Wheat Harvest

After visiting with Dad and Dorothy, Sue Ann and I took the kids out to the wheat field where Bill was combining wheat.  Ethan, Jordan and Madi got to ride a couple of rows with Bill in the combine.  Of course, I have photos!

Ethan took a good, close look at the wheat growing in the field.

Isn't it pretty?  This is one view that I REALLY miss here in Iowa!

What buddies!!

Jordan and Madi

me and Jordy

me and Madi

heading over to climb on board!

Jordan, Madi, Bill and Ethan

off they go!

and here they come!

I can't believe they let this man drive a combine!

THANKS, Uncle Bill!  That was COOL!

(and Ron says thanks for the bucket of wheat!  He'll have some wheat beer waiting for you in November!)

A Fun afternoon with Grandpa and Grandma

On Monday, we spent the afternoon with my dad and his wife.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch, and then visited, looked at pictures and then played "Hot Dice" (we Iowans call it FARKLE)

It was a really nice visit, and we were all sad to leave.

Of course...here are some photos.

Madi caught a grasshopper with her bug catching prize from the library!  Cool beans!

Playing "Hot Dice" on the patio.

 

It is always Grandma Dorothy's job to be the score keeper.  She does it quite well.

Dad and Dorothy, Sue Ann and Me

Dad, Jordan, Madi, Grandma Dorothy, Ethan and Rachel

Grandpa and the boys!

Grandma and the girls!

Sue Ann and Me with our daddy!

What a great afternoon we had!

A family reunion

Rachel and Ethan and I are so glad we made it to Ohio for our family reunion!  Aunt Lila Mae and Uncle Harold have a BEAUTIFUL new (to them) home, and they hosted a great family reunion.  The kids especially loved the pool, and swam all day long.   I enjoyed visiting with many of my aunts, uncles and cousins.  I promised my cousin Hollie that if she'd check my blog, she might find a photo of herself on it.  So...here ya go, Hollie!

Isn't she lovely?

Here's Hollie's mom and dad...my Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie, with me and my sister.

And this is Hollie's brother, Arron.  He's getting married next weekend!

And this is my cousin Ty, and me, and my Aunt Lila Mae.  She hosted the reunion at her beautiful retirement home!

This is my Aunt Lila Mae with her husband, Uncle Harold!  We hope to visit them often in their new home!  GO BUCKEYES!

This is Aunt Lila Mae and her brother, my Uncle Tom.  (He's Ty's dad)

And this is my Aunt Judi and her grandson, Paul

and here she is with her hubby, my Uncle Doyle

This is Aunt Robin (She's married to Uncle Tom) holding her month old grandson Trevor.  His dad is my cousin Tad, but he was sick and not able to attend the reunion.  That is his lovely with Maribeth with them.

Of course, I have oodles and oodles more pictures, but that's all I'll post for now.  Oh, except for this one of my daughter.  She heard on Sunday, at least 172 times "Rachel!  You look JUST like your mom!"  This is the response that some people got after saying that to her.

We crashed a party!

Last Saturday when we got to Ohio, my sister, Sue Ann and her two kids, Jordan and Madi were just leaving for a nephew's (on the other side of the family) birthday party at an area swimming pool.  My 2 kids and I crashed the party and I enjoyed the sun and photography while the kids splashed and played for 3 hours!  Here are some pictures!

Hello from LaPorte, IN

At least I think that's where we are.  I can't remember exactly which exit I pulled off at!

I managed to get a DVD wedding slide show finished for a July 26 wedding late on Wednesday night (actually 4:30 Wednesday morning, to be more exact, LOL)  Thursday was laundry, computer work with a friend (Hi Mary!) and then golfing with Denise, Jean and Sue.  Nice dinner at the golf course, and then home to begin packing/organizing for an Ohio trip.

It was finally about 1:30 or so when we left home.  We stopped at church camp to pick up a few things Ethan left behind while camping there.  We stopped at A Walmart to get E some headphones for his DVD player.  I listened to a JA Jance novel for a while while the kids watched their movie.  Then when there movie was done, we listened to a juvenile fiction book called "Alex and the Ironic Gentleman" (can't remember the author off hand)  We're 2 hours into the 8+ hour story, so that should get us a long ways down the road!

Enjoyed supper at a subway...mmmmm...and then drove another couple of hours and stopped at a Hampton Inn ( my very favorite, all time best EVER hotel chain! --and no--I don't get money from them for saying that!)

Kids swam, I read a magazine and avoided getting wet.  Were now settled down into our super comfy Hampton Inn beds...the most comfy hotel bed I have ever been in!  Great place to sleep.

We'll wake up in the morning to a lovely hot spot on the breakfast bar, and  will head out for the last  hours of the trip to Ohio.

Talk to you later from Ohio!

HAPPY 17th Birthday, Caleb!

Can you believe that I'm the mom of a 17 year old?  I sure can't.  Seems like just yesterday that this little tiny baby made his appearance.  He was always a happy baby, and has grown in to a happy, laid back, easy going young man.  We so enjoy his sense of humor and his easy going attitude, and his willingness to pitch in and help when asked (and even sometimes when NOT asked!)

His requested birthday lunch was cheeseburgers, so that was easy to do.  He asked for cheesecake, so I made a YUMMY no-bake cheesecake topped with strawberry pie filling for dessert. 

He had a laid back day, and now is on his way out to our friend's house, where his girlfriend, Katie, is throwing him a surprise birthday party!  Hope he has lots of FUN!

Happy Birthday, kiddo!

Template in DIP

My friend Lisa asked for a template from the page of Adam that I did. So, I created one! How FUN. I thought I'd share with anyone who happens to stumble across it in my blog. It was created in DIP, (Microsoft Digital Image Pro/Suite) so I believe only DIPers can use it :)

Click on the image below to be directed to 4shared, where you can freely download it.

More Fun at the Lake scrap pages

I've finally had a bit of time to do some scrapping again!  It seems like it's been forever since I've had time.  Of course there are LOTS of other things I COULD be doing, but hey...a girl has to have some time for fun, too, right?

 

this one was all created by me...no templates or kits or anything!

 

This was created from a template by Racketty Scrapety (#54) which was converted to DIP by Lisa.  The kit is called "Under Water" by Symphony.

 

And this was created using parts of a kit from Aprilmouse called "Boys"