The "Not So Empty" Nesters

Winter 2011

2011-02-19T11:24:00.000-08:00

Squirrel that came up to the birdfeeder. It would hang upside down to get to the seed so Bob cut off the little branch he was hanging from.

Cardinal in the apple tree.

The wind blew the snow into big drifts that blocked the back doors.

Even the deer had trouble getting through the deep snow.

Owen & Ethan came over one day & we made play dough.

Owen's Fourth Birthday-February 2011

2011-02-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

Owen celebrated his 4th birthday at Gerlach's Bowling in Lapeer. It was lots of fun. Everyone seemed to enjoy the bowling although none of us were very good! It's been quite a few years since we've been.
All these pictures are out of order because they've changed how you load them & I'm too frustrated with it to try & get it the way I want it! ARGH! Technology!

Part of the family

John

Tim

Kate & Eva

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Ethan enjoying his pizza

Owen

The boys checking out Owen's new bike

Egan shows his bowling style :)

Bowling birthday cake

Blowing out the candles

Opening presents

Ellery

January 2011

2011-01-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try & post something each month this year-we'll see how that goes. We started off the year with our friends Bob & Gayle over for a game night. We played some new games-Five Crowns & Speed Scrabble (Bob gamely played two hands because he hates Scrabble-I thought it was fun. :)) They left before midnight & we watched the ball drop in Times Square on the TV. It really depresses me to see Dick Clark in such bad shape. Especially since I grew up watching him on American Bandstand & everything else-he always seemed perpetually young, but he's really the age of my mom.
We celebrated our oldest granddaughter's 9th birthday at a roller rink. Bob & I even skated! And fell. But it was fun if not loud. It's hard to believe we've been grandparents for 9 years. And now we have 10 grandchildren. The time has gone so fast. And in 9 more years she'll be a senior in high school (sorry Kate). I met Bob my senior year of high school! Yikes!
So... some pics from her party. It was too dark to get very many good ones-especially skating.

Kate, Eva & Jessie

Grace

Bob & Ethan

Tim & Egan

Kaylee-the birthday girl!

January 2011 and the 60's & 70's

2011-01-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

The ending of the year & the new year always makes me a little reflective-thinking over the past. As I've gotten older time seems to go by even faster. With the new year I usually have the urge to go through things, clean & get rid of stuff. As I was goting through some old stuff I came across these pictures of Bob & I.

For six months after our high school graduation, Bob was in Europe with his family. He sent me this picture of him on a postcard in August 1970.

Judy in July of 1970.

Judy & friend Kathy in June 1967 (end of 9th grade)

Judy & Kathy in May 1967-just before I got my hair cut.

U.P. Family Vacation-Day Two

2010-09-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

I guess technically this is our first day together but our

Day One was at Sleeping Bear Dunes. We stayed at

Balsam's Resort about 5 miles west of St. Ignace. We shared a

cabin with Timmy & Erin the first night since there

weren't 6 available but after that we each had our own cabin.

We used John & Heather's place as a meeting point & had

campfires there each night. It was crazy at times but

I enjoyed being with everyone.

Ethan by the firepit.

Izzie

Owen, Heather & Ethan in front of their cabin.
They all look pretty tired.

The kids really enjoyed playing in the dusty dirt in

the road that went in front of all the cabins.

Eli & Owen having fun jumping in the dirt!

The guys hanging out-John, Timmy, Dave & James

The girls-Kate, Erin & Eva, Heather & Ethan

Timmy & Owen "high-fiving"

The two "E.J.s"

Cody, Egan & Tim got up a little later because

Tim had to work. Also, Egan had been sick.

Thankfully he felt better quickly & was able

to enjoy the trip.

Eva & Berlin roasting marshmallows.

Grace & Kate

Erin fixing breakfast Saturday morning.

U.P. Family Vacation-Day One

2010-09-03T14:16:00.001-07:00

We took a family vacation to the Upper Penisula. It was fun to

be all together. Erin wanted to show Timmy

Sleeping Bear Dunes so we went up a day early. We stopped

in Bay City to see the Tall Ships. It was really hot. We waited along

the river. Finally some of the ships came up the river but

didn't have their sails up. We drove up to Cadillac, spent the

night & then went to the Dunes the next day.

Timmy & Erin
On the Pierce-Stocking Drive overlook. We didn't

run all the way down!

Climbing up the Dune Climb

Judy & Bob at the top of the Dune :)

Timmy & Erin

Running down-As we were getting ready to leave

after running down the dune, Bob realized he had lost

his cell phone. It must have fallen out as he ran down.

He has it set to vibrate so we wouldn't hear it if we called it.

I called anyway just in case. The other three started climbing

back up to look for it. I tried calling again & a girl answered!

She & her friend had found the phone & were just

getting ready to call the "missed" call. What an

answer to prayer!

