Auntie Em's House

Tommy's Prom

2011-05-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

Tommy's Jr. Prom. He attended with his good friend Chloe. Poor Chloe had just injured her knee during tennis the day before and under that beautiful dress she is sporting a "bionic" brace. She was in a good deal of pain, yet put on a brave and happy face. I will take a guess that the following day was spent resting with a lot of ice.

His party met at his friends Brennan's house. The have a long living room in which you can put 3 banquet tables end to end (I need to borrow it for Thanksgiving!). Brennan's mom, Kim, had set the tables with beautiful china and glasses. They had requested that we (meaning Pete) make Italian food. Pete made meatballs and stuffed shells, while other parents brought salad, bread and desserts. We had such a good time serving the kids and they were all so appreciative. They brought tears to my eyes when they all held hands and prayed before dinner. There are a lot of great teenagers out there!

Tommy, who wasn't that interested in going to prom had a great time. Another memory made :)

Easter Eggs

2011-04-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

What a great son I have! He humors his mom by assisting with the dying of the Easter eggs. I treasure every moment I have left before we are empty nesters. Just one more year....my baby will be a senior and 18 in September. Whew...time flies.

Rhododendron

2011-04-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

The rhododendron is in full bloom! It only lasts for a week or so, but it is something we look forward to each year. It gives us hope that spring is really here and that summer is on the way. Our weather has been a bit of a roller coaster lately...so many of our spring blooming trees are looking a little shabby. Still we are much better off than the poor folks in the south and their over abundance of tornadoes :(

Yellow finches

2011-04-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

I love spring! I put up a new finch feeder a couple of weeks ago and have been patiently waiting for the arrival of yellow finches. I was able to attract them at my old house, so I was hoping to catch a glimpse of some here. Today they arrived.....first one......

then three.......

It looks as though there are 6 or 7 here. I was actually able to count eleven a little later.

There are wonderful things happening all over our yard right now. The naked lady lilies have put up lush leaves. My roses are showing signs of life and my one little daffodil plant is up, but yet to bloom. And apparently, I planted a tulip last year....I do not remember doing it, so I assume it was a grocery store plant that I stuck in ground after it had died out inside. I wonder what color it is? I hope to work in the yard all weekend and finish clearing up the rest of the leaves. We have 3 large Bur Oaks in our backyard and they lose their leaves all winter and into the spring so they do not get cleaned up in the fall. Last weekend I cleaned up the front yard and filled the back of Pete's truck once. I think Pete will be making several trips this weekend...weather permitting. Loving Spring!

More Christmas Eve Preparations - Grandkids

2010-12-28T16:24:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth, 8, filling raviolis.

Zach, 7, cranking the pasta machine.

John, 3, cranking the pasta machine.

Taylor, 9, filling raviolis.

The traditional frosting of the sugar cookies.

The aftermath ;)

And the wonderful cookies!

Christmas Eve preparations

2010-12-28T15:54:00.001-08:00

Cooking day....as we so affectionately call it, is my favorite day of the year. All of my kids are home cooking together. They tease each other as siblings do and for me, it's heaven.

The matriarch of our family Marion (mom, grandma, nona, mamasita) enjoys herself watching Pete and the grandkids prepare for Christmas Eve. For many years while living in Wayne, Nebraska food preparation was her sole responsibility. Pete also started out making all of the food on his own, but now he has many helpers.

Here is Pete working with the pasta machine. Nicole is waiting patiently for him to get out of her because that is her job!

Nick cooking away. Of course, he looks much better showing off his sleeveless pecs :)

This was a very lively conversation between Pete and Tommy. I think it may have been about the cookie press and I am quite certain that they "both were right". And again, Nicole just waiting for them to get out of her way.

And here we have some fashion posing with the dishes. Doesn't every family do this? I think it is a little scary how much Nick looks like Adam (well, smaller) in this pic. Someone at the party thought Ashley looked like Taylor Swift (her daughter Elizabeth's favorite singer). What do you think?

Tommy's Homecoming 2010

2010-10-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

The Group. They met at Tommy's friend Brennan's house. It was a surprise for Brennan's mom who found out that she was having 18 kids at her house for dinner at 11:00 that morning. Boys. It was potluck...so thankfully there was food being provided. Although, several of the boys did not bring anything. Again, I say ....boys. Regardless of the odd selection of food, they all had a good time.

Tommy and his friend Chloe. They have been good friends for a long time and they had a blast.
Weren't they cute!

My handsome son.

The Sound of Music

2010-10-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

Tommy was in the Fremont High School's production of The Sound of Music this weekend. He played Fredrick the oldest son. Fredrick is a 14 year old boy just coming into manhood so Tommy with his very low voice had to sing a little high and squeaking. That along with the shorts and knee highs provided some nice comic relief :)

Here the children have just met Maria and she is teaching them to sing. Do...a dear, etc.

The children and Maria in their jammies singing another number.

The children in their play clothes made from curtains. Maria the lead is on the left and the Captain is behind the youngest child Gretel.

The Children performing at the Austrian festival just before they escaped over the mountain.

The full cast.

The play was fantastic! I am really proud of Tommy and the new adventures that he is bringing to our lives!

My Fall Vacation

2010-10-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

My school is now on the continuous learning calender, so the for the past three weeks I have been on our Fall vacation. My goal was to paint Nick's room and the "penthouse" bedroom. As you know, in an old house it is not as simple as just painting walls. Painting leads to looking at the woodwork, the windows and look at that carpet!

I started with Nick's room which we painted the lovely shade of red when we moved in. Then we had the wall patched and never did painted over the white patch. The carpet was in terrible shape....but yes, we let Nick live in it. It never seemed so bad while there were posters on the wall and clothes all over the floor.

After two coats of primer to cover the red and then two coats of "First Frost" we now have a nice peaceful room. Nick is rarely here and likes the new look. The room still is Nick's with his books, trophies and Lego drawer :) It is now so much more guest friendly. Andy and Kelly won't have to worry about what Michael may be scrounging out of the carpet any longer!

Every thing has a fresh new coat of paint including those paned windows which my husband graciously scraped for me after I had finished painting.

