would come to a complete stranger but he did and I enjoyed it very much. It's been a long time since I've held a little one. I can't blame Barbie for spending time at Matt & Kathy's and the children!!

I've never been to a gymnastics meet before so this was a first. It was a cold trip across the parking lot but worth it. ISU had a duel meet with Missouri. It's interesting. Just like watching the Olympics!

We said we weren't going to do much of anything on Saturday but . . . we did! It was really cold but we braved it and did some shopping for Barbie. She's getting ready to go to Boston for a conference next week and was looking for some new professional clothes to take with her. Hope it's not this cold and wintery when she goes. I think Boston would be a very interesting city to visit -- lots of history.

Jim and Mandy came over for supper on Saturday night. We looked at wedding dresses and attendant dresses. I think Mandy has finally decided on black/white with red flowers for an accent color for their wedding. The dresses she showed us are great. She's trying to be practical for the bridesmaids so they can wear the dresses after the wedding too. Way to go Mandy!

Mandy has been experiencing some health issues and is working through them. Every day is an experience, isn't it Mandy? Just hang in there kiddo and all will be well. We love you!!

We slept in on Sunday morning. Barbie treated me to a great breakfast of fresh scrambled eggs, bacon and toast! One of my favorite breakfasts!! It was COLD outside, but I talked her into taking me to the scrapbook store in Akeney. I wanted some ISU paper to do some pages on Jim's graduation. I'm either way behind in what I'm doing or working on present day events. I brought Barbie her book (which was supposed to be part of her Christmas present but didn't get finished). I did the first 5 years of her life through pictures! We did take a lot of pictures when Barbie was a baby. Part of the reason being that Harry was in the service and we sent lots of pictures onto him. And when we lived in Arizona we sent a lot of pictures home to the grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends. To say the least it was a big book. I hope she enjoys looking through it as much as I enjoyed making it!

We packed up my car around 1:00 and I was on my way. It was a full weekend and I guess we did more than I thought we did. I got back home around 4:00 to a very cold house. I very seldom put heat on in any room other than my living room -- well the temperature read a little less than 50 degrees! It was darn cold!! I unpacked my car and drug the majority of the stuff upstairs and then crashed!! I grabbed my down throw (thank you Michael -- he gave it to my for Christmas a couple years ago) and plugged in my little ceramic heater and curled up in my favorite ugly green chair! It was SUPER SUNDAY and I have to say I enjoyed the game. Way to go COLTS! Super Bowl Champs! I've been a Colt fan for years and wasn't very popular with the majority of my co-workers as this is definitely Bear Country. If it had been any other team than the Colts I would have also cheered for the Bears! But I'm really happy that my Colts won their first Super Bowl!!

NASCAR is right around the corner. Next week is the Pro Bowl (which I personally think is boring) and the following week NASCAR begins another year. My driver, Dale Jarrett, has changed teams and I'm anxious to see the new car (#44 - UPS) and how they perform. He left Ford to drive for Toyota. I was impressed with the fact that UPS went with him. They must have a lot of faith in him doing well enough to be recognized during the racing season. I'm hoping that my sister and I can figure out a way to make a race (together) this year! If not, there's always another year!!!

QVC has a scrapbooking fair on today. I recorded it. I don't know that I can afford all the products but got some great ideas from the presenters. Also got some ideas of things that I would like to buy! One of the girls I work with has become a Creative Memories associate. She doesn't really want to make a business out of it but after selling x amount of dollars can purchase her items for 30% off. I'm hoping to get some good deals from her!!! We sure do have a great time discussing scrapbooking! I'm also becoming interested in cardmaking. I was going to do it for my Christmas cards this year, but didn't have the time. Beware friends and family -- next year you will get a homemade card from Joy!! I love it! I have such a good time working on my projects and hope I don't bore any of you going on and on about it.

Speaking of boring -- I think I've taken enough of your time for one day. And I'm going to scrapbook for a bit.

Family alert -- I finally have the majority of my Christmas tree down! I hate my house after Christmas because there's no color and was really lazy this year about getting it taken down. I still have to put ornaments away and find places for some of the Christmas stuff but the majority of Christmas is finally gone!!

Everybody stay warm!! Sounds like there's not a big warmup in sight!