First Snow of the Season - November 13, 2010

Some parts of the state were not as lucky as we were this weekend - we got measurable snow! Because it is such a wet snow it really was fun to make snowmen and throw snowballs.
Dane got a big ball started for the first snowman. Brett helped him push when it got a little heavy.
They are trying to mold the body and this snowman has no middle - a bottom and a head!
I might add the body is a bit triangular so the head does not fit very well.

Curt decided to help them out and he removed and rebuilt the base of the snowman.

Now its time for the head and a few added features.
Hope Brian doesn't miss his hat when he gets home. We didn't have any carrots, but I did have a hot dog in the refrigerator so we used that as a nose - and we were without any chunks of coal so oreo cookies made good for the eyes - but they broke so Brett came in and got some grapes for the eyes.
Finished snowman!
The boys were so proud of the snowman! Then they got into a snowball fight - so Curt and Stacy took them home and I am sure they are still playing outside - a beautiful day for snow fun!

Des Moines Weekend

Stacy and Rachel decided to run a half marathon in Des Moines in October so I went down and helped Cari and Dave with the kids. We had a "sleepover" while Rachel and Stacy slept at the Holiday Inn - because they needed to get going by 5:30 in the morning. Owen and Macy came over as well as some other neighbors and in the above picture the boys are enjoying a little Chinese cuisine.
Brett is enjoying the toys that Dave and Cari have and Dane loves to play all the video games that Dave has and he loves to use the equipment that goes with the video games.
One of Dane's favorites is the racing game
Drew is happy with his hockey stick!
Dave took the boys to an Apple Orchard while Cari, Stacy and I did a little shopping. They came home with caramel apples, so Dane is sharing his with Reagan.
Dave also organized a flag football game with the neighbors and nieces and nephews. Brett absolutely loved to get in the huddle, and they all made some pretty good plays. It was a beautiful fall day to be outside.
Sorry - I got this picture in twice - and last time I tried to delete I deleted the whole blog - so guess we just have two of the same picture!
Looks like Dane is ready for a little defense.
We went downtown about 9:45 and got there is time to see Rachel and Stacy cross the finish line. Rachel kind of snuck by before I could get a picture - don't know how I could have missed the lime green jacket! They both made good time - right at two hours.
Not sure what is so funny - and Cari probably will not appreciate this picture - sorry Cari - don't know how to take them off!
Reagan is having a quiet moment with Dave.

Drew was glad to see his Mom
The boys were proud of their mom and they liked the medal!
Grandma gets a little cuddle time from Reagan as well.

Reagan and Drew were signed up to run in the 400 meter run in the afternoon. Drew just wanted the shirt - but Reagan ran the whole distance. Next time Dane is going to join her.
He does like the shirt!
We had a great weekend and the weather has been so beautiful this fall - I think the girls have one more run before winter sets in. Good luck!!

Visit at the Care Center

I am beginning to think this blog is "not supposed to be!" I lost my camera and looked for quite awhile, and was resigning myself to the fact that I might have to buy a new one. I was not so concerned about the camera but I knew I had these pictures on it. Yesterday I FOUND THE CAMERA! YEA!! So I am posting the pictures before anything else happens. After I got this blog all finished I realized I had two of the same so I tried deleting one picture and I deleted the whole blog - so I am doing it all over again.
Rachel came to Nora Springs to get Reagan after her summer visit so we went to the Care Center to visit Mom for awhile. The kids had a good time. There is a recreation room we can go to to visit and the kids had toys so they had "wiggle" room. There was even a puppy there that day so Reagan really enjoyed that!Jay and Dianne were entertained with the kids - and they helped them get ice cream cones out in the dining area. A funny story - if you notice Mom's necklace. They are the kind of beads you would get at a Mardi Gras celebration. She won them playing bingo. Rachel commented that she liked her necklace, and mom's comment was " You know these are really coming back into style. You would not believe the number of people you see wearing them nowadays." Must be a lot of BINGO winners!
A four generation picture
And another!

Some Funny Pictures

There is no theme to these pictures - I just ran across them as I was looking at some pictures I had saved. Looks like Brian really has something to say in the above picture. I think this was taken at Old Chicago in May of this year.
What little "posers" Brett is posing and Drew is thinking Brett is goofy!
I took the boys to the Fort Museum in Fort Dodge - locked them in the jail cell and proceeded to leave the building - Brett was getting a little nervous!!
Not sure which kid this is - but the all had to try on the mask. It is Brian's favorite!

