October Fun

 Yes, Folks, this is homegrown corn on the cob on October 12!  I really didn't think the second planting would mature, but the summer was hot, and I irrigated lots and lots.  We had corn everyday for about 10 days!

 

 It's a Saturday night at Grandma's and we're watching a video downstairs before bedtime.  Wait.....where's Tyler???

 

 Tyler was more interested in playing with "little people" instead of watching a video!

 

 Carly, Brian and Westin. 

 

 I made this jumper for Kayla while I was in Denver.

 

 Lisa and Ryan.  Ryan cooked lunch for our family on Sunday.  It was yummy....BBQ meat and veggies!

 

 Mr. Westin with his daddy!

 

 Jordy.....our little super hero!!  He's ready to take his mommy and daddy trick or treating.



Happy October!!

 I just loaded these pictures absolutely backwards, sooooo, we'll start with the most recent and work backwards!  Today is this little guy's daddy's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Brian!  Born 11:11 am in Pawnee City, Nebraska.  And this is Mr. Westin, just ready for the party to begin.

 

 Jonny is doing the babysitting time with Westin and Jordy.  Seemed to all be pretty happy for the moment.  Perhaps....just perhaps.....Jonny will get his cast off tomorrow!!

 

 Richard, Lisa, and Rebecca enjoying tacos.

 

 Bryan and Brian.  Happy Birthday, Brian!  #28!

 

 This is my poor knee after I wiped out on the driveway on Thursday.  My foot rolled, and so did the rest of my body.  Wow, it really did hurt!

 

 Last week Jordy and I accompanied Rebecca to Denver while she taught classes for the bank.  The first three days were beautiful and Jordy and I enjoyed a lot of outside time.

 

 On one of our stroller rides we passed these decorative rocks and I had a sudden "flashback."  This is for my sister Susanne.  Remember the trip to Colorado and we began picking up pretty, decorative rocks?  We got caught in a flood and spent three days in Lamar, Colorado, spending the nights in our car.  Every night Dad threw out a few more of our souvenir rocks!

 

 Beautiful 83 degree days!

 

 Over in the distance you could see the mountains.

 

 We were in Denver the week of the 1st presidential debate.  This is I-25 that was closed from 5-10:00 for security purposes.

 

 Checking into the motel.  Of course we couldn't make more than one trip.  It's all loaded on the cart....except for the sewing machine.  I hand-carried it!

 

 Now this is how you get down to business and tighten the base of a carseat!!

 Before we headed the Denver, we celebrated Dad's 97th birthday with him in DeSoto.  It was a special weekend and ALL 21 great-grandchildren were there.

 

Here are the three babies and their mommy's in our family:  Carly and Westin, Rebecca and Jordy, Freya and Emmy.

 

 Susanne, Marilyn, Dad, and I with his birthday cake.

 

 Dad commented several times, "Real nice afternoon!"  Yes, Dad, it really was!

 

 Richard and I with our 9 grandkids.  Being a grandparent is pretty grand!

 

 Ryan and Emmy. 

 

 It was pretty special seeing different ones spending some one-on-one time with Grandpa.

 



End of the Summer

It's not new information to tell you we had a HOT, DRY Summer. We will always remember the summer of 2012! I began noticing this crack out by the yard light and finally I couldn't resist the temptation to see how deep it was.
You are seeing the numbers accurately. The yardstick went down 22 inches. Amazing. Notice how the grass was so dry, so brown, so matted. I was sure we had lost the lawn. Surprisingly enough, it is beginning to green back up after the rain we've had.

Because the coon took out two rows, then we ate two rows, and I still had corn seed left, I decided to plant a second crop the middle of July. Dad was skeptical that I would get a crop, but he said, "....but it's fun to try!" Guess that's why I like to garden. By now the corn has tasseled and it is looking promising.

The end of August I went to Dad's for a visit and on Saturday, Stephen and the boys came to switch out cars, picking up the car he put together this summer. Max and Henry were troopers to make the one-day trip.

