The work continues...

 Working on the new septic tank

This one will be accessible!! 

 Replacing the north foundation wall.

 Thank you Devin, Aaron, and Shawn for your help!

Lots of dirt work...Grandpa Duane is an old pro with the backhoe.

Sunday

After working on the house all week (see post below), Sunday was a nice break.  Milo is so cute in the morning.  Megs decided to take some pictures.  

Shower time - how's the water Mom?  Milo is the cautious sort.

All clear, hand him in. 

He's an all-star folks!  Time for a Sunday afternoon nap....

after a snack of course...... 

then there were some very interesting clouds floating by.

Dad ended up falling asleep first.

Our current project...

The sewer line kept plugging up and making a lake in our basement so we decided to investigate.  That's when the foundation partially collapsed sending an avalanche of dirt into our basement.  

We decided it was a good opportunity to clean out the old basement.  At first it was baffling trying to sort through all the stuff.  In the midst of the random stuff we found this great book - a guiding light!

The epiphany on pg 48 - proper use of a metal cylinder file!

Go mom and dad!  Grandma Deb was the baby-sitter.

This is the old "grease trap" or septic tank.  It was full to overflowing.

Three generations of electrical panels.

We propped the house up and removed the rest of the old foundation.  We also removed the last three generations of plumbing and installed new PVC and pex plumbing clear to the fixtures.

Gpa Duane is pretty handy with his backhoe.  He is digging the hole for the new septic tank.

The house as it currently sits.

Megan shows how she can be unsentimental by throwing away most of her wedding bouquet.

Thanksgiving 2010

Another unbelievable Thanksgiving spread!

Thanks for the cute outfit, Auntie Kosha!

Watching Mom and Dad eat breakfast.

Milo meets Tom!

Already November!

Celebrating a 34th and 37th anniversary at Olive Garden...congratulations to our wonderful parents!

Another nap...babies seem to take lots of those :)  His hands were too cute!

Monte was a contestant in the 2010 "Albin's Got Talent" show.

He read one of Grandpa Stidolph's favorite cowboy poems.

I had to smile when I saw the coat rack at the talent show...75% Carharts in all sizes.

Just one of the many reasons I like living where I do :)

More Milo

Enjoying his Grandpa!

Waking up from a Monday morning nap.

Sunday Afternoon Fun

We've found a new form of entertainment for Milo and Monte...the ceiling fan!

Elk Hunting 2010

Sven and Gareth, from Sweden, joined us for the hunt! We didn't find any elk until 2pm and shot the 3rd cow at 6 in the evening so it was a long day...but we'll have lots of meat in the freezer. 

We finished cleaning out the last cow elk just as the sun went down. The process goes a bit faster when you have lots of help like this.

Four generations!

Mom's yard is beautiful this fall...so many different colors.  Sadly, they have lost their tallest Scotch Pine to the beetles...it looks like a couple more may die.

Grandma Deb made Milo his first hunting vest. It even has quilted shoulders! Monte, Mom, and I have cow tags we hope to fill. This will be Milo's second hunting trip...Great-grandpa Duane and Grandpa Neil said they'd babysit (in the truck).

Visiting Berniece

We thought Milo might share Berniece's birthday (August 14th)...hah, little did we know he'd come 16 days later!

Friday Morning

Milo enjoys his morning bath followed by a good nap! Thank you, Rhonda, for the "woof" outfit. He's transitioning from 3 month to 3-6 month clothes. We need to make another trip into the post office and put him on the scales :)

Wheat Planting

Milo's first tractor ride. He planted some late wheat with Dad for three hours and seemed to enjoy himself.

Trip to see Koral and Shawn

Last week, we finally made it out to Koral and Shawn's for a long overdue visit. We got there late Friday night to find Koral, Shawn and boys all anxiously waiting our arrival. This is Saturday, in Koral's garden. Koral had an abundance of tomatoes and was picking them for Grandma Lu.  The boys were eager to help once they learned it was for Grandma Lu and there may be some chili involved at the farm later this winter.

Shawn got this cherry of a truck from his landlord. As you can see, it's a real treat to get to ride in the truck with Dad! Shawn cut up a huge tree branch that broke off in a recent wind storm and hauled it up to Koral's garden for a bonfire.








Koral is planting ideas in Lincoln's head about cousinhood. "You two will have so much fun shipping beef up the inside passage to Alaska." Who knows right?














We had Sunday lunch with cousin Jeff at the Carlos O'Kelly's that he manages near Lincoln. Jeff is a first cousin on Megan's side. As you can see, Milo can be very bright eyed and alert. He'll just stare at whoever is holding him.

 After visiting Shawn and Koral, we headed on down to Blackwater, MO for convention.  We were able to see lots of our "Olsen" relatives including Gayle and Robin Fleming, Beth and Stuart Jelinek, Great Uncle Leslie, and his sister Pauline Churchill. This little guy LOVED babies and gave Milo several kisses.  He was very cute.

 We were able to catch up with Ruthie Stevens (back from Spain on her home visit) and also enjoyed seeing Max Bowman who returns to Ecuador soon.  We visited both Ruth and Max in the countries where they labor last year!

 The oldest and youngest on the convention ground - 100 years and 4 weeks!

On our way back, we stopped to see Uncle Lauren and Aunt Gertrude in Kearney, NE.  They visited Phyllis when I was around 40 weeks pregnant and were anxious to see the little guy!