Happy Thanksgiving! (from Kelly)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I cannot believe what a gorgeous day it was outside on Thanksgiving. I'm thinking the 70 degree heat may have broken some fall records for Yutan at the end of November. We all were commenting that it felt more like a nice Easter than Thanksgiving. Fortunately, that allowed for some great time spent outdoors and a good photo opportunity for the whole family (minus Cassi-missed you!).

It was tons of fun to have everyone together, including Zac and Stephanie. We're already looking forward to the wedding next summer to gather again. The little ones provided lots of entertainment as well, even though Xander slept through nearly all of the festivities:) With the beautiful temps, we even took the opportunity to take a walk down to the Bull house and catch up with some cousins there.

We've had a wonderful fall here in Lincoln, our first snowfall finally hit yesterday. It looks so nice to have some snow over the Christmas lights, gets me ready for the next holiday! I'll keep the holiday theme going with another picture (from Halloween). It's hard for me to pass up all the cute pet costumes at Target, I finally caved in and bought one last year. Here's Lily as a hot dog. She actually escaped the house on Halloween evening with the second set of trick or treaters and ran around the neighborhood for a good 15 minutes. She wasn't in costume yet, I think that would have been much more amusing if she had been a hot dog running round the 'hood.

Not much else happening here. We put my dad to work at our house, he taught Paul how to sweat copper. They then spent an afternoon installing a water softener. I'm excited to say we now have soft water. Long live our appliances and soft skin!

That's all from Lincoln. Have a great Christmas.

Love,
Kelly

Procrastination reigns...as usual...for Nancy

In August, I uploaded several pictures and tonight--finally--wrote the narrative for my letter. This blog pays attention to the original composition date, so my new entry is far down the list. If you're interested, you'll have to scroll for awhile.

I'd like to say that I'll do better next time, but after 61 years of procrastination, I think my pattern is firmly (and sadly) established.

Love,

Nancy

*yawns* who wants to do my homework?

well, the subject says it all. any takers? i'm SUPPOSED to be studying for my 4 chapter/21 page criminal law test to take tomorrow. but i found MORE exciting/interesting things to do--like listen to the radio on the net, surf youtube and play on facebook. lol. oh and blog on here. so how is my studying coming? umm, well, it's not. lol. i'm SO gonna pay for it tomorrow.

but i thought would quickly update everyone. i am currently looking for a job. have 3 interviews in grand island on thursday :/. let's hope something comes through for me. but in the meantime, i'm still living at my apt, chillaxing and doing homework. of course, i'm behind in homework and have no discipline to do it per se.

i'm taking criminal law via satellite and i'm also taking law and the legal team. it is my intro course in paralegal studies. i must admit, for an intro course, there is LOTS of reading and writing :/. ugh. but my teacher is SUPER impressed with my quality of work so far. she said that very rarely does she get to grade a case brief as of good of a quality as mine. it was my FIRST case brief ever too! wow! i got a 98% out of a possible 100%. what does this mean? well, let's see, i've been told three separate times by different people that i have excellent writing skills and analytical skills. so i'm trying to work with vr and getting me a job as paralegal that does strictly legal research. i'm not the best at social skills and can't tolerate people majority of the time. my opinion--they're idiots. soooooo, if i can find a job where i can be in an office all day in the back and strictly do legal research, lemme at it! lol! i'm hoping i can find an attorney in hastings or grand island that will let me do it. i HATE networking, but it must be done :/. ugh.

i'm a good procrastinator if you haven't noticed. test is tomorrow at 1 pm and i haven't really studied yet. lol. but i'll be going to bed soon and focusing on my reading and studying in bed. i just seem to start my homework late at night and seem to do better than if i try to do it during the day. i absolutely have NO motivation to do it during the day. but hey, that's because i'm a night owl. stupid homework and stupid tests/quizzes...

*yawns* i should take my makeup off, but i'm too lazy to get up and do that. lol. oh speaking of which, clinqiue totally pissed me off with a launching of their product and limited it to certain markets. so i threatened to quit their line and wrote a rip out e-mail, yet civil, to them. i was informed by corporate that my e-mail was so powerful that it went straight to the executives who make these types of decisions. i think it made a difference because they no longer list the product as limited edition and i guess they're shipping it nationwide. we'll see. but if that's the case, my job is done :-D. for those of you have facebook and have me on your friends list, you can see the e-mail i sent them under my notes section. but i gave them a piece of my mind and crap, i didn't expect it to go to executives. so i guess i do have good persuasive skills in writing. i should be a lawyer then. hahahaha. i can be that persuasive! but i REFUSE to go to law school and pay all that tuition! lol.

well, i better get off of here, get my makeup off and get working on criminal law. i have to have my car to the shop at 8:30 am and have it looked at. then i have to be at an appt at 11 am and then to ccc at 1 pm. i can't seem to win. lol. but i better get to studying, as i'm gonna be up until 3 am or so as usual and then have to get up and get my car in and then get ready for the day :/. sooooo, with that all said, i'm outie and catch y'all later.

suz

p.s. no capitalization or proper grammar half the time. too lazy to do it tonight...brain cells need to be saved for the studying of the test :-D

2011 New England Trip by Suki

Hey, how about them Huskers thumping on the Buckeyes last night? I'm still excited.

