BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!!

Grandma Budke hosted a birthday dinner for me on Sunday, April 27. Karen,Chris, Emma, Anna, Ella and Kelly were there and Grandma surprised me by inviting my sisters also. Stacy and Mike, Dana and Andy, and Gail, Randy, Matt, Mark and Kyle were all there. We had a really nice day and the weather even got warm enough that we could go outside and take some pictures. Kori and Ben, Nick, and Christine all had to work and Kim, Scott, Jacob and Kendall were snowed in a little!!!! Isn't this just the neatest cake? Mom






Notice the little fingers coming up from the neckline of the shirt?!?!? What an imp! (And Andy WAS having fun!!!!)





The picture all of you in Minnesota and Indiana have been waiting for --- a slim and trim Matt with his hair cut! Doesn't he look good?!?!? It's hard for all of us to believe that he and Mark will graduate from high school in a couple weeks. They are the "baby" cousins of the family!!!!

Grill Master

As a result of our love for grilling and with the help of gift cards from family members, Scott and I purchased our first gas grill last weekend. It is amazing (yes, we're that excited about it)!
In the past, my timing has been tested on nights I've decided to grill. During the summer, Scott sometimes does not walk through the door until 9:30pm or later. So, in order for us to grill out, I had to start the charcoal at least a half an hour before Scott thought he would be done in the field, but still allow him time to make his way back to the farm with equipment. Then, if the charcoal wasn't ready, we would have to postpone supper even later, which resulted in us not grilling out as often as we like because of the hassle.
This grill has relieved me of the stress that always came with getting supper done at the perfect time. It's ready to go in less than ten minutes and everything we've grilled so far has tasted great! I never knew grilling could be so carefree and fun!
Our grilling experience, however, has been cut short. We cooked on the grill every night this spring, but spring seems to have ended a little early and summer has been skipped. Last night we enjoyed a tender sirloin steak, grilled to perfection. Scott closed the lid and shut the propane off, just as winter decided to greet us again.
I took a picture of our new grilling machine this morning. It's really too bad that all you can see are the nobs.



This picture didn't come out as well as I had hoped. It's a robin whose wings are covered in snow. It, and a few others, were, in my mind, trying to find shelter from the tremendous wind gusts and blowing snow we've had all night and morning. Sort of ironic, I thought. It sounds as though this weather is to continue for us throughout this evening! Funny, I thought it was April showers that brought May flowers, not April blizzards! Silly me!

Hope you all are enjoying your beautiful spring weather with green grass and blooming tulips!

Spring? Break in Minnesota

Mark and I traveled up to Minnesota after Easter for a three-day visit with Scott, Kim, Jacob and Kendall. We got to keep Jacob on Thursday and Friday, went to Kendall's apartment one evening, had a wonderful supper at Scott's parents' house and got to know Jacob, the almost-fifteen month old toddler. He was a little different than he was when we made the trip in December. Then he would keep himself occupied with books and toys and now he keeps himself occupied with cattle magazines and any electronic equipment he can get to before you catch him!! I swear this child looks to see if there is a cord attached and if there is, he is interested! It doesn't matter if it's the alarm clock, the computer, the vacuum cleaner, etc., he runs for it and screams at you if you pull him away. Oh yeah, if any of you got a call from Kim's cell phone on Saturday, it was Jacob!!! He was having the best time pushing the buttons and when I finally got the phone away from him, I looked and he had called Grandma Budke, Kyle and Jen, I believe.

He sometimes is a little picky about what he eats but he does love his apples! Grandpa sliced an apple for him one day and he was satisfied with that, but the next day he would have nothing to do with the slices. He had to have the whole apple!!


And then there was the day that Kim had to vacuum!! She told me that Jacob loves the vacuum cleaner but I made the mistake of letting him put his hand on the handle and push it back and forth. It didn't take him long to push his mother out of the way and take control of the vacuum, even though it was almost too heavy for him to handle by himself!!! That didn't stop him, though, and Kim is not real happy with me now because he thinks he needs to be doing the vacuuming!!! (I've got a video of him vacuuming that I will post as soon as I figure out how to do it!)

Anyway, it was a great trip, in spite of a day or two of sickness for Jacob and me, and I just realized that we didn't see any snow fall while we were there (although Kim and Kendall said it did blizzard for a bit during the night before we left)! And we are all looking forward to seeing "The Kid" and his parent(s) in June (I'll have my vacuum cleaner ready for him to use)!!
Grandma Cooper