Birthday Celebration

Well, this is how it all began. . . . . .




We celebrated Dad's (50th!!) and Curt's birthdays Saturday night. Curt brought the ingredients over and the chopping and preparing started.

Dad is happily anticipating the seafood in the Italian dish Curt is making!

Here we are . . . . . feasting down a very delicous meal, Italian Risotto, Oriental Salad and Parmesan Onion rolls (created in my new breadmaker). Curt prepared two kinds of Risotto, a seafood variety and for those of us who aren't so brave- a chicken version. All the non-seafood lovers had to agree, the shrimp and scallops were actually very good!

The Risotto was a tempting combination of peppers, tomatoes, a special kind of rice, onions, asparagus, parmesan cheese, broth and a host of other flavors- topped with grilled chicken or shrimp and scallops and parmesan cheese.

Levi and Polly . . . . . getting acquainted.

It was a good old dog party. Izzy came along too.

After the dishes were washed and put away, it was time for FARKLE. This is the 2nd time we've played FARKLE, it is a fun game to play with a group of people. Lots of laughter and excitement!

Dana had to study between turns. She is busy trying to get as much homework in as possible before she leaves to go see Brent.

Jill's niece, Shayla (sp), joined us for the evening.

Tyler is still suffering from after-affects of the the concussion and neck injury.

The birthday cake was Layered Angel Food Cake.

Since Levi is the only little grandbaby and nephew living nearby, he gets plenty attention! Love those nostrils : )

And Levi loves PAPA best!!

Dad showing off his new loungewear from Curt and Jill.

Somebody else has a birthday today(Oct. 25) - - - - - -

Yup, that's right- Goli is 2 years old today!

"OUCH"

As some of you have heard, Tyler had a visit to the ER in Rock Valley on Wednesday night. He was playing tackle football after Catechism and apparently was "clothes-lined," a term I wasn't familar with until Wednesday night! He was knocked out for awhile and was taken to the ER by ambulance. Thankfully, there were no breaks or cracks, just a very sore neck and a concussion.

This is how he has been spending the past two days. . . . . . .

Hopefully, he will be healed soon and can get back to school, work, and etc. The Dr. and Physical Therapist warned us that it may take a few weeks for the pressure and pain in his head to go away.

Meet the doggie in the household . . . . . Polly!

She's a cute and playful little girl puppy. Dana and I will have fun dressing her in pink and ruffles. She thinks she has full run of the house but we are teaching her the boundaries. Today we couldn't find her anywhere and Trev found her upstairs beside Dana's bed!

Niagara Falls

On Saturday afternoon and evening while I was visiting Jason and Rachel and family in New York we checked out Niagara Falls. This is the border bridge that they often take into Canada.






The Niagara River by Goat Island. . .

This is an observation tower near Niagara Falls. There is a restaurant at the top.

The fall colors were awesome!! So many reds and oranges.

The rainbow was very striking with "Rainbow Bridge" in the background.

We were standing just a few feet from the edge of Niagara Falls when we took this picture!

We walked across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada- this was the passage into another country-Canada. It was a little interesting getting the stroller through here : ) We had to show our passports and answer a few questions going into Canada and again returning to the US later that evening.

View of the Falls from Rainbow Bridge . . . . . . .

A giant Hershey kiss! We visited a Hershey store in Niagara, Canada. We tasted some yummy fudge and window shopped- lots of cool Hershey memorabilia, and of course Hershey chocolate and candy of every kind, including Cookies and Cream candy bars- Tucker and Jacobs favorite!

Yup, that's right- can't see anything in the next picture???!!!

So sad! My camera didn't pick up any of the awesome sights of the Niagara Falls in the dark. They were really beautiful. We enjoyed a walk along a road on the Canadian side of the Falls. They were lit up in various rotating colors- it was breathtaking!

A Walk on the Bike Trail

This blog is mostly scenic. I went on a walk on the bike trail in Rock Valley on Wednesday and the weather and sights were awesome. The colors this year are a bit unique(not quite as colorful as New York).

I especially like the oranges and reds! Iowa usually doesn't see this much red.

This last picture is one of Dad. He was running the payloader at the sewer plant right beside the bike trail. He has been putting in huge days there the past 2 weeks. They need to finish the dirt work at this job and then next week he has to start the dirt work on a couple jobs in Dell Rapids, a fire station and a school.