Minnesota Vacation

Our family get-together took us to Woodbury, Minnesota this year. Our rental house was seven bedrooms, so everyone had a room and a bed - and Brian was pretty excited about that. He has graduated from the couch in the living room which seemed to be the hub way to early in the morning for Brian. Friday evening Dave, Cari, Brian and I went to a Twins ballgame. The new Target Field is beautiful, and we were so fortunate to be allowed to park in a VIP reserved spot right inside the parking ramp. We had no battle with traffic on our way back to Woodbury. The Twins won the game and Brian got a pretty good shot of Mauer during warmups.

It was a sell out game and during the 7th - Inning stretch one individual proposed to his girlfriend via the huge screen right behind us - I hope she accepted!

Cari, Dave and I spent one day in Stillwater, Minnesota. We took the trolley ride around the city and learned about the history of the logging industry and we heard some interesting stories about the beautiful homes built during this era.

Brian spent Sunday tubing down the Apple River. He found it to be a little shallow and came back with some nasty cuts on his feet - and he also lost his only pair of shoes - so he borrowed a pair of Craig's and we went shoe shopping at the Mall of America on Monday.

Curt, Stacy and boys went to the zoo one day. While there they got to meet Beth K. and new baby - the boys thought that little Korean was pretty cute!

A trip to the Science Center was part of another day. Dane should have had this bee gear on the day before - you will understand in a few minutes.

The favorite part of the Science Center for the boys was all the dinosaur skeletons. It was amazing to hear Dane identify each of the species without even reading the cards. He does know his dinosaurs.

Considerable time was spent at the house and the kids kept busy with the toys they brought with them. Brett got a farm set at Fleet and Farm so they are all playing with that. (Except Drew - farm sets don't have hockey sticks or balls to throw in them!)

Can't take a vacation without playing some games. Apples to Apples and Farkle occupied one evening for us - Dave and Curt were watching the races on TV - and Craig was at the races. Believe it or not - the kids were in bed!

This trip was not without some catastrophes. While at the Science Center Curt's back started acting up - so he is hoping Reagan can get rid of some of the pain. I think it worked a little.

Reagan had some birthday money to spend so a trip to the American Girl Store at the Mall of America was a given. She bought a new American Girl doll - I think it was Laney. She looks an awful lot like Reagan. The doll was some comfort because Reagan also met with a little accident and had to be taken to urgent care. She got her arm caught in the car door as it was being shut. We were thankful that it was not broken, just a bad bruise - but those can really hurt also. She was such a brave little girl - didn't even cry

Brett and Dane also had a little mishap. All four kids were playing on the deck outside and they were having a great time. I went downstairs for a minute and suddenly heard wailing and crying - I was sure someone had lost some fingers or something. As it turned out Dane and Brett had been stung by either a bee or wasp. Brett had two stings and Dane had one. It took awhile to get them settled down. Brett never would go outside to play after that mishap. Brian was sympathizing with them because he absolutely hates wasps. The funny thing is (well -maybe funny isn't the right word) Brian got stung the next day at Apple River. Minnesota must have bees like we have mosquitoes. Everything turned out okay. Before vacation ended Cari also got sick. She thought it was another flairup with her sinuses - but as it turned out she had an absessed tooth and had to get the tooth pulled as soon as she got back to Des Moines. I was also a little nervous about Brian because he still had not passed his kidney stone - and shortly after we got home he finally got rid of it. Hope he does not get any more.

Brett is nursing his bee sting on that calf of his leg and also the one between his fingers.

Cari and Rachel were entertaining the kids one evening by playing charades. The kids had to come up with a word and act it out and the girls would have to try and guess. Reagan came in and laid down on the floor and they thought she was Sleeping Beauty - but her word was actually "sleeping." The funny thing is Brett was next and he laid down on the floor like he was sleeping so we thought he was copying. Finally Cari asked for a clue -and Brett said, "its something you find in the toilet!" Use your imagination on that one!!

Not sure what Dane is doing in this picture but they had fun with this game.

Finally Cari and Rachel had a turn - they were Fourth of July fireworks - sparklers maybe?

Lounging and talking -

More of the same - house was so big I couldn't get everyone in the picture at once.

The boys liked to play war. All too soon it was time to head back to Iowa - each of us had four hours to drive - not bad - except I took Brian back to Cedar Falls and then we both drove back to Pomeroy. We stopped in Nora Springs to visit Mom for a little while. Until next year ----