A Reunion and A Blessing

On August 8th, Glen's family had a reunion--his sister Barbara was in charge this year--and we got a photo of Glen and all his siblings.


Then the spouses entered the picture.


The next day we joined Dallas and Rebecca for the blessing of their new baby, Caroline, and enjoyed the dinner afterward in their condo clubhouse.





Nani and I enjoyed holding little Caroline.





We got some family photos outside the condo after the dinner.




What a sweet addition to the family.

Mark's Family Comes To Town

For all of you who missed our family dinner a couple of Sundays ago, here are some pictures to help you feel like you were there and that you didn't miss a thing.

We sure had a cute chef who grilled us up some delicious chicken.


Everyone was anxious to meet the new addition to the family. Proud daddy Dallas is showing his new baby Caroline to Maggie, Rachel and Kate.


Good thing Mom is helping Caleb dish up some carrots instead of the sweet potatoes because we learned Caleb is allergic to sweet potatoes and throws up every time he eats them. Thanks, Caleb, for not throwing up while at our house!! Looks like Michelle and Amanda are in heaven with all the delicious food options.


I'm thinking that next time they visit, Hailey will be taller than her mother. She is eating with Maggie, Rachel--who was sporting a cute, shorter hair cut, and Kate--who had surprisingly long hair.


Looks like Amanda got her hands on the new baby and looks like Brooke is very thirsty.


Caleb, Thadeus, Michelle and Hailey.


Here are some more dishing up food and eating dinner shots.






Yes, this is Kaelyn who brought along her friend, Dennis, who is somehow related to Glen's brother-in-law Ray Hull.


Great picture of mother with new baby and father in the background.


Maggie's just like her mother and LOVES to hold the babies. Here she's holding Nina. I kept calling Nina Kate because I can't get used to the idea that Mark and Michelle have another child and the way Nina looks--small and with no hair--reminds me of how Kate used to look.


Here are some of the girls that were at the party. Too bad we didn't get all the girls in the girl photo and too bad we didn't get a guy photo as well.


This is after the party was over. Apparently Mark's kids didn't feel like they were full enough from the dinner food and needed a late-night snack. It was 10:05 p.m. when the kids were all chowing down on cereal.


Good thing we had such delicious leftovers from dinner that they ended up eating for breakfast the next day. No need for cereal then.

G&K Work Party At Lagoon

We attended the G&K company party at Lagoon and because Dallas is now employed at G&K, he, Rebecca, Brooke and Caroline also got to join in the fun.

Glen did a lot of work helping with the food. Then after lunch he got to be Grandpa and helped Brooke ride a bunch of the kiddie rides. My job was to keep track of Caroline sleeping in her stroller while Dallas and Rebecca went off to spend a few hours riding the big rides by themselves.

















Did you notice the matching shirts? Glen picked the color--his favorite--Cougar blue. He was just sad that they ran out of kid shirts before Brooke got one. Personally, I think she looks adorable in her red, All American Girl shirt.

Off To Omaha We Went

Over the 24th of July weekend, we went to Omaha to see Jacob's family because Natalie was starring as a little orphan in the play "Annie". There she is second one from the left on the front row.


She's in the center of the photo in the next two pictures.



She's standing right behind the girl in the black dress.


She's standing next to the chair.


Natalie is taking her bow, second from the right.


The little actress received flowers after her performance. Looks like Emma is ready to do some acting (or at least posing) of her own.


We went to Culver's--famous for their butter burgers and the girls love their ice cream--after the play.



On Saturday we went to the park to play for a while. Natalie has learned how to ride a two-wheeler, so she rode her bike while Emma and Luke rode in the stroller.







For lunch we went to the Pizza Machine where we ate a surprisingly delicious buffet and let the kids play for a while and then they picked out their prizes to take home with them.










We had to get a HuHot dining experience in while we were there.


The kids were very happy playing outside of the restaurant for a while that evening after we ate.



The kids caught sight of a big bug.


Luke decided to smash the bug.


Then he walked away laughing about it while Emma surveyed the damage.


On Sunday, Glen did some grilling--flank steak and pineapple--on Jacob's new grill.


Natalie and Emma were entertaining themselves while the dinner was being prepared.


Jacob went out to admire his garden that he's very proud of growing this year. Look at all that corn...


Dinner was delicious and the kids especially enjoying eating corn on the cob (from Costco--not the family garden).



After dinner it was time for somebody to get a hair cut--and he wasn't very happy about it!



Good thing there was a reward for Luke after his bath.


Looks like a little boy is eager for the traditional Thomas family Sunday evening popcorn.


And three little people enjoyed eating the popcorn while watching a movie to end the day.


It was a very nice trip--except maybe for the measly little 3 hours of sleep we got before making the long drive back home. But, I slept a lot and the drive didn't seem all that long--to me at least.