Graduation Gathering Subs for Christmas in Kearney

Rather than the traditional trip to Kearney for dinner and gifts, the Ward family gathered in Lincoln on December 15/16 to celebrate the graduation of our nephew, Joe. He earned his bachelor of science in ag econ from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Before he crossed the stage Saturday morning at the Pinnacle Bank Arena, we kicked-off the fun with a party Friday night. 

Niece Chelsie helped organize the party at the Embassy Suites in downtown Lincoln. We had our own private party room and could goof around without annoying other restaurant patrons. It was so good to see nephew Clark! He is busy with his sophomore year (also at UNL) and is enjoying his Geology/Biology coursework.

Mother-of-the-Grad, my sister Karolyn (right) invited her bestie and husband to Lincoln for the festivities. Julie and Hal are super people so it was great to have them with us.

Our sister-in-law LuAnn got a chance to catch up with niece Karli. She will earn a master's degree in May from the University of South Dakota. (Go, Yotes!) AND get married on October 7. Lots of fun coming up in 2018!

 My brothers and uncles-of-the-grad, Tim & Mark.

Joe invited several of his brothers from Acacia Fraternity to the party. (This was Scott's fraternity, too, so it brought back many memories of the fun he used to have.)

Kitra and her gramma enjoyed the party.  

 She's got style, that cutie pie.

 The original Ward kids (Kristin, Karolyn, Tim and Mark) looking cute!

Karli gave her little brother Clark lots of attention. They were antipating the semester break with their parents (Tim and Teresa) and Karli's fiance (David) in sunny & warm Phoenix.

We were all up and at 'em early Saturday morning since graduation started at 9:30. With nearly 2,000 graduates, there were a lot of faces to scan - but Chelsie caught Joe's face on the big screen.

Post-graduation photo session with Joe's dad, Alan. 

The proud graduate!

I apologize for missing photo opportunities with the rest of the family, including both sets of Joe's grandparents. I took lots of photos with everyone's cameras but mine. Typical!

Stay Tuned for Joe's Great Adventure!

Mile High B's

When the opportunity arose to see both my buddy (noTTafarm SuperFriend Amy B.) and one of our mutual heroes (Joe Biden) in one swoop, I packed a bag and jumped on a plane for a quick trip to Denver. Since moving from Omaha in May, I had been looking for an excuse to visit the Brummet family's new home so this trip was a "win" all-around. 

On tour to promote his book, "Promise Me Dad," Mr. Biden made an appearance on Saturday evening, December 2nd, at downtown Denver's Paramount Theatre. But since my flight arrived early in the morning, Amy had an activity planned - namely baking and frosting sugar cookies with Tripp and Brenna. It was fun to keep our tradition of baking Christmas cookies going!

 Amy gave Brenna a quick pep talk with pup Tank listening in for good measure.

The Brummets' new neighborhood is great, and Tripp (now in Kindergarten) & Brenna have made many new friends.

Brenna did a great job of rolling out the dough and Tripp was an excellent cutter. Amy and I completed the frosting portion of the fun while the kids played outside in the 60+-degree sunshine.

Our plans for dinner before the show were thwarted by a massive traffic jam downtown. Many activities, including a ball at the convention center and a holiday lights parade, closed city streets and brought hoards of people. It took us over an hour to find a parking place within a mile of the theatre. Luckily, we found our seats and had a moment to catch our breath before Mr. Biden was introduced. His 90-minute presentation was inspirational and entertaining. Afterward, we (finally!) ate dinner at a great Italian restaurant where I enjoyed a ridiculously delicious butternut squash pizza.

Before I left for the airport Sunday early afternoon, we all huddled around the iPad to watch the formal press conference from the University, announcing the hire of Scott Frost as the new head coach of the football team. Pretty exciting for us Cornhuskers!

Brenna and Tripp were not as impressed with the press conference.

Thank you, Amy and Monte, Tripp and Brenna, for your warm hospitality!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!