Something Old

As many of your know I enjoy taking a walk through time. Call me an old fashioned girl with a pro-woman viewpoint. By living in Nebraska I see the value in a life built upon neighbors, trust and ingenuity. Many people that visit here say we live at least 10 years in the past. Most of the trucks, tractors and homes are antiques. People here invent ways to make their lives easier since they don't always have the cash to buy what they need. Not only that but there is a strong emphasis on doing the right thing no matter the cost. I'm fascinated with the ideals and ideas that are present here.

Everyday when I drive down the road I witness the progression of time. Modern homes are erected next to old barns and original homesteads. Some sod homes are not torn down but maintained. Old wooded corrals are still being used yearly. There is something so unique about looking at an item or building that has withstood time. I wonder who has held these antiques or who has enjoying being in an old school house or cabin. What were their lives like and what did they do through their lifetimes? I love to read and study history. It is the connection to our past and ultimately to our future. Everything new isn't better!

Amazing Alice

This is my 75 year old neighbor and friend, Alice, roping at another neighbor's branding. She is a woman that inspires the rest of us woman to be tough, diverse, and push ourselves to the limit. Many folks around here call her the wonder woman. There isn't much she can't do.

Here is the ever faithful Abby nursing our tomcat, Harley. Our other kitty, Jackson, is pregnant in this horrible heat. I hope she can have her kitties safely without the snakes eating them. Yesterday, we found a baby rattler lying next to the foundation of the house. I have an irrational fear of snakes!

Growing Family!

My mom and her sister Glenda at Dawn's graduation. My mom was so happy to see her sister.

Me, my mom, and sister

My immediate family plus my aunt, uncle, cousins and second cousins. It was wonderful to see everybody at Dawn's graduation. I hadn't seen the extended family in quite some time. Now that we have a baby it was great to connect with the other moms. I always thought I wouldn't be one of those people that talks mom stuff. Now I do! I'm so glad all of them could come up from Platte, SD. So many things are happening in their family. Three grandchildren born last year and now my cousin Jason is getting married in a couple months. They are almost doubling their family members in a year. What an exciting time for them!

We haven't taken photos like this in years. In fact it has probably been 5 years since my entire immediate family took photos at our wedding. Carol took this picture. She and Steve, her husband, were the photographers for our wedding. I always remember going out to the cabin in the Black Hills with Steve, Carol, Laura, and Amanda. Steve would drive us around so us girls could get the perfect photos. One time we stopped by a beautiful little Inn to have pink lemonade. We sat in an alcove looking out at all the scenery and just enjoying each others company. I remember feeling very content. For me there is nothing more peaceful than being with friends in God's creation. Such great memories!

My sister and I with our two cousins and all our babes. Our cousin Amanda (Jerad) has a 5 month old baby and Jenna (Josh) has 6 month old twins. All together we had four babies -not counting all the older kids.

Daraby loves to roll the ball back and forth on the floor. Not only does she like it but she is good at it. If she rolls it the opposite direction we make her go get it. OH- she is crawling everywhere. I am baby proofing our place. I can't believe how fast she can go.


She picks the ball up and kisses it.

Graduations!

Congrats Dawn! My brother, Darrell's, first born graduates from high school. My nephew, Brady, also graduated from a two year college. We are proud of him as well!


This is our newest family photo. Thanks Carol for taking so many photos for us.


Dacey, one of my nieces, holding Daraby at Dawn's graduation.

Brittany, one of my nieces, with Daraby. As you can tell Daraby is well loved my her cousins.

Daraby playing on the floor with her new book from her Aunt Dixie.

Here, there and everywhere

Lately I've been on the road a ton. Over the last three weeks I've logged over 2,000 miles by traveling to SD, CO, NE, back to CO, back to NE, back to CO, back to NE, back to SD and finally back to NE (HOME). Thank goodness Daraby was a good traveler!
The week after we went on our cruise I drove back to Denver to met Andrew's Mom- Brenda along with his sister Rachael and her husband Daron. After eating out together Daron and Rachael went back to CO Springs while we went to stay at the Ronald McDonald home. Over the next couple days Daraby went through testing at National Jewish Hospital. Most of it was allergy testing since she has some issues with certain foods. At the end of the two days at the hospital it was apparent that she isn't really allergic to anything. Of course she can't handle milk proteins but everything else tested out clear. The doctors believe most of her problems are related to her acid reflux and digestive system. They wanted to do more testing by sending a probe down her throat for 24 hours and then take some x-rays. I debated about more testing and decided that we would wait to see if it will heal by itself in the following months. We can always go back in a year for additional testing. For now the medicine she is taking is sufficient most of the time to relieve her symptoms.
My mom-in-law flew in specifically to help with Daraby while we were at the hospital. The program for testing can last up to two weeks so she planned to help the first week which ended up being just two days. Since we finished up early(Tuesday night) and her flight didn't go out until Friday, we decided to drive back to NE to see Andrew. On Thursday we drove back to CO to see Rachael and Daron one last time before she flew out. We had a really nice time and Andrew's mom was a big help with Daraby. I'm very thankful for her willingness to travel all that way to help us out.
After I dropped Mom off at the airport I drove home to pick up Andrew to drive onto SD for my niece's graduation. Check on the next post for that trip. Until then Happy Trails to You!