Chily Expeditions: 2012-09-02

Welcome Mason Kirk

Mason Kirk, newborn son of Nate and Lindsey is finally here! He arrived at 0853 on 8/31/12 and weighed 8 lbs 3 oz. He is perfect. Mason's arrival kicked off Labor Day weekend. Kirk and I drove down to Des Moines when I got off work to meet the little guy. He is so handsome and mom is doing great. We also went down on Saturday and Sunday. Mason and Lindsey were able to go home on Sunday after a little billirubin setback, but as long has he wears his "glow worm" pads, he should be just fine. Kirk grilled burgers, hotdogs, and brats for everyone greeting Mason at his new home. All the grandma's were there, including great grandma Mavis (Kirk's mom), also all the grandpa's. We had a great time. Hopefully, Lindsey will get some rest now.

Being it was Labor Day Weekend, Dan, Amy and their friends Mike and Julie also camped at the Outback. We were able to cook out with them on the campfire on Saturday night after seeing the new grandbaby that day. Amy bought this neat little swivel grate for the campfire so you can cook on it. It's adjustable (up and down) and I'm pretty sure Kirk and I need one now. Then our weekend neighbor, whom we just met that morning brought over a cast iron dutch oven with homemade apple crisp that his wife made and was cooked over a campfire. OMG! Now that was some good stuff...I'm pretty sure I need a cast iron dutch oven now so I can make some good stuff like that. The campground was packed with lots of activities for all the families. Kirk and I really didn't get to enjoy the activities as we needed to see that new grandbaby while we could.

Papa Kirk and Mason Kirk Nelson.

Proud parents....what a cute family!

Great Grandma Mavis loves her a baby boy.

Four generations..Daddy (Nate), Mason, Great Grandma Mavis, Papa Kirk.

This family is glad to be home!

Amy and her Oasis....Dan is here somewhere. Labor Day Weekend at the Outback.

Dan and Amy's new camper.

We are extremely blessed to have wonderful families and great friends. Two of those friends are Dan and Amy of Gladbrook, Iowa. I'm not exactly sure how to describe them, except that you couldn't meet two nicer, funny, thoughtful, people anywhere. They bought a new camper and spent their first weekend in it in the site next to us at the Outback in Toledo, Iowa. Now you have to know that prior to this camper, they had a pop-up camper, that when they slept in it, had to sleep on opposite ends to keep it level, or from tipping over, or something like that. Regardless, it was an experience that finally got them to look for something different. They spent the weekend, learning all the in's and out's of their new camper, cooking out on the campfire, and just sitting around the campfire at night and enjoying each other's company. They are a hoot. Oh yes, I do have to mention that they gave me a "poker" (inside joke) of my very own, to use with all our campfires. I'm not sure how Kirk and I went this long without a campfire poker....really!! Thank you so much guys.

Dan, Amy, and Paige ....They are so cute!

Adyson is 9 years old...YAY!

I took an assignment in Toledo, Iowa after leaving Prairie du Chien. Kirk and I arrived in Toledo on Thursday and decided to stay at the Outback Campground and Resort in Tama. Tama and Toledo are like two small towns in one. They have a Fareway grocery store, so Kirk is excited, as he loves their meat department. Remember, Kirk loves to grill. We got all settled in and left the next day for Minnesota to help Ady celebrate her birthday.

Adyson celebrated her birthday in many ways this year. However, I think this is typical every year for her birthday. The one Kirk and I attended was for family and close adult friends of hers that have been a part of her life so far. Kirk and I drove up on Friday and returned home on Sunday. Chuy and Lily went with us ( Lily loves the girls and misses them). Kirk, again, was in charge of grilling. And, as usual did an exceptional job with the burgers, brats, and jalepeno poppers. We had more than enough to eat and had a great time. Ben, Bella, and Isaac also stayed at the house, so the weekend was perfect with all the family there. Although, we did miss Nicki (Ben's wife) as she had another birthday party to attend on her families side. It was so fun to see the girls and Ady's friends and spend time with everyone.

Yummy food for the party....thank you Papa Kirk!

Ben and Isaac partied out and hanging out!

Adyson's mom and Bella getting ready for the party...Bella loves a good time.

Lily at our new spot in Toledo.

Chuy waiting to go outside after getting settled in Toledo

The Happy Birthday Girl....Sooooooooo Beautiful!

Bev and Al's Luau

Our stay in Prairie du Chien came to an end July 22 as the company I was contracted with hired a full time perm SLP. Since I'm a traveling SLP, I realize that that is the nature of the game, so I guess I'm never really surprised when that happens, and I do look forward to our next adventure. The thing with my job in Prairie though, was that I was still fairly close to the kids and grandbabies, and to some really special friends that I had not seen in years. Kirk and I were able to hit the Mississippi River again on an "adult only" boat outing with our friends Bridget and Jason, and also Stacy and Maury. Jason is an excellent boatsman, and Bridget an awesome boatswoman (not sure that is a real title, but she is absolutely great). I will really miss her.

Before leaving Prairie, we also attended Bev and Al's (Kirk's sister) wedding reception, a Luau, at their new home in Nashua, Iowa. Bev is totally into flamingo's, even has a tatoo of one on her leg, so the Luau had a few flamingo scattered about, to say the least. Kirk was in charge of grilling the pork loin, and I was to take random pics of the day. It was a gorgeous day, and everyone had a great time.