Riding With the Top Down

 

Riding with the Top Down

Mr. Tennis a/k/a the Rickster has a convertible!  

Yes, he bought it a number of years ago without consulting me -- generally his MO when buying vehicles.  

One year, he and two salesmen showed up at the house -- he had bought an old used pickup and needed to get a check!!  Yes, I was surprised! I didn't know he was in the market for a small pickup! 

 It was a great little pickup and everyone in our neighborhood borrowed it to get mulch for their yard each spring.  

Sadly, most who borrowed it brought it back with the gas tank empty. 

One neighbor even told him when he brought it back that it needed gas!  

Hey, thanks dude and you're welcome!  :0 

Walt (age 9) and Rickster

Anyway, I digress - back to the convertible.  

As you might guess, it has a limited season of use and it's 2020 time is nearly up as the temps get cooler. 

 So, he decided to take each of the Little Grands for outings the last two weekends,

 except the baby - she's only 1-1/2.

Jane (now 10) was first and somehow missed the photo op!

Harry (age 7) and Rickster

They had so much fun riding in the convertible with him.  

They each went to some different places including to the zoo, to see a horse and each got lunch or a candy bar!  Those were 4 very successful outings with Poppa and they were only gone for 2 hours.

They are all requesting repeats already.

Dorothy (age 4) and Rickster

  He also gave each one some foreign currency!  

One received Canadian dollars; one got some Filipino cash, one some Chinese Yuan and

 Dorothy got some money from the Bahamas -- 

probably none of it worth more than $1 -- but very, very cool!  

I'm not sure what the next adventures with Poppa will be next time.

Of course, we're now having a warmup in temps so riding

with the top down can continue for a couple more weeks!

Special Events for the Littles

Oh my word -- we had such a busy 

day last Saturday!

The whole family!

It was Walt's First Communion and

Gloria's baptism!

Later that day, we attended my nephew's wedding reception!

Three holy sacraments in one day - that's a record!

Walter

We started the morning at Walt's First Communion.

So special and wonderful to see so many

2nd graders and their parents celebrating!

Harry and Dorothy - buddies forever!

Shortly after First Communion was finished,

Father Meysensburg (one of the priests/administrators from Pius X)

 conducted Gloria's baptism!

She slept through the entire event!

Good job Gloria!

Philip, Catherine, Gloria and Father Meysenburg

Philip and Catherine had a wonderful lunch

afterwards celebrating both big events!

Cookies -- YUM!

Stay tuned for the wedding reception details coming soon!

Adios March!

Are you as surprised as I am that March is 

already coming to a close??

Sadly, we are ending it in Nebraska just as we started it -

with snow forecast!

Just say NOOOO!

Bye Bye March!

In other random news, little granddaughter Dorothy

turned 3 yesterday!

Ahhhh - I remember the day she was born and I spilled

the beans that "it's a girl" before they told me not to tell

the kids!  OY!

They'll never forget how Mimi screwed that one up! :)

We'll be celebrating Dorothy's birthday on Sunday

with pancakes, waffles, Eggs Benedict and bacon! 

Always bacon! Yum!

(These photos were borrowed from their family b-day celebration!)

And next year, we'll have another March birthday to celebrate -

Baby Gloria is now 3-1/2 weeks old already!

In more random news,

Mads and I  tried our hands at a crafty little Easter egg

project recently!

Craft eggs with Modge-Podged designs.

Gorgeous, right?

I hope to get a few more done over the weekend . . . 

instead of cleaning closets and drawers.

Avoidance is one of my best attributes!

How about you? 

 What's up this weekend?

Well, Hello October!

So hard to believe it is October already!

Miss M has the countdown to

Thanksgiving and Christmas on

her iPhone and advises me daily 

on "how many days until . . ."

Yikes!  I already feel unprepared!
But, I'm reading about getting ready early
this year, so there's hope I will actually
be ready!

It's been forever since I posted anything about "The Littles."
So, it's about time, isn't it!

Catherine's brother got married in July and almost everyone was in the wedding!!

Oh my word, they are growing like weeds and
Jane and Walt are not so little!
Jane is in 2nd grade this year,
Walter in first grade,
Harry in preschool
and little Dorothy - 18 months old already!

They are such a joy and so hilarious!
Kids do say the darndest things -
Art Linkletter was right!

Such a fun swing!
Jane really works hard pushing
that swing for her brothers and sometimes
squeezing their adorable little heads together!

Happy Birthday - A Mimi Post!

My youngest grandchild, baby Dorothy, celebrated

her first birthday at the end of March!

So, it's time for a Granny post.

 But wait, the word Granny always reminds me of that really

 old Granny on Beverly Hillbillies - 

anybody remember that show?

So let's call this a Mimi post

since that's what the littles call me.

Seems so hard to believe

that she's hit the 1-year old milestone already!

