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!

Happy 4th of July!!

Yummy! Fresh from the garden...greenbeans, tomatoes, and zucchini. Now I have cucumbers and new potatoes. And the corn......well that's a sore subject right now!
Westin came over to hang out with Grandma a couple of Saturdays ago. Mr. Westin now has two teeth and is sitting up. My babies are growing so quickly.

This picture is solely for the benefit of the Smiley family! Richard had I went to Kansas City last weekend and in the evening we went through an antique/flea market store. I spotted this little organ.....just like the one we had growing up. The price was $30.00. Wonder how much Mother paid for the one we had? Brought back a lot of memories - like taking it to the Killion reunion so we could provide the music! I guess we had a keyboard before it was popular to have a "keyboard!"

Sunday afternoon we went to the Truman Library and Museum. Very enjoyable.

Okay, little kitties. You keep this up and your life will not be long!

I was at Dad's last week in DeSoto. We knew it was hot, but seeing this thermometer pegged out on the deck didn't help.

And this was the temperature while driving out to Walmart!

I have officially declared "WAR" against some coons invading my garden and stealing cat food in the garage. See the exit hole through the siding and downspout??? Well, there is one less coon, thanks to Ryan and Randa. There are now three less coons invading my territory. It's wonderful to live in the country!

Two whole rows of corn were were destroyed. There were demolished cobs everywhere. So upsetting!

Yes....it was destroyed!

Another week at the Varner's

Tyler came to spend the day Tuesday with Grandma while his mommy took Joshua, Kayla and two friends to God's Mountain for day-camp. First order of business was to organize the tub of cars, trucks, and trailers. Need to get everything hitched up and loaded!

All the trucks lined in a row!

Have to include some garden pictures. Everything is green....not because we've had lots of rain. I've had to water regularly for the past month. The green beans look promising (but I've said that other years).

The first planting of corn is beginning to tassel. Cucumbers are beginning to have blossoms.

Here are the tomatoes, green beans, and three different plantings of corn.

Last night's picture of Mr. Jordy right before getting his p.j.'s on for the night!

Yes, We Really Do Have Some Kittens

One of the mama cats that were "dropped off" at our house had some kittens.....5 of them. There was a black one (seem to have crossed-eyes), an orange tabby, a calico, and these two tan ones. We were debating how to name the cats. Long ago we named five kittens after our five children and it was a bleak day when "Lisa" got run over! Well, the black cat disappeared, the orange kitten rode the trailer over to the car lot and was so petrified it vanished immediately, and now the calico has disappeared in the last two days. Well, me not being a cat-lover, I'll have to admit these kittens are pretty cute to watch!

Happy June

First of all, you might have noticed that my last post vanished. I am naive concerning military precautions and some of my pictures in the last post needed to be deleted quickly!! It's been a busy month. Joshua, Kayla, and Tyler spent four days with us while their parents were in PA for a memorial service. Grandpa came up with a job for Joshua to earn some money....sorting wheel weights. Who can remember the days of sorting bolts?? Joshua was pretty excited about the opportunity and wouldn't stop until his bucket was empty.

Then Kayla needed a job, too! She picked up sticks in the yard for me.....the yellow wagon is a BIG wagon! I dumped three loads of sticks.

Westin came Saturday afternoon. Do you know how long it's been since I've had four little ones seven and under------about 20 years! :)

Dairy Queen children's meals were sounding really good by Saturday evening! We managed to fit in a shopping trip to Dollar General before eating.

Kayla, you are growing up way too quickly.

We headed to Richard's parents on Monday to celebrate their 60th anniversary. It was a nice day with family, good food, nice weather, and just a time to be together.

This is a pretty typical scene right now.....Carly and Rebecca with their babies undercover :)

I was excited to get a phone call offering to come and pick some cherries. What a treat! Cherries are nice: you don't have to bend over to pick & no stickers or thorns. But I always forget how long it takes to "pit" them by hand. Yep, one at a time, but oh, the pies will be delicious!