My little "SANTA BABIES, Aren't they Cute ?

I can't believe it is already 2009 !! I thought I would never live long enough to even see 2000 !
This will be quite a year for our family that is coming up. Tyson graduates from High School, Megan is having a Baby Girl and Kylee is having a Baby girl also. I will be a GREAT Grandma in April and a Grandma again in June.
Also in June, Robin and I will have our 40th anniversary. Which also means my HS Reunion will be this summer too. WHEW !!
What a wonderful family we have ! I love seeing it grow and grow. I am so proud of each and every one of them. The day I met my Hubby Robin, 43 years ago, was probably the best thing that happened to me. We have been so blessed,throughout our life,we have had ups and downs, but they have only made us stronger and closer.
Here comes 2009 !!! Bring it on and I pray that we have a wonderful new year and our country will be recovering from it's problems. Thank God we live in such a wonderful country. It may not be perfect,but it is the best there is. May God Bless all of You, and may he also Bless America.
Happy New Year !!!!

Tag You're It !!!

I'm in Colorado tending my Grandkids and was tagged by Janet.
Now You're It !!!

1: Two names you go by: 1. Kathie 2. Grandma

2. Two things you are wearing right now. 1. Pajamas 2. Slipper socks

3: Two things you want very badly at the moment: 1. To go back to Bed 2. To Get done with shopping

4: Two people who will most likely send this back 1. Megan 2. Shawna

5: Two things you did last night: 1. Visited with Jeanie's Family 2. Made Carmelcorn.

6: Two things you ate today 1. Cereal 2. Banana

7: People you just spoke with: 1. Amy 2. Barbara

8: : Two things you're doing tomorrow: 1. Shopping 2. Tending Ryker ( my Grandson in Colorado)

9: Two longest car rides 1. To Boston from Minnesota 2. To South Dakota

10: Two favorite beverages: 1.Diet Coke 2. Milk

11. What are your Two Favorite Things about Christmas ? 1. Family 2. Music


People I am Tagging

Megan, Shawna, Kady

Send this to a whole bunch of people you know INCLUDING the person who sent it to you.

It's that time of Year Already !

I can't believe that December is here already. I need to get busy shopping as fast as time flies. I am not brave enough to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, so I better get on the Ball. We put up our Christmas Decorations Today. The Pressure is On. !!!
Last week I went with Kylee and Hadlee to see the Nutcracker. I had never been there before, and it was fun.
I Hope Everyone has a Wonderful Holiday Season,

Happy Halloween

Well it's Over Already, But we had so much fun. The grandkids are ADORABLE. Robin's Mom, aka Nana, got dressed up and gave out candy at the Care Center. Today she moves to an Assisted Living Center. Janet thinks of the cutest Costumes, A and Nana is such a good sport !! Especially at 95.
Then we had Cameron & Kaycee, ( Shawna's) come over as BatGirl and Darth Vader. They are so cute and get into Character. Hadlee ( Amy's) was Dr.Hadlee, and then Jeanie sent me pictures of Batman Ryker and Nerd Jake ! What a Hoot.It was fun seeing all of these cute kids having fun.

ON TO THANKSGIVING ! Here's a few PIX ! Hope Your Day was Happy too !!

A Thrilling Night out !

Megan asked me if I wanted to go to "Thriller " by Oddysey Dance Company this year. It was fun, and I enjoyed itingspending time with Megan and Kylee and Tristin and Kensley. It was freaky !! This is the second year I have gone ! These Freaky " Dead People" walk around and scare you from the minute you walk in the door.

Thanks Megan for inviting me.

I'll babysit next year if you want to take Trent next time !!

Happy Halloween !!

The FrontRunner Experience

Cameron enjoying his ice cream

Chief the Blaze Dog

Braden,Kaycee & Hadlee Loved the Ride Shawna & Cameron

The Splash Pad looked so Nice !!

Silly Girls !!

That Ice Cream tasted so Good ~

I have been promising my Grandkids That I would take them for a ride on the FrontRunner Train. Finally I decided on the Sat before school Started to take whoever could go and we "Climb Aboard"
Shawna went with me and we took Kaycee, Cameron, Kylee, Braden, & Hadlee and decided to go to Salt Lake and the Gateway. We had lunch at the Food Court and shopped a Little, although it was pretty HOT that day. The kids did find the Water Splash Pad and got good and wet. If I wasn't so concerned about being an "adult" I would have jumped in Myself !! Then the kids saw the Blaze Dog "CHIEF" so of course we took a picture of them with him.

The kids really liked the ride and it was so smooth. Braden and Kylee thought it was great fun. I was surprised Braden wanted to go but he was really excited to go. It was fun to spend the day with all of them.

The Big Day has Arrived !!

Rob is officially retired !!! This is so scary. For the last 30 years he has had a job and now, he is unemployed !!! It of course is retirement and we will still have money coming in, but it still feels wierd. It will be fun to be able to go when we want to, and do whatever we feel like, it still feels strange though.

CONGRATULATIONS ROBIN. I Love you and Thank You for all of the years of hard work and for allowing me to be a Mom and Wife first. I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together.

