Well it is finally time we got into the Christmas spirit!!! Putting up that beautiful tree always starts us out on the right foot!!!!

She really likes that tree!!!!

Now that was really worth all the work!!!!

Now we are just waiting for santa.

WOW ANOTHER SIX INCHES!!!!!!

Here we go again -- our second big snow storm and it isn't even Winter yet!! Do you ever remember us having this much snow before Christmas?

Never worry --- it will be gone by the time you New Yorkers get home. It is suppose to be 60 by Friday!!!!

However the pooooooooooooooooooooooooooooor Nebraskan will have to drive home in this "stuff" tomorrow!!

Click on the cartoon below. Who could this be??????





It's nice to know I'm not the only mother like this!!!!

Hey New Yoooooooooooooooooookers!!! Look what's headed your way. We were lucky we only got about 6". Parts of KC got 11". It wasn't too bad -- it was a very powdery snow so it has been easy to get around in it. However, it is slippery -- lots of accidents!

We can't complain too much because the Hastings budding actress got hit a lot worse!!

This snow is also being followed by very low temperatures. It will be well below zero by morning!!! Get prepared ----- Winter has arrived!!!!!!!

This was the beginning of the storm. It was a little windy!

We really enjoyed having the whole gang home for Thanksgiving. The hard part is seeing them all leave.

There was a little delay in the New Yorkers getting away and a Nebraska blizzard slowed down (but didn't stop) the "one eyed" budding actress. (Let's hope the wx at Christmas is better!) GWin don't forget your glasses!!!

November 4, 2005

The fall leaves are just stunning this year!!!! The pictures don't begin to show how beautiful the trees are this season. In addition, the leaves are quite late in turning this year. Normally the tree are in full color by the first of October. Our wx has been un usually warm for most of the Fall.

We will just enjoy the the view!!!!

It was a great night for "trick or treating"; the wx was great and no rain!!!! We just didn't have very many kids and almost no older ones. It just has to be bad wx to bring out the goblins!!

Lana came to visit and brought a friend

This candle really turned out ugly!!

Eva & her Friend.

The Daniel kids

Grant's Sister are growing up!!

Cooper dressed as Builder Bob

Rusty & Kids

A candle lit dinner!

October 23, 2005

The past two weekends have been wonderful!!! Last Sunday we made our annual jaunt to the "apple farm". The wx was sunny and warm but not hot. Because of the wx there were lots of people there. It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo crowded!!

We were a little disappointed that they didn't have a band this year. I think a lot of people were unhappy about that.
We had hot dogs & drank fresh apple cider. As usual we had to fight off the bees and be careful not to eat one!!

Since it was too windy to fly this morning, we decided to go tothe downtown airport to go through the WWII planes on display. Dad wanted to take a ride in one of them but they weren't having any flights until late in the afternoon and we didn't want to stay that long.

Since we were close to the Argosy, we decided to go over there for lunch. Lunch cost us $3. We splurged and spent $2 on the slots and won $2.75. We left with our 75 cent winnings and a good feeling that we only spent a total of $2.25 at the casino!!!!!


This is Dad in front of a WWII B-17

Dad in front of the WWII B-24

Dad at the Argosy

New Addition

Meet Buttercup the newest member of the family!!!!

Getting Closer

I'm getting closer to my ticket!!! I took my last x/c today. I left Vinland about 1430Z (9:30) flew to Topeka's Billard airport on to Emporia then to Miami County and finally back to Vinland. I can't say my landing were always the best but I got down safely and without damaging the plane.

It was a spectaular view from the plane and the little C152's performance was outstanding. She may not be the fastest but she is reliable!!!

I couldn't have asked for a better day to fly. It was sunny and the clouds were at 12,000 feet, almost no haze. The winds even at 5500 were less than 11NM. The airports were not very busy. It is so relaxing to view the land from a small plane. Most of the trip I flew over lakes, small airports and a beautiful Fall color checker board landscape.

What a beautiful Fall day!!!! I sure hope we can get a lot of days like today. I thought I would never get any butterflies in my garden. They are coming in droves. I spoted six today -- big & little.

Dad's New Car

Dad is having a lot of fun with his car!!! ( Like a little boy in a candy store.) It has lot of "bells & Whistles."

As you can imagine, it is going to take him a little time to figure it all out!!!

Labor Day

What a great weekend!!! We had lots of fun with the "girls" including a picnic where we fed the wild animals.

Check out that butterfly in the garden. She was quite upset when I was mowing near the flowers. Everytime I got too close she would attack me!!!

Finally, the sunflowers are in bloom. (That's a bumblebee on the lower left side of the sunflower.) The rain over the weekend really helped.

It has been pretty hot and humid around here. We are expecting more of the same today!

Flying High Again

Isn't this a pretty site!!!!!!

Thought for the day: "Opportunity may knock once, but temptation BANGS on your front door forever!!!"

Flowers

Dad has really enjoyed his Flowers!! They came in several colors: red, yellow, pink. This was my favorite.

High Flying

Had my first solo cross country flight last Friday. It was fantastic!!!!! I flew down to BUM & back. It was a little bumpy on the way back but generally speaking the wx was great. I will post pictures of the plane later.

Relief from the Heat

At last some relief from the summer heat. I went out to get the papers this am and it felt like Fall. We tied a record 56 degrees over night. It won't last long however. It is suppose to be back in the 90's this weekend. We will just enjoy the present for now!!!

Watch out New York that record heat is coming your way!!!!!

JURY SELECTION

Today I had my first experience with being selected for jury duty. Fortunately I was unable to serve because Dad is starting his new treatment. But I must say my first experience with the whole process was not a good one.

I always believed, very naively, that a defendant was to be tried by a jury of his peers. I learned that is not true -- at least in the district court that is not true. The defendant in this case was young(abt 23), no more than a high school education, from rural Franklin County, & a working class family.

The jury pool was made up of about 95% college graduates(of whom 50% must have had post graduate degrees), about 98% urban (Johnson County) residents, about 98% upper middle class, & about 98% middle aged.

I don't know if this pool of people were an advantage or a disadvantage for him. I don't know if he is guilty or innocent.

But I am sure this jury did not represent a sprectrum of the community or a spectrum of that young man's community.

Another Birthday

As usual, I am late getting out birthday pic!! Here is Dad with his new presents. He was very happy with everything he received.

Happy Birthday

Look who just had a birthdate. Took her two years of begging to get this Chopper Bike. She told me she's starting now for a car because it will probabbly take four years to get it!!!!!

WW I Planes

Dad & I attended the WW I replica flyin at Gardner a couple weeks ago. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the planes we saw. (I couldn't believe some of the things would even get off the ground) At one time they had about 10 to 15 of the planes in the air demonstrating what they could do. It was almost like a dog fight!!

Could you imaging flying the plane and trying to shoot that gun at the enemy planes all at the same time????

They had replicas of US planes, British planes, & German planes