A Big Month for the Schnitz: Part II

Ok, I am a slacker and almost forgot that anytime you label something "Part I" there needs to at least be a "Part II"!:-) Mea culpa! So, here goes:

The beginning of July saw us leaving for western Nebraska for not one, but two family reunions. The first was out at a privately owned lake a little ways outside of Scottsbluff and was just immediate family. It was really nice to see some of my aunts, uncles and cousins that I hadn't seen in a while and as you will see, Rusty had his share of fun as well!

We stayed at my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Marty's house which is right on a golf course. Due to the location, they also have a golf cart sitting in the garage. Oh my, was that ever a hit!

Of course, I also feel that I should mention that within a 1/2 hour of arriving at their house (in the evening, mind you), my Uncle Jerry had taught Rusty to 1) be a public nuisance-by honking the golf cart horn repeatedly and 2) to gamble on the slot machine in the basement! Do I need to say that they were both having a blast?:-)

Out at the lake, there was no end to the entertainment. Four wheelers, a swingset, and DIRT! Who knew that we were depriving our poor child by not having piles of dirt lying around for him to play in?

Obviously, cousin Braeden is taking this adventure far more seriously than the schnitz!




As you can see, his cousins, Jakson and Aubrie, were awfully good at enjoying swingset time with him. You'd think they were kind of fond of the shnitz, or something:-)

What do you mean I have to take a bath soon??

Ok, I'm ready for the game, now where are the other players??
Taking a break to hang out with Mimi.

While Rusty was busy having a big time, his mama was having a good time catching up with family and friends.

Me, Kristi and Andrea hanging out and relaxing a bit while the kids are occupied:-)
Me and Rusty with one of my very favorite people! This is my friend Dana. She and I met in kindergarten (stop counting how many years ago that was!) and have been friends ever since. I was so excited that she, her husband Corey and kiddos were able to meet us out at the lake for a visit. Aren't old friends just awesome?:-) Beautiful sunset to end the day. I love sunsets that aren't blocked by a bunch of buildings!

The day ended with fireworks...only appropriate on the 4th! They were set off from a raft out in the lake to minimize chance of fire and we all camped out on shore and enjoyed the view!

Aubrie, Ashton and Jakson seem to think they got pretty good seats for the show!

These fireworks are SO cool!

The next day we moved down the road a few miles to Bridgeport, NE for a larger family reunion that was basically all of my grandma's side of the family. Talk about people I hadn't seen in a long time! My highlight was probably getting to see my cousin Mysi. We're the same age and so have enjoyed growing up together. I hadn't seen her in several years and it was so fun to catch up! I found it rather entertaining that we both ended up in research fields. Granted, mine was pharmaceutical and her's marketing, but still some similarities there:-)

Me and Mysi taking a break from chatting to smile for the camera.

My generation of cousins. With a family our size you HAVE to separate the pictures this way to fit everyone in:-)

Rusty's not big on visiting just yet, but had a great time with Braeden and Jakson using some extra tables as a jungle gym:-)

Ok, Uncle Jason, the weekend's over...I've gotta go!:-)

One last hug from Daddy and Papa before hitting the road for Kansas City.