MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

From our family to yours we wish you a blessed Christmas!

PAT AND GEORGE IN OUR MOTORHOME ON CHRISTMAS EVE

We wish you all good tidings and good health in 2011.  We sincerely hope the new year will be a better year for you, your family and for the United States.  We know many are going through a rough patch but we Americans are resilient and we will find a way out of the economic mess that seems to have mired the country into thinking that we are 2nd class ...we are not and it is up to each of us to start thinking like our forefathers and energize this country.

We want to thank each of you that have read our blog and hopefully enjoyed our travels the past year.  We will continue our travels through the backyards of America.  We have, however, had to alter our immediate plans of traveling to Florida for the rest of the winter.  Due to a medical problem, we need to stay in colorful Colorado for the immediate future.  If things change we will update you all on our blog. 

Again, Merry Christmas and we hope you have a wonderful New Year

Kasey celebrates his 1st birthday!

Kasey bundled up for a night a the zoo lights

This is for Tom Graue --saw this razorback and since the hogs will be playing the Buckeyes I thought it was appropriate that the hog is all lit up but is going no where -  Go Bucks light up the hogs!!

Happy birthday Kasey!

Was it good?

David and Nikki wearing their birthday hats - where is Karsten's hat?

The party begins !  Notice the wine goblets (Nikki and Amy's)

Can you believe that Kasey is one year old today?

Christmas in Colorado

Our host for the Cannode Christmas

Pat and George waiting for the gifts

Amy, Karsten, Kris and Kasey all decked out for Christmas

Am I in jail - oh no it is just a way to prevent me from exploring Uncle David and Aunt Nikki's house

I can open my own gifts but did you see what is behind me?

We had a great time at the Cannode's Christmas (the Sunday before Christmas).  It was a great meal, too many presents, and a lot of laughs and fun!  David and Nikki were the perfect hosts.  The highlights of the day were the grandbabies openning their gifts (well at least they tried - maybe next year).  It is always very nice to get together with the boys and their families.

We hope you all will be with loved ones and experience the joy of family and friends.  Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and to enjoy the love of the season.

             Merry Christmas to all and we hope yours is filled with laughter, joy, and good health!

Thanksgiving and Cowboy Christmas Dinner!

It is very seldom that we can get our family together for a night out but it is even more of an occasion when we can get Bob and Donna's family and our family out for a dinner and entertainment.  But we made it, all 14 of us went out to the Flying W  ranch for a night out.  It was a great night and the food was outstanding.  We all thoughly enjoyed the diner and the band played some really great western Christmas songs.  The best part of the night was watching Kasey - he was really at the top of his game.

Kasey putting a rib bone into Grandpa's mouth

Little get together after the dinner at the motorhome

Thanksgiving

Kasey and Grandpa

We spent Thanksgiving with Kris and Amy and the super K's, while David and Nikki spent the day with Nikki's parents.  As usual the boys kept everyone on their feet and happy with their antics.  Although the Kris and Amy cooked a wonderful meal and we were able to go for a walk afterward eventhough the weather turned a little cold during our walk and we think both K's caught a minor cold, which they promptly gave to us.  All is well though.

We will try to update everyone on our Christmas just as soon as I correcty a bug with this blog...won't let me post any pictures.  Stay tuned

 

Friends Make the World Go Around!

December has started out to be a good one for us.  Of course we are still looking after the super K's and that is more than we could ever imagined.  But we recieved an email from a long time friend, Tom Graue, and he said he was on the road to home to Tucson but was coming through Denver.  We visited Tom and Maryann, his much better half, in March and was so glad to hear that Tom was coming through Denver.  As chance would have it we were in north Denver for a doctor's appointment when Tom was driving down
I-25.  We were able to hook up just one exit past our doctor's appointment and convoy down to Kris and Amy's house together.  Bob and Donna were watching the babies while we were at the doctor's so they were able to visit with Tom also.

Pat, Tom, Donna , Bob and the K's

Tom was able to stay overnight with us giving us a chance to catch up and plan future hookups!  We think he enjoyed Kasey and Karsten more than visiting with us but we will take any time with our friends.  Hopefully, we all will meet up this summer on our travels to the west coast.

Tom, Karsten, Kasey, George

Thanks Tom,  for going out of your way to stop by for a visit.  We can not believe we are so fortunate to have friends like Tom and Maryann and the many friends we have met over a lifetime. 

