Sisters' Trip - Michigan

 It's Sisters Trip Time!!  Between all of our busy summer schedules, mid August was the best time to head to Teri's so Patty and I booked flights and we all met in Grand Rapids, MI!  Luckily Teri lives close to the airport as Patty got in around noon and I didn't get in till 6:30!  Teri had lasagna and garlic bread all ready to eat after she picked me up along with wine so we were set for the evening!

Teri had a packed schedule for the next couple of days!!  Tuesday morning we headed "downtown" to have brunch - quite a different place (as the original place she had picked didn't open until  11:00!)  This restaurant was long and narrow and to me, on the "yuppie" scale!!  Only about 6 breakfast items to choose from so we chose 2 and split them - one is a french omlette and the other was french toast with peaches - all very good - definitely pricey for the small portions!

Since we didn't order coffee there, we headed across the street to a "coffee" place - it was very busy and we were surprised when we went to order that they had no whip cream or caramel as everything is made "in house".  I kind of thought I was in NYC!!

Then we were off to Meijer Sculpture Gardens - we had been there years ago when it was extremely hot so were excited to go back as the weather was gorgeous!  This wall was amazing to look at inside the main building!!      And below that, was inside the botanical garden - since it was even a bit chilly out, this place definitely warmed us up and we enjoyed the birds inside!

Since there is so much to look at with all the outside sculptures, we decided to ride the tram around - it was very interesting to see all of the sculptures and the story behind them!  This is a picture of just one of the strange ones!!

We loved the Japanese Gardens - we walked up a small hill and could see for a long ways how beautiful the gardens were!

Patty and Teri at the top!

Patty and I in front of the fountain in the desert garden.

And a selfie of the 3 of us!

This horse is HUGE and I remembered it from the the last time we were here!!  There's quite the story behind it concerning Leonardo Da Vinci!

A lovely day spent together - but we still had more to do!!

School Days

 It's that time of the year again - school has begun for all of the grandkids and now their crazy schedules will start up again!  But I enjoy the school year - I love seeing the kids in their various sports and other activities - and of course when school starts, I know that fall is right around the corner!

Our youngest grandchild Gwyn is in 4th grade!

Kenzie is a sophomore!

Evan is a senior!

Kylan is a junior and attending Merit Academy this year!

Parker is in 8th grade!

Aleah is a sophomore!

Matias is enrolled in UCCS in Colorado Springs and Irene will be attending Colorado Technical University!

Nedelle is a junior at Wayne State College in NE - Chance is in 7th grade and Maggie is in 6th grade in Onawa, Iowa!

After a great summer for all of them, it's nice to see them back in school!

Weekend Company

  The Keppys decided to head down one more time this summer before school starts - once the kids are back in school, their weekends are booked so we end up going north to their place to watch the kids in their sports!  

They headed down AFTER the Friday traffic and made good time!

Gary and Evan got up early on Saturday morning and headed to the Leadville area to climb a 14teener with his cross country buddies - they had a great time but were sure tired when they got back home!

Jessi and I had coffee that morning and had a relaxing day visiting and playing games and cards with the girls!  It was fun taking Kona for walks!

Cinnamon rolls - yum!

Everyone always enjoys the front porch for coffee!

Glenn took the skidster next door to pick up Al's large charcoal grill - we were cooking a huge beef tenderloin Sunday evening for everyone!  Anyway, Evan rode in the bucket over there!

Both Evan and Kenzie requested special coffee! And Gwyn had hot chocolate!  They love playing the "7's" game, Jessi not so much!

Kona had an AWESOME time running around outside - we were afraid she might run off but she did great and MOST of the time came when we called her!

Jaime, Brad and Kylan got home from their mission trip to Nicaragua early Sunday morning after 2 major delays!  I had invited the 4 of them over for the beef tenderloin dinner but Brad and Kylan were both sick - so Jaime and Irene came!  We enjoyed hearing about their mission trip!

Glenn cooked the beef to perfection so we had an awesome meal with fruit salad, fr onion potato bake and ceaser salad!  It was great family time!

Everyone headed home later that evening - one fantastic weekend!

July Photo Dump

 July - a month of celebrating birthdays and Independence Day -lots of company - some hot weather for the mountains until the monsoons moved in - and lots of memories made!

So here's the July Photo Dump!

Al's wife Debra was out of town for a couple of weeks so we enjoyed having him over for dinner!

Mango applesauce - not only OUR favorite but the grandkids favorite too!  I can't find it anywhere except Walmart in Co. Springs!  So I stock up when I find it!

My all time favorite Farmers shirt is falling apart - I've had this shirt for probably 30 years or more and it's my "go to" shirt to wear around the house over a t-shirt if it's cold in the house (which 80% of the time it is!!)  I'm still wearing it - but it's pretty darn shabby looking!