The "penthouse" bedroom, aka....Nicole and trolls abode has also received a makeover. We moved Nicole in before we were able to paint the room. As you can see it was the former bedroom of a free spirited artistic teen. By the way, Never let your kids use sticky tack to hang things on the wall. In this case it was on the ceiling.....thousands of little pieces of sticky tack. After you scrape it off with a scraper or in this case my fingernail worked best you get to mess with your nervous system by inhaling tons of Goo gone to get rid of the residue.

Again, after many coats of primer and a lovely new shade of pick....the carpet is fuchsia ..what choice did I have besides boring beige, it has become another comfy guest room.

I am thrilled with the results. I am looking forward to going back to work so I can get a little rest!

My Men of September

2010-09-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Tommy turned 17 on September 12th. Here he is with his traditional Mickey Mouse pancake. He had to go into work early on his birthday...so this was kind of a forced pancake cake feed. :) He was a good sport about it.

Tommy and Nick clowning around while Tomm was opening his presents.

Pete turned 50 today! We had a party for him on Sunday. We had a lot of fun with friends and family.

Pete checking out the salads. He made Italian Beef for his birthday and also an anti pasto salad. (spelling?) I made the desserts. And...yes, he wanted to cook for his party.

Lots of friends and family. We had a lot of fun.

I love my husband!!!

2010-09-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Pete feeds my passion for good chocolate. He brought these home from Belgium. They are Neuhaus chocolates. I did not want to remove this beautiful paper, but the temptation of the chocolate was overwhelming!

Pete found this beautiful shop in Mons. The chocoltier was a very entertaining woman who spoke French and through lots of hand gestures and guessing Pete was able to communicate with her that he was buying chocolates for his wife. She hand selected the chocolates while wearing white gloves. How elegant! I wish I could have been there. Pete said you could smell the chocolate a block away. All cities should smell like chocolate.

So far, each chocolate that I have tried has been a little piece of heaven. My favorite chocolate up to this point had been See's truffles. While I will never turn down a See's truffle, the Neuhaus chocolate is on a whole other level.

This is their website should this prove to be too much of a temptation. They can be ordered on line....a dangerous thing for me to know! www.neuhaus.be

New Computer...

2010-08-31T18:07:00.001-07:00

There is so much to catch up on! Nick was home from college for the summer. Here he is with his siblings in his HyVee duds before he heads off to work.

Our newest grandchild was born. We welcomed Dominic Anthony into the world on July 7th. If you would like to see more updated photos of him...go to Ashley's blog (I have a link on the right side of your screen). She has wonderful pictures of him smiling and rolling to his side.

Fourth of July bar-b-cue. John -3, Zach - 6, Elizabeth - 7, and Taylor -8. I would like to tell you that the cousins get along really great, but that would be a fib. Zach and Elizabeth squabble, squabble....so we try not to give them to much alone time.

My puppies are growing up :) They play fetch...together. Here they are both bringing back the toy to me. House training had been an arduous affair. I think that they are finally catching on, but it may be awhile before they are allowed to leave the kitchen.

This is a new plant that I tried this year. It is an annual vine called Hyacinth Bean. It's part of the legume family, so I planted far away from Pete's part of the garden. We certainly do not want any strange allergic reaction.

I really love it and the neighbor kids have been really great about it growing on to their trampoline net. I believe that I will have to rethink the location next year.

Puppy love CAN heal a broken heart :)

2010-05-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

May I introduce two new little friends to you? Please meet Rose and Heidi. They were born on April 7th in Kansas City and came into my life on May 21st. They could fit into a hogie bun just yet :) They have become the star attraction of the neighborhood having received more visitors than queen herself probably receives in a day. They take it all in stride being the natural princesses that they are. I am fairly certain that they believe that they deserve all this attention. They love to cuddle and have become my reason to want to rush right home from work.

This is Heidi. We believe that she may have been the runt of the litter...she is quite a bit smaller than Rose. She may be small, but she has no problem keeping up with her sister.

This is Rose. She is a snuggler and seems to be pretty laid back. She loves to roll in the grass and pounce on her sister.

Ashley's baby bump is growing!

2010-05-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Ashley has been a very good sport about allowing me to take these pictures! We are all so excited to meet this new little person. If this one stays where it is supposed to, Ashley may actually get a fat little baby this time around.

My daughter --The Graduate!

2010-05-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

What an exciting moment! Even though Nicole finished school in January and has been substitute teaching for some time this still felt great. What an amazing feeling watching her walk across that stage to receive her college diploma. What a moment of embarrassment when Nick yelled out her name after the crowd had been told to refrain from such acts of frivolity. By the way, he wasn't the first or the last. Now on to her future....in just six short weeks, she will be teaching kindergarten. Go Nicole!

Congratulations Tommy!

2010-05-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

Tommy was awarded his band letter tonight and was honored with the Woody Herman Jazz Award for outstanding contributions to the Jazz Ensemble. Congratulations Tommy!!!!

Tommy with his student teacher Mr. Nebolski and his band Director Dr. Anderson.

Easter

2010-05-05T11:49:00.001-07:00

Zach, Elizabeth, Taylor and John.

Ashley, John, Tommy, Nick, Nicole and Bryan

Ashley with grandchild #5 on the way! She has a tummy this time!

In Memory of Penny

2010-05-05T11:36:00.001-07:00

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... Author unknown...

Nicole has finished with her college education!

2010-01-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

My oldest daughter, Nicole, has finished her degree in Elementary Education. She is now officially a teacher! As soon as she receives her teaching certificate from the state, she can begin substitute teaching while she searches for permanent employment. Congratulations Nicole!

A turning of the page....

2010-01-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

I fear that I will never see this sight again. Tommy has informed us that he would rather pursue track this spring instead of baseball and he isn't sure about summer ball. While I respect his decision, it is a bit of a life changer for us. We have spent the past 13 summers at ball parks, first with the girls and then the guys. I cannot imagine a summer without the traveling, the smelly uniforms and bat bags or most importantly, the popcorn at Moeller Field. I still miss watching the girls play fast pitch softball. Of course, they both play on a women's slow pitch league in the summer, but it is not quite the same. Well life is about change isn't it? We must embrace the new and make the best of it. Did I mention I really do not like track meets during Nebraska's cold and windy springs?! But we will cheer Tommy on and wish him the greatest of success!

I wonder....