And.....Rebecca, Jonny, and Jordy were coming back from their vacation to Virginia so they stopped by, too. Here's Jordy checking out Great-Grandpa's knee.

Great Grandpa (who will soon be 97 years old), Jordy, and Rebecca.

And.....Brian, Carly, and Westin had come to St Louis for the weekend, so we had a full house for a few hours. Westin really wanted to examine Gr Grandpa's sunglasses tucked in his pocket. The time together was sweet and precious.

I included this 40" picture of "Sparky" because that has been what I've been pre-occupied with lately. We've started a new year with a BIG group of kids and we're excited!

It's Been Waaaay Too Long!

Lisa and Freya have already posted their pictures from our time together. I'm just now getting around to it! Our first meal all together we realized our family is growing. At this point I also realized there were 11 adults and 9 children. Pretty Awesome!
Randa and Ryan holding Jordy!

Doing a little kitchen prep work with Grandpa holding Westin!

Don't be confused....Carly is holding Emmy; Bryan is holding Westin; and Rebecca has Jordy. Our three babies. I wonder how long we will refer to them as our "three babies?"

Now this is a mass of humanity. Possibly could use a larger family room :)

The "Varner Family" gathered in Emporia for a quickly planned event. It was a chance for some cousins to see each other, but also to celebrate Grandma Varner's Birthday. Lisa thought ahead and brought candles to stick in a dessert pizza slice.

The cousins that could be there that evening.

Then, someone got the idea to try to put all the great-grandchildren together for a picture. Here are the mommys and daddys getting the kiddos posed!! What a task!

And here they are! The oldest child in the picture is Joshua - 7 years old.

Nancy, Richard, Grandma, Robert and Grandpa. (Roy had a prior committment and couldn't be there.)

Don't turn me in to animal cruelty officials. Here are two of six coons that invaded my space!

One afternoon we took the kids to the Art Lab at Washburn University. Lots of interesting things to try.

Max was working with some foam objects.

Kayla - doing some watercolor painting.

Then we had to make the week complete with a night at Chuck E Cheese. Grandma having some Emmy Time!

Lena lovin' the bumpy ride in the monster truck.

Max - soon to be a 1st grader.

Joshua giving me a courtesy smile.

See.....I guess you can relax, even at Churck E Cheese.

Jonny, Rebeecca, Jordy, and Dad guarding the tables.

Now the time as come to count the tickets and "purchase" those coveted treasures!

Meanwhile, Henry was taking care of the leftover cupcakes. Working on #3 :)

Say "cheese!"

This, my friend, is how you get a trapped, caged skunk out of the garage. It's a little unsettling to have that situation in your garage.

The two sundresses I made for Kayla and Lena. I know, I know.....it isn't economical to sew anymore, but it sure is fun.

This picture is very precious. Lisa had for Kayla one of the last smocked dresses Mother made and I assured Mother we would pass it to the other little girls. So, here is little Emmy and she looks like a little doll in this precious little dress with a lot of sentimental memories.

And Folks, here we are at the 2012 Jackson County Fair Parade. Sacks ready for the candy. Let the parade begin!

Here comes our entries. The Rollback hauling a 200C

So glad Westin didn't drop his pacifier along the parade route!

Ryan and Randa in Ryan's Challenger.

Lisa capturing the memories.

Tyler actually got done retrieving candy and he was content to sit on Grandpa's lap and indulge!

Everytime I drove by Artichoke Annie's on I-70, I was reminded that Richard and I had spotted the little organ like we had growing up. Richard kept insisting that I stop and get it (have no idea what I would do with it). Well, last week, I stopped on my way back from Houstonia. This flea market is massive and it was a trick trying to remember what booth it was in. Can you spot the little organ in the above picture???

Yep....there it is on the bottom shelf hidden away. So, I bagged it and headed home with my treasure.

It's been one year since Mother passed away. I have so many precious memories of Mother. Brian and Carly had a flower bouquet delivered to me on Friday. The very flowers that were on Mother's casket arrangement were in this bouquet. How special was that!