Ethan's First Birthday

2010-09-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ethan's first birthday at John & Heather's house.

Heather played lots of fun activities for the kids to do.

Kaylee works on a mask.Egan, Grace & Eva had crazy fun in the bounce house.

Owen, Egan & Eva ate together. The boys had fun messing
with each other's food-to the annoyance of their parents. :)

Ethan enjoying his food

The kids took turns trying to break the pinata but it was

really well made! All the kids had 2 turns but John finally

had to break it. Ethan got to go first.

The kids going after the goodies after John broke the pinata.

Kaylee being silly

Ethan's not too sure about this birthday cake.

He finally got into it!

Playing with his presents.

Pennsylvania Trip

2010-07-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

We went to southern Pennsylvania to go white water rafting with

some old friends from our old church. Bob & I stayed a few extra

days in Bedford, PA to see some of the historical sites. So these

pictures are really in the wrong order.

We took a driving tour of the area. This was an old log church

built in 1806. Many of the tombstones were dated from the

1800's & a few birthdates were from the late 1700's. Part of the tour were some "odd" things like this huge quarter.

This was an ice cream shop shaped like a sundae.

This was an old coffee shop-no longer being used.

This was called "Hawkwatch" maintained by the Audobon

Society. We drove way up in the mountains on a little dirt

road to get up here but what a great view! It wasn't the

right time to see hawks but it was still really quiet & beautiful.

This was all part of a covered bridge tour-I think there were

13 in all.

"George Washington slept here"-during the Whiskey

Rebellion when he was president. The town of

Bedford was really neat-full of history. We did a

walking tour of the town, went to the Fort Bedford

museum & to Old Bedford Village.

We went rafting with Steve & Nancy Runyon, Ron & Lori

Benedict & Bob & Gayle Losinger. The day we were leaving we

went to the Fort Necessity Museum. Very nice museum.

There was also an old inn that we toured.

Fort Necessity from a distance-the only place that Washington surrendered.

A waterfall near where we rafted.

There was a natural waterslide also in the Ohiopyle

State Park. Only Ron & Steve were crazy enough

to give it a try. It did look like fun but a little

hard on the body!

Ron going down.

Steve

Nancy, Steve, Bob L. & Gayle rafting the Youghighany(sp) River.

We had a great time. It was good to re-connect with old friends &

the rafting was really fun.

Judy, Lori,Ron, & Bob-we were stuck on a rock.

The group: Ron & Lori; Steve & Nancy; Bob & Gayle; Judy & Bob

We stayed at the Lodge at Chalk Hill-a little rough but comfortable

enough. The view was great!

Random Times

2010-06-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated the blog so I thought I'd just post some

random pictures from the last couple months. We've had some of the grandkids over

for "sleepovers" & got together with some of the family on

Memorial Day weekend. Ethan at Great Grandma Mattila's house.

Berlin spent the night & we visited Seven Ponds Nature Center &

made a birthday cake for Uncle Tim.

Eli had fun splashing in the mud!

Berlin posing with her popsicle.

Izzie & her popsicle-ewww, cold!

James & Izzie -he headed off to VA a couple days later :(

The kiddos "eating".

Owen spent the night & had fun blowing

bubbles with his Thomas the Train bubble

pipe.

Papa reading to Owen

Owen was washing the car & filling it with "gas".

Izzie climbing the slide

Grace, Eva & Kaylee spent the weekend-we went on

a hike down by the ponds.

The girls blowing bubbles.

Hiking

Dr. Egan checking for Papa's heartbeat.

Berlin's 4th Birthday

2010-04-06T05:47:00.001-07:00

James & Amanda didn't have the family over for Berlin's birthday so we just went over on her birthday to have lunch & give her gifts to her. She likes sparkly dressing up things so I made her a "dress-up" dress.

Eli's Second Birthday Celebration

2010-02-14T14:46:00.000-08:00

We got together at James & Amanda's to celebrate Eli's 2nd birthday.

Lots of fun & noise! Eli (& the rest of the kids) had fun

with all his new toys. Future soccer star!

It was the year of the dinosaur toys. This

is a plastic puppet that roars.

Roaring back at the dinosaur

Eli wasn't too sure about this dinosaur. It roars & moves.

He was fascinated with it but kind of scared too.

Scary dinosaur or "roar" as Eli calls it.

"Scaring" grandma with the green dinosaur

Blowing out the candles -he was kind of

upset when everyone started singing for him.

Eli enjoys his ice cream & cake

2010-02-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Owen's 3rd birthday this past Sunday. Lots of people!:) Later in the day we went outside & played in the snow. Egan & Owen try out Owen's new trike. The bell was a big hit with all the kids.
Eli likes this view from the back of the trike.

It took a while to blow out this candle!

