March/April Birthdays

 Kari, Kyle and Saben have birthdays in March and the first part of April.  This year we decided to take everyone for lunch in the Space Needle restaurant for Kari and Kyle's birthday present.  This is a group shot that a photographer in the restaurant took for free.

Grandparents and grandkids.

 One of the fun things about the restaurant is that it goes around, so people put notes on the side and when your note comes back around, you can see what other people wrote on your note.  Usually you ask a question for people to respond to.  Annika and Saben had a lot of fun writing notes, then waiting to see the answers.

 It was overcast. but we still had some great views of Seattle.

 Saben and Kari got a candle in their desserts.  I don't know why Kyle didn't get a candle also, I guess they forgot there were three with birthdays instead of two.

 After we were done eating, we climbed a few stairs up to the observation deck and walked around it.

Another picture of grandkids and grandparents.

Thanksgiving - 2015

 We had Thanksgiving at Todd and Betsy's new house this year.  Kyle and Ken spending time doing some computer stuff and chatting.

 Todd's turkey that he cooked on the BBQ grill.  It was very good with a yummy, smokey flavor.

 Grandma showing Kari something on her phone, pictures maybe?

 The 3 kids playing a game together.

 Thanksgiving dinner at the "kid's" table.

 Time for the after dinner walk.

The 2 dogs went on the walk also but all you can see is a leg of both of them.

Mom's 85th Birthday

 Saturday, my family gathered to celebrate my Mom's 85th birthday.  Seth and Todd playing with "noodles" in and out of the pool.

 We had the party at the community pool where my Mom lives.

 After a lot of days in the 90's and over 100 degrees, the day of the party was on the cool side and windy, so only a few adults were willing to get in the pool.

Melia and Caleb

  All the kids got in the pool and Ken and Todd were kept busy, playing with them!

 Ken helping Caleb swim.

 Carly and Kiera found the place where warm water was coming into the pool and stayed by it for awhile...

 ...then spent some time warming up under their towels on the warm cement.

 Ken had fun throwing Melia backwards into the pool.

 Part of the family, just waiting for a few more to arrive before having lunch.

 Now, it's Sadie's turn to get in the pool and play with Ken.

 Everyone's here, so time to eat!

 No one wanted to get out of the pool because the wind made getting out cold.

Mother's Day - 2015

 Several family members dropped by to visit at my Mom's house on Mother's Day.  The first one besides Tim, Debbie, Ken and I, was my nephew, Shaun and his daughter, Jayden.  Debbie cut holes in a gift bag to make a...

 ...dress for Jayden.

 Jayden also showed us some of her dance steps.

 Then it was Shaun's turn to put the "gift bag dress" on.

 Jayden thought it was funny to see Shaun wearing it!

 Tim, Mom, and I in front of Mom's house.

 The next visitor was Darcy and baby Lizzy.  It was the first time for Ken to see her, so he got to hold her first.

Lizzy is 3 mo. old and I finally got her cross-stitch birth record done.  She seems to like it, even if I was a bit late getting it done.

Colorado for Thanksgiving - Part 5

 Sunday was our last day in Colorado Springs and we went to see the Christmas lights and a gingerbread house at a famous hotel in Colorado, called "The Broadmoor"  This is the gingerbread house inside the hotel.

 The mail box for the gingerbread house.

 One of the residents of the gingerbread house looking out the window.

 One of the Christmas trees in the hotel.

 The 5 of us standing in front of the gingerbread house.

 A poinsettia tree.

 It had gotten cold again Sunday night, so we took a quick trip out to see the lights outside.

 Standing by the fire on the back side of the hotel

The view from the front of the hotel.

Colorado for Thanksgiving - Part 4

 Saturday morning, we went to a commercial greenhouse that raises and sells poinsettias.  They are open to the public one weekend in the winter and one weekend in the spring.  They had poinsettias on the floor and hanging from the ceiling.  It was amazing to see all those poinsettias!

 There's a person on the right hand side of the picture, taking the poinsettias off the overhead rotating conveyor.

 They had a display of poinsettias also, this is the front...

 ...and this was the back.  I thought it was interesting to see how they had placed the pots in the screen.

 More poinsettias hanging from the conveyor belt near the ceiling.

 Carol decided to get a cart and pick out some small ones for gifts.

 Trying to find the most perfect poinsettias took a while!

 This row had lots of different colors in it. 

 Carol also bought a beautiful big one for herself for only $10, the prices there were amazing!  I was really wishing I could get one and bring it home with me, but I didn't think it would work to take it on the plane.  It was so big that I would have needed another seat just for it!

 Sat. evening, we visited with some friends from when we lived in Colorado Springs 35 years ago.  All but one of them had gone on a cruise to Alaska with us 4 years ago and we're planning another cruise with them for next fall.

 We always have a good time with them and are glad that when we see them, it's like we've never been apart.