Whew...So much to be thankful for (and the photos to prove it)

As you know, we Simmons Clan sure know how to spot a party!  Brad and Gramma and I found one in Ft. Morgan  - his Aunt Ouida turned 102!  I'll remember her for the wedding cake that she made for our wedding in 1969.  Brad's folks had to drive to Morgan to get it, put it in the back of their Oldsmobile (no cake boxes for them!), then drive to Denver to deliver the cake.  Only one side of the cake got mashed in....At her party, I heard about how many cakes she'd made over the years and I kept thinking that at 19, I was so annoyed by my crushed wedding cake that I gave little consideration to the work it involved.  Thanks, Aunt Ouida!

We had a wonderful time seeing Gabi perform in "Annie".

 Nancy came out for the event as well as to take Corbin and Gabi back to California with her for a week, where they had an amazing time!

She took them to Knottsberry Farm, Splash City, to see "Mary Poppins" and to an Angel baseball game.  Thanks, Nana!  We know you are still resting up!

 She accompanied them back to Colorado where the Stampede was in full swing!  I want to say "thank you Curt and Spencer, for all of your hard work this year to provide 10 days of entertainment/ meals for your family and friends!  And especially for taking on Dad's share of the workload as well!  It meant the world to me."  Here are some of the Stampede highlights....

Learning to milk a cow

 

 

 

 

The kids and the adults enjoyed the carnival.  Ah, the smell of funnel cakes, the crowds, the "carnies" yelling, "Hey Grandma, you can win a prize for each one...Just ONE dollar to start...." One of my favorites was when Elijah, Corbin, Sophie and Gabi decided to ride this ride, around and around and upside down.....Sophie thought she was going to throw up, so Gabi advised her to turn the other way and swallow....Luckily, she made it off the ride without incident!  Favorite concert?  Had to be the Kenny Rogers, Ronnie Milsap on Sunday night....Even at age 76, Kenny still puts on a great show AND as a bonus, the crowd consists of mostly the over 50 set, so there was no standing by the audience as in so many other concerts.  Several of the peeps also attended a rodeo, including "first timer", Keva, who enjoyed enthusiastically  clapping at the the cowboys and horses.

And now for the grand finale, the 4th!  The day began with a trip to Eaton to get tGabi and Corbin so that the Frosts' could get ready for their big BBQ that night.  We went to the pool for the festivities which the kids had a blast...the watermelon roll, and the ping pong ball race and a water balloon toss.

We then all gathered for the big night and neighborhood block party.  It was a great party with some delicious food (thanks to Dave Fields for bringing his travelling smoker and cooking some fabulous home grown meat!) And thanks to the neighbors for providing a gigantic bounce house/water slide.

 

 Thanks to Spencer for some entertainment watching Carrie try to eat a jalapeno off the grill and then bribing Elijah ($5) to see if he would eat one, too.  Of course, he did!

 Thanks to Elijah for taking 30 minutes to help the younger kids with the task of filling a gazillion water balloons for a 1 minute balloon toss.

 

 Thanks, Amie, for not freaking out while Corbin and Grayson were riding the 3 wheeler sans helmets.

 And a big old thanks to Curt and Spencer for getting fireworks for all of us to enjoy (until the Eaton cops started patrolling the neighborhood). Thanks, too, for taking the boys to the demolition derby on Sunday.  What a fun time they had.

 

 

 And finally, a GINORMOUS thanks to Sarah for making her way to us, getting to Eaton at midnight on the 4th, to do much needed salon appointments for us all and for letting us spend time with your kiddos!