Berlin enjoying the sledding.

Eli & Egan

Tim gives John & Owen a shove.

Amazing how much alike John & Tim look in this picture.

Tim & Egan

John gave his old snowboard a try but it wasn't

very slick. Les tried giving him a start.

Eli enjoyed sitting in the brush & eating snow.

Tim takes all the kids for a ride.

Egan giving the snowboard a try.

Berlin

A little hockey at the pond.

Egan & Owen

John & Owen

James & Elijah

Berlin making a snow angel

Owen making a snow angel

The guys hitting the puck around now that they

got the sticks away from the kids. :)

2010-02-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted so I decided to just start from now. We had Kate's girls overnight last weekend. They did some painting/print making & we took a hike through the woods, checked out the ice on the pond & shoveled off a little skating rink & did some sledding. There wasn't a lot of snow but enough to slide down our little hill. Grace & Eva making snow angels

Hiking though the woods to the pond.

Eva & Papa on the sled

Making a "train"-Grace, Kaylee & Eva

Kaylee

Eva

Grace

Painting

Kaylee's masterpiece

Eva

Grace

Tawas Get-away

2009-09-07T12:00:00.001-07:00

Bob & I by the AuSable on our getaway

Bob & I took a spur of the moment overnight

trip to Tawas City the end of August. We finally

had a beautiful summer day. It was a little

cool but not bad. We went to some antique stores

in town & walked out on the pier. The next day, a

Monday we drove up to Oscoda & took River Rd.

inland along the AuSable River. There's supposed

to be a lot of bald eagle nests along the river &

we were hoping to see one.

We stopped at a couple turnouts & at the Lumberman's

Monument, Canoer's Memorial & Iargo Springs.

Really a nice trip with some beautiful scenery. Looking down at the AuSable

Bob tries his hand using the lumberman's tool at the

Lumberman's Monument.

View of the river from Lumberman's Monument.

Bob enjoying the view from one of the

roadside parks.

We were very excited to see a bald eagle at the

Canoer's Memorial! It was fairly easy to see & we had

also brought binoculars. It was neat to watch him

ride the wind currents farther up into the sky.

Iargo Springs was very interesting. They had

board walks all through the woods so you could see

the springs as they flowed into the AuSable.

There were 282 steps down (& up!). I'm glad

we didn't know that before we went down

or I might not have attempted it! We counted

on the way up. Thankfully they had resting spots! :)

It was worth the effort.

the view

Boardwalk through the woods

Another view of the river

I thought it was cool to see how the river

winds through the woods.

Metamora Days

2009-09-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

Every year Metamora has an end of the summer

Metamora Country Days celebration. There are

crafts, a petting zoo, car show, parade, etc..

Tim, Cody & Egan met us in town to watch the parade.

John, Heather & the boys met up with us a little

later but caught a little of the parade. Very small town

but fun. I worked at the library used book sale so

I didn't get any pictures of Owen at the petting

zoo. He rode in a horse cart. The weather wasn't the

greatest. Part of the celebration is a hot air balloon

festival. It's really fun to watch them fill up & float

away. We went up to the balloon field to watch

but the weather was too bad for them to go up. :-(

James, Amanda & kids had come up for that so

instead everyone came over to our house to hang

out & eat pizza. Flag bearers at the beginning of the parade.

Bagpipers Egan waving at the people in the parade.

Have to have some tractors!

Bob, Owen, Tim & Cody

Papa & Owen

Lapeer West marching band-I always wished

I could have played drums in a marching band!

The hounds from the Metamora Hunt Club-

it's amazing how well trained they are.

Owen & Egan had a great time playing in the

tall grass while we were waiting to see if the

balloons would go up.

Isadora Lee & Ethan Rome

2009-08-22T08:49:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Isadora Lee Mattila! She's our 9th grandchild, born on

Friday, August 14, 2009. That will be an easy date to

remember because it was my brother Kevin's birthdate.

His middle name was Lee also. Kinda neat to have her

born on his b'day. :) We joked at Nana Camp the day before

about her having the baby the next day (the 14th) but none of

us thought she would have her so soon! She had her so quickly

that I didn't even have my camera with me to take pictures at the

hospital. I was already in Birmingham with my mom when James

called so at least I was close by. So these pictures are from when she was

2 days old & meeting the Mattila's for the first time.

The family also got to meet Ethan Rome for the first time. Isadora Lee Mattila
Ethan scrutinizes his great-grandma Mattila

Grandma checks out Ethan's toes-baby toes are so cute!

Great-grandma with her two newest great-grandchildren

Great-grandma with Izzie

Great-aunt Margaret with Ethan

Emma with Isadora

Last Nana Camp for 2009

2009-08-22T08:10:00.001-07:00

At our fifth (& last) Nana Camp for 2009, we went on

a couple of hunts. First the kids glued photos of wildflowers

in a little book & we went on a nature hunt to find those flowers.

