Friendly visitors

After their stop at the farm Denise's family also stopped at our place. 

 Teresa decided to dress for the occasion 

 Sarah really liked Uncle Dave... just didn't want others to know it.  ;)

 A perfect reason to get the whole crowd together

So glad to see my lovely goddaughter Julia

Happy birthday, Mom!

 To celebrate my mama's 70th birthday, we had a girls' weekend in Omaha!  It was so fun to be with her, my sisters, & a couple of my nieces.  We started off the weekend on Friday night with Stations of the Cross at this gorgeous St. Peter's Church.  It was incredible!

 Uncle Fr. Jon generously drove Sarah & I to Omaha, so he was able to join us for the evening.  My Dad also brought Mom to town so he hung out on Friday night as well.  We were sorry to be missing Doug!

 We had a delicious dinner at Upstream Brewery.

 These little ladies did amazingly well, considering how much high chair, stroller, & carseat time they had to endure.  They were hilarious together & a constant source of snuggly entertainment.  We stayed at the Magnolia hotel which was beautiful.  Spent a good deal of time relaxing in this loft room... a little too much when we probably should have been in bed!

 My mom is a tea aficionado, so after a leisurely breakfast & some Old Market shopping we had proper tea on Saturday afternoon at the beautiful Crook Manor.  It was General Crook's 1860s home at Fort Omaha full of antiques & stories.  I think that Dad would have loved it, too!  I giggle now every time that I use a tea bag thinking how much it would disgust our Tea Guide Mona.  Goodness she knew a lot about tea.  She was a riot!

 Sarah enjoyed some of the egg salad sandwiches & sugar cookies.

 Lily was just too busy to sit down & enjoy her tea.  Lots to do, lots to do!

 We went back to relax at the hotel prior to Saturday evening Mass at St. Peter's.  Afterwards we had a delectable dinner at Vivace & way too late of a night laughing in the loft.  Chris brought a personality assessment that was a little too easy to predict in our group... found out I'm gold & blue.  No surprises there!

I didn't take any more photos (waiting on some goodies from my lovely sisters) but they wouldn't do the time justice anyway.  It was wonderful.  It was much needed.  It was such a gift to be together without a million monkeys running around like usual.  So thankful! 

Happy birthday, Mom!  Hope we can do it again next year!

Passing through

 We were so glad for a quick but special visit with my sister Denise & her family last week!  We met for Chinese at Hy-Vee & lots of time to chat. 

Cara:  "No.  Smile NICE, Jonny."

 Yep, that's better.  ;)

 I can't believe how much Julia grows up in-between visits.  I still look at her & expect to see my tiny little Goddaughter.

Teresa was the lucky one not to be at school & SO THRILLED to get to see her cousins.  She loves her Godmama Auntie Neece, too.

Visitors

My sister Denise & her family made a quick stop on their way to Colorado.  My parents came to join in the fun, too, since we don't see them often.  We started off with dinner at one of our new favorite restaurants:  Cheddar's.

 Then Red Grandma & Grandpa came over to play until bedtime & stayed overnight.  The big kids thought it was pretty special when they dropped them off at school!  Teresa thought it was pretty awesome to have them "all by myself" for a couple of hours that morning.

 Later that day Denise's family & Cara's family & Fr. Jon all came over for dinner.  We also celebrated Lucy's feast day!  Here's our attempt at a cousins' photo... Nicholas was seriously uninterested.

Rebecca's always up for a photo-op.

 

 Teresa discussing the deep plot points of Cinderella with her Godmother Auntie Denise.

Rebecca made this horse completely unassisted for her cousins.  Then she wrote a note to them on the saddle blanket.  So cool!

So glad we were able to see you all!  Thanks for visiting.

Illinois Family

We LOVED having my sister Denise & her family visit! They stayed with us for a few days (trying out our new deluxe basement suite ;] ) & it was such a fun time.Rebecca followed around Lucy like her puppy. She had a blast with "Lulia & Juicy" as she just accidentally called them. ;)Teresa was rather taken with Uncle Dave.Andrew was thrilled to have someone here from the moment he woke up in the morning until the moment he went to bed that would run around, be crazy, & play with him nonstop.The very special occasion for their visit was Lucy's 1st Communion. Since they are homeschooling, they decided to come to Nebraska & receive from Uncle Fr. Jon at his parish. Ironically, his current parish is home to many of Denise's (& my) friends. I knew by name over 10 kids & many more parents!She was so excited & sweet. I LOVE that zeal for Christ!Lucy was penpalling with a few of my friends' daughters ahead of time so she would know some kids when she came. They were adorable together. Here she is with two of them: Juliana & Maddie.Cara hosted a lovely party at her house afterwards for the occasion.Denise, Cara, Julia, Lucy, & I even escaped out one night for quite the adventure! We went downtown to see the movie "Soul Surfer". Lucy spent the whole time walking there hoping her "water wouldn't break". The movie was really good; I recommend it! Afterwards we ran laughing hysterically through a downpour doing "The Denise" all the way to the car. Hilarious, memorable fun. Thanks, gals!Here I am with my Goddaughter Julia.

Thanks for a wonderful celebration & visit! Congratulations, Lu!

Neece

To my big sister,

who has taught me the value

of a smile, a note, a laugh, a hug

I hope your day is filled with as much joy as you so generously give to others.

We love you!

Happy Birthday, Denise!

Christmas #1

After a special visit from Aunt Denise, Julia, & Lucy

last Saturday, who came bearing this adorable book:

Mortimer's Christmas Manger,we went up to Darren's parents' home to celebrate.

Grandkids growing in leaps & bounds!

Abby & Teresa this year, two more new babies next! Rebecca enjoying her new cupcake set.

Thank you, everyone, for the great companionship, food, gifts, & hilarious game of Telephone Pictionary. ; )