Category Archives: grandma

So long, summer

September 22, 2014

Summer 2014-70 Summer, my favorite season, is now coming to an end.

I love summer for many reasons, the bright sunshine, the scorching heat, the exhilarating outdoor activities, the smell of freshly cut grass, the vegetables and flowers at the farmer’s markets, the juicy burgers on the grill, and mostly, the cheerful moods everyone is in. I love summer. I even turned 30 this summer, and still loved it.

Fall, on the other hand, is a gorgeous season. I love sweater weather, boots, fires on the patio, and the changing colors of the leaves and trees. But, it’s the calm before the storm of winter with what’s looming ahead. The bitter cold of South Dakota winters and, ugh, I’m actually going to stop right there because I am NOT ready to think or talk about winter. I want to talk about summer and live it up until 9:29pm, when fall specifically starts (or so says the almanac). So here. Here was our summer, little tidbits of random that didn’t make it in an earlier post. This was our spectacular summer. (Siiiiiigh).

Summer Memory – PLAYDATES

Ivy and Natalie

Ivy, Natalie, and James

Spending the warm summer hours at McKennan Park. Favorite.

Sam and Ivy

Summer Memory – BOATING

Summer Memory – FAMILY

Grandma Betsy would meet us at McKennan Park for Children’s Theatre

Grandma high fives at Lake Madison!

Cousins Anna and Nora reading to Ivy. SWOON

A visit from Grandpa Bill!

Hanging with Auntie Jillian

Summer Memory – Just. Plain. Fun.

Spent lots of time on our patio

LOVED visits to the Great Plains Zoo – I hadn’t been there in YEARS! So I think I enjoyed it as much as Ivy :) And Erin and Natalie were regulars with us too

STUD at her walker

Loved the cool hottub

Jazz Fest

Like a good teacher’s baby, loves books :)

Lots of time at the pool

Backyard Shenanigans

Loves to swing

Became obsessed with her blankie

Summer 2014-236

Enjoyed mornings in bed watching the news with Mama

And she STOOD on her OWN this summer! WOO HOO. (Don’t mind the tampons in the pic : / )

Overall, summer was damn good.

So long, summer. So long.

I’ll begin my countdown to next summer now.

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A Day at the Apple Orchard

September 21, 2014

The beginning of fall is one of the best times of the year. And today was Just perfect outside as the fam loaded up in the Jeep to the Country Apple Orchard for the Apple Festival. I remember last year, I was super pregnant, just a week and a half from delivering Ivy, so today was a bit more enjoyable :) And even better, I had my own child now to join in on all of the fun family activities! We met our friends Andrew and Erin and their daughter Natalie there and Grandma Betsy even tagged along.

After picking a whole bag of apples, I’m already drooling over some apple crisp. I request double crisp topping for me, please. Nom nom.

rows and rows of ripe red apples

Natalie and Ivy

So festive with her apple shirt! Cutie Natalie

Chomping away on a tasty apple

Walking through the orchard

Sweet as apple pie

Grandma Betsy

Ivy’s favorite book right now is Clifford’s Animal Sounds and she is obsessed with animals. So she was REALLY excited to see chickens, goats, donkeys, and we even had her ride the little ponies :) She loved it.

So funny. When the horse would shake its head, Ivy would too. Gah!

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Marriage and Cowboy Boots

July 30, 2014

Marriage and Cowboy Boots. An unlikely combination, but when you’re in Cheyenne, Wyoming during Frontier Days, that’s all you see. Boots, boots, and more boots. I’m certainly no cowgirl, but I felt quite left out with no cowboy boots of my own. There were cowboys, cowgirls, and (like I would have been) wannabe cowboys and cowgirls. But most importantly, there was family and a wedding. My cousin Emily and her new husband Lee tied the knot! The Keating side (my Dad’s side) is quite big, with 7 siblings, so almost all of the aunts and uncles and cousins united in Cheyenne where Emily grew up and her parents still live to celebrate the happy marriage of these two lovely people. The Keating side has been fortunate to have 3 years of weddings now! John and I got married two years ago, Ariel and Lee got married last year, and now Emily and Lee. It has been SO great getting to see the family and catching up with everybody each year. Also, many of them had not met Ivy yet, so that was VERY exciting to share her with the family. Like they say, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage :)

Congratulations Emily and Lee, xx

(Beware, lots of photos ahead)

Isn’t her dress AMAZING? She got it from Anthropologie bridal BHLDN

The ceremony was at Mary and Gary’s (Emily’s parents) backyard – beautiful setting! Emily and Lee are currently working in Taipei, Taiwan so the addition of the Japanese lanterns was just the right touch.

