1-15-17

Out at Joan & Dean's to see our niece, Steph & her 2 boys who are visiting from Chicago. That's Abbie on the left with the other 3. 

Here's the crew taking in the view of those 4 & the surrounding mountains. Such a beautiful place!

Paul, Bob, me, Carol & Joan

Indoors Bryce was entertaining Ellie. He really was so good to her - reading books & showing her the toys. Dean & Mike were into football game on TV between the Packers & Cowboys. Mike was happy with the result. :-)

We grilled hamburgers & celebrated Carson's 10th birthday. Welcome to double digits, Carson!

All smiles but this was a heated game of Password. We had many laughs around the table playing my favorite retro game! Thanks for a great night, Joan & Dean!

1-14-17

Finding all the fun hills to climb this Saturday morning.

Great group of cyclists on Mummy Mountain.

1-13-17

Kombucha; a tea-based beverage used for health benefits. I have been buying this drink regularly for probably 3 years. Kombucha is becoming more popular & can now be found in most grocery stores when previously only at health food stores. It's not a cheap drink so today I learned how to make it at home. It's made by fermenting tea & sugar with the Kombucha culture. Right now my gallon jar is in the pantry closet fermenting for a week. Thanks to my new Kombucha teacher who I met through yoga class.

1-12-17

Bob after elbow surgery today. :-(

Bob's actually all smiles. The surgery went well & had been scheduled for a while due to a year + issue with "golfer's elbow". Bob doesn't even golf but he still had the symptoms of pain & weakness. The procedure done today often helps (80% chance to successfully improve symptoms) and the recovery shouldn't be too long. Fingers crossed for a great outcome. In the meantime Bob gets to hang out at home more & soon start rehab.

1-11-17

LOVE the yellow roses Bob brought home to me on Monday.

I'm definitely a flower girl!

1 yellow rose from Bob's dozen along with 1 yellow/pink rose from our yard.

1-10-17

Todd, Andria & their 3 cute kiddos; Zeb, Ella, & Ester. We had a good time having these guys over to our home last night for dinner, games & a backyard fire. I have known Todd since college when he & I were camp counselors at Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp during the summers.

Todd & Andria are now missionaries in Rwanda. They founded & are the directors of City of Joy/Rwanda since 2011 when they moved to Africa. They love it & are great with the adults & children there. Todd & Andria have grown a church, school & built their home in the last few years. Today the school has 190 students & 30 are in the vocational school learning to sew. They have 720 goats & 5 cows (donated to the community). Bob & I have hopes that we'll be able to visit them in Africa at the end of the year. 

We grilled hamburgers & sang songs around the campfire. Ella is a good singer & such an adorable 5 year old!

Then Bob kept Ella & Zeb entertained indoors with paper helicopters. Pretty fun for a kid to drop them from the 2nd floor & watch them twirl down.

Todd taking a slo-mo video while Zeb gets ready to catch the chopper. I'm trying to post the video 'cause it's pretty cool. Glad the Ellingson's came over to a fun time together!

1-9-17

Out of the box & on the dirt! That's Bob's new mountain bike in the middle. He got it out for it's 1st trail ride this morning with James & Rick.

Now it's back in the barn & hanging out with the rest of our horses. Just want to say Bob did a great job finding his new bike from e-bay. It's a 2013 Scalpel that was barely used & an awesome price. Yay!

PS: That all helps us feel better since Bob's previous Scalpel bike was stolen October 24.