Thanksgiving with Cardona's and Sister, Kathy

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for family and to be with them as best you can. It's been nice to have Mitzi and her family in Omaha these past few years and to be able to join them for the Thanksgiving holiday. This year we were able to be together. Kathy was able to come from Alabama so that was also very nice. Mitzi was gracious enough to make a beautiful table with beautiful table settings. The silver is family silver and it was so nice to be able to enjoy it for Thanksgiving.

Here are Aly, her son, Logan, and her boyfriend, Robert, waiting for the food.
Nicholas and Christian are looking pretty patient while they wait for the food to be put on the table.
The food is being served. It was a joint effort and it all tasted so good. Thanks to all who contributed.
After dinner we visited for a while. One thing we did was watch Christian's turtle eat his Thanksgiving dinner.

Then we sat around the table and played some very fun games. That's one thing the Cardonas enjoy doing. It's a good time to laugh too.


Father and son back in the kitchen just goofing off.
Kathy in the foreground, Robert and Bob in the back. Just hanging out.
The next day we invited Logan and Aly to come swim at the motel so everyone came eventually.

At the beginning, Logan clutched onto Aly, but Aly gave Logan to me, and I just played with him, getting him to feel more comfortable in water and teaching him some skills.
At the end Logan was floating around on his own and doing all kinds of things. Grandma Mitzi thinks she should sign him up for swimming lessons.




While we swam, Robert did a little homework on his computer. He didn't bring his swim trunks.
Later we hung out at the house. Logan decided to do what Riley, the dog, did.
We got the Wii out and tried some Zumba, but not everyone was very interested so we did Glee singing. That was a lot more popular with everyone.l







Afterwards, at Kathy's request, we played Apples to Apples for a short period of time. Then it was time to say good night and good-bye.

Thanks, everyone, for a great Thanksgiving.

Family Get Together in Des Moines Nov. 2011

We had a very nice pre Thanksgiving get together with Bob's children and grandchildren. It coincided with Rachel's, one of Bob's daughter's, participating in a severe cross county race event in Des Moines. It gave us all an excuse to meet there. First we met at a motel for some swimming fun. Dave and Stacy were our lifeguards.

Stacy is expecting her third child in less than a month.

Drew needed a snack before getting started.
Now for all our swimming fun.




















Drew likes to play peek a boo with the camera.
He also likes the hot tub.



After swimming we met in our room to hand out some Hawaii souvenirs.

Dane shows off his T-shirt and his palm "toy."
Here they are showing the Hawaiian "hang loose" hand signal.
After Rachel's race at the Living History Farms, we all met at the Machine Shed restaurant where we ate a delicious buffet.

This is what Brett looked like after stuffing himself.
Reagan likes to practice crazy poses.
Dane waiting to eat.

Mmmm good!
Cousins.
Grandpa Bob looks pretty satisfied too.


Proof I was there.
It was difficult,but with the help of the grandkids we got some pictures of Brian. He was in the middle of moving from one place to another in Des Moines. We did end up helping him move his big screen TV and an end table after eating.
OK. Take that picture and get it over with.

Does Rachel look like she just raced through hills and dales, mud slides, creeks, etc. for 7 miles?



Here are pictures of Dave and Cari.



Cari and Reagan posed for a few pictures. Cute.




Here are some pictures of Curt and Stacy at the restaurant.




Getting ready for their third child. They look pretty happy.
Brian's new place in Des Moines.
After eating we all met at Cari's and Dave's house for a magic show and to eat pie.

First Stacy cut Rachel's bangs. It's nice to have a sister who can do that for you.
Then it was time for the magic show. Grandpa Bob loves doing magic for everyone. He prepared some new tricks for everyone to enjoy.




We also got to meet and to visit Cari's and Dave's new puppy, Winston. He is a border collie, and he is so cute and is learning some very good manners. He has excellent teachers and owners who love him a lot. You can see why.
Thank you Cari and Dave for being hosts and thank you to everyone for such a nice time together.