2010-01-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

What do the people up North do when it snows, ices and blows like this? I assume they have this weather all of the time. Do they close down their schools? Does life come to a stop? Do they go to school half way through the summer to make up for snow days? Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that my co-workers that live out of town do not have to try to get in to school. I was just wondering how the rest of the nation handles it.

I want to see this......

2010-01-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

The past two mornings have started out at 15 below zero. That's crazy! Overnight, our boiler decided to stop working and when I got up this morning our kitchen was 48 degrees. Brrrrr. My trusty hubby tinkered with the boiler and it started putting out heat again, but for good measure we had a repairman come out just to be sure it doesn't happen again. Apparrently, sawdust from sanding your floors can mess with your thermostat. Who knew?

We are expecting more snow tomorrow and possible blizzard conditions again. I personally have no use for snow after Christmas. A white Christmas is lovely, but it is now January so the snow can melt and go away and not return until next December. This is the view that I wish I was looking at out my back windows..

What is that? Is that Arizona calling us back? I will remember why I love Nebraska in the spring, but for now Arizona seem very appealing :)

Snow, snow, snow (Happy New Year)

2009-12-31T15:14:00.000-08:00

This is the most snow that we have received all at once since we moved to Nebraska! Yes, that is my birdbath buried out there in the yard. The snow is up to the middle of the arbor. Crazy. The blizzard made getting around on Christmas Eve a little difficult, but we still had many friends brave the roads and come to our Open House. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed our friends and family very much. Now that New Years is upon us we must reflect about the damage our gluttony from Thanksgiving to New Years has wrought on our bodies and will have to take measures to correct it :)

Nick's extensive tunnel system in the back yard.

Yes, college guys still like to play in the snow!

Happy New Years to all of our friends and family.

Our 2009 ornament

2009-12-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

Grandkiddo's decorating cookies

2009-12-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

Taylor, Elizabeth and Zach spent some quality time together frosting cookies Sunday afternoon. L' John was taking a nap. They make a huge a mess and have a great time doing it and Grandma gets decorated cookies. It's a win win situation for us all!

This is serious business picking out which cookie to decorate. This year they chose from snowmen, Christmas trees, ornaments, stars, snowflakes and a present.

The weather outside if frightful, but inside it is so delightful!

2009-12-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

The snow that Tommy is working on in this picture is still here. It looks like a winter wonderland here in Nebraska. But inside our kitchen the elves are busy working away preparing raviolis for our Christmas Eve Open House. My favorite part about his activity is that all of my children are back together under one roof having a great time. Pete tries to rein in their excitement and keep them focused and productive. He succeeds about half of the time! They are all so excited to be together and are busy telling each other about their lives that they get a little distracted. But in the end we always end up with the raviolis finished and ready for Christmas Eve.

This year they made 160 veal raviolis and 150 cheese raviolis. The bonus is that if any are broken they can be eaten later that day as a late lunch or dinner.

Tonight, Pete will be making meatballs and tomorrow they will conquer stuffed shells. This is a fabulous time in our house! We have so much fun preparing for the Open House and our house smells incredible.

I have a new job!

2009-10-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

My good friend and co-worker Linda B. decided to retire this summer. This opened up the position of Library/Media Para. I applied and I am now working in this lovely library. I read to the kiddo's (which I love to do) and check in and out their books. I am responsible for this space and I am thrilled. I work with really great Media Specialists - whom I have worked with for years as a computer lab para. It's a great job and I am really thankful to have it.

Pete's been canning and pickling

2009-10-11T15:00:00.001-07:00

Pete decided to try canning and pickling this summer. He was able to use cucumbers from our garden for the pickles. We didn't have luck with tomatoes this year, so those came from friends or the farmers market. The pickles are really good! We haven't tried the tomatoes yet, but I am sure they will make wonderful sauce. It's pretty cool looking in the "wine" cabinet and seeing all of his hard work.

Tommy - Homecoming

2009-10-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Tommy went with a group of friends from his Drama club this year. They went as couples, but not as date, because the tickets were cheaper for couples. Huh? Anyway, he had an ok time. Lots of drama and breakups going on.....didn't he say they went as non dates? And was he not with the drama club....what else should he expect :) I thought he looked handsome.

Tommy's non-date is the one not in a dress. She was going to get dressed after dinner, so the dress didn't get dirty.

Tommy is 16 - Watch out

2009-10-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

Tommy turned 16 on September 12th. I would love to show pictures of his birthday, but they are being held hostage within my camera. I wasn't aware that my memory card was not in the camera when I took the pictures and my cable for the camera is no where to be found.

Pete surprised him with his car late in the evening, thus the dark picture. All of our kids have matched us monetarily to pay for their cars. This is a cute little Baretta.....it's been to the shop a few times (in the beginning) and so far seems to be a good high school car. And I love that I no longer have to tote the busy guy to all kinds of different activities.

Nick is off to college

2009-08-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here he is impatiently waiting for us to be ready to leave. See the happy glow in his eyes....freedom is just about 50 minutes away! Tommy gets to ride shotgun to Lincoln...a little more brotherly bonding before Nick is gone.
We have arrived at UNL and the unpacking commences. Yes, Nick did bring his tot sized recliner. He's just that kind of guy :)

Now how do you make a bed? With sheets on inside out of course....Mom cringes and Dad laughs.

His desk area...looks functional....let's hope it gets used.

He forgot his pillow. He will have to use the dorm supplied one for awhile.

His closet, dresser and vanity area. It's actually a well laid out room.

Tommy just chillin and waiting for us to leave.

A little family pic here and then Nick rushed us on our way. Time for him to settle in and start his next adventure. We are really proud of him and thrilled that he is so happy to get started on the next step to his future career.

Tommy's First Outing As A Pitcher

2009-06-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

Tommy's team is a little short on pitching and his coaches felt he had potential, so they put him in last night. He didn't do to bad. He can get it across the plate, not to quickly, but it get there. I was impressed that it didn't rattle him at all. He kept his Tommy smile and had fun with it. His team is having a tough season but....whatever doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. Right?

