4th of July Fun!

We spent the weekend camping with my sister, Kathy, and three of our grandsons.  Kathy's two grandchildren visited for the day on Saturday, and Tasha, Kyle, and Clara came out several times.
There was a lot of fishing going on.

Grandpa needed a little help with the boys fishing, so Kathy went to help.  He had lost his patience, not to  mention, sinkers, hooks, bobbers, string, fish, etc. etc!!  He tells me fishing with a 4 year old, 8 year old, and 10 year old kept him quite busy enough that he didn't really have time to fish!

We took the little ones to the playground where they had a great time...

well, the boys did anyway! 

 Dakota took a little snooze!

There was a little baseball....

Clara enjoyed the outdoors.

Bud smoked some great ribs that were so yummy I didn't even get a picture of them! 

Of course the boys wouldn't let us get by without visiting our usual ice cream shop....which I also didn't get pictures of!

We were so busy my sewing stuff never came out of the corner!

I can't resist this last photo, so if a little bare butt bothers you....move on!

With two little country boys who are just potty trained, and the timber so close we saw a lot of this!

The raccoons visited us each night, but only got a treat one night when Bud forgot to put the garbage away!  And the deer were close, watching us sit by the campfire another night.  

We love this camping spot, but alas, so do others, and we can't get it again until September!!

"The worst day fishing, is better than the best day at work!"

says Bud!!

Future Trouble??? Or Not???

I love watching my grandchildren interact, especially now that there are several the same age. Can you tell how thrilled the oldest were to sit for this picture??

 We were recently at Travis and Kerry's and Chance and Grayson had the opportunity to play together.  (Clara wasn't able to be there.)

Chance doesn't look too happy with Grayson in this photo!

Now what are they up to???

Whose idea was this????

“It's funny that those things your kids did that got on your nerves seem so cute when your grandchildren do them.”

Fun with Boys! (and a little sewing)

I whipped up this little quilted wall hanging just in time for the 4th of July.

It goes on this:

We took the three oldest grandsons to see a movie--

Toy Story 3.  Honestly, I'm not sure if the two youngest liked the movie or the popcorn the best!  Boy can they eat popcorn!!  We then went out for supper where Nate ate his weight in buns!

Then we headed home to put them to work.......or so we thought!!

Actually Payton did do some mowing and Nate played with Cuddles while I pulled weeds and listened to Cael.  He talked nonstop telling me the 10 million ways you could use Indiana Jones' whip.  As I was trying to steer him on to a new topic the end of our conversation went something like this:

Me: "Could you think of something else you could use in so many ways?"

Cael: "Sure." 

(long pause) 

Cael: "But, really, Nanny there's more things to use the whip for."

Me: "Okay."

Cael: "Nanny, do you know how to spell Indiana Jones?"

Me: "Yes, do you?"

Cael: "No, but when we go inside could you get the computer and do w w w dot Indiana Jones and see how much one of those whips cost?"

Can we say one track mind?!

The boys spent the night, but had to leave shortly after breakfast as they had swimming lessons.

It is so much fun to spend time with them.  This is one of the first times Nate has spent the night just for fun.  Soon they will be joined by the other grandsons as they get old enough!

WHEW!!

WARNING:  LONG POST FULL OF PHOTOS!

Time has really gotten away from me!  I've been busy, busy, busy!  What have I been up to you ask???? Well, not sewing, that's for sure, but lots of other stuff.

Friday, June 4th was the last day of school for the kids.  It was a little bittersweet as we had a good year (give or take one or two students), and let's just say I'm hoping for a lot of maturing over the summer for next year's class!!  This was followed by the obligatory refreshments and meal at Carlos O'Kelley's!:)

Monday, June 7th was my last day.  It started off with community service in our building, meetings at the high school, and lunch at the superintendent's home.

Saturday, June 8th found Trilby, my sister, Kathy, and GS Grayson traveling to Onawa. We were a little unsure of this trip, and Bud packed earplugs because Grayson is known for NOT liking car rides and crying a lot when in the car.  However, he was a trooper!  Trilby and Kathy entertained him and he may or may not have watched a couple  videos of fourth grade plays with Michael Jackson music on the laptop!

