HO HO HO🎅

This year's Santa photos - Enjoy!

Thunder (7), Snow (2), Blizzard (1), Santa, Skye (7), Summer (9), Storm (4)

Farmer Boy

JD sent me this photo of Blizzard "picking green beans" in their garden. From the amount of dirt on him, I'd say he was an enthusiastic picker!

I love the one shoe off, one shoe on pose. And the amount of dirt on his hard-working tractor! 

On the Road Again...

Last week we drove to the Kansas City area to meet JD, Janel, and Blizzard. We had a great time! The weather was awesome and we managed to fill every minute making great memories.

When we arrived on Thursday morning, we headed over to Independence, MO to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Since I grew up in the KC area, I had been to this library many times. As a matter of fact, one of the most significant events of my life happened on 12/27/72 when my neighbor took me over to the Library to stand in line to pass by President Truman's casket lying in repose in the Library lobby. The Truman Library is the first Presidential library built. It is small, but filled with interactive displays, and exhibits that highlight all phases of President Truman's life.

After the Library, we headed over to Overland Park, KS for lunch with my childhood best friend. When I lived in OP, until 1979, it's boundary was 111th St. or College Blvd. It has grown way beyond that boundary now! We had lunch at Stroud's on 135th St. What?!! And that's not the southern boundary, it goes on beyond there.

Lunch with Carla was so much fun! We met in 6th grade, became fast friends and stayed friends into young adulthood. When I moved to AZ we lost touch. In 2009 I started searching for her on the Internet and found her through LinkedIn. We started up right where we left off. We've seen her in person three times over the past nine years, and keep up with each other through emails, texts, and Instagram. After lunch, Dan said "I love to hear you girls talk, it's as if there was never a break in your friendship!". I agree!!

That evening we briefly met up with Janel's parents at our hotel. Since we were all together we, of course, had to get a photo taken with Blizzard!

On Friday morning Janel was still busy with her conference, so JD, Blizzard, Dan, and I visited my SIL's mom, Priscilla in OP. We stopped at a train shop so Dan could check out items for his new hobby - a "N" Scale Model Train set-up. We then headed over to Antioch Park. I have so many great childhood memories of Antioch Park. We had family picnics there. Church picnics there. School picnics there. It was a great park for kids, with a child sized Western Town that we could play in and climb on. I was thrilled to see that "Dodgetown" still existed when we got there. Of course, it's been updated a few times in the past 39 years! Blizzard had a great time trying out the play equipment. I had a great time revisiting the buildings from my youth.

Friday afternoon we headed out to the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Remember how shocked I was the OP extended to 135th St? The Arboretum is located on 179th Street. It blows my mind to see the growth in that town. The Arboretum was beautiful. It consists of several trails you can walk featuring specific themes. I love hydrangeas (of course, we can't grow them here in the desert) and was amazed by the huge hydrangea plants in the garden.

Saturday morning was the highlight of our trip with a visit to the West Bottoms warehouse district for antique shopping. I came home with a few treasures, but Janel hit the jackpot with a beautiful hutch that will be just perfect in their home. Good thing she borrowed her parent's pick-up truck so she could get it back to Manhattan! That night we drove to The Country Club Plaza for dinner at a great Mexican Restaurant and then drove Ward Parkway to gawk at the huge mansions built along it.

Blizzard was such a delight! He warmed up to us right away and enjoyed walking with us holding our hands. He's becoming very verbal and is at the stage where he thoroughly understands the power of saying "no". He has the cheeriest smile and the most robust laugh. We love him so and treasure every moment we get to spend with him.

It's always hard to leave them, but this time was made a little easier with the knowledge that they're flying out here on September 29th for a conference JD is speaking at. While he and Janel stay at the hotel downtown, Blizzard is going to come and stay with us. We can't wait!!

Tulsa ~ Sequoyah State Park ~ Camp Wannasew

We had a delightful morning in Tulsa with JD, Janel, and Blizzard before Janel and I left the boys to travel to Camp Wannasew. We visited the Tulsa Zoo, which is a great little zoo! Blizzard was enthralled with the animals. And we got the best front row view of Tigers that I've ever had in my life. They are just magnificent.

By the way... we also found Nemo there!

