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Sunday, December 26, 2010

More Christmas Day photos, from Annette's camera

Here are a few more photos of Christmas Day, in Austin, taken on Annette's camera... I get in a few more of her photos!  ;-)

Here is better photo of Alex with his guitar, with his uncle Larry in the background.


Here, I got a t-shirt from Annette and Larry with a Thomas Jefferson theme!


Here is a really nice photo of Kaylee playing with her new doll house, "The Loving Family" model.


Nancy got a nice "Welcome" sign with bears on it from Annette and Larry; she had picked it out in Estes Park, Colo, last fall, I believe. Very nice!  ;-)


I joined Ben and Alex for the first "adult" game of Monopoly for Alex. It was fun!  ;-)


Here Arrion is reading some new books with Kaylee, by the tree.


Here, Nancy has Alex practice reading to her. That is part of his 'assignment' for the holiday break


It was another very good day!  ;-)

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas morning in Austin 2010

Cameras are out and packages are awaiting being opened... Santa made his deliveries!


Kaylee really liked the van she got from Allison to go along with Lovely Family doll house set.


Alex got a Sorry Slider game from Allison.


Alex with Grandpa and his Knotts Berry Farm preserves from the Rathsack family. Yum!


Larry got both a jacket and a scarf... and some socks! Lots of books, as well.


Annette helps Alex look at this artist set. He got lots and lots of Lego sets, as well!


Kaylee paused for a bite of banana bread, while she listens to Christmas CD on her new "pedal" princess CD player!


More to follow... wanted to get these up early!

Merry Christmas!  ;-)

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve Day in Austin

Cooler today, and a good solid rain early in the afternoon. Ben and Arrion said it was the first they had had in a long time!

Annette let Alex open one of his Lego gifts early, so she could help him put them together, before some the other Lego gifts he has requested arrive. These were all people - amazing.


What better way to get ready for the holiday, than baking and decorating cookies. Here Kaylee is helping Arrion.


Annette let Kaylee open a 'baker outfit' for her early gift.


Bob and Janie Bolger, and Lucas Bolger, stopped by in the afternoon for an hour or so on their way to their Christmas Eve church service. We were so glad to see them.


Lucas and Larry posed for me...


Here are Bob and Alex and Ben deep in discussion by the tree. I'll have a few more photos that others took to add, later, I expect.


I read Alex his beautiful book of "The Night Before Christmas" tonight, on Christmas Eve. Neat!

It was a very good day!  ;-)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Austin Holiday visit second post

Weather a little cooler, but still really nice. Here, I'll feature the grandkids outside, again. New since our last visit is Kaylee riding a bike. She rides down the driveway, on the sidewalk, and up the neighbor's drive and back. Neat!




Alex and Kaylee both like to ride their scooters, as well. Alex demonstrates. In one photo, below, you can see Kaylee's helmet at the far right, behind the bush, going to neighbor's drive.




Annette grabbed my camera an caught this photo of me reading to the kids. The book has something about a 'claw' and we were making that sign...


We had another great day!  ;-)

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

First couple of days in Austin, for Christmas

The weather here has been unusually warm. In Holliser we've had highs in the low 40s for few weeks. It was high 70s as we arrived. It has backed off a little, but very pleasant.

Here, Ben is playing T-Ball with Kaylee:










The sock of the more modern kids...






Nancy and Alex playing a snowman game on the Mac:



Alex with completed Snowman.

We've been having a great visit!  ;-)

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Departure of Guests

Annette and Larry went back to Utah, today, flying out of our Branson Airport to Denver, then into Salt Lake City this evening. They will drive home, to see how much snow they actually have, tomorrow.

On Monday, on their last full day visiting us, we all five went to see the movie, "Morning Glory," at Branson Meadows Cinemas. We all thought it was excellent. Talked about it all evening.




It was another very good day - even if the coldest day of the season, so far - high 34!  ;-)

Sunday, November 28, 2010

50th Anniversary of Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City here in Branson opened in 1960, making 2010 the 50th Anniversary of the theme park. As part of their celebration and promotion of the park, anyone with a 50th birthday in 2010 is being admitted free throughout 2010.

Annette and Allison went out to the park, today, and Annette was issued a button as her free pass to the park. Here is a photo with the button, which says: "A 50th TOO!"