While in Onawa we attended my niece's bachelorette party.  They hired a party bus to take us to a variety of bars in small towns around Onawa.

 I won't go into details, but a good time was had by all!!  Sunday we attended a bridal shower for her, then headed home.

Fast forward to Tuesday and Wednesday, my first "free" days of summer--I baby-sat with GS Grayson while Tanner was still in school and Trina returned to work for the second week since February.  We had a great time together.  He really liked  his thumb while I was there!

I hurried home Wednesday to attend a party for two co-workers who have retired. :(  It was a fun party, but we will certainly miss them!

Thursday I spent the day at UIHC with my sister and BIL as he had a chemo transfusion.  Please pray that this is the last one and that the scans they take in July show that he is free and clear.  Later in the afternoon we headed to the campground for the weekend.

Trilby, Mike, and boys, Kathy, Dale, and Clint all joined us on Friday with their campers.  Friday evening Travis, Kerry, and Chance stopped by.  Chance spent the night with us.  We awoke to LOUD thunder, wind, and rain about 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  Bud weathered (pun intended) the rain to change our awning a bit so the wind wouldn't take it.  Kathy and Dale lost theirs and Trilby and Mike's fell, but was fine.  Chance slept through it all and was ready to play by 7:00.

All of the kids were there at one point or another along with my niece, her husband, and son Evan.  

We celebrated Cael's 7th birthday.

                                               

What do you do when it rains and you're camping????

Play cards on Nana and Grandpa's bed, of course!

A few board games at the table also passes the time.

     This week is full of classes for me.  I hope to be back this weekend with a little sewing to share!

Sunday Gratitude

Today I am grateful for family gatherings.  As we gathered today to celebrate Nate's birthday (and mine) everyone was together in one place.  It doesn't happen often enough to suit me.  It is so fulfilling to watch my kids, kids-in-law, and grandsons interact.  I'm sure most mothers would agree with me.  The best of times are times spent with all the family spending time together.  Thank you kids, for spending time together with us today!

Saturday Gratitude

Children--Oh how grateful I am for my kids.  I can't imagine life without them.  They were great fun as they were growing up. (That's not to say there weren't trials and tribulations.)  Our lives revolved around the kids and their activities for so many years.  Now they are all grown up and parents or becoming parents themselves.  I'm grateful for the adults they have become.  I'm grateful that they all have good work ethics and good jobs.  I'm happy that for the most part, they are adults that give back.  And now I'm getting grandchildren! Oh, happy day!!

Announcing our Newest Grandchild

Grayson Bradley Roos was born February 13th at 10:01 p.m.  He weighed in at 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 21" long.  

Yes, he is a long little guy!

He was born at 37 weeks which is a little early.  They are keeping him in the warmer to keep his temperature up as he was having a little bit of a hard time keeping it up where it needed to be.  He was also having a little bit of a hard time breathing.  But, just a little concern.  If they were more concerned they would put him in NICCU.  He is in Trina and Tanner's suite.  So, we haven't gotten to hold him, but that's for the best.

He has long fingers and toes like his mommy and daddy.

He has some light brown/sandy blond hair on his little cone head!  

We are thrilled to add another grandson to the family.  Bud says we'll have one at every weight class for wrestling!

A Little Bit of Sewing and A Lot of Fun!

Last week I worked on a table runner for my sister.  It was hard for me to pick out the fabrics because I didn't have her exact wall color in my head, and because her color is kind of a burnt orange.  Orange is not one of my favorite colors.  I hope I chose well.

I tried to hide my stitched on the binding so she can use both sides.

I also whipped up a few of these:

More Teepee Peepees for changing little boys.

I also spent some time with Chance as they spent the night with us and then we baby-sat while they went car shopping.  He is such a happy little guy!

Saturday we all gathered to celebrate the upcoming birth of our fifth grandchild.  This baby shower was girls only to start and then the guys joined us for a late lunch later.

Trina, our Mom to Be

Mom and Dad to Be practicing with Chance!

Our three pregnant ladies posed for me.

