Gramma Mae

Ok, I haven't posted anything in a long time because Brendt and I haven't been home! I will try to get pics up for all of our latest adventures starting now with our trip to Valentine for Gramma Mae's 85th birthday! I have a ton of pictures so I'll try to keep my comments to a minimum, but you know how I like to ramble....

I just thought a picture of a buffalo would be a good way to start a post about Western Nebraska. =) I took this at the wildlife refuge just outside of town.

Alright, so here is the woman of honor, Gramma Mae. She turned 85 this year and we all came out to celebrate!

So looking thru my pictures, it seems that the kiddos were the real show stealers of this post. Here is Taylor giving me a flower for my hair.

Of course, I wore it proudly.

We tried to make Taylor a flower wreath for her own hair, but it turned into more of a flower lump. It is still cute on her--I think she pulls it off nicely.

No this is not father and son and as far as I know them dressing alike was an accident...

The youngsters all played softball in the front lawn. I thought this was the best shot since Zach looked so intense and you can see the ball zipping at him at the top left.

Dance party on the porch!

Ok, I had to post all these pinata pictures. Just look how cute and trusting the colorful little dragonfly is! Emily is up first and she doesn't burst him. I am thinking she doesn't have the heart. Just look at that little smiling pink face...

Taylor takes a couple swings, but I think she didn't really have the heart to beat the living daylights out of it either.

And neither did Gwynn.

But the second my husband gets up to bat, this is what happens. Poor little guy never saw it coming. He still has a big grin on his face.

Yep, I married into this.

Later that night, Kaela and I got our nails and makeup done by Gabby and Taylor.

The finished product!

Just outside of Valentine there is an old railroad that was converted into a walking bridge. We had to stop there on our way out of town.

This is just the path to get out there. I was trying to capture the remoteness of it all.

If you look closely at the side of the walkway, you can see the old railroad ties.

This was our bit of excitement on our walk back! We spotted a goose on the side of the cliff. Since geese don't normall make nests so far from the water or in places so difficult to hike their babies to the water, Brendt's aunt Joyce decided to get a closer look.

When she got closer, she saw that there was a snake in the nest trying to eat the eggs!

Luckily, Brendt's dad was brave enough to pull the snake out by the tail and send it on its way.

The snake scene was a great ending to a fabulous trip out to western Nebraska. I look forward to Gramma Mae's 90th!