Debra and Al joined us one evening to cook hamburgers over the fire and roast marshmallows later - and yes, we got rained on!

I forgot to post the picture of the moose at the zoo - he's looking a little old and tired but I STILL enjoy seeing him!

ANOTHER grandchild driving - Aleah got her learners' permit this month!  She's doing an awesome job of driving already!

And that's a wrap for July!

Mexico Friends Get Together

 Who knew it would be so hard to get 3 busy couples together in the summer?  But we finally got a date on the calendar and it turned out to be an awesome day with Becky and Larry, Jo and Norm!

All of us talked a mile a minute and since it was pretty warm out, we opted not to play corn hole but just to sit around and talk!  

The guys enjoyed just hanging out in the recliners and I do believe a couple of them fell asleep!

I had cooked a very large pork roast the day before and shredded it for pulled pork BBQ sandwiches!  With a couple of salads, we had a great meal together!

Jo brought strawberry shortcake for dessert which was delicious!  It was a great day to get together and we're so thankful for these wonderful friends!!

Fun Times With Aleah and Kenzie

 What do the teenagers do when they come to stay?   We play games and cards!  Lots and lots of games and cards - and I LOVE every minute of it!  I've always enjoyed a good game of cards and each grandchild seems to have their favorites and their dislikes!  But the 2 girls are pretty good at picking out things that they both like!  Papa even joined us a couple of times to play teams on Skipbo - but of course the teens won!

We used to buy the cookie dough from Papa Murphy's - they don't carry it anymore so we make our own, made from the recipe I have always used back in the day!   And YES, we ate the entire bowl over the 3 days!!!

Breakfast!!  They must have gotten up early one day!

One morning we met Jaime over at Wild Horse - the girls had some kind of coconut smoothie I believe!  Anyway, a fun time!

We also stopped at Mike's so the girls could play with the puppy Zeb, just like Gwyn did!  The puppy LOVED running around with the girls!

Even though I have already picked up 5 bags of pine cones for winter use in the wood stove, I KNEW the girls would be disappointed if I didn't have them pick up a bag - HA!  I think it took them 45 minutes!  Takes me 15 minutes!!

And the traditional picture of having coffee (although it used to be hot chocolate) on the deck!  Can you tell it was chilly that morning?

The time went so fast with them there - we ate lots of good food and I so enjoyed it when one of them would yell - "Hey Nana, let's play cards!!"  It was a great time with the two of them but they did have to get home so met Jessi in Co. Springs at our coffee place and they headed home!

Teenage Girls Make Me Smile!

 Kenzie and Aleah - both 15 now - both as cute as ever - and they STILL love coming to Nana and Papa's for a few nights!  I cherish these times with the girls and sure enjoy having them come!

Once again, Jessi and I met for coffee and exchanged the girls!  Since you must have reservations to get into the zoo (that's what they decided they wanted to do) we headed over that way and made it in plenty of time for out "time slot" to get in! 

We decided to ride the sky ride first thing before it got busy - beautiful views although a little hazy!

Africa is always an enjoyable experience walking through!

Ah, the penguins - so so cute!

The zoo is NOT a cheap place to eat!  But they sliced pizza was a great price and the pieces were not only huge, but delicious!  Definitely it was the way to go!  And yes, we had to have some garlic knots too!

A perfect photo op!

I fondly remember putting the kids here when the were younger and taking pics!

We had a perfect weather day - the sun was in and out but it wasn't hot at all which made for a wonderful enjoyble day at the zoo!  We ended up at the giraffes which is always fun!  The girls got a kick out of feeding them!

It was an amazing day at the zoo with these 2 girls!!

The "Boys" Camping Trip

 A couple of years ago (or maybe more?), Glenn, the son-in-laws and the grandsons all did a camping trip and had a great time!  So it was decided they should do it again this summer!  Unfortunately, Gary could not get the time off but the rest of the bunch found a time to get together and made it happen!

Robby and Parker picked up Evan in Denver and headed on down - after getting the bikes all situated, those 3 and Glenn headed over to Buffalo Peaks to camp!  Kylan and Brad headed over the next morning!

I kind of headed up the food and everybody brought stuff so they made out just fine!  And with Glenn in the razor, Brad and Kylan on ATV's and Robby, Parker and Evan on dirt bikes, well you can imagine the fun they had!!

It looks like they had a nice flat camping spot and they played a LOT of corn hole!

Here's a picture of some of them - probably by this time Glenn's razor completely broke down so he didn't get to ride the 2nd day!  (parts are ordered so hopefully will get fixed soon!!)

I can't imagine playing corn hole at night but the lantern DOES look pretty bright!

Parker and Kylan!

And the crew again rearranged!

I'm so glad they had a great time together - especially since this will probably be Evan's last "free" summer since he graduates next spring!