They got to put a sticker on their page when they found the flower.

We looked for Queen Anne's Lace, chickory, wild bergemont,

milkweed, daisies & knapweed. They all grow quite close

to each other just down the path to the back so we didn't have to

go far. Then I had made some "treasure boxes" (I knew

there was a good reason for my Chai Latte addiction)&

hid them around the yard. I took pictures of different places

around the yard & the children had clues in envelopes that directed them

around until they found their "treasure"-which

was mostly candy & a few small trinkets. They seemed

to enjoy the hunt & even shared their candy with their moms.The Treasure boxes
Cody & Egan working on his wildflower book

Grace gluing in pictures

Eva works on cutting out her pictures

Kaylee

Berlin & Amanda; Heather & Owen

Kaylee searches for her clue

Cody, Egan & Grace in back look for clues on the birdfeeder

Egan finds a clue

Berlin has to find the white fence for her next clue

Eva found her treasure box!

Hayden found his too!

It's hard to believe the summer is almost over. Next year, they'll

be even more kids at Nana Camp! I guess I have the winter to think

about how to organize that! It was a little crazy at times, but fun! Hopefully

the kids will have good memories of Nana Camp.

Pine River Nature Sanctuary

2009-08-10T06:35:00.001-07:00

We took a drive over towards the east & went to the Pine

River Nature Sanctuary. The river is more of a creek but it

looked like the area was newly renovated. Unfortunately, the

Nature Center is only open during the week & we were there

on a Sunday. We were about the only ones there. They

have very nicely groomed walking trails & the longest isn't

much more than a mile long. Very nice trail map & clearly marked.

It'd be a good place to take kids. They had a wigwam & lean to but it was fenced

in & closed when we were there. It was a nice day. Definitely need bug spray though. This is the outside of the nature center-I want this for my house!!!
The "tree house" out in the woods-has picnic tables & places to sit.

Bob inside the tree house

A self portrait by the "river"

By the pond-most of the trails go through the woods but

one goes by this pond & through a field.

There's not a lot to see but it's a nice walk.

A New Car

2009-08-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the government's

"Cash for Clunkers" program & turned in our van.

It was rather sad-we've had it for over 10 years.

I have lots of fond memories of all the kids still being

at home, family vacations, camping, etc. It was a

little hard to get rid of it-especially knowing they

were going to destroy the engine. :( But... we

really don't drive it much & it's a gas guzzler, & at the age

where things are always going wrong with it. But it was

still sad... But we got a great deal on a new Avenger

for Bob to drive. This is his first brand new car in his

whole life! (Mine too) It's so quiet with a smooth ride. Not the

color he would have chosen but the program was so successful

in that first week there wasn't much choice. He's very excited about it!

We even get satellite radio for a year! :) Easy to please, aren't we?

Anyway, here's the last photo of the old "clunker". Here's Bob with his new 2009 Avenger!

Nana Camp #4

2009-08-10T05:54:00.000-07:00

Nana camp #4 was on July 30th. Thankfully we had

nice weather. The kids did "feet painting" outside.

The wind made it a little hard to keep the paper on the ground.

I'm sure Bob appreciated the red & blue grass!

Then we did some fingerpainting with chocolate pudding.

I'm not sure they did much painting but they enjoyed

eating the "paint"! Everyone gets in on the painting.

Hayden & Berlin running down the paper.

Egan priming his feet-he wasn't too sure

about the whole process here.

Eli getting into the chocolate painting.

Owen & Hayden seem to be buddies-enjoying

their chocolate pudding. Owen still had his

hand wrapped from his burn.

Eva says "yum"!

Kaylee & Grace were much more subdued about this activity.

Egan really got into the chocolate painting!!

Poor Ethan-he's just not old enough to enjoy

Nana Camp. Neither is Carter, (didn't get his pic),
Katie J.'s baby-he just watched from the car seat. :(

Eli was anxious to get in the pool-didn't want to

wait for a bathing suit!

Quilting

2009-07-29T17:54:00.001-07:00

I've been in a sewing mood most of the summer.

I like to make quilts for the new babies & with

two new babies this summer I got to do lots of

sewing. I also made a twin size quilt for Owen

since he gave up his crib for his new brother Ethan.

He's not really in a twin bed yet but I figured a twin would

last him longer than a smaller one. :) This quilt is Ethan's-transportation theme. I love

bright colors for baby quilts.

This is Owen's. He likes to run his cars on his
bed so I made one with "roads" on it. The design
looks a little wierd but he can have fun racing
his "cool cars" around on it.

