Holidaze!!!

So, Christmas day has come and gone. And we are 2/3 done celebrating. We spent a good share of the past weekend with the Patterson side. All the brothers and families were able to come back to Lincoln. It was nice to be able to see everyone. We will get to celebrate with the Kraus side in the upcoming weekend. And most importantly the four of us got to spend some time just us. That was very nice. So, although I know that you all enjoy my banter.....I will get to adding the pictures now......

Say "Cheesiest Sisters Ever!"

Oh, what fun~

Oh, Man!! Socks?

This is more like it....

The girls with Uncle Corey and Lindsey

Holiday Program

The little munchkins had their program this past weekend. They were so excited to get to sing the songs that they have been practicing for weeks. And they did an awesome job. And then afterwards, there was plenty of sugar to keep them going. Both sets of grandparents attended the show as weel. The girls were very exited to see them.
Otherwise, we are getting ready for Christmas. I think that we are just about there. I am glad to be done shopping and have the cards out.

Take Care & enjoy the photos.

Dena, Jared and the girls.

Holidays and Family

Thanksgiving has now come and gone. As has Black Friday. And we survived both, although we really didn't venture out into that shopping madness. Really nothing that we need/want that badly to have to be in a store by 4 am. That is just nuts!! Anyway, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year for my side of the family. It was very nice and I didn't even freak out about anything going wrong. It was very nice for the girls to get a chance to play with their cousin Riley. They don't get to do that often enough......

Besides that not much else going on right now. It should be quiet for a couple more weeks.

Take Care & enjoy the new photos!

Dena, Jared & the girls

Our little Picasso..Little Princess..

What? We weren't doing anything.....True sisterly love!!

Halloween & other things

Greetings all!!!

Well, we had a pretty good Halloween--at least in the stash of candy that the girls got. We went to try out the "Walk the Stalks" at Hy-Vee. Although I saw no stalks in sight, there were around 35-40 vendors there handing out candy and other misc. items. The biggest downfall to this event was all the WAITING~We had to wait to get into the "maze" and then wait some more to move with the line within the maze. It took us around an hour and a half to complete the process. So needless to say, we didn't make it to any houses for "Trick or Treat". But they had more then enough candy by that point.

Tomorrow I have to take Cassidy in to the dentist again so that she can get a filling. I am not looking forward to this procedure. I know that it needs to be done, but she (and Seanna for that matter) has not had the best history with the dentist office. I am hoping that it goes quickly and easily. Cross your fingers.

This past weekend Jared got the Living room and Dining room painted. They both look very nice and feel so much more cozy. What a difference a coat of paint can make. Now, we just have to get on ordering the new blinds for both those rooms and they will be fabulous.

I made my first ever business trip for work last week (Nov. 6-7). Flew to Chicago and saw a couple of the home office buildings. It was fun, but very tiring. We were running on pure adrenaline for most of the time we were all gone. Jared got to play the part of Mr. Mom and I hear that everything went good. I would have to agree since we had to Daddy's girls this past weekend. And they kept begging for the burritos that Jared made for dinner on Tuesday night.

We are getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday. We are hosting my side of the family this year. Made up the menu, now just have to do some shopping and get to cooking. But of course the cooking part will have to wait for just a bit.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well. Take Care!!!

Dena, Jared & the girls

Getting current....

So, in early August I had surgery on my ankle. This required me to be on crutches for 6 weeks. This also meant that I could not access our desk top computer on which I have my sign-on for this blog. Therefore, that is my excuse for not updating earlier. Anyway, Jared got to play Mr. Mom during that time. He was a God-send. I can't say enough good things about how wonderful he is..........how was I this lucky? Anyway, all is better now. I am walking around just fine now. I do have some stiffness in the am, but that is about it.



In September both girls started dance classes. Cassidy's is called "We-Go" which basically means she needs to have a parent in the studio with her. This is to get her used to being there. Jared has been taking her to this since I am unable to jump on my ankle for a while. He tells me that she is the star of that classroom. Seanna is taking a combination class of ballet and tap. There are about 10 others in the class with her. But we don't get to see her progress as her class is closed door. But we already know that she will have a recital in June. That should be interesting. They are both enjoying having this activity to look forward to on the weekend.