We hope you all are enjoying this holiday season.  Get out to visit your friends and family.  Love and friendships makes everything just a little bit better and Tom made ours a whole lot better!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of our friends and family we want to send out a prayer for a very Happy Thanksgiving!  We realize it has been a very stressful year.  Never in our lifetime have we had such a downturn in the economy, one that has left many Americans searching for jobs and wondering how they will pay their bills.  We hope and pray that things pickup in 2011 and businesses will start hiring.  In the meantime we need to look after each other and be there for each other until better times come along.  Thanksgiving is more than just an overindulgent holiday, it is a time to reflect on family and friends, to reach out and tell love ones how much we care for them and if need be offer support.  We hope you all are safe and healthy for the holiday season and that you take good care of yourselves until we meet again in 2011.

We are still in Colorado and are really enjoying watching the grand babies.  We are as tired as we have ever been in our lives but we would not change one second of our lives.  With Christmas right around the corner we are looking forward to celebrating with Kris, Amy, Kasey, Karsten, David, Nikki, Ty and Milie at David's house.  We are sure it will not be boring!   We will be leaving Colorado right after Christmas but will be leaving with very mixed emotions.  On one hand we would love to be with Kasey and Karsten forever but we also know that mom and dad deserve their time with the boys!  We will have plenty of pictures to remember our time with the boys and we also have Skype so maybe we will not be too homesick.  Thought we would add a few pictures to the blog to give you an idea of how much fun we are having!

Grandma, Kasey, and Grandpa

Kasey helping swing Karsten - he is such a big help!

Karsten sleeps in a fighter position -  Maybe he knows Kasey will be over to help him again!

Carter lets Kasey do everything including taking his bone right out of his mouth!  Of course, Carter also sits right under Kasey's high chair whenever Kasey eats!  Never bite the hand that feeds you!

Mom does nails - Kasey is not real  happy!

Again we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!  Have fun over the holiday's and please be safe so we may see you in 2011! 

It is a great life!

As we sit here in Colorado and the snow is falling along with the temps, we think we are the luckiest people in the world.  We could be anywhere in the world right now but we get to be with Kasey and Karsten all day long for five days a week.  Never in our wildest dreams could we believe that we would have grandchildren and get to experience what many of you have done for many years.  We get to see them grow and change everyday, we get to laugh at their antics, worry when they cry and play with them all the time.  It is a great life!
Here are a few pictures of the "boys":

Donna stopped by to see the Karsten

Kasey thinks that two are better than one!

Grandpa and his buddy  Kasey

It is snowing!

Am I not the best looking guy under 3 months old

Hope you enjoyed the pics.  We have been all over the world and see many backyards but this backyard with these two little guys has to be the best backyard and think it will only get better.  Until next time we will sign off for now - we hope you all are enjoying your backyards as much as we do with the "boys"!

Karsten and Kasey - The Incredible K's

Kasey is starting early with his football career (looks like he doesn't need that sock much longer)

Karsten is starting to learning how to ham it up for the camera (wonder who he gets that from - Mom??)

We have started our babysitting stint with Kasey and Karsten.  We have only been doing it for two weeks but what fun it has been for us...those two will keep you  busy and you will get tired but ..... WOW!  They are changing everyday and if we could not do this for Kris and Amy we would have missed the double K's doing so many firsts.  Kasey is exploring his world and everyday is a new adventure for him and us!  Feeding Kasey is going to be a challenge for Kris and Amy...he eats like a horse (and he deposits just like a horse also).  Karsten is developing his personality and everyday he is getting stronger and changing his looks and what he does...no longer can you expect him to sleep and eat all day, he demands attention and rewards you with smiles and giggles.  He is also getting ready to turn over so we nned to keep a little more than one eye on him the next couple of weeks.  Here are a few pics of the boys!

Kasey loves to swing!

A little horse for halloween!

Grandma holding Tigger and watching the horse!

We only watch the boys Monday through Friday afternoon so we "rest" on the weekends down at the Air Force Academy.  We also get to visit with David and Nikki,

Walking with Nikki, Pat , David and their babies!

Ty dresses up as a K-9 for halloween, Miley was not as cooperative!

Life just does not get any better for a grandfather and grandmother than watching their two babies growing up and seeing the daily changes in their lives.  We love our life and are so happy to be able to help the kids out while still getting to do the things we want to do while we are still young!  Ok maybe we are not so young anymore but the double K's will make you wish you were still young!

Have a great day and get out and enjoy your life and stop a smell the flowers in you backyard!

Watching Kasey!

We got an early start on our babysitting when Amy's sister had her baby early.  Amy took Karsten north to North Dakota to see the new baby and her sister.  We thought you would be amused with some of the Kasey antics.  These pics are a day in the life of Kasey Cannode.

Traveling with Kasey

Yea! I'm with Grandma and Grandpa

I can feed myself

On a walk with Grandma

I love my tunnel

It is more fun on its side!

Who is that?

We are having a ball watching this young guy grow into a toddler and will be even happier when this little brother joins the fun.

Karsten pondering his future!