I wanted to share some thoughts and photos from my recent trip to the New England area. It was an amazing five days traveling the coast to Camden, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in Maine to go sailing and lobster fishing, then to Plymouth, Massachusetts for some whale watching and finished up in Hyannisport and other coastal towns on Cape Cod.

I enjoyed this trip with my friend, Debbie, and we were lucky to enjoy great weather, wonderful B&B accommodations, outstanding cuisine, interesting shopping and fabulous rides on the sea. Our only down moment? We watched the Nebraska/Wisconsin game at the...well, you get it.

Some of our other activities included a visit to see the real Plymouth Rock, the JFK and Korean War Memorial, stalking the Kennedy Compound, watching surfers and seals at play, bike riding 26 miles along the Cape Cod coast, and admiring the architectual beauty of New England homes, harbors and lighthouses.

Sailing on a schooner. Peaceful yes, but notice the white knuckles hanging on.
Lobster Fishing. Can't leave lobsters too long in a trap. They eat each other. Without butter.

At Bar Harbor, Maine. Loved how the locals ignore the letter R. It's "Ba Ha-Ba" and "you can't get they-ya from he-ya."
Top of Cadillac Mountain (Acadia Natl Park). Cadillac Mountain is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard and is the first place to view sunrise in the entire United States from Oct 7 through March 6. I love lighthouses!

Whale watching was beyond amazing...

Farewell to the beautiful Atlantic ocean

Love to all! Suki

Farm girl (for the day, at least) From Niki

I posted on the boys' blog about our rural adventures this weekend. After capturing bits of their day over there, I figured I'd share my race day here.

The plan was to get the boys ready for bed as usual and pack them in the car to sleep. Matt did the heavy lifting while I read books and snuggled. Clearly I got the better assignment.

The race was a 60 mile relay race west of Hastings. Teams of seven people ran 2-3 legs of 8-10 miles each. This is my pocket-sized, college softball friend Michelle who lives in Hastings and invited me along.

I was the first leg for our team, and it was a cool, humid, foggy morning as we took off from downtown. Thankfully there were orange arrows along the bike baths and around the lakes because even in town, I couldn't see a thing. Very eerie to know you were among people but couldn't see them. I hoped I didn't get lost.

We passed the time between legs by taking pictures of ourselves in the van,

and stopping in all the small towns along the way.

Our first stops were in Prosser and down to Kenesaw. We got some very funny looks as our caravan of racers rolled into town and took over the streets.

My second leg was three miles on a straight, flat, dirt road somewhere between Kenesaw and Holstein. (Kelly shout out!) Running on sandy terrain was a challenge, but the scenery was amazing. It was so rural Nebraska, and I loved it. Blue sky, green crops, wildflowers, and gravel as far as they eye could see. Simply heaven.

A mile of my route at home is on a dirt road, and it's my favorite part. I love tracking the seasons with the flanking rows of corn. The sights, smells, and sounds of the country are just so therapeutic.

We stopped for lunch at the park in Holstein while the town was having some sand volleyball and softball tournament.

We passed through Roseland and back up north. My third leg was through Juniata along more of the same wonderful scenery.

It's an odd perception of distance to run in a straight line in the country like this. As part of the van crew, it's very exciting to be able to see your runner from so far away. As the runner, it's slightly less exciting to think you're almost to the finish because you can see it. Only you soon realize, you can see for several miles, and the checkpoint is really far away.

It was getting pretty hot toward the end of my third leg. Running past beans felt fine, but running with corn on both sides is tricky. Unless the wind is exactly at your face or back, there's no cross-wind. It's a very hot, humid, sunny sauna. A corn sauna.

We eventually made it back to Hastings about eight and a half hours after we started in 17th place. Here's Team Minivan at the finish line!

This whole race was such a wonderful experience. My teammates were fun, the boys had a riot in Aurora, and the running parts couldn't have been better. I'm a definite city girl, but I've got a little farm girl in my blood too. And on adventures like this race, I think anyone would fall in love with the country just a little bit.

