Hope your summer is going great!  It is going fast,as usual!  Three weeks and school starts again.
(However, not for us!)

We "enjoyed" our first 4th of July as a Nebraskan.  

We "enjoyed" hearing fireworks then days in advance and nearly a week after the 4th.  

We "enjoyed" this until 11:00 p.m. nightly.

What we truly did enjoy was sitting in our driveway in lawn chairs and watch six beautiful displays--all going on at once!  We were totally amazed!

On July 7th we headed to the lake in Minnesota for a week.

Here is David choosing what to have for lunch in Fargo, North Dakota.  Note the name of the restaurant.

  
David, Jagger and I along with Jared, Stephanie and the kids spent the week together near Park Rapids, Minnesota.

  
We fished!

And fished!

Two days into the trip Grandma Karol had a fishhook removed from her finger at the ER.  She was back out there taking those fish off the hook the next day--only with a heavier glove!

We enjoyed s'mores over the campfire.  The mosquitoes felt welcome even though they were uninvited!!

Aunt Marg knows how to have fun at a campfire--sparklers and smoke bombs for the kids!!

Grandpa Dave is receiving advice on how to cross the source of the Mississippi by grandson, Jagger.  Both made it all the way across without getting too wet.  We love our annual trip to Itasca State Park.  Some like to cross on the rocks.....

And others are just content to stand in the water.

The kids tried their hand at water skiing.

All four kids were satisfied that they did better than last year so they were happy.

Water + boys = smiles!!

More smiles here!  After we got back to Nebraska, Jagger and Josiah had a two hour basketball clinic with two of the Globetotters.

Meanwhile Hannah and Eliya went with their parents to the Mall of America where they celebrated their birthdays in the American Girl Store.

It was a great trip!!  We made some wonderful memories!!

Time to bring this to an end.
Love to hear from you when you have a minute. 

God bless you,

The Horkens

I just checked my last post and it's been two months already!!  Everyday is always so full.  We wouldn't have it any other way.

It was a beautiful day and David and I decided to take our bikes to Ed Zorinski Lake in west Omaha.  Click on the video:  (It may take a few minutes to load.)

  
David had to stop on the bike path because it looked like the deer were going to zip across the path.  They stopped to pose for me and then decided to retreat.

David and I enjoyed an afternoon of fishing with Josiah (top) and Jagger (bottom).  The fish weren't really biting but it was fun to try.

Now what is this?  Yes, you guessed right.  It is the red carpet at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.  We volunteered with Josiah's class and enjoyed taking a tour of the Stadium.  The kids got to run out on the field.  They were so pumped!!   Oh, and did I tell you that we saw Tom Osborn in the hallway??

Just being out there on the field was so exciting!!

The students got to view the Legislature in session while touring the Capital building! David and I were impressed! It made us feel like true Nebraskans.

We have connected with five couples in our neighborhood who recently moved here on "Grandparent Watch."  We decided to get together at least once a month to chat and have a few laughs.....okay, more than a few!!

Stephanie has now become an official "Cheer Mom" for Eliya and Hannah's Athletic Cheer team.  They walked in a parade last Saturday.  Stephanie made the t-shirts for the whole team.

Here's David on the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.  You can walk or bike from Nebraska across to Iowa on this bridge.  Yes, right over the Mighty Mo!  It's a lot safer than I even imagined so I was okay! We walked it and now we are planning to bike across it.

Here's another view!

Stepping across Nebraska and into Iowa (and back again).

Our Small Group from church had a picnic to end the year.  We'll join up again in September.  We been so encouraged and learned so much these last few months--and we have had a lot of laughs together!!

That's the recap from the Horken House.  Hope you are all looking forward to a fun summer.  Come see us when you can!

Love, David and Karol

Spring is just around the corner.....I think anyway!  We've been "snow-free" several times in the last few weeks and then here it comes!!  Hopefully this is the end of it!

We've made several trips to South Sioux City to watch Jagger (5th grade) play basketball.  He's the handsome one in the middle!!

Grandpa Dave loved celebrating his birthday with the kids.  Pretty fun.  