This is the picture we will soon see when we get to watch both boys.

For the next two months we will be watching the boys five days a week and we hope you enjoy their lives through this blog!  They really are the lights of our lives, just wish we had their energy.  Stay tuned for life with the double K's!

Karsten, Kasey,and more!

Grandpa and Grandma with Karsten

As you all know by now (or at least you should) we have a new grandson - "Karsten"  although he is new to the world he has been loved by all of us since we found out Amy was carrying him way back in March.  He is a beautiful baby (yes, we are prejudice) but he seems so small compared to his big brother.  Kasey has touched our hearts everyday of his life but we didn't realize how big he has gotten until we saw him side by side with little Karsten.  We are truly blessed to have two wonderful grandchildren!

Kris with his boys!

Our next trip will back to Ohio and it will be a very hard trip because of Kasey and Karsten but the good thing is that they will be joining us on Oct 2 for a week in Ohio.  We will be the advanced party for their trip and we need to ensure the babies have everything they need for their visit.  We will leave Colorado the first week in September and connect with Clyde and Rose and Dick and Karen preparing for Kasey and Karsten's visit.   After the kids fly back to Colorado we will pack up our motor home and join them so we can babysit the boys until Christmas, while Kris and Amy work.  Don't know how two old people are going to stay up with a couple of babies but it sure will be fun trying!  We also will be hooking up with Bob and Donna sometime in October - seems like an eternity since we all were together!  We have missed them on our late spring and summer travels. 

We have been pretty busy helping David build a 20x16 foot storage shed.  David and Nikki will be posting pics on their blog in a few days but you will not be able to tell how much work went into that shed.  David said it is the only structure that he owns or has ever work on that is square.  The floor, walls and roof are all square (we know amazing huh).  We are putting on finishing touches this weekend so watch for their blog (you can use the link on the top right to access their blog - Mr. and Mrs. Cannode).

George, Kris and Amy, and David took in a Bronco's preseason game.  Although, George and David sat in Kris and Amy's season ticket seats while they sat in Club seats courtesy of the owner of the company where Amy works.  But a good time was had by all - btw- do not look for the Broncos to do well this season and please don't bet on them 

George, David, and Kris in front of the Broncos at Mile Hi

(Amy's taking the pic)

As we wrap up our visit back to Colorado for Karsen's birth we would like to thank our sons and daughter-in laws for their hospitality.  They have been exceptionally nice to us on this visit because we didn't bring our home on wheels with us this time.  We hope we were not too much trouble and promise to bring our home with us in the future.  We have enjoyed their backyards as much as any we found on our travels - probably more because we love all six of them and if it was not for Skype we could not stand to be away from them for very long.

Our message for this blog is: enjoy you children and grandchildren - remember they may be deciding which nursing home you are put into - shady pines or autumn leaf!  Not that you will know much by that time!

Take care and enjoy all your backyards 

Karsten George Cannode's Birthday!!!!

A very tired and loving Amy and a sleepy Karsten

He is here!! Karsten George Cannode was born early on August 25, 2010 at 5:41 AM.  His stats are 21" long, 7 lbs. 3 oz.  Amy and Karsten are in great shape (although very tired),  He has a full head of dark brown hair (see pic below) and a very soft cry for now.  He has very long fingers and by the size of his feet - well you know what they say about big feet!  His big brother, Kasey, Grandma Mattson and Grandpa and Grandma Cannode joined Kris and Amy at the hospital for Karsten's birth day. 

Look everyone I have more hair than my big brother!

Presenting Family Cannode -  Kris, Amy, Kasey (big brother and big smile) and Karsten (the little one under Amy's hand is Karsten)

  Long night Kris?  We think Dad is a little tired too!!

Aunt Nikki (who took off work early) and Uncle David couldn't wait to get their hands on their newest nephew.  They are very proud of Kasey and now Karsten!   In a light hearted moment, David told Amy (when everyone was cooing over Karsten), " Amy you now know how the FedEx guy feels!!! --- Everyone looks forward to the FedEx guy delivering a long awaited package but as soon as he delivers the package, he is no longer important!"

David with young Karsten

Nikki and Karsten

Uncle David and Aunt Nikki with Karsten 

Doesn't David look just a little scared? 

Grandpa and his new grandson!

We hope you enjoyed today's blog - dedicated to our newest grandson.  He and his brother are very special.  George's dad's favorite saying about babies holds so true again,  "God doesn't make any Junk!  Kasey and Karsten are our Gems and we hope you join us in wishing them a very good and successful life!  If you would like to see more of Karsten and get Dad and Mom's perspective go to their blog...you can reach it by following the link to the Life and Times of the Cannode's in the upper right hand corner of our blog under blogs we follow!

Thanks for sharing another treasured day in our backyard!