What a Damn Big Dam! (by Suki)

As some of you know, the Warrens and Steve and I take "adventures" around eastern Nebraska (with a yearly visit to Duncan, Nebraska for the Ribfest as our farthest venture). However, a few weekends ago we journeyed to Gavin's Point Dam near the South Dakota border to gawk at the flood control, have a great lunch at the marina and then cruise through Missouri Valley to see the real effects of the flooded Missouri River. The visit to the dam was extremely impressive and I just had to share it via video with everyone. (copy link in address box if you can't click on it). Of course, we drove back in our usual assigned seats with Steve and John in the back with the cooler, and Sue and I in the front with an ice cream cone to end a great day.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJQTON3dsjA



Can you see the center pivot in the middle? Wow.

Greetings from Geneva

Hello, everyone! I put these pictures on and hope that I can write my narrative in a way that makes sense. Once again, I've waited a long time to post so have lots of time to cover. This picture of Mark and Beth was taken at a surprise birthday party that Mark's girlfriend and Jake's wife gave them in March. Jake was born the same day as the twins and they shared the nursery in the Geneva hospital. Mark was very gracious to Beth because there were signs wishing the guys' happy birthdays and he added "and Beth" to them.
Fillmore County is getting a new hospital and this picture was taken at the gala held as a fund raiser for specialized equipment. It was quite an unusual event for us rural folks. Quite glamorous and we had a great time.














This was taken at Mark, Jake (and Beth's!) birthday party. We old folks didn't stay long; we were just glad to be invited.
Mark is still toiling away in the golf management program and this was taken at the ceremony when he became an official member of the PGA. It was a bit unnerving because he had to take the last round of tests the day of the ceremony. He had been taking tests for over a year and was confident he'd pass. He did, we had a nice meal at Wilderness Ridge in Lincoln and he's in the PGA.


In April, I was in Scottsbluff for a meeting with other special ed directors and after our meeting was over for the day, some of us went to Scott's Bluff. It was lovely, with snow falling softly, no wind and mild temps. That night was different, however, when a blizzard hit western Nebraska and we got snowed in for two days. Ironically, the sun was shining in Scottsbluff, the snow melted and highs were in the 60's. We were trapped because roads to the east were closed. We did drive by Miss America's house and learned that her lovely long blond hair is a wig. She actually has thin, "scraggly" (according to people knew her in high school) red hair.















Those of us who traveled to Duncan for the RibFest will recognize these pictures. Once again, the food was great (Tom's ribs being the best, of course!) We brought some friends from Geneva and they had a great time along with the cousins. It was a bonus that Joan was home and we got to see her.









































To support families with kids with disabilities, ESU 6 helps support several events through the year. These were taken at Milford's summer festival and the group inspiring such enthusiastic dancing is "The String Beans". They are two brothers from Lincoln who write their own music for children and my favorite is "Right Here in Nebraska." I'm told 4th grade teachers use it when teaching about the state; it can be found on YouTube (with some amateurish cartooning) and I learned some things from hearing it. How about you?

Theresa and Bill were here last weekend and got a full dose of Husker events: baseball (Red-White game) in the morning with Tom, Tucker and Carlie, volleyball in the afternoon with me and football at night. Victories all around (although that evening game was in doubt for too long). Glad to see all the posts--keep them coming!
Love, Nancy

Picnic brisket recipe from Janice

Here's the brisket I made for the picnic this year. First time I have tried this recipe, but I was very pleased with the results. I figured all the men would like it, since it involves large quantity of meat as well as beer.

Beer Brisket

3 - 4 lb. beef brisket

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 c. chili sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1 twelve oz. can of beer

Preheat oven to 350. Trim excess fat from brisket. Season with salt and pepper. Place meat in 9 X 13 pan. Cover with onion slices.

In bowl, combine chili sauce, garlic powder, brown sugar, and beer. Pour mixture over meat, cover with foil, and bake 3 1/2 hours.

Cool and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, remove meat, remove and discard any congealed fat from sauce, and slice meat thinly. Place meat back in sauce, cover with foil, and reheat 1 hour at 350.

I made this as directed, but reheated it in the crockpot for the picnic.

Today is the first day of school here. Since I have the boys 10 hours a day during the summer, I have a list of things a mile long to accomplish during the school hours. With this done, I am off to run errands, including ordering a new range and refrigerator. My oven died this summer and is not worth any repairs. My refrigerator is still running (28 years), but I would like them to match. Plus, the newer models use only about 1/3 the energy to run, so it will eventually pay its way.

Love,

Janice

Stamp Girls Take On the Big Apple (by Suki)

Hi all,
I wanted to post a few pics of a recent visit Niki and I took to visit Cassidy, who now lives in New York. We walked, ate and shopped our way through this fabulous and fast moving city and enjoyed every second of it.

Big Apple BBQ in Madison Square Park
(giant Duncan Ribfest)

Pizza at Lombardi's

Having appetizers on Michael's terrace on Park Avenue before dinner.

Belgium Waffles in West Village (Cassidy's hood)

On ferry boat to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Top of Empire State Building (cloudy day)

Subway Cassi takes most days

Ellis Island

Oh, we love cupcake shops!