For our anniversary I surprised Jared with a dinner/show on the Fremont Dinner train. It was really fun. The show was called "Death Stinks" and the character names played on scents/odors. Very funny!!! We would definitely recommend it for others to try this at least one time~even if it is a little on the pricey side.



And now, we have celebrated Miss Cassidy's 3rd birthday (really, already?). Now we are looking forward to Halloween. We are going to have a cowgirl and Minnie Mouse. I will get pictures out as soon as possible from that.



To make the end of the the summer months wonderful, the rails on our porch are up. They look fantastic. There was even a comment make that now we have our curb-appeal back for our house. Hooray!!! That is such a good thing.....



Otherwise, all is going well. We are all good. Hope that everyone else is as well.



Take Care!!

Dena, Jared & the girls.

Cassidy's 3rd birthday party

Today we celebrated little Cassidy turning 3 years old. It was a good day with both sets of granparents and a couple of aunts and uncles in attendence. Cassidy gots lots of nice gifts and she was thrilled to have all the company. Even if she wasn't so keen on everyone looking at her and singing Happy Birthday. Anyway, not much to report~just wanted to get the photos posted. More notes later (and I do realize it has been over 2 1/2 months since my last post)!

Some very stylish girls.

Greetings to all!!!

Hope the month of August has been treating everyone well. I had my surgery on the 2nd and Jared has been a God-send!!! He has had to take over all the house hold duties since I can't stand on 2 feet for a while. The surgeon says that I have a 5 out of 6 chance of this being successful. Hopefully he is right. And I have been a good patient for the physical therapist as well. I only am having to go to therapy once a week since I do my exercises at home so well. I did have a slight scare last week though. when I went in for my follow-up visit to the surgeon he thought that I might have a blood clot in my leg. After going to another office and having a doppler ultrasound done, it was determined that I do not have a clot. Whew!!!

The girls have been keeping busy with the last fieldtrips of the year at their daycare. They have more of a social life then their parents. Pre-school will start again the first week of September for Seanna. She will now be attending a class 3 times a week instead of just the two. What an adventure it will be to see how much more she learns now. As for Cassidy, she will not be starting pre-school this year, due to her age and the school age guidelines. Oh, well-she will still end up benefiting from hearing things her sister learns.

They both are growing like weeds. All the sudden their shirts are too short and their shoes are too small. Amazing how this seems to happen "overnight".

Well, that is about I have have to report for now. Everyone take care!

Dena, Jared & the girls

"Family" picnic

Yesterday a whole gang of us got together, 18 of us to be exact. Some of our good friends and their families got meet in a park in Crete, Ne and had a picnic. It was a nice relaxing afternoon. All of the kids played together very nicely, especially when you consider the age ranges--8 to 1 month. The adults played nicely also, or as well as we know how. It was very nice to see the Lynn, Ryan and family make it up from MO~~~~~very very nice to see them. It was sad for all of us not to see Jeff and Tricia though. We think they had a horse issue to deal with at the last minute. Whatever the case, everyone thinks that we should do it again. I agree, it is nice to have another generation get to hang out with each other....after all we didn't turn out to bad, so if our children play together it shouldn't end up in disaster. Well, not much more to report. Adding more photos though. Everyone take care!!!!

Dena, Jared & the girls.

"Mommy says we shouldn't stick out our tongues like that or our face
will freeze like it"





"Sure glad we don't have one of these at home"

Just hanging out~enjoying the company.

What a cute crowd!

~Girls just wanna have fun~

On the road again.......

So, the month of July was spent on the road. Or so it seemed. We had a quiet 4th of July at home. Invited Jared's parents over to bbq and watch some fireworks with us. Then the following weekend we headed west. We went camping for 2 nights at Lake Maconaughy with the Gill family. It was a pretty good time. I think that Seanna and I would have had an even better time if we were feeling better. We each caught summer colds. Then there was Cassidy dislike of sleeping outdoors. This trip has really spurred our search for a pop-up camper for next summer. The following weekend we packed up and headed west again. This time to North Platte for Jared's Grandma's 80th birthday reception. It was nice to see the Larrie Patterson family together and a few of the other relatives. However, we are anxious to have a quiet weekend at home~not sure when that might happen though. We are going west again this upcoming weekend (although not quite as far) to enjoy a picnic with a group of long-time friends and their families. Lots of kids and lots of food. That is what summer is all about........

So, I am including a couple of new pictures~a couple are good for some comic relief.

