Weekend in Omaha

Kate and good buddy Max Wilson at the skating rink last weekend


Ben cuddling with Aunt Wendi and "Peter and Spike" of course

Ben, Jon and Kate having a "Jays and Bulldog" rally with their t-shirts

Ben and Kate, tearing it up at the bowling alley

Ben was a tiger in the school circus last week! He also sported this tatoo

on his cheek for 5 days, a new record!

Kate had last Friday off of school so we decided to head over to Omaha to visit Aunt Wendi and Cairney West. A great time was had by all. The kids love playing at Wendi's apartment game room - fully equiped with a bowling alley, ping-pong table, pool table, and arcade games. We were all very entertained by our master level of competitiveness, but Ben takes the cake I think by being the craziest ace server in ping-pong. Those balls were flying everywhere, no one could return his serve! The pool was fun too, but the most wonderful part was quality time with family -which we all LOVE!!! Half of the Cairney West family is preparing to head down to Florida to visit Papa and Grandma Cairney - they are going to have so much fun!

After heading home on Saturday afternoon, we were able to relax on Sunday with church, visiting a friend of Kate's from school and of course managed to sneak in a quick movie - HSM 3!!! Kate was very excited for all of us to finally see this....too cute!!!

Looking forward to a few days of warmer weather this week - Keri

My little sweethearts

Happy belated Valentine's Day to you all! We had a great weekend here at the Cairney house. Kate and Ben really enjoyed their parties at school and were so very excited to share all of their treats and cards with me when I got home from work on Friday night. They all surprised me with tulips and wonderful cards that they had made - I loved them both! I treated them to heart shaped pancakes that AM with whipped cream and heart sprinkles. Then that afternoon we went out for dinner and to the Iowa Chops hockey game. A fun time was had by all! They are already asking when we can do that again.

Roller skating chicks

Kate was invited to a birthday party this weekend at the skating rink. How long has it been since any of you have roller skated?? Anyway, she really loved it once she got the hang of things, only wiped out a few times, and of course, I had a BLAST!! I loved skating as a child and had tons of fun at all of the skating parties in West Point! Ahhhhh the memories - we will definitely go back and do this again!

Papa and Nanny Suhr Visit

Nanny, Kate, Ben and Papa



Unknown boy?, Spike, Ben and Kate

If it wasn't awesome enough that the temperatures were in the 50's this weekend, we had visitors!!! Papa and Nanny Suhr came over to visit and we had such a great time! They arrived on Friday night as a total surprise to the kids. Doug and I were in the backyard and we heard Kate and Ben start to scream.....we thought, "Papa and Nanny just arrived, or the basketballs just started rolling down the hill and they can't stop them". It was the first thought and Kate and Ben were SO VERY excited....they were also extra pumped because they picked up Mc. D's for them for dinner - what a treat!!! Friday night we had a movie night, Saturday we spent all day outside playing, riding bikes, & going for walks. Kate had a game that afternoon and then we went out for pizza and introduced Papa and Nanny to Drake basketball. Ben was thrilled to chat with Spike again and get a quick photo. This morning we went to church, said good-bye to Papa and Nanny, and spent more time outside. Kate was invited to the Wilson's for some fun with Max this afternoon and the rest of us headed to small group. Doug and I had two very sleepy kiddo's tonight, but what an awesome weekend. Thanks again Mom and Dad for coming over -we loved having you here!!!! Have a good week everyone......

Kate basketball & Ben snow tunnel

Happy January 25th to you all....sorry that it has been so long since I have posted.....crazy!!! Today after church, we took the kids swimming with some cousins which was a great time, except for the water being a bit chilly. For any of you that truly know me well and my luck, you would understand that today of all days, a boiler heater in the pool would go out. It was fine for the kiddo's but a bit chilly for the adults. Then we went out for ice cream to top it all off! A wonderful day with family. Well, for the past 3 weeks, Miss Kate has had basketball practice and two very exciting games. She loves it and I must say, it is very entertaining. It is with an "upward" christian based basketball program and it is awesome! So far she has earned 3 stars (one for Christlikeness behavior on the court, one for having her bible verse memorized, and one for good offense). They are every Saturday until March, so if you have an hour available, we would love to have you come! Ben has been loving all of this snow that we have had. Until the beautiful day in the 40's on Thursday, both kids were enjoying the awesome tunnel that Daddy helped them build....now it's just a big pile with another fresh 3-4 inches on top from this AM.
I have been hosting a small group bible study at church on Tuesday nights "2009 Year of the bible" and it has been such an amazing experience for me.....I went into it a bit apprehensive, not ever doing this before. BUT, as always, God was there, to guide me through it all and work into his word. The couples that I am with are amazing people and they are so excited and filled with hope to explore this new and everlasting love that God has for all of them. This week's sermon and readings were based on " All in the family" the gospels of Matthew, Mark, & Luke.....how that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, especially when we are all doing and living out his will for our lives. He is so on the move right now, not just in my church, but everywhere in the community, and the world, if we just take the time to open our eyes and ears and truly LISTEN. Get to know the "real God" and he will be the reason that you find comfort and peace in your lives.
I hope that you all have a great week - Love, Keri

Two funny facts, well one not so funny:
1) I purchased my first ISU sweatshirt this weekend and I actually like it! Don't worry HUSKER fans, it is possible to cheer for two teams (-:
2) I had an X-RAY confirm that I did have a chip fracture in my arm from my fall on the ice the first of the month - yes, for those of you that have known me for awhile, my gracefulness continues!

Cairney Christmas

We went to a Drake basketball game on New Years Eve and Ben was given this little "Spike" whom he is now permanently attached too - very cute! GO Bulldogs!


Kate and Uncle Jeff with her very own Hawkeye "Boo-er" She is really brown nosing by wearing her hawkeye gear.



Ben loved his new race track and remote control car - thanks Cairney West and Papa and Grandma

The moon sand that she loves - it is cool stuff!

The Cairney Cousin pyramid

I sit here this evening and watch it snow yet again. Even though it is beautiful, I quickly want to go check my friend Stephanie's blog and read about another weekend spent at the beach in Florida. It looks alot warmer there! But at least I can live vicariously at the ocean thru the Paulson family right???

Anyway, it is gorgeous and I am quickly reminded of the beauty that god creates thru a fresh layer of snow on the ground. I especially enjoy the fun that it brings all of us as we get to play in it!

We were blessed with another wonderful weekend with family last weekend as we celebrated Cairney Christmas in Indianola - thanks again to Dick and Celie for being such gracious hosts and preparing such fabulous food all weekend! A fun time was had by all......and once again reminds us that we just don't get together often enough - the kids are all getting so big - 10 total with ages ranging from 4 - 15.

Happy New Year and finished kitchen

Happy 2009 to all of you!!!! I hope that you all had a wonderful kick off to the New Year today. At this house, we were all a bit sleepy after partying with the Wilson's, Wheeler's, and Cairney's last night. For those of you that know me well, you will be proud to know that I was awake until 12:05 - it's a miracle! The kiddo's crashed at 1100, no wonder they were a bit cranky today. If only you could have seen their faces when they had to have a time out at Hy-Vee in the produce section because of fighting - too funny! We had a fun time though (-: Always fun to be with friends.....little Mr. Wheeler definitely takes the cake for being the most entertaining.....that boy is hilarious! Ron and Paulette better be recording his antics (-:

And for the kitchen, here's a couple shots of the finished product - I still love it!

Also, congratulations to all of you Hawkeye fans on your win today - and WAY TO GO HUSKERS!!!!!!! GO BIG RED!!!!!!!!! GO BIG RED!!!!