Look who is smiling!

sweet Elliebel

Fall birthdays

When Marmar was alive, we HAD to celebrate birthdays. Had to. She was all about birthdays, especially hers (I am saying that in a most respectful way!) We had to get together, even if it was just for cake and ice cream. We would roll our eyes, but we would make sure we got together.
Jenny and I, being the only ones left from the our family of origin (a term I learned from Jack's mom), have tried to keep up the tradition. It hasn't been easy, especially since Sue died. It's just hard. But God love Jenny, she took it upon herself this year to make sure our family acknowledged birthdays. Jen organized seasonal birthday get togethers. This past Sunday we celebrated the fall birthdays at a get together at Jenny and Jay's. So fun.

Jack, Matt, Ellie and Anthony

Ellie

Abbie, Nina, Arne, Beth with Ellie

Sleepover!!

Abbie and Nina came to our house for a sleepover on Friday. It was long overdue!  Arne and Beth dropped them off around 5 and stayed to visit for awhile. It was fun catching up with Arn and Beth, too. We haven't seen nearly enough of our families in the past few months.

Abbie is 9 and in fourth grade and Nina is 6 and in first grade. Jack and I couldn't believe how grown up they have gotten. It was such a chill evening. We didn't do much "entertaining". The girls love to cook so we spent lots of time in the kitchen. Abbie and Nina made their own pizza and a 1/2 batch of chocolate chip cookies. We had some deep discussions and everyone was asleep at a decent hour. 

In the morning, we made some pancakes (Lynn's recipe, of course). Another tradition, Jack measured the girls on the wall in the laundry room (the same wall that was used to measure Wayne, Sally, Arne, Dane and Kjell at various times in their lives). Jack, Abbie and Nina also walked over to the mini mart but got caught in a downpour. No worries! That's how easy going they all are. 

Such a perfect way to start a weekend! 

made this pizza themselves!

measuring

earned some $$

Beautiful Fall Weekend

It's been a beautiful fall weekend. The trees are gorgeous and the weather has been cool and crisp. This picture was taken this morning. Look at those colors, including that blue sky! 

Abbie posting!

My hero is patty why you may ask well. i think she brings joy to a lot of people and i want to do that when i am older. i think patty has the skill for everything and that is a good skill in life.

Fair Weekend

ready for the Fair!

Jack and I did a day trip to the Hillsdale County Fair today. The weather was cold (50 degrees) and rainy (not torrential), but that did not dampen our spirits. It is one of my favorite days of the year.
There were some deviations from the usual Fair experiences, but we were flexible and rolled with the punches. We all know how Jack likes his traditions!

Jack in front of his old dorm

This year, we stopped at the apple orchard on the way into town and stopped at Hillsdale College before going to the Fair. I know, really mixing things up. Jack's first dorm that he lived in at Hillsdale was gone, torn down. Thankfully, his Koon Hall was still there, although painted a bit differently. At the Fair, there was no funhouse ride and once again, no photo button booth (but we took our own picture). In another deviation from tradition, I had cheese on a stick instead of a corn dog. It looked exactly like a corn dog, but there was a mozzarella stick inside. Pretty delish.
We did not play any games this year, but did watch a video of a calf being born which was very fascinating.

There were also some differences at Schuler's Restaurant this year. One of our favorite things was taken off the menu. No peppermint ribbon pie! Deep breath. I am ok, Breathe. It was a shock, but we managed to force down a coconut snowball. Thank goodness the meatballs were still on the menu!!! We also deviated from our usual order in other ways. Schuler's has done a nice job of updating their menu over the years. This year, we had roasted brussel sprouts as an appetizer in addition to the meatballs. We skipped the Schuler's salad. I had a roasted root salad with chicken and Jack had trout. All good stuff.

a toast to traditions

no Peppermint Ribbon Pie!

all done!

We arrived home around 8 pm to find that the Landscaping Fairy had visited our house while we were gone today. Jenny and Jay very graciously and generously are redoing the landscaping in front of our house. It has been a bit of a mess since we had the main sewer line replaced 18 months ago.  When we came home tonight, there was a new tree planted and black dirt spread and bushes waiting to be planted. So exciting!! I can't believe they are doing that for us. So touching.
All in all, a pretty darn good fall Saturday so far.

A wonderful week

This past week, from Saturday September 26 til Thursday October 1st, Jack and I had the luxury of time with our daughter, granddaughter and granddog. Matt had to go on a business trip to Switzerland and we all decided it would be in everyone's best interests (especially mine and Jack's!) if Sally, Ellie and Otto moved in with us while he was gone. All I can say is that it was heavenly!!!!!
Last Saturday, Jack and I drove up to Green Bay Wisconsin for the funeral of a guy who Jack had always admired. John was the husband of Jack's mom's cousin (did you follow that?! I never do if someone tells me something like that), so not a close relative, but John was someone who Jack looked up to. In any case, it was a great day celebrating a wonderful guy and sharing fun stories. On the way home, we stopped at Matt and Sally's to help schlep all the stuff that a 5 week old baby needs for a five day stay. Believe me, there was lots of equipment! We ordered out sushi and settled in for the night. Later on in the night, Wayne and Julie stopped in to see Ellie and the rest of us, so we had the fam together except for Matt. Wayne and Julie are so good with Ellie and love her to pieces. Wayne has already started singing a song for Ellie that is totally catching on. It'll be a keeper. I will try to post a video of it on here at some point. Sweet.

Ellie, Julie and Wayne

lots of love 

Our Sunday flew by! I walked with Jean, we made pancakes and bacon, we had company, including Ellie's Grandpa Bob and Grandma Mary. Later in the day, Julie's sister and brother-in-law and their son Ty stopped by. It was such a fun day.

Grandpa Bob

Grandpa Jack

I had to work during the week, but Jack had some flexibility and was able to spend some time with the kids during the work week. Jack especially enjoyed holding Ellie while Sally napped a few times and he also loved taking Otto on long walks. Otto is such a good puppy.
It was so special to have this time with Sally, Ellie and Otto. I loved hearing Ellie's sweet little baby sounds in the morning and being able to change her diaper and cuddle with her. On some level, it is still sinking in that this precious little girl is MY granddaughter! I love her so much and can't wait to watch her grow. God is so good!

sleepy girl

Ellie visited with Christy and Mary