They had a great time, traffic wasn't bad, and weather was fine, just a little windy.

It was a very good day!  ;-)

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Holiday Puzzle Completed

All working together, from time to time, through and around meals and lots of football games on TV, shopping and other activities, we completed the puzzle this evening. It was a collage of sites around the Utah and four corners area that Nancy purchased at Capital Reef National Park. Really pretty!







You can see the arches, the skies, the water, the cliff-dwellings, etc. from the various locations around the area. Holiday fun!  ;-)

It was a very good day!  ;-)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving and LJ Birthday

Thanksgiving and LJ Birthday

A major cold front decided to arrive for the holiday, so we got our first snow of season mid-day on Thanksgiving. Didn't amount to much, and passed on through, but will be about 20 degrees when Allison goes to work for Black Friday at Books a Million on Friday morning at 4 am.





Annette and Larry brought back "fixin's" for a turkey and sweet potato Thanksgiving from their trip to Illinois. It was enjoyed all around. Yum!  ;-)




This was also Larry's birthday, so we celebrated his birthday later in the day with a birthday pie! ... pumpkin, of course!







The pie was enjoyed all around, as well. Below, Nancy and Annette get started on the puzzle for the holiday...




It was a very good day!  ;-)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Annette and Larry arrive for Nov Holiday visits

Annette and Larry flew into the Branson Airport via Denver and Salt Lake City again for their November Holiday visit in the midwest - including a work session for Annette in Illinois this week.

They arrived on Tuesday afternoon.


Nancy's leg is getting better, very slowly, after a few doctor visits. Annette and Larry helped make the Sloppy Joe's that we had the makings for - nice cool evening. Allison came over, as well, of course. After the meal, we all had our computers out - Allison was playing with Annette's iPad apps!


My computer (Mac, of course) is set up by my chair to the left of Nancy in the photo, but I could not get a wide enough view to include in the photo... It was a great evening!  ;-)

Annette and Larry headed for Illinois in the Honda on Wednesday morning. Annette has work presentations, they'll spend time with Brook in Chicago on the weekend, stop by Larry's dad, Sylvester, and be back to the cabin next Monday evening, for the Thanksgiving Holiday here.

It was a very good day!  ;-)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Bolgers visit us in Hollister

Since returning from Estes Park in early October with Nancy's accident injuries, it has been pretty quiet around the house as we work on her recovery. This week, however, the activity increased a tad as her brother, Al, and his wife, Jolene, were visiting in Branson. We spent afternoon and evening time with them Monday through Thursday afternoons and evenings. They were very good to accommodate Nancy's condition and situation - which is improving, very slowly, each day.

Allison came over yesterday and today, but I didn't get her in the two photos I'm sharing, today. Perhaps Jolene will share the photo she took today, at a later time.

This was at home, before we went out to eat, this afternoon, Thursday.


The following photo was taken by a photographer at Montana Mike's, where we went to eat. Since it came out pretty fair, I'll share it.  ;-)



Finally, I normally share any flowers I get to grow in the yard, so this is one from the back, a Zinnia, I think. Pretty, if lonesome... Some folks grow a flower bed. I celebrate when I get a single stalk, with a bloom!  ;-)


It was a very good day! Wishing the Bolger's a safe trip back to Iowa!  ;-)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Estes Park on Monday

Estes Park on Monday

Today I will share some photos that Annette took the last two days, sometimes when I was photographing here.

We'll start with a photo in the condo, of us working around the table while Ben was playing his dulcimer for us... I'm in this one.


A better view of a herd of elk cows, with a buck checking them out (center, looking at us).


A more full body photo of the buck with the big rack.







Going up Old Fall River Road, here is a better photo of the Marmot, as he ate beside the road.






We also saw, on the rocks, just a few feet out the window, a Pika. She got a good photo!





I shared a photo of Annette out in the field, looking at a meadow we could not see, below the Alpine Visitor Center in the photo. Here the photo SHE TOOK, out there, of the meadow and the Center.





And, finally, looking back down Fall River Valley from whence we came...


It was another very good day - except that Nancy fell in the back yard of the condo and got some bad bruises and other hurts - went to Urgent Care and received treatment - resting now, at the condo.

;-)