@#$%#!!! Rabbits

2009-06-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

My poor garden! I have never had the rabbit problems that I am having now. They are eating everything in sight. My wonderful husband put chicken wire up around certain areas that contain roses, but we can not fence everything. This Asiatic lily below had at least six flower buds on each stem last night.....they are now gone as well as most of the leaves. I am sure that plant will live, but there will be no flowers from it this year.
This rose should have leaves on it. This whole little section of roses have been stripped clean. It now has chicken wire around it, so hopefully it will rebound.

And ....if it isn't the rabbits. It is some little green worm that has eaten most of the leaves on the roses. I have now turned to chemicals, which I do not like to use (bad for the earth) and have started spraying the entire garden. It's to bad chemicals do not work on rabbits :)

Nick's Graduation May 16th

2009-06-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well he did it! Our son made it through high school. He was ready to be finished and cannot wait to start down at UNL. He intends to major in Wildlife Biology with an emphasis in Herpetology (snakes). Pete and I are excited for him, but we are not so sure that we are ready to let him go. That will be a long car ride back from Lincoln in August.

We were planning on having Nick's party in the backyard, but the weather had different plans for us. Thankfully, we have wonderful friends next door who provide their garage. It is a new building with lots of room and counters. It worked out great and Nick had a little over 200 people come through. He requested Italian food (shocking) and Pete complied with sausage and peppers, meatballs and Italian beef. We nearly ran out of food and we did run out of cake. The kids particularly liked the root beer keg!

Nick's shrine.

Nick is behind the balloons visiting with some baseball friends.

Thank you to Aunt Connie, Andy, Kelly, Michael, Joe, Michelle, Joey and Kylah for coming to see him.

Big Birthday Week

2009-04-03T14:05:00.001-07:00

Nick is 18 today! It seems like just yesterday that Pete asked if I would be willing to have more children. I told him that I already had 2 daughters and I would only have more if he would guarantee a son :). And being the type of guy that he is, he promised a son! A lo and behold a son was born. He delighted everyone, except Ashley, who wanted her new baby brother to disappear. She wasn't happy about giving up her "baby of the family" status and throughout their growing up together, she did try to eliminate him a view times. Pete was so excited he sent our friend Cherie out to buy some blue spray paint. He then went home and sprayed "It's a boy" on a sheet and hung it from our garage. You know the saying...You might be a redneck if ...(fill in the blank here).
Nick has provided us with 18 years of entertainment. A boy we thought was shy thrived on the stage and in speech meets. He now wants to go off to college to be a Herpetologist....he wants to play with snakes. Ewww. He wants to go off to jungles and find the most dangerous varieties and milk them (for anti venom, for all of you going in a weird direction). He expects to go off with the Peace Corps in the summer of 2010. I think he is going to provide is with a lifetime of entertaining stories.

Here he is this morning with the traditional Mickey Mouse pancake. He is surrounded by 18 Cub colored balloons and the traditional Mylar balloon. He gave me strict orders not to post this picture. That worked out for him, didn't it?

I neglected posting on Ashley's Birthday. She turned 24 on March 30th. She was my very shy child who hid behind Mommy when someone was over. I hear the incredulous laughing now. For anyone who knows her cannot believe that would be true. But I assure you, that for a brief little moment, she was shy and if you can believe this, quiet. Later in life, she sang everything, everywhere. The Little Mermaid songs were often heard coming from the bathroom. And once, I overheard her reading the back of a shampoo bottle in an advertising type of voice.

As a teen, she angered every adult that she came across. You see....Ashley was always right, just ask her coaches! She gives a little now, but....well, just ask her husband John if she has given up that stubborn streak. But God is good, he has given her a lovely daughter with the same disposition! My mother was fond of saying that my behavior would come back to haunt me in my children.....it's so nice to see that it just goes on and on.

As an adult, she is doing very well working a personal banker and as a mother and a wife. She has worked very hard to get her life to where it is now and Pete and I couldn't be any prouder of her.

Isn't she beautiful?

I am so blessed to have four happy, healthy children! Give your child a hug every day and tell them how special they are!

Spring Fever!

2009-04-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that it is finally April. This is the month that the garden comes alive! My rhododendrons have buds and will be beautiful.
I have leaves! William Baffin, a Canadian rose, has already started to leaf out.

I am not sure you can tell from the picture, but my Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry is just full of flower buds. It blooms with the prettiest little white flowers. In a few months it will have berries, which the birds will eat in one day.

And this is my most favorite place to sit and view the garden. Soon there will be peonies, hostas, daylilies and daisies surrounding it. There are two Blueberry Muffin viburnums planted just behind the watering can. I hope that they bloom this year. Welcome April!

Arlington's Prom

2009-03-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Nick and Callie went to her Senior Prom this Saturday. I thought Callie looked wonderful despite having walking pneumonia. The afterprom was in Omaha at an arcade/funplex called Thunder Alley. They had a great time.

Nick and Callie have been dating 6 months now!

The Arlington crew that they went with. There is apparently a shortage of guys in their small village.

Baseball has begun!!!!

2009-03-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

First Day of Spring and first day of High School Baseball. I was fortunate enough to have back to back games at our home field. The beautiful weather that we had earlier this week did not stick around of course. It was in the fifties and windy, pretty uncomfortable. Tommy was regretting not having on any under armour. Tommy is on the Freshman team, other wise known as the reserves. He started in left field and his moment of fame was catching a line drive in the 5th inning. He was up to bat twice and was walked both times. Bergan won 7-6.

The varsity player arrived midway thru the freshman game. That would be Nick huddled up in a Cedarville hoodie.

Nick is back-up catcher and 2nd base. He is also the DH, which he played tonight. He was walked, struck out twice and hit a double. Bergan won 10-0.

Nick doesn't intend to play summer Legion ball so this is a bit bittersweet knowing that this will be the last few weeks of watching him play ball. The time just went by to fast.

March 16, 2009

2009-03-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

A sign of Spring!!!! I have a daylily in a protected area that wants to come out and play. We were in the 70's today! Of course, March in Nebraska is a roller coaster ride, so it won't last but....oh how we love this warm weather. I have been off line for awhile. My laptop had an untimely demise in January when a glass or bottle of Sprite was knocked over on it (Nick). Pete has managed to get our very slow back-up computer in the sunroom to be alot more reliable, so here I am. The techies were able to recover most of my document/pictures from the laptop and they are now on an external harddrive.