After the zoo, Janel and I departed for Wagner Oklahoma to antique shop before heading to the lake for the stitching retreat. Unfortunately, this is the sight that greeted us when we arrived:

One side of Main Street had burned down last year. It was sad to see such beautiful buildings in such a state of ruin. We went through the one small shop we could find and then headed to the lake.

The lake was huge. It's been 40 years since I've lived in the mid-west and I've gotten used to lakes that are really ponds or man-made. I made the comment to someone that I can guarantee you that two of my children have never seen a body of water like this except the ocean! It went on for miles and miles. It was quite windy while we were there so the water was usually choppy.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon, threw our bags into our room and started stitching. Most of the campers arrived on Thursday and by that evening the room was pretty lively!

On Friday we took a mid-morning break and drove to the nearby town of Tahlequah to antique shop and eat lunch. Tahlequah has been the capitol of the Cherokee Nation since 1839. It was a very pretty little town with a bustling downtown area. After one more stop at an Antique store in Hulburt we headed back to stitching.

JD, Dan, and Blizzard drove down Friday afternoon and stayed at one of the "cabins". They had a great deck facing the lake. I told Dan if I was staying there I would just spend my entire day on the deck looking at the water! 

As part of the retreat, Lindy "brings" The Silver Needle to us. There was a wide variety of patterns, kits, accessories, fabrics, and notions to "shop". 

 

Me and Janel - I can't tell you how thrilled I am that she invited me to join her at this retreat. We had a great time and I would definitely do it again!

Thank you, Janel!!

Our table

Me, Lindy (The Silver Needle owner), Janel

Donna, Virginia, Lynn

I was apprehensive about several elements of attending a stitching retreat. Could I really sit and stitch for three days? Community showers ~ are you kidding me? Just being in a new place with new people and a new experience?

It was wonderful. I can sit and stitch for long periods of time AND as an added bonus, I'm completely motivated to tackle my stitching with renewed energy. I enjoyed the flow of conversation at our table and around the room in general. It was such fun to walk the room and see what each lady was working on. It was fascinating to see what products they used, what lighting system worked for them, and to hear how many years they'd been attending the retreat.

The bunk beds and community shower? Um, not so much. But, I survived! hahaha

All in all it was an awesome experience. I'm looking forward to our next opportunity for a stitching retreat!

O~K~L~A~H~O~M~A!

Our trip to Oklahoma: spending time with Blizzard, JD & Janel, shopping at The Mercantile in Pawhuska, at The Silver Needle in Tulsa, visiting the Tulsa Zoo, and stitching at Camp Wannasew (hosted by the Silver Needle) at Sequoyah State Park - Awesome!

Our plan to visit Oklahoma began with an invitation from Janel to attend Camp Wannasew stitching retreat with her. I was thrilled to be invited and of course I said yes.

We began to plan the trip last Fall. I knew right away that if we were going to be that close to Pawhuska I definitely wanted to stop in at The Mercantile. I have to admit that I've never watched The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network (I think that's where her show is). She wrote an autobiography years ago which I read. Then I began following her blog. I did buy one of her cookbooks, but I've since passed it on to my daughter. I've been so interested in her renovation of The Mercantile and her current renovation of the building next door into a hotel.

The Mercantile was such fun. We arrived around 9:30 am and met JD, Janel, and Blizzard upstairs in the Bakery. We agreed that we'd eat lunch rather than a snack so we went downstairs to shop. Lunch is served at 11:00 am, so the boys went out around 10:30 and got in line. Fortunately, we were third in line so we got in right at 11:00. Janel and I kept shopping while they waited in line and also walked down the street to a couple of other shops in town.

The store has a large variety of items and I could have spent more money there, but was saving some for The Silver Needle. As it was I came home with gifts for both of my daughters and three small items for myself. As they opened the doors for lunch a couple walked up and asked the manager how long the wait was. At that time he estimated it to be 1 1/2 hours plus. We were so glad we got in line early! We each tried a different entree for lunch. Dan had the tomato soup and a sandwich (delicious). I had the Grilled Cheese Sandwich and a side salad (awesome). Janel had the Lasagna (fabulous). And JD had the French Dip Sandwich (Yummy).

