Thanksgiving - 2010

This weekend we were able to head back to Nebraska on Thursday morning and spent the day at my Grandma's house in West Point. This was such a special time, and I am super bummed because I did not get my camera out in time to catch any photos....Kate and Ben helped her decorate her tree (they had such a fun time doing that), my Mom, Aunt Karen and I helped her get all of her holiday decor in place and the guys did the outside details.....her little house looked great and she was tickled pink!! We had a wondeful meal and I even debuted my very first pecan pie.....a little brown, but everyone loved it! So many wonderful memories made that afternoon......then that night we headed to Pender and the rest of the clan arrived. The kids were so excited to see the Stoltenberg's and Aunt Wendi they could hardly stand it! There is just nothing like fun times with cousins and Kate and Ben are so blessed to have them on both sides of the family. Nicki, Mom and I headed to Sioux City on Friday morning to do some shopping -- we had such a fun time! The rest of the weekend went way too fast but was spent playing games, enjoying the gorgeous weather outside playing football, basketball, jumping on the trampoline, going for walks, playing games, cards, and snuggling up for some TV time. Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting us all this weekend. What a perfect example of how blessed we are, not only on this holiday, but each and every day of the year!!!!

Kate, Ben, Jon and Doug playing the "horse race" game.

Ben, Kate & Aunt Nicki enjoying some TV time snuggling in Papa and Nanny's room.

ISU /vs/ Creighton basketball

We had a great time cheering on the ISU Cyclones last Sunday with the Wheeler men. They played Creighton, so it was the "battle of the birds"......ISU won with a last second shot at the buzzer (which later was realized that the time had run out) - BUT, the cyclones still got the "W" It was a great game, tons of excitement, yummy snacks and we all had a very fun time!!! Thanks Capt. for getting the tickets........

Bodie, Ben and Kate at the game

A new "do" for Kate

Well, after atleast 1+ years of growing her hair out, Miss Kate decided she was ready for a change. Last Saturday we headed over to see Kristina and chop-chop......almost 6 inches later - here she is! She had really wanted to donate the hair but it had to be 8 + inches for that....I may be a bit partial, but I think that it looks absolutely adorable!!

Family time in Omaha

We were in Omaha last weekend for the Westerhold/Blessen Nebraska wedding reception. You may remember, this was our Sacramento wedding trip that we had in September. And once again, we had a wonderful time celebrating with Tina, Nate and our families. It was extra special, because my Uncle Brad and Aunt Jan were able to drive back from Colorado for the weekend and it was wonderful to catch up with them. My Grandma was just tickled to get a photo with her kids, grandkids and great-grand kids too. It does not happen very often anymore that we are all in one place at the same time.

Mr. Ben was so very excited about the dessert that evening. I did not even have the heart to tell him that the cupcakes were for the "Blessen" wedding. It was so cute that he thought they were all for "B" Ben (-:

Girls weekend

A few weeks ago, I had the EXTREME pleasure of hosting some of my dearest girlfriends....for the ENTIRE weekend!! It was so much fun! I do not even know where to begin. Some of these ladies have been in my life for the better part of 37 years, some, only as few as a decade, BUT, they are all so very near and dear to my heart. I thank God for them each and every day.

Our activities for the weekend included some shopping, shopping, shopping, (have I said shopping yet????), snacking, cheering on the HUSKERS!! wine drinking, advice swapping, recipe trading, shopping (-:, laughing, crying, hugging, and SHOPPING!!!! Does it sound like we had any fun?? The only downside of the weekend, was that once again, the weekend went way too fast. Thanks to all of our husbands, family members and friends that helped out with our kiddo's this weekend so that we could all have this special "girl" time together -- it was amazing and we can't wait to do it again soon!

Jen, Colleen, and Tina, we missed you all. Can't wait to see you all soon......Love you all, Keri

Soccer Season - 2010 - Ben

Mr. Ben also finished out his soccer season this weekend. He would probably say that the highlight of his season was his arm being healed enough to finish out the last game with some more goals!!! Way to go Ben - we are very proud of how you hustle out there. Him and I celebrated the day with a final round of miniature golf together on Saturday. We had a great time -- it was also a treat because as you can see in the pictures, he got his cast off on Tuesday - Horray!!! Now we are just wearing the "splint" until the end of November to give the arm a little longer to heal. Thank-you to everyone for your kind words of encouragement and prayers for healing!!! They worked (-:

Soccer season - Fall 2010

Kate wrapped up her soccer season last weekend. She had a great time playing again this fall and seems to really enjoy herself out there. She would say that her "foot work" really improved this season, and I would have to agree......we are proud of you Kate -- way to go!!!