Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Bringing in the New Year in Virginia

 Old Man Winter dropped 8 inches of snow on the midwest delaying my flight to DC from December 20 to the 23rd.  Shelley arrived on the 24th and stayed until Jan 4.  Nice having all of my family together for a few days. Bert & Batty surprised me when we drove up to a different home.  They had bought a new house and moved in Thanksgiving week end.  They now live in Sterling, VA.


                                                                    Christmas Day.
James & Carol Filibeck, their 2 children Ezra & Kendra and Carol's mom were at Bert's with us
 
Yummy log cake
.
James and Kendra
 
Brian and Ezra playing
 
As my whole family were together for a few days we decided to have a family picture taken.
We donned our purple shirts again and went to the Library of Congress.  The white marble made a nice background.  We did have to dodge a few people,  There were a lot there as it was cool and rainy out and people wanted to be inside.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Batty and Brian flew to Thailand on December 30.
New Year's Eve we spent with James, Carol and family having a fondue. 
We came home fairly early as Bert had an early flight to Florida on the 1st.
I came back to Manawa December 18 for a couple of weeks to get ready for my next adventure..   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanksgiving in Topeka, Kansas

As I was already in west-central Iowa it was only a 4 hour drive to Topeka, KS, to spend Thanksgiving with Shelley.  I went there on Tuesday and came back to my sister's the next Monday then back to Manawa on Tuesday.  For some strange reason I left the camera in the camera bag and took no pictures. Short post this time.

November In Iowa

My brother-in-law, Don, had a stroke which prompted Bertwin to plan a family trip to Iowa to introduce them to Brian.  Shelley was able to come from Kansas.  I was glad to make the trip as well.  This was Shelley's first time to meet her nepew.  I arrived there on Tuesday, Bert and family on Wednesday and Shelley on Thursday.  As they wanted to see their aunt and family in Minnesota, the kids went up there fror supper on Thursday, spent the night and came back to Iowa on Friday.

Aunt Ruth (Dennis' sister) Uncle Paul, their daughter Becky and her children, Wyatt and Kaylie.
Looks like a great supper.
Brian likes Uncle Paul's glasses.
playing with cousin Kaylie
They all got down on Brian's level,
Enjoying his fingers again
 
Friday was time for pictures with Aunt Vonnie and Uncle Don
Brian and Aunt Vonnie
Helping to strengthen Uncle Don's left arm
The purple crew
 
Saturday the kids all went their seperate ways. 
I stayed until Tuesday and then went to Kansas.
Was great having the family together. 
                           We really missed Lori but she had to work and a class she had to be at
                                                As you ccan see Don is much improved..
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

October trip to Virginia

Dulcie Sorenson & planned on driving out to Virginia the end of October.  When I found some very cheap airline tickets we decided to go that route.  It was the perfect time to see the colors along the Shennendoah Parkway.  Lori took off work for a couple days and was able to be with us.  We 4 gals and Brian had a lovely day.

 
\
We stopped at a farmers market
 
Teething
Cuddle time with Auntie Lori
Brian loves it with his head down.
 
Dulcie and Batty went downtown to see the sights of Washington, DC and I stayed home with my little man.  No pictures of the usual sights of DC.
We were to come home on the 30th but Hurricane Sandy extended our visit another day.  We had a lot of rain and some wind where we were in Herndon but not the bad things farther north.  One tree did go down on the road into Bert's parking area while Lori and I were out getting some meds for me.  We simply drove on the out side and all was OK as no one was wanting out.
 
 

July in Colorado & Kansas


After spending a couple of days in Iowa with my sister and her husband I drove out to Elizabeth, Colorado to meet Shelley at a church convention.  It was interesting as the big fires were in progress.  Pike's Peak should have been seen from the grounds but all we could see was smoke.  Tuesday night they thought we might have to leave the area but the wind changed and all cleared around us and we could stay put.  After the 4 day convention things were clearing and fires put out so we could do some sight seeing\  We had a few days to tour Colorado Springs and the surrounding area before returning Shelley to Wichita, Kansas. She showed me some of the scenery around Wichita as well.

                                      This is a sign over the roads near Kearney, Nebraska.
                                                            Beginning of the West
                                                       Dinning area and parking lot
                                                            Ladies' sleeping area
Meeting shed and parking lot
 
After the convention was over we started for Colorado Springs and some sight seeing.
A few pictures of the scenes between Elizabeth and Colorado Springs.
 
 

Most of the fires were out by Sunday and the attractions started to open.  By Monday all were open except for a couple of dude ranches which we were not interested in visiting. 
Our little excursion around started with us going to Colorado Springs and spending the night at Comfort Inn.
                                                               View from our window.
Smoke in the mountains
A helicopter is bringing water in to dump on the fire.  When they dump this there is fertilizer in the water to help with the growth when the fire is over.  A friend was out there a couple of months later and said the grass was growing back already,

Our first stop was Seven Falls.  This is one of the most scenic drives in the area.  Some curves are so sharp that we are to honk when going around them so an oncoming car driver knows that we are there.  I tried to take pictures as Shelley was driving.  A fee is charged to enter after that things like the elevator to the top of the falls is free. 
                                                              Entrance to the park.


                                    Looks like someone did not get all the way to Pike's Peak.
Devil's Needle
                                                             Visiting the gift shop area
                                                         Seven Falls from the bottom
                                            Quite a climb but we cheated and took the elevator.
                                                      .




 
 From Seven Falls we went to Garden of the Gods.


                                                                     Kissing Camels

                                                                        Balancing Rock
Crows having a meeting
It was a beautiful day, there is still smoke in the air
so makes it look cloudy or hazy.

On to Pike's Peak

                                        Train Station for the cog train to the top of Pike's Peak
                                                            Rock formation along the route
                                                         The track we just traveled over
A home the workers lived in while working on the railroad
                                                                          Summit
                        A little cool up there.  It was in the 90's when we left Colorado Springs
                                                42 degrees here with a windchill of 34.
                                                                 Continental Divide
The train we rode
View from the top 
 
 Stayed at the same hotel in Colorado Springs Monday night. 
 After breakfast at the hotel we drove to Canon City and Royal Gorge.
A few scenses along the way.
 
 
 
 
That heavy cloud on the left turned into rain for our trip through the Royal Gorge.   The rain made odd scenes on the windows of the train.  The lights were on in the train making additional marks on the pictures.  Very enjoyable ride and views.
 
 
Riding the rapids
 
The high bridge, 1053 feet above the Arkansas River.
 
 
Tuesday night was spent in Pueblo, CO.  In the morning we started for Kansas. 
These are our last view of the mountains. 
As we both love the mountains it was a sad moment.
 
 
Some very common sights in Kansas
Prairie lands
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 The very necessry watering hole.
 Flint Rocks
 
 
Sunflowers, their state flower
 
 
 Milo
Oil Wells
Windmills
and warm temps,
 
Back to my sister's home in Churdan, Iowa for a couple of days and then home to get ready for another trip.
 
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