Pope Pages

Well . . . I've gotten so behind on the blog. Here's a quick synopsis . . .

September Highlights -

- My mom retired from her job at the Nebraska State Education Association. Woo-hoo!

- On Labor Day we celebrated the baptism of Rich and Marcy's baby girl, Norah. We are honored to be her god parents. Dennis and Rich got to spend some time together and swap tips on being stay at home dads. Now Rich has two at home, so he's a real pro.

- We attended my friend Liz's wedding. Not even the rain could spoil their day. Dennis is still raving about the food! It was a simple and beautiful ceremony.

- Dad and Cynthia visit on their way to a wedding in Missouri. It was great to see them, and Dad finally got to eat at Famous Daves! He was impressed, but I still like Daddy's BBQ more.

- We went to Apple Jack Festival in Nebraska City where we hiked the trails, picked apples and ate kettle corn. We also had to take in the car show for Dennis.

- Helped Wes and Carol harvest grapes in their vineyard a couple times in September. Both days we picked were bright, clear and crisp. It was fun to all work together. Addie even helped.

October Highlights

- Had lunch with friends Kjell and Lisa Cronn at Dave, Shari and Owen Hudson's house. It was fun to get Owen and Addie together. You'd NEVER guess that he's 4 months younger than Addie.

- Went to Cozad for a visit and helped get Dad and Cynthia's house ready for some major remodeling projects. Next time we're home there should be a new kitchen!!

- Attended a training in Nebraska City and Dennis and Addie came with. We spent the night with Grandma Brewer.

- Took Addie to Roca Farm where we picked our own pumpkin, took a hay rack ride and danced to a children's band called "The String Beans".

-Dad and Cynthia spent the night on their way back home from their trip to south Georgia. They came with us and some friends down the "Spooktakular" nature trail. Addie got a kick out of seeing all the kids in the Halloween costumes. She really loved all the jack-o-lanterns and luminaries along the trail. It was a beautiful evening.

- Had Jill and Joaquin over for super to welcome them back to Nebraska after living in Spain for over a year. We built a bon fire and sat under the stars drinking some of Wes' homemade wine and talked. We're SO happy they're back!

- Had book club for the first time since I can't remember when. Dennis and Addie attended and got in on some more good eats at Megan's place.

- Halloween! Addie was a bee and Dennis dressed up in Dad's beekeeping garb. A fun day, except for my flat tire that morning!

So, that's a really quick synopsis of what's been happening in our world!

One of the other major things that has also happened is that my grandparents in Texas were both diagnosed with cancer recently. My grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer in September and grandpa was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October. My mom has been down in Mission, TX since the beginning of September helping them. Grandma is in a nursing home now, and seems to be adjusting pretty well to that. Grandpa's cancer is localized and isn't as bad as we had initially feared. Still, it's a stressful and difficult situation for everyone. Mom is hoping to be able to come home during Thanksgiving. I really miss her. She's also missing her grandkids and home. Thankfully, Aunt Loretta has been there for the past few weeks, and will be there until Thanksgiving, so I know that's a huge help to mom. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Now we're all caught up! Hopefully I'll do a better job at keeping current.