Emily and her Dad Gary

We even managed to get a good family photo. Heck ya.

Cousin Carson and Andy with two good lookin’ girls :)

Cousin Ariel and Lee – last year’s newlyweds

Uncle Brian with Ivy

My Mom and Dad with Ivy, Phyllis (my Dad’s sister) and Bill, and Pat (my Dad’s brother)

The reception was at The Bunkhouse Bar – now this was a Cowboy Western Bar!

My family – Dad included! All the way from his job in Afghanistan! From left – Joseph, muah, Jillian, Catheryn, Ivy, Mom Caleen, Dad Bill.

Sister Catheryn and little Ivy

Colleen, Catheryn, Jennifer, Phyllis, Ariel, Paula, and Jillian – lots of cousins and sisters!

Cousin Emily’s brother Andy and his girlfriend Rebecca. We all loved her. Way to go Andy

Cousin Jenna and her boyfriend Nick

Outside of the Bunkhouse was such a gorgeous setting! These horses roamed around in the pasture and Ivy and John had to go see them. Just. Beautiful.

My Mom and Ivy

Happy little pipsqueak

*On Friday, we went to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo!

Giddyup!

Carson lost the bet!

*Later that night, we had a family dinner at Aunt Theresa and Mark’s house.

Ivy got a lot of boy cousin time!

*Saturday was a leisurely day – we spent the morning walking around Frontier Days and seeing the shops and sights.

Don’t ask.

Petting zoo!

*Saturday night was the Tim McGraw concert!

John, Brian, Jillian, Carson, and I

We love you Tim!!!!!!!!

Carson, Brian and Jillian, John, Jenna, and Laura

*And to end the trip on Sunday, we strolled in to Boulder for the day before our flight home. Absolutely LOVE Boulder.

Well cowboy, that’s a wrap.

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4th of July

July 7, 2014

4th of July is a holiday of celebration! The sparkling fireworks, waves and boating, bright sunshine, hot weather, sizzling grilling, juicy burgers, and cold beers. Summer at its best. This year, my sister Jillian and her husband Brian made the trip from Indianapolis to visit and have some family time. Also, my aunt Teresa from California made it and my friend Shannon came down for the weekend! We headed down to Yankton and Cedar Ridge Hideaway (our cabin) for the festivities. Like my man Zac Brown sang, “I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand, life is good today, life is good today.”

Our 4th of July in photos

Wednesday:

Brian and Jillian

The hubs and I

Stuffed after smoked ribs on the patio

Thursday:

We made it to Yankton in the Jeep! Maui Mat is on and we are ready for the lake!

Lewis and Clark Beach in Yankton

I must have told her something she didn’t want to hear. Oops. How many times will I be getting THAT glare in my lifetime? ;)

Uncle Joe just LOVES Ivy. He took her for a walk to show her the beach, sand, and waves

Daddy took her for a swim in the lake

Lifeguard on duty

Toes in the water, ass in the sand

Epitome of vacation

Delicious ribeye dinner!

Bloody Mary’s. Bada-bing!

Friday: 4th of July!!!!

Gettin’ cray cray

Aye aye, captain Ivy

America, you’ve been good to me. xxoo

Saturday:

My little sailor

Ivy loved crawling all over the Maui Mat

Deciding which boat she can commandeer

Thank Jillian and Brian for making the trip! Sure was fun – love you guys!

Camp Koch at the lake

June 19, 2014

Camp Koch. Camp? Well not what you’re thinking. I’m not getting Ivy into training for “How to be a Koch.” (What would that be like, by the way…) Rather, Camp Koch is a serene lake retreat getaway at Lake Madison with enough waterfront beach property to fit all of the Kardashians. The lake cabin is right at the tip of Peninsula Point so they are lucky to have beach on both sides of their property. The beach is one thing, but then they have the most quaint little cabin that is just perfect and snug for when you have to get indoors. Which in our case, was ALL day on Saturday :( It was 60’s, rainy, and cloudy, so we were locked inside. Nonetheless, we were happy to start a cozy wood-burning fire and relax. Thankfully, Sunday was spectacular, so we rushed outside to show Ivy what Camp Koch was all about. I can’t wait for her to be running around here swimming and jumping off the dock! What a perfect place for a kid to go in the summer, she’s so lucky. Thank you Emmie and Papa!

So here I was, with the in-laws (John was in Vegas, WHAT), just eating, laughing, playing, and watching Ivy enjoy her first time at Camp Koch.