My mom had a medical surprise right after the New Years. She had a minor heart attack that was brought on by a pulmonary problem. She is fine now, but Pete and I did go out to see her (she lives in Mission Vi ego) in January. My mom lives with my sister Rebecca and her two children Zion and Trinity. I had not met my niece and nephew and was really happy to finally get to know them. They are wonderful. My sister, Rebecca, is an amazing woman. She is a single mom now and works her tushie off to make sure everyone is taken care of. She is my last surviving sibling....and I think she is awesome.

A Merry Manes Christmas

2008-12-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

First, there is the cooking and prepping and general craziness that goes along with preparing for our Christmas Eve Open House. This would be ravioli day......the family makes cheese and spinach ravioli.

The grandchildren frost the sugar cookies. When they are finished.....the table, the cookies and the children are covered in frosting, sprinkles and candy. It's a little scary, but they make some very "interesting" cookies. Nick usually contributes his artistic talent and Tommy is good for frosting at least one.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The tree is ready.....and the train is set up to entertain adults and little ones. There is nothing like an antique train to bring out the little boy in grown men.

The dining room is offering such Italian delights such as, ravioli, eggplant parmigiana, lasagna (made by Nona), sausage and peppers, bacala', stuffed shells and meatballs. The house smells Divine!

The family is all dressed up in their Christmas finery.

And where does everybody always end up........the kitchen! It was a wonderful night, full of family and friends. Christmas is truly a time of amazing Blessings. Let us always praise his name!

One Act - 2008

2008-12-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

The boys were in the One Act Play "The Devil and Daniel Webster". Tommy was Daniel Webster and Nick played the old man (left) and the judge in the devil's courtroom. They had a great season with some of the highest placement in competition that Bergan has seen in years. They had a great time and are sad that it's over. Next....we are on to speech.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

We love Thanksgiving. The kitchen is always crowded. There is lots of good food and good company.

This year we had to spill over into the sun room.

Taylor and Elizabeth cheering during the annual football game.

And.....Rock Band. Yes, the neighborhood dogs were howling!

The Food Csar has begun!!!

2008-11-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

Pete has begun the feast preparations. Here is a small glimpse of the beginnings of the Saturday night feast. What do you suppose requires nine pounds of sour cream?

Today is Elizabeth's Birthday

2008-11-20T18:23:00.001-08:00

Elizabeth's party is on Sunday....so this is my most recent pic of Miss Elizabeth. She did tell me that she was having a very good birthday. She had tacos for dinner and strawberry cake for dessert. She was going to open up a few presents this evening...she was pretty happy about that part. So now all of my November grandchildren have had their birthdays.....clearly the month of February is an amorous time in my daughter's lives. The magic of Valentine's Day.

Zach is 5!

2008-11-19T19:01:00.000-08:00

Today is Zach's birthday. He is 5, ask him, he will tell you and everybody else within earshot about it! I am unable to upload is birthday pictures and my techie is out of town so the Halloween picture will have to do. Zach had a busy day...preschool, lunch with mommy, icecream with daddy (everybody at Dairy Queen knows it is Zach's birthday too), pizza and cake at home. He is a pretty happy camper. Nicole is just praying he will go to sleep soon.

Today is Taylor's Birthday

2008-11-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

Taylor is seven today. There is a slumber party going on in our house right now. We had Pete's homemade pizza, then the gang (Nicole and her two friends, Natalie and Jane, Ashley, Taylor, Elizabeth, Katelyn (Tay's best friend from school) and Zach) went to see High School Musical 3. They just opened gifts and had cake. I believe there is an evening of finger nail painting, hair design and other such female pursuits ahead. I am a little concerned as they sleep (sleep?) directly over my head. Taylor received many arts and crafts supplies....she should be able to stay busy for a very long time. There is a lot of little girl excitement and energy flowing through the house right now and yes, Pete is handling it just fine. He has done a might fine job with the special orders he has received for pizza. He is making more as I type...for the late night appetites. He is just priming himself for our Thanksgiving feast weekend. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by such happiness.

The beautiful cake was made by Natalie and Jane.

Elizabeth, Taylor, Katelyn and Zach.

Halloween

2008-11-04T16:48:00.001-08:00

Nick felt his costume (which he wore to school) was a reflection of the economy. I will have to admit, it feels that way sometimes.

Taylor as a lovely, sparkling witch and Zach as a muscle bound Power Ranger. Zach wanted to be a bat...but there were no bat costumes to be found.

Check out those abs!

Elizabeth as a happy pumpkin and John as a lion. Little John would roar upon request, completely adorable.

A Fall Walk

2008-10-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Pete and I went to the State Lakes this afternoon for a walk. We took little old Penny with us and she managed just fine on a 2 1/2 mile walk. Pretty impressive considering that she is fourteen. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm. The leaves are turning and it was very peaceful.

It's Pumpkin Carving Time

2008-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

Yep, here are my guys again. This year they made me happy by cheerfully carving pumpkins for me with no complaints. I wonder if this will be Nick's last pumpkin for us, or will he come home from college and give us at least one more. Nicole and her kiddos carved pumpkins as well earlier this week (check her facebook) so we will have a porch full this year! It looks like we are going to have good weather this year for Halloween and I am looking forward to handing out candy to all of the little ones. It is exciting when one of my students shows up at the door, they are always so surprised to see you. I believe they think that we all live at the school. I have put off buying candy until the last minute, it's too much of a temptation.

Praise God!

2008-10-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might.Psalm 21:12-13

I need to share my thankfulness tonight. This morning Nick and Tom were in a bit of an accident. The weather was terrible this morning and while Nick was driving to school, a car braked suddenly in front of him. He took evasive action and ended up off the road and took out a road sign. The boys are fine.....again, my thankfulness for the hand of God. The car, not so much. Nick orginally thought he just had a cracked windshield, but it turns out he has a punctured gas tank as well. So he is without wheels for awhile....back to depending on Mommy.

Demo time.....

2008-10-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

Pete decided it was time to work on the basement. We have been wanting to take out an awkward pull down that at one time was for a kids train set and a few of the shelving units that formed along the entire wall. We are not crazy...we do have enough storage elsewhere. Fear not nephews and nieces, the wine cupboard still exists! Although, it is very low...hint, hint. Here I am using a power drill to take off doors....I love power tools!