Upstairs in the bakery area

Pretty bird's eye view of Pawhuska.

The buildings there are just gorgeous. 

Lots of renovation going on in town. 

In line for lunch 

Ready for lunch... yum!!

I kept my purchases to a minimum because I knew I wanted to spend money at The Silver Needle. I bought the cow platter for Katie, the pig platter for Jessica and the juice cup, tiny mug and ornament were for me.

Next up: Camp Wannasew

Blizzard

I just had to share this photo of Blizzard in his "gramps" shirt!

Birthday Boy

Blizzard's first birthday party was this past weekend. We were unable to make it to Kansas, but we did the next best thing: we attended over Skype. We got to watch him open his presents, sang "Happy Birthday" to him, and saw him "blow" out his candle. JD texted me a few photos of the event that I can share with you.

I asked JD if Blizzard looked older to him when he got him out of bed that morning and he said yes! haha

As you can see, his party was Winnie the Pooh themed.

Looks like he really enjoyed his birthday cake!

Gramps picked out this "monster truck" for him.

He loves anything that rolls along the ground!

Our official one year photo

One!

Blizzard is one year old today. This year has passed by in a blur. I'm thankful for the time we spent in person with him, and I'm, well, sometimes sad that we don't get to spend more time in person with him. But I'm adjusting to being a long-distance Grammy. At least I hope I am.

Here's the year in review with this special little boy. He is so cheerful. When we Skype with him every weekend he just lights up when he hears our voices. I'm sure he thinks we live in a box because when we see him in person he looks at us like "who let you out of the box?"!

Thank you, JD and Janel for indulging me in getting Official Monthly photos with your sweet boy. They mean a lot to me and I'm so glad we were able to come up with a way to make them happen. They're unique and will be great memories for years to come...

We love you, Blizzard! Happy Birthday!

Our first official photo - newborn

Skype - One Month Official Photo

Skype - Two Month Official Photo

Skype - Three Month Official Photo

Finally together!

Four Month Official Photo

Skype - Five Month Official Photo

Together again!

Six Month Official Photo

Skype - Seven Month Official Photo

First time at Grammy's House!

Eight Month Official Photo

Hanging out on the front porch in Kansas

Nine Month Official Photo

Back at Grammy's House for Thanksgiving

Ten Month Official Photo

Note to self: clean the screen next time!

Eleven Month Official Photo

Stay tuned for the Twelve Month Official Photo coming soon...

Official Eleven Month Photo

Our next to last official monthly photo - where has the time gone?

I love you, Blizzard!

HO...HO...HO

I was so excited about the grandkids' visit to Santa this year. I literally spent weeks anticipating it. You see in October it occurred to me that since JD, Janel, and Blizzard would be here for Thanksgiving it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have all six grandkids in a photo with Santa! Yippee! I plotted and planned... Katie bought matching "Cousin Crew" pj's for them all to wear. I made a reservation to see Santa so we wouldn't have to wait in line.

The big day finally arrived. We drove to the mall in anticipation of the awesome Santa photos we would be getting.

Alas, it was not to be. For some reason as we approached the first photo station, Thunder decided that he did NOT want his photo with Santa. He started throwing a fit like a toddler (most unattractive in a six year old). We managed to get a shot of him in the first photo, but when we reached Santa he completed revolted.

I am bummed. But, on the bright side, I got a photo of five of the grandkids with Santa. I am focusing on the bright side. Really, I am. Yep, one of these days I'll be able to focus on the bright side.

So, here are the Santa photos, the much anticipated Santa photos...

Skye (6), Snow (1), Grammy, Blizzard (10 mos), 

Sunny (8), Storm (3), Gramps, Thunder (6)

Hmmm, wonder if I could insert a photo of Thunder in here?!

Storm is very into Christmas this year and was thrilled 

beyond words to see Santa!

Skye asked for an Appaloosa, but Santa explained that he 

doesn't bring live animals...

Blizzard's first meeting with Santa went very well!

The last time I had a photo of Sunny alone with Santa was in 2010, 

before Thunder was born

After we left the mall, Katie called me and said that Thunder had a change of heart and went back in to take a picture with Santa and Sunny. {{sigh}}