Take Care!

Dena, Jared, Seanna & Cassidy

Summertime, summertime, Summertime!

Well, the summer is off to a busy start. The beginning of June brought us 2 weddings to attend. So the girls got their grandparent time while we attended them. And then we had VBS for the entire week this past week. Needless to say, we are all very tired after that one!!! We went to visit Mom K. today, and help to celebrate her birthday. The girls got to see their cousins Codie, Riley and Ryan. It was very nice. Otherwise, all is going pretty well with us. Take Care everyone~~and enjoy the new photos.

Dena, Jared & the girls.

A trip to the BIG Zoo!!!!

The family ventured to Omaha today to meet with the Gill family to tour the Henry Doorly Zoo. The first area we went thru was the Desert Dome. I must say, not too thrilled about that one. Not sure that it was worth the hype that went with it when it first opened. Then we got to see the cat complex and the bears. We kept hearing from Seanna that she wanted to see the sharks. So, the very last thing that we went to see was the aquarium. She was thrilled. Cassidy was pretty happy with all the animals that we got to see today.

Then we all went to have lunch together. It was a very nice morning and early afternoon of activities. Everyone had a good time~then it was time to go home. By the time we got back to Lincoln, it was threatening rain, so the girls got to play with the play-doh. Always good for a couple of hours of fun for them. I would have to say that had a pretty good time today. Now what to plan for tomorrow~hmmmm, good question.

Hope all are good.....

Take Care!!!
Dena, Jared & the girls

A trip to the BIG Zoo!!!!

Memories....

Greetings to all!

We hope that life is treating you well. We are currently on vacation from our jobs~spent the weekend out of town (in North Platte) visiting relatives. We all stayed with Jared's Grandma and Al. We also got to see his brother Mike & family (or most of the family). Grandma had a birthday cake for Mike & my birthdays. The weather was even nice for the majority of the time that we spent in N.P. But now we are back to reality & painting!!! Jared is currently working on emptying out the kitchen so that we can paint it a nice sunny yellow. Should look very cheery when it is all done.



Well, nothing else really going on~just wanted to share a new family photo.....



Take Care!!!

Dena, Jared & the girls

Front (from left): Seanna, Sydney, Cassidy, Elizabeth, Mike & Emily

Back (from left): Grandma Coleman, Jared, Krissa & Dena

May flowers

Well, I know it has been a while since my last post. Sorry about that! Time gets away from me sometimes. Anyway, we are all doing well. Jared got moved to his new position (and building) in mid-March & he is loving it. Keeps him pretty busy. He also has started a part time job helping out at the hotel where his Mom works. He assists with some bookkeeping things there. As for myself, I have gotten into the yard a little more this year. I have a real flower bed next to the garage & am hoping for it to do well. I have interviewed for yet another position and will find out in this next week if I got the job. It would be in the same department, but as a tried and true Training Specialist. Wow!!!

As for the girls, they are getting taller by the day it seems. Both have found that they like to stand their ground against the other lately though. That can sometimes be tough for Mom & Dad. But they are both throughly enjoying the nice weather and both have a little bit of a "farmer's" tan going on alreadly.

Jared and the girls went to the zoo yesterday & did a fun run (1 mile around the zoo). Both of the girls did great. Then they got to wander around the zoo & Seanna got to go on 2 pony rides (Cassidy didn't want hers, so that is why Seanna had 2). Then they pet a rat and a guinea pig. Big excitement. Needless to say that they were both exhausted (or should I say all 3 of them) when they returned. I got to have some quiet time during their trip. And it was very nice and appreciated. What a caring husband I have. All that in addition to the beautiful flowers (see picture above) that I got for Mother's day. He is a good man.

Well, I don't have much more. We hope that all are doing well & are able to enjoy the nice cooler weather before the heat of summer comes to visit.

Take Care!

Dena, Jared & the girls.

February has MARCHed right by.....

and the temperatures will be rising. The girls are staying busy getting on one another's nerves. They both have bad cases of cabin fever. But now with the warming of the weather, the snow is melting and making a muddy mess~so still no outdoor playing.

We haven't been doing too much lately, a lot of time spent at home. But that is alright, nice to have quiet times. Mostly I know that people just want to see pictures of the girls--so I have included some for everyone.

Take Care!

Dena, Jared & the girls.