Pete working hard. I am so happy...I have been waiting a long time for these units to come down.

Nick put in some sledge hammer time.

Feeling sad about the economy

2008-10-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

Are you thinking that you will never be able to buy anything ever again? Take a look around your home and repurpose. I had this shelf put away because I couldn't figure out what to do with it. It just didn't seem to fit this house. But a can of white spray paint covered the gold and a look in a cabinet found these treasures. My handy husband hung the shelf and I feel as though I have a new kitchen. I have been spending this weekend looking around and seeing if something might look better in a new location. Have faith that God will bring us out of this turmoil and appreciate what you do have.

I love these prayer lady salt and pepper shakers. I am not what era they are from..but they are sweet. The lady on the left says "We give You thanks for all Your gifts" and the lady on the right says "Give us this day our daily bread".

Fall Flowers

2008-10-10T18:13:00.001-07:00

The weather has cooled, the humidity has faded and the garden is having a bit of rebirth before it goes to sleep for the winter.

And these are God's flowers. This beautiful picture was taken this summer in Colorado while the kids were visiting with their great grandparents.

Bergan's Homecoming

2008-10-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

Tommy and Nick - the Mane's studs!

This is Nick's crew...yep, three girls. They met up with the rest of the crowd at Village Inn. This was their last Homecoming now that they are Seniors (sniff, sniff).

Tommy's crew. Yes, that would be 4 guys to 12 girls. This was their first Homecoming and the Freshman had a great time. Tommy said that most of the guys from his class will not dance....so he had to share his dancing "love" around.

Homecoming

2008-09-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Nick with his date Chance. They went to Fremont High's Homecoming. Bergan's is this weekend. Nick will be going stag for that one.

This would be the group that Nick went with. The girls were coming from a volleyball game and were late so they were in a hurry. In spite of rushing through dinner, they had a great time at the dance. Oh, to be young again......

John and Ashley have news.....

2008-09-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

No, it's not another baby! Their little one, John, is walking. There will be no stopping him now.

He is an eating machine. Here he is with one of grandma's chocolate chip cookies....then he had two bananas.

And...Elizabeth is riding her bike without training wheels...and all by herself. Yeah, Elizabeth!!!

Pete's Birthday is Today and what does he do?.....

2008-09-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

He cuts down a section of a tree of course! We have a beautiful magnolia in our front yard that is slowing being taken out by a virus. Pete cut out the dead wood and we are hoping that the section that is still sending out leaves will recover. Yes, we are optimists. I missed the lumberjack moments and arrived home in time for clean-up. Nick and I were away having his Senior pics taken (yes, I was a little misty). We weren't away long enough because Nick was put to work right away helping Tommy pick up the branches.

This stump will be cut a little lower.

Zach helps Papa clean up branches in the back yard. While you are taking down a big section of tree in the front, you may as well clean up the back as well!

Happy Birthday Pete!!!!!!

Happy 15th Birthday Tommy!!!!!!

2008-09-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

Tommy is 15 today! It is a tradition in our home that the birthday celebrant is served a Mickey Mouse pancake (complete with a Skittles face) and has a fun helium balloon attached to their chair. The kids were so young when I started this and they still love it. Nicole and Ashley now do the same for their children.

Tommy's day was full. School, a cancelled Cross Country Meet (weather), Cross Country practice, shower and on to play in the Pep Band for the first home football game. He is now bowling with a few friends. We will gather the family and shower him with affection Sunday.

I give thanks to the Lord that Pete was able to leave Houston this morning on an 11:00 a.m flight. Houston is sadly being hit by Hurricane Ike at this time. Pete arrived safely home this evening and we are grateful that he is safe. Many prayer of safety to all of those still in harms way.

God's Blessings

Elizabeth

Apples Galore!!!!!

2008-09-06T17:57:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Peggy and her husband came buy today to share their bounty of apples. Wow. I have never had this many apples in my possession. I plan to make a deep dish apple pie tomorrow and I am currently researching how to store (be it canning, freezing, etc.) these puppies with the least amount of work and money :) Today was a lazy day, it was rainy and dreary. I cooked breakfast for the grand kids while Pete worked in his garden and then just took it easy. Pete ordered the Husker game on Pay per view. They won, but Pete was disappointed in their performance. Not being a football expert, nor wanting to become one, I'll take Pete at his word. I had planned to spend the day sprucing up the house, but there is something very alluring about the sound of a football game on a cool day. The couch beckons with it's comfy throws. A lovely mug of tea and thoughts of house sprucing are just a passing whim. I did work my way through several loads of laundry so I guess not all was lost. The cool weather and going back to work makes me neglect my garden. Some of the roses are having a second wind, which is lovely. I think that I am ready to put the garden to sleep and mulch everything in for the winter. I am ready to turn my attention to the house. We could use a bit of sprucing up and organizing before the holidays.

God's Blessings,
Elizabeth

Tommy's first Cross Country Meet 9/4/08

2008-09-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

Tommy surprised us this year by deciding to join Cross Country. He ran in his first meet tonight at Indian Trails golf course in Beemer. Here he is before the race, smiling and stretching with his team mates.

The course was 3.1 miles. They ran around the perimeter of the course and up this hill. Do you see that little strip of grey down at the bottom? That was the road that they came up from. I heard the cross country runners call it "Killer Hill".

I was so proud of Tommy as he crossed that finish line. He ran the race in 25.42 minutes, his fastest time yet! I had never been to a cross country meet and I have to tell you those kids should be admired. Way to go Tommy!!!!

First Bulletin Board

2008-09-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

This is my first bulletin board. I was asked by a teacher that I work with if I could start it for her, she provided the fabric and edging. We are going to use it to post back to school pics of ourselves or of our family members. I was thinking of the picture that I posted earlier...you know, with Mr. Grumpy pants.

Rose - Distant Drums

2008-08-22T14:13:00.001-07:00

This is a new rose for me this year. It is a Buck rose called Distant Drums. Dr. Buck (from Iowa) created roses that are hardy to this area. I planted a Buck shrub rose called Summer Wind last year just to see if these roses lived up to their hype. It did! It was green to it's tips last spring, I had very little to prune off. If Distant Drums does the same, I will be planting more Buck roses next year.

Stunning rose, smells musky.

