National Western Stock Show and Rodeo!

Dwight and Sharon have taken Kyra to the rodeo every year since she was 4 years old and we continued the tradition yesterday. Dwight was recovering from a surgical procedure 2 days earlier so we skipped our usual walk through the animal barns, but enjoyed the rodeo immensely! Here are a few pictures.

Dwight pulls off surprise 60th birthday party for Sharon!

Dwight and the rest of Sharon's family plotted for months to surprise Sharon on December 31st, her 60th birthday! First, Steve and family arrived from New Mexico, the Sunday after Christmas (instead of 2 weeks later as Sharon had been told). Sharon thought that was a great surprise and she rearranged her work schedule to spend a little more time at home between the two holiday weekends. On Wednesday, she arrived home from work around 4:30 (after stopping at the store to shop for food for a birthday party for Grace planned for the next day). When she walked in the door, she found sister Kathy, brother Richard, sisters-in-law Donna and Marcia, plus Steve, Beth, Grace and Ava all shouting "Surprise!" Within the next hour or so, granddaughter Kyra and her mom Angela and Kyra's other grandparents Bill and Rosemary arrived and then cousin Steffani. Food and drink just kept appearing - Wow!!


Beth, Steve and daughters Ava (born October 16) and Grace (2 years old on January 2nd) came up to Sharon's office on her birthday (just a few hours before the surprise party!) to take her to lunch. This picture was taken by one of Sharon's co-workers.


Earlier that week, we had celebrated Dwight's birthday (December 29th) at his favorite steak place.

Steve, Grace and Beth wait for our food at Dwight's birthday dinner. Sharon's thinking we'll be doing this again 2 days later for her birthday ...

Beth and Ava enjoy a rare quiet moment, just relaxing around the house during their surprise visit to GaGa's and Granddad's house while the rest of the family finds its way to Colorado for a BIGGER surprise ...

Sharon (in shock!) embraces sister Kathy after arriving home from work on Wednesday, then looks around to see who else is there. Kathy came from Green Bay for the party.

Sharon's brother Richard and Dwight's sister Marcia "pose" for Grace (who loves taking pictures, but usually holds the camera upside down and sideways). Richard came from Milwaukee for the party. Marcia lives in the Bay Area.


Dwight's sister Donna, Sharon's sister Kathy, and cousin-in-law Steffani enjoy a moment at the party. Donna came from Louisville for the party. Steffani lives in Highlands Ranch.

Look at this cake! Beth took one of Sharon's high school graduation photos to the store and they scanned the image onto the frosting!

Kyra came back the next day for Grace's birthday party (which we held on the 1st instead of the 2nd), then spent the night. The two girls had lots of fun the following day.

Kyra with her newest cousin, Ava.

Donna, Marcia, Dwight and Grace pose for a picture.



Grace gets acquainted with some of the toys she received for her birthday. Here she is in her party dress, playing veterinary doctor! That's her aunt Julie on the left. Some of Beth's family members were visiting in Colorado over the holidays and all came over on the 1st for Grace's party.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for making Sharon's birthday weekend so special!