This one is for Amanda & James' baby girl who
isn't born yet & so doesn't have a name!
Mandy wanted something old fashioned &
shabby chic so I did a Sunbonnet Sue pattern.
My grandma made me one of these when I was a little girl.
It was fun working on all the quilts.

Nana Camp # 3

2009-07-21T17:50:00.001-07:00

Nana Camp # 3 the kids decorated bug jars, then we

went out & looked for bugs! Found a few. We made lunch

& then they played in the pools. Owen & Grace

Eva & Egan

Egan & Owen enjoying dirt cups.

Grace had a daddy long legs in her

bug catcher.

Owen

Egan using the bug net to catch bugs-I'm

not sure he caught any!

Kaylee

Heather helps the kids look in the grass for bugs.

Grace working on her bug jar.

Cody helps Egan put glue on his lid.

Heather helping Owen-he had a disadvantage

with his burned hand all bandaged up-but he

did pretty good.

I love Michigan!

2009-07-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

One Sunday Bob & I drove up the east

coast of the "thumb". We stopped in Lexington

& checked out the shops, & stopped at a

couple roadside parks. It was a beautiful day.

We took along a picnic lunch & sat looking out

at Lake Huron. I love living in MI & being so

close to the Great Lakes. We stopped at White Rock

where there's a white rock (hmm) out in the

water that marked the northern most boundary

for the white man back in the day. It was a sacred rock

for the Indians & there was an interesting story to go

with it. We stopped at Point Aux Barques lighthouse.

They had a nice museum with info about

shipwrecks in Lake Huron. We stopped at the

beach in Port Austen, had dinner at Lefty's

drive in in Caseville (great onion rings!) & then

headed home. A very nice, relaxing day. :)Point Aux Barques lighthouse

The white rock out in the lake-kinda hard to see.

Our picnic view-much more beautiful than the picture tho.

Funny Boys

2009-07-21T17:23:00.001-07:00

Owen & Egan came over one day. It's funny to watch the two

of them together. They played in the monkey pool-getting in

& out, getting grass all over themselves. Owen likes to

drink the water. Sliding on the banana slide
Owen drinking the water

Owen with raspberries on his fingers.

Egan got it started so of course they

both had to do it! :)

Yummy raspberries!

Grandchild # 8!!

2009-07-06T13:07:00.001-07:00

Ethan Rome Mattila was born on July 6, 2009 at 12:43am. He weighed 7# 4oz., 20 1/2 " long.

Heather had a pretty quick labor, especially compared to last time!

We watched Owen overnight, then took him up to see his "baby brother"

later in the morning. John & Ethan
Heather, Ethan & Owen

Baby Ethan

Owen liked holding his baby brother

Before the bath

Independence Day

2009-07-06T12:49:00.001-07:00

John, Heather & Owen came over for the Fourth.

We cooked out on the fire, played bocce ball & set off some fireworks. Playing bocce ball
Making s'mores

The loud fireworks scared Owen

John setting off firecrackers

Owen & Papa played a little golf

John had to do the traditional run around the

house before the sparkler burns out all by himself this year.

He made it. Bob & I also ran around with the sparklers & made

it too. We sort of cheated by using the big sparklers. :)

We got some Japanese lanterns that were sort of like

hot air balloons. You lit it & it floated as the air inside got hot.

It was really cool to watch & they went quite high & traveled a long way.

Nana Camp

2009-07-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

We've had Nana Camp twice so far. The first day was

really nice weather. We painted backpacks, went for a hike,

ate & the kids played in the sprinkler. My co-worker/friend, Katie

came with her two boys. I'm pretty sure I took some pictures but... I can't find

them. :-( So here are pictures from our second "camp". It was a rainy day

so we had an indoor art day. We did marble painting, Q-tip painting & ice cube painting.

It was a little crazy but I think the kids had fun. Erin marble painting
Grace ice cube painting

Owen shakes his marbles.

Kaylee marble painting

Eli wasn't too crazy about sitting & painting

but we did get him to ice cube paint.

Berlin putting marbles in her box.

Egan ice cube painting

Zoo Day

2009-07-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

We took a family trip to the Detroit Zoo on June 29th.

We had beautiful weather. Niece Lindsay came along with us.

There was a special Dinosaur exhibit that the kids enjoyed. We rented

a wheelchair for James because his back is still hurting him. Eva & Grace check out the otter skin.
Egan watching the alligators, I think

Grace

Eli

Egan & Owen at the fountain

The whole family (except Erin & Timmy)

Berlin wasn't so sure about the dinosaurs.

We tried to get all the kids but Egan kept moving before

we could get the picture!

Owen, Berlin, Grace, Egan, Kaylee w/Eli

Eva

Berlin & Papa

John & cousin Lindsay-she was a great help with the kids!!

Washington DC

2009-07-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Gettysburg, Washington DC & Antietam for a week in June with

our friends Dan & Judy. Lots of walking but we had beautiful weather.

