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Great Labor Day Week-end

I had a wonderful time being back on the farm with Mark and family and friends. I got into DM around 3pm on Thursday. Mark and I stopped for a quick bite to eat and it was on to the farm. I got to do something I have missed this summer.....MOW! I know most people abhor that particular task but I have always loved mowing and making the farm look nice. I couldn't believe how great Mark had the place looking. I know first hand how much time that takes and never dreamed he would keep it up with the farming at hand. He did and I noticed little things that looked "better" than when I did them, i.e. the cannas looked great which he says all the rain accomplished but the zinnias looked awesome, too. That flower bed didn't miss me one little bit! I also noticed the shower looked better so that one had me a bit embarrassed. :-) He has done a great job in my absence because that place usually takes two people to keep it going so I know how hard he has worked at it.

Sister Jan from Osakis, MN and good family friend Cyndy from Ankeny arrived Friday afternoon. We grilled kabobs that night and Kevin and Jan and Clayton came for dinner.

Saturday Jan, Mark, Cyndy and I golfed at Gowrie and when we got home Matt was there. It was so wonderful to see him. You will notice a "for sale" sign out in front of our home in one of the pictures, courtesy of Matt. We got a good laugh out of that. Hope he doesn't get any calls on it!! He had just received his real estate license the day before so now will be doing that along with his appraisal business. He is keeping busy!

Brother Larry and nephew Lane, wife Angie and Jacob came on Saturday. It was getting to be a regular family reunion. So fun to see all of them.

Brother Kevin brought his Harley over and we all took the opportunity for photo ops, but no one was brave enough to ride it!

Saturday night we had a bonfire and hot dog roast and Sunday we drove in to see Jan and Clayton's new home in Dayton and also stopped out at the carnival. We could have passed on that pit stop. :-) That evening Mark grilled all of us ribeyes, courtesy of Jan and Larry. Everyone left Monday morning and I had a 2:50 flight out of DM so had to leave the farm around 12:30 for that.

On arrival in Phoenix little Drew had sprouted his first two teeth while I was in Iowa. Geesh, can't be away from them for a day and they change. :-) I am now back in granny nanny mode today. I hope all of you had a wonderful last holiday of the summer. The weather in Iowa will start noticeably changing and here in Phoenix everyone is looking for "good" weather to soon appear. AZ has another month of really hot weather then the good stuff comes. Mark and I will get to enjoy that good weather together after harvest. Nice things to look forward to....

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I naturally had to throw in a picture of Drew from this morning.

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Heading home

Tomorrow I fly home for the holiday week-end. I am quite excited to be heading back to the farm and Mark. It should be a great week-end as Matt is coming home and sister Jan and brother Larry are also coming, along with our "sister" Cyndy from Ankeny. I hope to see some friends while I am home, too. I hope everyone has a great Labor Day week-end.

Some misc. pics of you know who. :-)

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Happy Birthday, Matt!

My first born turns 30 on August 27th. Now why does that make me feel rather ancient? It seems like yesterday he was at Ogden High, UNI, etc......time, it does fly by. Matt was born on his grandparent Kalkwarf's wedding anniversary so that makes it extra special. In honor of his day I have posted two pictures. One is Matt with my parents when he was just a wee one and the other with his cousin Erik and Uncle Kevin. In that picture, Matt is the "tiny" one on the right. Matt is about 6'3" and around 280? so calling him "tiny" is a bit of a stretch but these two guys are bigger! They all three need to play FB somewhere! I love you, Matt! Have a great day!

FB season is nearing....

All this IOWA grandma can say is: GO HAWKS!!!!
(Ignore his tags.....we wanted to make sure it fit before we pulled them!)

Drew and the lunch lady

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TGIF

It is Friday and another week comes close to ending. My old friends at school are just finishing up their workshops and in-service today and the kids come Monday. I cannot believe I am officially starting my second year of retirement. The first one went incredibly fast and was oh so enjoyable. I am thinking the second will be likewise. :-)

Mark and I have been babysitting all week, naturally, but he has found time to pull out an evergreen bush in front of the townhouse. It didn't look desert enough for my tastes so we are going to put in a barrel cactus in that spot. The one I bought is pretty tiny so I will most likely be scattered to the wind by the time it gets a substantial size but someone in the future will enjoy looking at it. :-) Maybe they grow faster than I think?

We were invited over to the Thiel's for dinner last night and had a good one and we all enjoyed Drew who was in lively spirits!

I am putting on some pics from yesterday and last night. A couple show Drew in a very unhappy state which is most unusual for him. He had just finished bumping his head and was not particularly pleased about that.

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Close to a crawl

Drew came to the town house today to visit at grandpa and grandma's house. He tried out a new toy grandma bought and also decided it was time to practice getting ready to crawl. Megan hopes he crawls for the first time in front of them, but the little guy came very close today of doing it front of us first. I didn't feel too bad, though, as I recall being told by baby sitters that Matt or Megan crawled today or Matt or Megan walked today! It would only be fair if I get to see Drew crawl and walk first, as I seemed to always be second in my working years! :-) He continues to be a great joy in our life and we enjoy this time with him immensely.

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The most beautiful place.....

Mark and I spent the week-end in Sedona, AZ and we both agreed with USA Today that is has to be arguably the most beautiful spot in America. My photos don't begin to do it one bit of justice but am posting them anyway!

We left early Sat. morning and made stops at two ancient Indian ruins, Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well. Both were very interesting and quite remarkable. Following those tours we headed up to Sedona and the beautiful red rock country and home of Oak Creek Canyon. I had packed a picnic lunch and we ate and spent several hours exploring the creek and all its beauty. We checked into the Amara Resort and Spa around 3:30 and were thrilled with its luxury! (Thanks Megan and Andy!) We walked around uptown Sedona and all the tourist trap gift shops and found a place for dinner Sat. evening. Great western ribeye and atmosphere.

Sunday we did a bit more exploring, had a hearty breakfast at another great restaurant and took a trolley ride that gave us a chance to view and learn about all the mountains surrounding the area and all their unique names. We reluctantly headed back down to hot Phoenix around 1:30 and arrived around 3:30. I understand Phoenix set a new heat record for yesterday and may have done the same again today. It is scorching hot in many areas of the US, though.......

Today we are back watching Drew and it was very good to see his big smile this morning. Funny how you get attached to the little ones........

Anyway, Mark and I had a glorious week-end that we will remember forever! Hope yours was glorious, also.

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