Happy Birthday to my nephew Adam

I want to wish my very special nephew, Adam, a happy birthday! I don't get to see Adam as much as I want, but he and I have always had a special connection. He is a good young man and I think the world of him. He is the son of my brother Bill. Rebecca and Alicia are Bill's daughters. Can you tell this photo is not a recent one? I do look a little younger and, well, I do have body parts that I don't have now.Rebecca, MK, Adam, and Alicia

Who said harvest is hard work?

I didn't have a chance to post these photos during harvest, but I wanted to share these because they tell an important part of harvest. For those of you who are harvest 'rookies' or city people, harvest is usually the busiest time of the year because so many chores need to be done at the same time. Not only are farmers busy harvesting wheat, they are also planting milo and silage feed, swathing and baling hay, and ton of other minor chores. AND, for those who also have cattle, there is daily feeding. It would take a long time to list all of the chores and tasks to be completed. My point is that Kevin, Matt, and Joey had very little time for sleep. I took these photos right after lunch on a rain delay during harvest. Each one of the boys (they are still boys to me) took a few minutes of sleep before heading back to work. They really were all sleeping at the same time.

Kevin

Matt

Joey

Happy Anniversary John and Stacia

John and Stacia

I just had to post a couple photos of John and Stacia's daughter Natalie.

I love Natalie's expression. She was very serious about playing the piano.

Vegas Baby!!

Susan, Nancy and I spent a few days in Las Vegas for a little quiet time. Oops, there is nothing quiet about Vegas. AND, I want to know who said it won't feel as hot because it is a dry heat. IT WAS HOT. It felt every bit of the 100+ degrees. Ok, so I didn't sweat as much, but it still felt really, really hot!! We had a great time and probably walked 100 miles or more. At least that is what it felt like to me. We did lots of sight seeing of the hotels, watched a couple of shows, played a few slots, ate interesting food, people-watched, and walked and walked and walked.

Susan and Nancy on the steps of our hotel - the Venetian. In the background you can see the hotel Mirage. We watched a Cirque du Soleil show called Love - it was based on the music of the Beatles. We also attended the show - Jersey Boys, which was based on Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Needless to say, we did a lot of singing along with the music in both shows.

Susan put ONE dollar into a slot machine as we waited to be seated for dinner just after we arrived at the hotel - and she immediately won $15. Of course, she cashed it out to prove that she won.

Susan and Nancy at the Bellagio water show. You can see Caesar's Palace on the left and Bally's sign on the right.

Ok, so maybe I broke all the photography rules with this photo - I have a balloon growing out of Susan's head. The balloon is in front of the Paris hotel, you can also see the replica of the Eiffel Tower in the background. We went to the top of the tower for a night view of the Las Vegas strip. The tower is one-third the size of the actual one in Paris.

Nancy and I in front of the Luxor hotel. It is the one built in the shape of a pyramid.

Happy Anniversary to Debbie and Greg

My sister Debbie and my brother-in-law in Greg - Happy Anniversary!

Ok, since Debbie had a little bit of a groggy look on her face in the previous photo, I thought I would include this one as well. It is from Jody's graduation for her master's degree in May.

Mostly about cousins Hallie and Anna

Anna and Grandpa Siefers

Anna

Sam

Hallie

Nancy

Nancy mediated a few disagreements between Anna and Hallie

I think things were getting a little tense for Anna at the moment I took this photo.

Hallie

Anna

Sam

Hallie didn't mind that Anna dumped water on her during their bath.

Anna was really getting into her work of bathing Hallie.

Hallie

Anna

School of Leadership Studies July Birthday party

We celebrated July birthdays at the School of Leadership Studies today at the Manhattan Country Club buffet. We (formerly known as Leadership Studies and Programs) became our own school on July 1. We are still working out many of the details, but the transition has gone smoothly to this point. As you probably remember, we broke ground in April for a new building on campus. The actual ground breaking will occur late this fall or early in 2009. If you have an extra million or two, please let me know and I can arrange for a room or two to be named after you. I have a feeling most of you reading this are probably in the category of getting a stapler or paper clip named after you.

Some of the group at the party: Suzanne, Lynda, Kim, Dana, Sue, MK, Candi, Monica, Grace, Julie, Alicia, Irma, Todd, John, and DeMarcus

MK, Sue, Kim, Suzanne, Lynda, and Irma

Susan gave Todd the 'atta boy' slap. Grace just hoped she wouldn't be next.

Todd and Alicia in their 'cheesy' pose.

The birthday girls: MK, Irma, Sue, and Monica with Kim in the front. She was the only one young enough to actually get back up from a kneeling position.

Sue and Alicia just could not resist hiding in the gardens at the Country Club

Irma and son DeMarcus

Ben and Candi