Daughter, Trina--due March 2nd, Niece,  Brittany--due June 24th, Daughter, Tasha--due July 14th

All in all, we had a great Saturday!

Crazy Christmas!

We began celebrating Christmas Wednesday afternoon as some of my colleagues came out after school to socialize.  As the evening progressed I knew my throat was sore and my voice was getting crackly, but we visited until 11:00 p.m.  I awoke Christmas Eve morning hardly able to talk and with a very sore throat, so we spent the morning at the doctor and then the pharmacy instead of wrapping presents and finishing up last minute gifts!  Luckily Trina and Tanner came down and helped me finish wrapping. 

We went to Mass at seven and then home to eat.  I always make several kinds of soup and snacks, but this year I just made clam chowder along with meat/cheese, shrimp, bbq meatballs, cheeseball/crackers, and cookies.  After making breakfast casserole and french toast casserole I was in bed.

Christmas Day Tasha and Kyle joined the four of us for breakfast.

Travis, Kerry, and Chance showed up about noon.

Trilby, Mike, and boys arrived about an hour later. 

We enjoyed a meal of beef brisket, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli salad, and homemade bread.  Later we had a pumpkin dessert and an ice cream dessert.

A house full of  ten adults and four little boys can be crazy!  But it was crazy good.  The best part of our day was that we were all together enjoying each other's company.

Travis, Kerry, and Chance, and Trina and Tanner spent the night.  By noon yesterday our house was messy and quiet.  After cleaning up the top layer we napped, watched a movie, and napped some more.

Stay tuned for photos of some of the things I made for gifts.  You've seen some of the fabric and it will soon be time to show you what I made!  I also have a big announcement to post tomorrow.

I hope you enjoyed Christmas as much as we did!

Turkey Time!

Friday evening three grandsons showed up to spend the night. Grandpa and Payton went to the Iowa game on Saturday while Cael, Nate, and I went to school so I could do some work while they watched a movie, then we played on the playground and came home. Next on the agenda was the making of these turkeys--

As with almost everything crafty that I do, it was not an original idea. I saw these at la T da. If you go check it out you will see that I changed mine somewhat. I couldn't find the same moon pies she used, so I had to substitute cream filled chocolate chip cookies. We also used mini M&M's for the jelly bean, and then used candy corn when they ran out. We made enough for both of the big boys to take them to school.

Both boys helped by sorting M&M's and/or sampling the Nutter Butters. Payton really thought they'd taste better dipped in a little chocolate! Is he MY grandson, or what!? I have to admit I was sick of them after doing 40.

Sunday we celebrated Payton's birthday,

Bud's birthday,

and Thanksgiving. All of the kids, in-laws, and grandsons were here. We had a great meal of BBQ ribs, ham, potatoes & gravy, baked beans, strawberry pretzel salad, buns, coconut cream pie, and pumpkin dessert. Everyone brought something which means I wasn't dead tired from cooking for days. We REALLY enjoy it when everyone is here. It looks like we will just have Tasha and Kyle here on Thanksgiving. Trilby will be home nursing two boys who had their tonsils out today, Trina will be in Minnesota at Tanner's parents' home, and Travis will be working.

And what are you doing for Thanksgiving???

Dinner and a Movie

What is better to do on a Friday night than dinner and a movie with the grandsons.....well, two of them anyway! The boys rode the bus to Tasha's Friday night. Tasha is on the edge of their school district, so that's about as close to us as we can get. Bud picked them up and we headed to IC to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Check out a trailer of the movie here. I read the book to my class many times when I taught second grade, and they loved it then. The movie was very cute, and the boys loved it. Then we went to dinner. It was quite a feat to decide where to go as Cael only wanted McDonald's! We finally decided on Okoboji Bar and Grill which he wasn't happy with. Once we were inside he was fine and actually admitted later that it was a good place to eat!

They thought they should be goofy when we took their pictures! Once home Cael played games on the computer while Payton watched TV until bedtime. Unfortunately after breakfast I had to take them to IC to meet their mom so they could go get flu shots.

We had a great time, and I hope they did too!