Little John

2008-08-19T18:57:00.001-07:00

I watched little John today....he was sick. Doesn't he look sick? He had a little fever yesterday and Ash took him in to the Dr. who diagnosed him with ear infections (yes, two). His daycare requires him to be home for 24 hours after being sent home with a fever. So sadly, he had to stay with me. He is so difficult :) Sits and plays, takes 4 hour naps, kisses me.....oh the trials of my sad life.

Back to School

2008-08-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

7:45 a.m. Not a familiar time for these two lately. Can you guess who was happy to go back to school and who was Mr. Grumpy-pants?

I had my first back to school meeting. My orderly world has be toppled a bit. I have been, for eight years, the computer lab para. I loved it and was very comfortable there. However, the dynamics of our school has changed so much that the powers that be have decided that I can be of more use within the classroom. I am comfortable with it....but change is so hard. The Lord is just keeping me on my toes :)

Baseball party

2008-08-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the baseball team and coaches this Saturday night. Our friends, the Savio's, organized the food and guests and we provided the backyard. Pete made beef and sausage paid for by the generosity of Legion Baseball. It was a beautiful evening, so unusual for August. Pete had sprayed earlier for bugs and it worked wonderfully! I didn't see or feel a single mosquito. The end of a season is definitely bittersweet. You can't believe that summer has gone by so quickly. Now there are young men going off to college and others back to high school. Many parents remember when their men were little boys just picking up a bat....and cannot grasp how time has slipped by so fast. We celebrate the boys of summer!!!

The Lord surprised me today!

2008-08-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

This beautiful lily was waiting in the garden for me this morning. Every spring lily leaves pop up and then die down, but in the 3 years that I have been gardening here nothing has ever come of it. I believe in just every day terms this lily is called the "Naked Lady" as she comes up all alone after the leaves have died. I didn't plant it and it was a lovely surprise.

And the day came when the risk (it took) to remain tight in the bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

Field of Dreams

2008-08-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love the movie Field of Dreams? Nick has wanted to see the site of the movie for many years and we were finally able to stop by and see it. But it was not without drama! We had to travel from Chicago to Dyersville, Iowa and we underestimated how long a few errands would take. Field of Dreams closed at 6:00 p.m. and we made it there by 5:35! The drive was beautiful. We took Hwy 20, it's a scenic highway and it lived up to it's title. We saw quaint historic towns and stunning views of rolling farm hills and deep valleys. This time of year the Midwest is at its most beautiful with corn and beans nearly at their peak. Iowans take exceptional care of their property, their farms are well tended and everything just looked so tidy.

Pete, Elizabeth, Tommy and Nick

Nick pitching to Tommy

The farmhouse.

Tommy

Nick

Do you think they will meet Shoeless Joe Jackson it there?

Family Reunion

2008-08-11T18:45:00.001-07:00

We had a bit of a Manes family reunion this weekend in Ohio. We were missing Pete's sisters Patti and Jane and their families. Our girls could not attend either......but much fun was had by those of us who were there. We ate wonderful food, drank wine (tea for me) and every evening we sat around the fire pit. We caught up on each others lives, enjoyed the antics of the little ones and just genuinely enjoyed each others company. We had excitement - a fox killed a neighbors rooster the first night (a sound many of us will not soon forget) and Pete and Mike played firemen and put out a fire in the wood pile on the last night. Nobody can accuse the Manes' of being boring. Connie took the ladies on a tour of Yellow Springs, a wonderful new age type of town close to where they live. I enjoyed it so much that the next day Pete, Nick and I went back. We also toured Mike's sports facility at Cedarville University where he is the baseball coach. What a neat place that is! It is very well designed and thought out - you can tell that the students are definitely their priority. I will add more pics later.

Tom and Andy playing a bean bag game. Notice any similarities?

Esther, Michelle, Pete and Mike playing bocci. That is the backside of Kelly, she was busy chasing Michael who wanted to get the balls.

Tony and Nick playing bean bag toss.

Anheuser Busch - St. Louis

2008-08-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Pete wanted to visit the brewery and it was fascinating. I have to say that I was enthralled with the complexes garden areas. The place is like a small town and I gathered a lot of great gardening ideas.

My Manes' Men.

O.K. I know I am supposed to have paid a lot of attention to the making of beer....but look at these chandeliers! The came from the World's Fair of 1904! Gorgeous. The architecture of this complex was amazing.

St. Louis --The Arch

2008-08-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

This morning we visited The Arch - it is stunning. I believe to truly appreciate it, you have to see it in person. It is huge and really makes an amazing statement in the landscape. There is a museum, movies and you can ride to the top. Pete and Tom chose to go the IMAX movie about Louis and Clark, Nick rode to the top and down and I visited the museum. I was stunned to find out that there were 10 million Native American Indians in North America when the Europeans arrived. I had never imagined that there were so many.

Nick and Tom - the base of the Arch is enormous.

Nick took a few pictures from the top. I love this picture. It is of the historic courthouse which the Dred Scott decision was made. The boys have both given presentations of this subject, so it was a real look at history.

St. Louis, Missouri (Cardinals Game)

2008-08-07T19:00:00.001-07:00

Busch Stadium - We watched the Cardinals play the Dodgers. It is a new stadium, about 3 years old. I love that you can see the Arch for where we were sitting. Pujols hit a grand slam - the guys were pumped. What are the odds that you will go to a major league game and see a grand slam!

We loved these seats! They were high, but in the first row. We could stretch out. As Cubs fans we would have preferred that the Cards lost, but the atmosphere was to contagious to not be happy for their win.

Kansas City

2008-08-07T18:53:00.001-07:00

The Manes' men enjoy the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, so in keeping with that theme we are visiting some of the restaurants that we featured in the towns we are staying in. The guys ate at Grinders and in the morning we had breakfast at 39th Street Mama's. (pictured above) Pete and Nick declared the corn beef hash the "best they have ever had" and Tommy was thrilled with his ginormous chocolate pancakes.