She is simply a delight and 

they had some fabulous 1-year celebration photos taken.  

She has blue eyes and a really sweet disposition just like me!

Couldn't you just smoosh that little face and

cover it in kisses!

Happy Birthday Sweet Dorothy!! 

The Turkey Weekend Update!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We were truly blessed with good health this year 

(even though I have another cold) 

 as last year Mr. Tennis was in the 

hospital at Thanksgiving -- so this was a huge improvement!

Please excuse messy kitchen in the background!

My son and his family hosted us for Thanksgiving, so Maddy and

I made a couple things to take along - her fave - green bean casserole and 

my fave - pumpkin pie!

She helped a teensy bit when she wasn't

 busy making her list for Black Friday shopping!

After shopping on Friday like crazy girls (JoAnn's Fabrics!!),

we had a quieter Saturday morning

watching this little angel for a few hours!

Little Miss Dorothy - now 8 months old and

as cute and sweet as a button.

She's such an adorable and easy baby!

We let her watch Shrek with us -- she laughed her

little head off!  :)

Maddy and I spent more of the weekend shopping (she loves to shop)

and sewing - more on that to come!

Have a happy week!

Baby Dorothy!

I know you are all waiting to hear about the start of high school, 

but before we get to that, 

we have some incredible baby cuteness to share!

Last week, Maddy and I spent a couple days watching little Miss Dorothy 

while her parents, big sister and big brothers went to an

 amusement park out of town.

We're not sure who had more fun! 

Dorothy is already 4-1/2 months old!  

Time is flying by and she

is growing and changing every day.

She is the sweetest little thing, not demanding or

fussy at all.  She's starting to talk and make the most

delightful little coo sounds, lots of smiles and giggles.

Seriously, isn't she the cutest baby!

Seeing as we were on a "staycation" with her, I let her

jump on the beds, stay up late, watch tv and have whatever 

her heart desired for meals!

Go figure -- she chose formula!  :)

Guess she'll have to wait to share chocolate milk with the big kids!

Baby Dorothy

My newest little granddaughter, Miss Dorothy,

was baptized a couple weeks ago.

Miss Maddy was her Godmother!

What an honor!

It was a really sweet Baptism and

Dorothy did fabulously.

She's such a pretty baby!

We love her so!

Hello April, Easter Report and Hello Dorothy!

We have had a couple of busy weeks so I haven't had a chance

to update the good old blog lately!

Last Friday morning, Maddy and I took the little kids 

(Janie, Walt and Harry) to breakfast with the

Easter Bunny at our local children's zoo!

Janie and Walt asked the Easter Bunny if he was a boy or girl???  Harry tried to feed it plastic eggs!

They had a great time.  If only the weather had been warmer,

it would have been perfect, but little kids don't care.

I, however, was shivering!

There was an Easter egg hunt and pancakes, sausage and

eggs for breakfast!  

And we got to ride the train too 

(more shivering)!

I actually cooked Easter dinner!  Yes, moi - don't fall off your chair! :)

It turned out rather good.  We had the usual fare - ham,

cheese potatoes, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, salad

and angel food cake with smashed strawberries!

Yumm!  

While I was slaving away over a hot stove, Maddy put together an 

Easter egg hunt for the

little kids - so fun!

The big event happened on Easter Monday!

Little Miss Dorothy Jo joined the extended family.

I just love her name, don't you!

Philip and Catherine added a little sister for Janie and the 2 boys, 

so now they have 2 and 2!

She is the most beautiful baby!

She weighed in at 9 lbs. 5 oz!  Nice size and so pretty!

Auntie Maddy and Dorothy

I stayed with the littles while they were in the hospital!  

That was fun

and they kept me hopping!

Can't wait to snuggle that little bundle soon,

but I seem to have a cold again, so will

have to wait and get over that first.

Meanwhile, I will have to make do with reports and photos!

She is a bundle of joy and her sister and brothers (along with her

parents, of course) are over the moon happy!

Who To Be?

Maddy has a unique way of deciding who or what to be for Halloween.

This year, it all depends on the accessories!

She has decided to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, not because she loves the movie and Dorothy. No, the real reason is because she spied a little doggie in a basket -- Toto -- and you know, that is MUST accessory for Dorothy!

Plus -- bonus -- Dorothy wears very cool and sparkly red shoes!

Last year, we had a warm and lovely Halloween. I don't think jackets were even necessary. If this past weekend is any indication of what the weather may be, I think Dorothy's red shoes will be replaced with snow boots! Yes, we were one of the many areas of the country that received a record-early snowfall. October -- what is the deal with snow in October???

And guess what, I did not like it at all! I want to enjoy fall some more before winter weather gets here! The dumb snow made some trees drop all of their leaves immediately!

Come on Mother Nature -- give us a break!