So much history there. I took a million pictures so these are only a few... ;) Getttysburg
Michigan Monument

Bob, Judy, Judy W. & Dan

Memorial for the Irish Brigade-I thought this was neat.

There was an Indian restaurant withing walking distance

of our hotel so we went there for dinner one night.

Not exactly sure what we had but it was good.

The Washington Monument-I just liked this picture.

World War II Memorial

Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Lincoln Memorial, of course!

Vietnam Memorial

Dan's high school locker partner was killed in

Vietnam & he found his name on the wall. Judy W.

also had a friend that was killed & she found his name.

The Metro-we rode this in everyday to the city.

They had a fatal accident on the line we rode

but it was at the other end.

White House-we couldn't go in for a tour.

FDR Memorial

Tomb of the Unknown-it's always such

a touching & solemn ceremony to watch.

Old Post Office

Looking down Pennsylvania Ave. towards the

Capitol from the top of the Old Post Office-

free & the lines aren't as long as at the

Washington Monument.

Moongate garden in DC -we enjoyed

walking through the gardens. Lots of flowers

& fountains.

U.S. Capitol rotunda-We had to get a

pass from one of our Senators to take

a tour of the Capitol. It was really neat

to see & learn about it.

Antietam battlefield

Antietam-picture from the war & where it took place.

2009-07-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Timmy & Erin Visit!!

Erin & Timmy came for a visit in May! We had a great

weekend-very busy trying to visit as much as possible.

They visited the grandmas & then everyone came over here

& we went to John & Heathers Sunday evening.

We had a great time-only wish they lived nearer. :-( Timmy & Erin at John & Heather's house.
Dave with the kids (except Berlin & Eli who weren't there)

Making s'mores.

Grace caught a frog in the pond & then let it go.

Then she tried to catch it again & fell into the pond

when none of the grownups were out there.

Fortunately she was able to get out by herself!

Erin & Owen taking a hike in the woods. Erin & Timmy brought their Wii

so we did a little"bowling".

Kaylee & Egan helping Papa fly the

kite-everyone wanted a turn.

Tim giving Egan & Berlin a ride

Amanda, Kate & Cody chilling.

Birthdays!Grace celebrated her 6th birthday-that doesn't seem possible.

Egan enjoying his cake on his 2nd birthday.

Berlin turns 3!

Birthdays

2009-03-06T13:55:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Owen's second birthday at John & Heather's house.

He really loves cars-all cars are "cool" cars. I think John's

indoctrinating him! :) He wasn't real sure how to blow out the candle.

Egan, Berlin, Eli & Owen enjoying cake & ice cream.

Owen likes "cool cars".

He liked his vacuum cleaner too.

Owen & Egan had fun bouncing on their dad's legs.

We should have gotten Eli in there.

We went to James & Amanda's to celebrate Eli's first birthday.

It was a "knight" theme. Lots of family & good food.

Eli enjoyed his cupcake-too bad it wasn't chocolate!

Grace is giving the dragon a hug.

The kids all got blow up swords. They had fun fighting each other.

Babysitting

2009-03-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

We babysat for Berlin & Eli overnight so James & Amanda could get away for her birthday.We had a fun time & they slept through the night!! :) Eli liked playing with the play dough & trying to eat it.

Berlin likes to cut & glue.

Making "music".

Looking out the window with the binoculars.

Berlin & Papa had fun outside.

Welcome Conley

2009-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

We've finally become a great aunt & uncle. Conley Edward was born on Nov. 6, 2008. Dan & Kelly came in this weekend from MN so Conley could meet his "troll" family. (Kelly's from the U.P.) It was nice to see most of the whole family-it doesn't happen too often. We even got to see cousins Bill & Marilyn. The little kids were wild, running around the ping pong table & trying to electrocute themselves by sticking their fingers in the electrical outlets. (Barb, gotta childproof that house now!) But we all had a good time together. Kelly, Dan & Conley

Proud grandparents-Barb & Rob with Conley

Aunt Kate & Conley

Jennie gave Kaylee a piano lesson

We tried to get a picture of all the cousins but that's like herding a bunch of cats! Kaylee didn't want her picture taken but she did get behind the couch for one. Unfortunately, we hadn't gotten Eli in there yet so we never did get all 8 of them in one picture because then Kaylee left. As you can see by the pictures none of them were still at the same time & it just sort of deteriorated-but it was pretty funny!

Eli, Owen, Berlin, Grace, Conley, Eva, Egan

We're outta here!!!

Old Friends

2009-02-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

Old friends are good friends. Sue, Kathy, Margaret & I roomed for a year together at Eastern Michigan University in the "70's". I've known Sue since kindergarten, Kathy since junior high & Margaret since high school-she's now my sister-in-law. We lost touch for a few years but reconnected. Now we go on a long weekend trip each year. We meet for lunch, which we did last week, early in the year to plan (and eat of course! :)) We plan to go to Brown County, IN this summer. It's always interesting to see how we've changed over the years.