Kansas City 8/5/08

2008-08-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain

Kansas City, MO

Nick's team was eliminated from State (I think that we took 4th), which then enabled us to leave for our vacation on time. Bittersweet. We couldn't be prouder of the team, we had a great summer watching them play. Unfortunately, Nick infected himself with poison sumac sometime before State started. We didn't know why he had hives and it was over a day up in Norfolk before he was taken to Urgent Care. Meanwhile, the hives spread and he is miserable. However, not even poison sumac can keep a Manes man down ---he and Tommy spent many hours at Worlds of Fun. They rode roller coasters (Nick declares the Mamba the best and Tommy preferred the Patriot) and checked out the girls. Pete and I walked around the Plaza a little. The architecture is great.

August 3, 2008

2008-08-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.
No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.
--Robert Frost

Tommy has a new book in a series (The Twilight Series) that he has been reading. This will occupy him for a few days. I love that my children love to read!

Fremont Legion update: The Fremont team defeated First Nationals (North Platte) last night in a close game 9 to 8. The teams were evenly matched and it was one of the most exciting games that we have seen all season. I don't believe have ever seen our dugout come as alive as it did last night! The guys are having a great time. We continue in the winners bracket and play again tonight in Norfolk at 7:00. The game continue to be on the radio and via the Internet (see earlier post). Wish us luck.

Dog day's of Summer

2008-08-02T13:30:00.001-07:00

Meet Penny. She is our fourteen year old dachsund. She has developed a bit of a spunky side ever since her vet put her on estrogen to control a bladder issue. Do you remember Templeton from Charlotte's Web? Always on the look out for a treat, that would be our Penny.

August 1, 2008

2008-08-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

Nick's team defeated Elkhorn (14-3) today, their first game at State. They play tomorrow night at 8:00. KHUB is still broadcasting these games via the internet - see previous post. The team has gathered enough sponsors to keep the boys in a hotel for 4 days. Pete and I are driving back and forth. The humidity has let up a bit, yeah!

Thursday July 31, 2008

2008-07-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

Team Picture (courtesy of Jill Watson) with their 2nd place plaque in Districts.

Nick had a chance to catch during the last district game! Our team lost, but I don't think it was a big deal. Coach did not want to waste our pitching, he is saving it for State. We play Friday in Norfolk at 2:00. The League has purchased four days worth of hotel rooms for the players and coaches. Depending on our schedule, I think most of the parents will drive back and forth. I am so excited! Pete informed his co-workers that he needed to be home Friday because of the State tournament and he is coming home tonight. We've missed him! I have spent the day cleaning, now I feel better about going off and watching more games. The house was looking very neglected.

Baseball continues July 29, 2008

2008-07-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Nick poised to take off to 3rd. Fremont defeated South Souix City last night 12 to 3. We play Grand Island (A team) tonight in the district finals. If we win at 5:00, we will have to play them again at 8:00 because they are undefeated. We have already earned a place at State, which from what I've heard it has been since 2003 since Fremont played at State. Although, the drive to SSC is pretty, I will be very happy not to drive it again after tonight. It is very hot and muggy here and our players look a little wilted by the end of the game. Should I describe Nick uniform...no, no, I will leave that to your imaginations. Tommy has been keeping busy with his FCCLA chapter. I feel like I haven't seen him in forever. He will be coming along with us to Norfolk for State so I can catch up with him. Pete is due home late Friday night from D.C. We all miss him very much. The house is busy again now that Nicole has returned from Colorado. Nicole and Ashley and families went to Colorado to visit their grandparents. Their grandfather is ill. Their father was also there and I hear they all had a great time.

Monday July 28, 2008

2008-07-28T09:44:00.001-07:00

Good Morning! This is my most favorite rose, Abraham Darby. He has a wonderful old rose fragrance.

Nick's team beat Norfolk last night 8 to 6. It was an exciting game, the teams were well matched. Tonight we play South Souix City again at 6:00. That is the team that beat us and put us in the loser's bracket. They have an ace pitcher that is a UNL recruit. We have defeated SSC three times before that loss to that pitcher and I am curious to see if they will use him again tonight. We have some amazing hitters on our team so I am hoping they will all pull through tonight. If we win, we will have earned a spot at State and if we do not win, we are finished for the season.

Sunday Morning July 27, 2008

2008-07-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is one of my most favorite places to sit and just breathe. It is behind the garage and just seems very private and peaceful. I am still working on it. The piece of ironwork was found on the property after we moved in. We believe it was attached to the front walkway in earlier days. We found two small marble pillars (they are hiding behind the pot on the right) that were probably attached to it at some point. I tried to grow a morning glory vine on it this season, but the rabbits had other ideas. I will try again next year!

The following pictures are what I see from my little patio. The cinder block wall will eventually be covered in a flagstone facing. The gardens are a work in progress with many more roses and perennials needed to fill in the space.

Partial shade garden under a Japanese Lilac tree.

I love our large oaks. More shade gardens.

In the distance you can see Pete's tomatoes and Indian corn.

My English roses along the fence and Pete's veggie garden.

And Pete, this is for you. Your tomatoes are finally turning red. When you return from your trip you should be able to dine upon fresh tomatoes!

Update on Legion District Tournament:

Nick DH'd last night. He had a single rbi and a single. Grounded out to second and popped out to right. If you would like to listen to the games live, go to

http://www.omni-tech.net/streamer.htm

it will be on the AM1340 station at 7:00 tonight.

Blessings!

Elizabeth

Morning Surprise

2008-07-26T11:46:00.001-07:00

A baby praying mantis is resting on Red Riding Hood Plox.

July 26, 2008

2008-07-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Pete has been very busy this summer. He built this raised garden bed and we have already experienced the benefits. We have had green beans, broccoli, swiss chard, egg plant and oh yes, the radishes that the grandchildren planted.

We love the the fire pit that Pete built this summer. Everyone is really enjoying this new addition to our backyard. Our grandson Zach calls it camping when we gather around the fire pit in the evenings and roast marshmallows.

Sadly, we lost our game last night. Now we must fight our way up through the loser's bracket which will require daily trips to South Sioux City until Tuesday if we win. Lucky Nick! He will spend plenty of car time bonding with Mom as Dad is off on a business trip today.

July 25, 2008

2008-07-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am entering the blogging world. Families are spreading out and so much is happening and this seems like a nice way to share what is going on. Please bare with me as I learn how to do this. This summer we have been spending most of our time following around our son Nick. He plays on the American Legion Senior team. We will be heading to South Sioux City tonight for District playoffs.