(left to right)  Josiah, Hannah, Dave, Eliya

They love their grandpa!!

Our craft days continue.  Josiah was actually there for awhile but after about ten minutes, he was on to other things.

This is what we made.  Super easy and very quick--the best kind of craft!

(disregard the newspaper)

It's a coaster!  We made them in sets of four and are thinking about selling them at our neighborhood garage sale in June.

Here's where Josiah ended up!

We had the kids for five days and were privileged to be able to take Josiah to His Pinewood Derby Competition.  He's the one in the middle!  He was the Grand Champion and now goes on to districts.

Good job, Jared for helping to make the wining car!!

And thanks for letting Dave and I have all the fun!

The girls were thrilled for him and that made it extra special.

The girls are working really hard on their "cheer" stunts.  This year they are both on the competition team.  They could do it for  hours because they love it.  All that energy!!  I call it "athletic cheer" as it is very active.

 

Eliya doing her back hand spring.

Hannah is the first one.  

I know that I have a lot of "kid" pictures but the truth is that I don't get my camera out when David and I are doing "grown up" things.  

We have taken some walks around Walnut Creek.

It's amazing that there are so many little lakes for us to enjoy.  Walnut Creek is just a mile from our house.  We have our own lake too but we like this one because of the rustic setting.

Stephanie and I spent the day in Des Moines visit my cousin, Sherry Robinson and my Aunt Jodie Mckay.  We had a great day visiting and getting caught up.

David and I are facilitators for our small group from church.  That keeps us busy because we meet each Tuesday night and we must be ready. 

I am hosting the "Foodies" in our home on April 10th.  It's a group of young moms whose kids are in school.  Each gal brings a dish and the recipe for it and we share some good food and some good visiting.  How did I get in that group??  I don't know, but I love it!

David and I have started a landscaping project.  We are in the planning stage.  The actual work will begin next week.  Let's hope it doesn't snow because that would not be good!!  

We hope all is going well for you.  We love hearing from you and staying in contact.

God bless your day!

Love,

David and Karol

Happy 2013

 

 

 

David and I fllipped the calendar over to 2013 over 30 days ago and have been busy ever since.  It's time to get back with you and share what has been going on.

 

 

When our family gathered for our Christmas gift celebration, I got all the cookies out that we previously made and the creativity began.  It was fun to have all six grandkids around the house for the afternoon and evening.

 

In January when the kids had a day off of school, we had a "Craft Party" at our house.  This is Stephanie's Valentine wreath.

 

 

Eliya's made a tree skirt for my Valentine tree.  She used her new sewing machine to complete the project.

 

 

 

Here's my project.  I got a little carried away and it got too big to hang on our outside door.  I was busy covering up my mistakes and before I knew it.........BIG!!

 

 

Craig and Jeanie Roberts stayed with us right after Christmas.  Here Jeanie and I are making that big "Chop Chop" Salad. It's a big project and it was fun to have such a good friend to share the responsibilities.  Before we knew it, we were done!

 

 

 

 

Then of course there was the Superbowl Party.  This year we were glad to have David's brother and his wife, Marg here along with Jared and Stephanie and kids.  Lots of fun--lots of food!!

 

 

Rob Horken from East Grand Forks, Minnesota.

 

 

Marg and Stephanie --  dessert and visting!  AAAAHHHH!

 

 



 

A halftime hug-- Jared and Eliya

 

Then we spent the day at the Henry Doorly Zoo.  It was in the 30's but with no wind so it was very pleasant --and on a Monday....we had the place to ourselves!!

 

I couldn't possibly put all 25 pictures of a gorilla on here so I just chose one.

 

 

Here's Dave and his friend.

 

 

 

Here are the five new lion cubs taking a nap.  They are one month old here.

 

 

Marg was being very brave to cross a hanging bridge in the Tropical Rain Forest.

 

 

We had a fun day hanging out with family!

 

 

 

I will sign off now as it's time for a nap!!

 

Love to hear from you when you have a minute.  If I didn't answer you last time I blogged.....I will try to do better this time.  Christmas was a busy time.

 

Happy February!

 

Love,

 

David and Karol