I was going through my picture folders to see if I'd missed sharing any fun photos. And, YES, I meant to post these a couple weeks ago! There was a small get together of girls I went to college with - they have a tradition of gathering together to watch the Miss America pageant, it goes back more than 10 years now. I've only been a couple of times, but I was so glad it worked for me to go this year! (It's a lot more about having a date set aside every year, then actually watching the show!)

When Grandma moved in with us we extended our cable package to one of the largest available because she really likes to watch sports and Hallmark Channel movies. : ) (Curt was SUPER happy to offer this bit of comfort for her in our home.)

We had a small amount of snow fall Sunday night and all day yesterday. Ashlyn really wanted her Dad to take her 4-wheeling, but that didn't work out and she settled for going out with me this morning.

It turns out that she didn't really want to "play"... more than anything she wanted to observe, follow tracks and just explore. It was amazing to see how many critters have scurried around in our yard since the snow fell.

Last week it was really beautiful outside so I went out and let the kids ride the new Jeep. It's amazing how much better/longer kids sleep once they've gotten some fresh air and exercise.



A friend of mine from South Dakota (kinda bossy) called and demanded asked to see pics of the progress on the house. I'm not sure why I backed up so far, but here's a shot. The siding is just primed and will need to be painted in the Spring and we'll replace the roof for sure this summer. She's a work in progress. : )

We announced months ago that we were expecting our first nephew.....well, he's here!!

Brody was born on 1-1-11 at 1:06. He was 5lbs 15ozs, so he's tiny and SO adorable! He's got lots of dark hair, but you won't be able to see it because we didn't take off his cozy little cap.



Aunt Ashley is a nurse at the hospital where she had the baby, so her coworkers had come in and decorated her hospital room. It looked like a party!

Ashlyn washed her hands twice so that she could hold the baby, "by herself." : )

Congratulations Mike & Ashley!! We look forward to the years to come!

We brought my Grandma to live with us in November. So she's going to be showing up in many of the pictures you'll see from here.

Grandma has lived alone in Phoenix, AZ ever since my grandpa passed away 10 years ago. We've all talked to her over the years about moving closer. When we moved to Bartlesville, I knew it was a city she could navigate and enjoy so I really pressed on her to move here. In the past two years, she had both her knees replaced and felt she could help me out. So she put her trailer in the paper and it sold right away. She took that as a sign that she was supposed to move here. My dad went and got her within two weeks and she's lived with us since then - about 2 months.

She's my Dad's mom and the only living grandparent of Curt or me, so it's important to us that our kiddos know her well. We didn't realize this idea was crazy until we started telling people what we had done and saw the looks on their faces. But it works for us and we love having her! She has the biggest room in our house, with her own recliner/tv area, small fridge and microwave, and desk along with her bedroom stuff - so she's very comfortable.

Just look at how we've improved her life!

She provides many of our meals.
Meals are provided!

She watches the kids for us.
She has lots of time with her great grandkids!


We've got extra hands everywhere we go.
She's experiencing lots of new things!

Just the other day she was reading to Ashlyn and telling her stories from when she was a little girl - going to the bathroom in the outhouse, hand washing clothes, life on a farm, etc. History lives here, bring your kids over! : )