January Chill

2009-01-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

Haven't really been doing anything too exciting this month. Just kind of tired of the snow & cold with a touch of "cabin fever". I've worked on a couple quilts but haven't finished anything. I started a Facebook page-interesting to learn something about that. The teacher I work with is on maternity leave so we've had a sub. But that means I have to take on more of a "teacherly" role with the high school students in addition to being the preschool teacher/director. It's funny because some of the students also have the "other" Mrs. Mattila. The preschoolers are all a little crazy too for lack of outdoor time. But soon it will be spring (I hope). We went over to the Animal Center at school the other day to see the piglets & lambs. So cute!

Babysitting

2009-01-11T10:32:00.001-08:00

Just some random pictures from when we babysat Egan & Kate's girls. :)

Egan & Papa playing cars

Eva feeding the monkey

Kaylee's Birthday

2009-01-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

A horse for her Amercian Girl doll

Kaylee & her birthday cake

Our oldest grandchild, Kaylee, turned 7 on December 29th. Kate, Dave & the girls, and Tim, Cody & Egan came to our house for dinner. The others couldn't come. Kaylee's really been into the American Girl dolls-she has Ivy, so that's what she wanted for her birthday. I had fun making some clothes for her doll.

Christmas Day

2009-01-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

No pictures. We went to our friends, Dan & Judy's for Christmas dinner. That was a first, not being with family on Christmas. We had a nice time. Good dinner & played a little Mexican Train Dominoes. It was a nice relaxing day.

Christmas Eve 2008

2009-01-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

The great-grandmas-Bob's mom, Barbara & my mom, Joyce

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

The fireplace picture-

Kaylee, Grace, Eva, Berlin, Owen, Egan & Elijah

The chaos

We spend each Christmas Eve at the Mattila's. This year with my dad gone my mom spent it with us also. We take a traditional "fireplace" picture-usually of the grandkids, but there's so many of them now we've moved on to taking the great-grandkids. They're not very cooperative though so we get what we get! Aunt Jo still insists on giving ALL the kids stockings still! I'm sure they don't really mind! All the adults bring a small gift for their same sex to exchange. We draw numbers to open gifts. They can also be "stolen" from someone else but most of them are just too nice to do it!

Christmas with the Kids

2009-01-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

The tree & presents completely dwarfs Eva!

The dinner table-we put 3 long tables together!

Berlin & Amanda

Egan & Cody

Grace, Kate & Eva

Dave & the girls-Eva, Grace & Kaylee

lighting candles as we read the Christmas story.

Elijah opens a gift with help from mom Amanda

Owen & Egan got big Tonka trucks. They had fun riding in them

while their dads raced them around the house.

John's giving Owen a ride here.

We were able to share Christmas with Timmy & Erin using a webcam.

That was really nice-although not as nice as having them here!

Doctor Berlin

We had Christmas with the kids on the Sunday before Christmas. It was the only time we could all get together. We had a good time. The grandkids got lots of presents. We took turns reading the Christmas story from the Bible & each family took a turn lighting a candle. Sort of like the advent candles but we did them all in one day. I enjoyed that-it added to our celebration. For dinner we put three tables together so we could all sit together. I don't know what we'll do when we have more people! Our camera is dying so I got my dad's camera which doesn't seem to take real good pictures. Plus we didn't have the USB cord for it so I had to order one. So most of the pictures aren't very good. :-(

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-19T09:58:00.001-08:00

Judy untangling the village lights.

Bob decorating the tree.

We finally broke down and got an artificial tree a couple years ago. We put it up last Sunday along with my village.

Grandma Mattila's 90th Birthday

2008-12-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Grandma Mattila with her birthday crown and cake.

I had to "steal" this picture from Tim & Cody's blog

because our camera is dying & I didn't get a good picture.

(Sorry guys)

Eva & Berlin give a "cousin" hug.

Berlin

Dave & Grace

Owen doing his part to decorate the tree.

All the "kids" have a stocking at Grandma's.

I don't know how many more we can fit on this mantel!

Emma

Eva & Lindsay decorating the tree.

Every year we go to the Mattila's to celebrate Barbara's birthday & set up & decorate the Christmas tree. This year JoEllen set the tree up ahead of time & put it in a different spot!!! We're messing with tradition here! But it did make the job go faster & gives us more room for this growing family, which will be bigger by two next year as we are expecting two more grandchildren this summer thanks to John & Heather and James & Amanda. (Yippee!)

This was a special birthday as Grandma turned 90 years old. She asked the caregiver in the morning, "Do you think I'll make it to 100?" That would be something!

Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Eli just enjoyed eating the graham crackers.

Berlin working on her house.

Kaylee eats candy while she spreads frosting.

Grace added a two-story cookie porch to her house

Eva & her gingerbread house

We babysat Kate's girls overnight so we decorated gingerbread houses for fun. Kaylee & Grace really got into it and spent a lot of time put candy on their houses. Eva put some on but enjoyed eating the candy more. The girls also enjoyed jumping on the mattresses. I remember their mom and aunt & uncles doing the same thing! A few days later I watched Berlin & Eli. Berlin decorated a graham cracker house. It didn't have enough time to dry & started to fall apart but she had fun.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Timmy & Erin

Grandma Mattila

Dan, Jo & the caregiver (forgot her name)

Grandma Polsgrove & Kate

We spent Thanksgiving with the Mattilas. Timmy & Erin were able to come up from KS to be with us. My mom also spent Thanksgiving with us-I think there were 26? of us. Lots of fun. The kids also came over Friday evening after the girls all went "Black Friday" shopping so they could spend more time with Erin & Timmy before they left on Sunday. We played Party Pictionary.

Autumn Fun

2008-12-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

Sir Owen

Egan the dragon/dinosaur

Monkey Eli

The kids came over to celebrate Bob's birthday on Nov. 1st so the grandkids wore their Halloween costumes and Bob and Tim took them on a "hayride" in the trailer behind the lawn tractor.

Caseville

2008-12-01T14:56:00.000-08:00

The girls-who are going to hate me for posting this picture :)

Amanda, Kate, Erin, Heather, Cody

The Guys-John, James, Tim, Dave, Bob, Timmy

It's a real challenge to get a picture of the grandkids where everyone is looking!

Egan, Owen, Berlin, Grace, Elijah, Kaylee, Eva

Building a sand castle.

We take up a big chunk of beach!

Erin and Timmy came in from Kansas City over Labor Day weekend! We had a great visit. The whole family went to the state park in Caseville at the tip of the thumb for a beach day. It was wonderful to be together. We also went to Arts, Beats and Eats in Pontiac with Erin and Timmy.

Hocking Hills

2008-12-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

"Emma's Lunchbox Cafe"-an interesting place to eat!

Margaret had a book of "Ohio Oddities" and this was one of them! There was

a whole field of concrete corn in front of an office building.

A topiary garden in Columbus, OH based on Georges Seurat's painting

"A Sunday Afternoon on the Ile de La Grande Jatte"

Judy, Sue, Kathy and Margaret

Every year I go on a long weekend trip with my roommates from Eastern. This year we went to the Hocking Hills area of Ohio. Very pretty. We always have a good time exploring, shopping, eating and playing Mexican Train dominoes.

Summer Time

2008-11-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

Berlin and the other girls got real paint!

Owen and the chocolate pudding

More Nana Camp-Egan fingerpainting with chocolate pudding

Hanging out on Nana and Papa's bed

Elijah

Papa and Berlin share a cookie break

Some random pictures from the summer.

Camping with the Girls

2008-11-29T08:45:00.000-08:00

Grace catching fireflies

Kaylee and Eva-pretty tired after a full day

Grace, Eva and Kaylee check out the furs at the Ranger Station

We borrowed my brother Rob's camper-nice-it has a bathroom!

We went camping with Kate's girls for a weekend to Sleepy Hollow State Park. It rained off and on all weekend but it was still fun.

Upper Penisula

2008-11-29T08:24:00.000-08:00

Dan and Judy at Kitch-it-ti-kipi

At Fayette

Bob and Judy at one of the many waterfalls.

Miner's Castle

Dan and Bob

We went camping in the UP with our friends Dan and Judy Weir. We visited Fayette, Seney Wildlife Refuge, Pictured Rocks and did some hiking and canoeing. It wasn't real warm but it was fun.

Florida-January 2008

2008-11-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

Well, this is out of order but I wanted to do a "year in review" since it took me so long to post anything on this blog. This is our last visit to Florida before Dad died in May. Both Rob and Barb and Bob and I went down to visit Mom and Dad in Largo after Dad found out about his cancer-a bittersweet visit.

Nana Camp

2008-11-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Kaylee, Kate and Eva

Kaylee leads the hike through the woods.

Berlin and Amanda making pizza

Heather and Owen

Cody and Egan painting a T-shirt

This summer the daughters and grandkids all came over every other week for "Nana Camp". We did projects, took hikes and of course ate! Lots of craziness and fun.

2008-11-29T07:33:00.000-08:00

This is the whole family, kids and spouses and grandkids-March 2008

My First Post

2008-11-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I've had this blog for over a year & have never posted anything. So I'm going to give it a shot-if I can figure it out! I'm going to try & post some pictures from this year. :)