14 Days to Go !

Well the time is coming for Robin to retire from the Railroad . His last day is the 31st of August and it is coming fast !! I think it is kind of scary. He won't be working much this month because he has 8 more personal leave days to use ( or Lose) . Last weekend we celebrated Jeanie's Birthday in Colorado. They are also coming to Utah on the 27th for a week. Jake is starting Middle School and it starts on the 18th.
Amazing, I can't believe we are going to be able to go and do anything we want after he retires. He is a little nervous about it though, I think. After 30 years, It would be scary !!!
I am bad about getting pictures downloaded, but will put more on soon.

Jeanie's Special Needs Team

I got a picture of the team that Jeanie is helping to coach in Colorado. I was so proud of her and Jake. The team is made up of special needs kids and others. Jake helped her and had a ball.
Here is the e-mail she sent:

The pictures are from the Special Olympics softball team that Jake and I were involved with this summer It was by far the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Jake's buddy was Jason He is the tall one in the middle I think he has some form of autism (high functioning) Jake had some of the atheletes sign his hat and even got Jason's phone number
My little buddies were Kaylee (the one in the picture with me) and Gregory the bigger one in the front with the cute smile They were all so much fun to coach See you soon
Love Jeanie

Hope Lutheran Church, and homesite inSummit SD

MY FAMILY HERITAGE
My Grandpa ,Engebret Kampen came from Norway and settled in Summit SD. He returned and brought my Grandma Anna with him as his new wife. Summit is still a small town but in the middle of this little town was the Lutheran Church that my Mom and her family all worshiped. It was special for me to see that church. I remember going to church there when we went to visit my grandparents on vacation. We also went to the cemetary where they are buried, and saw some of my Aunt's graves also. I hadn't been there in about 43 years. The little town is kind of empty, but that church was a reminder to me that my Grandparents lived there and raised their family there.
It brought back so many memories of my Childhood.
( Including the two holer Outhouse !!!)
That is a BIG part of my Heritage ! I'm so glad I went on that vacation. I never know if I will ever get back there again but for me it was a Spiritual Experience.

My Sisters, Barbara, Mary, Susan And Me

The Utah Group !!

On Saturday we had planned a picnic at my Grandma & Grandpa Kampen's Old Homestead, The home has been torn down, but it is still a pretty grassy lot. Well The weather was real windy and rained all day, so we ended it up having it at the Natl. Guard Armory instead, ( my cousin Hubby Stacey, saved the day !!He also put up a big slide in there and the kids had a ball !! We also sang Karaoke and it was really fun. We had singing contests. Guess what The Dodson's ( My family) won !!
In 2010 the reunion will be held in Southern Utah in Mt. Carmel, I am so excited because my kids will be able to come !

The whole Kampen Family Group

We had a great time at the Family Reunion is South Dakota. My cousin Kristin and her family hosted it this year. What an undertaking! There we 57 people that came from all over the country. Me and Robin, my Sisters, Barbara Jerry her husband came, Mary and Stephen and her son Mitch and grandson Brad and granddaughter, Andilyn and her husband Brooks came.They live in Lincoln Nebraska. Also my sister Susan and her hubby Paul.
We had a Barbecue on Friday night at a Hunting Lodge which is a converted old farm house and it was so nice.It was great seeing all of my cousins and getting to know them better.
Each family group wore a different color t-shirt so we could tell which family each group was from.
Here is a picture of the whole group.

Vacation to South Dakota

Hello from South Dakota

On the Road to Mt. Rushmore.

Our beautiful campspot

Mount Rushmore

What a busy three days. We left home on Monday, made it to Casper WYO, stayed overnight
and then headed for the black hills.

They are so beautiful ! We saw the Crazy Horse Memorial and then to our beautiful campground called " Hidden Valley Rv Park" It was so pretty. They gave us this beautiful spot by the creek and it had a deck and the cutest swing. I highly recommend it !!

Then on Wed we went to Mt.Rushmore and that is quite a site. The faces on the presidents are 60 ft tall ! They were carved out of the Mountain.
They are the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thedore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. They are beautiful as is all of the Black hills. There were men working on the top of Roosevelt's Head !!!

We drove from there and went to Wall Drug, this HUGE drugstore in Wall SD. We then drove for a couple more hours and we stayed in Murdo ( somewhere in SD). We will be driving the rest of the way to Big Stone City for the family reunion. It is about 300 miles from here.

Enjoy the pictures, there will be more.

The Buttars

Megan and Trent met through Burke and Amy. Trent had gone to school with them. They became good friends and then became better friends and were married a year ago. Trent is employed by Overland West and Megan is a Surgical Technician at Davis Hospital. Trent brought a bonus to the marriage with a daughter Madisyn (11) and a son Tyker ( 7). Megan really loves those kids and they are a great family. Madisyn is a Soccer player and dancer. She will be in 7th grade this year. Tyker plays soccer and Baseball and enjoys racing remote control cars. As a family, they all like to ride 4 wheelers, and camp. They live close by also.

The Kohlers

Shawna and Bryce met in High School ( actually Jr. High) and got married 10 years ago this July. Shawna works at IHC in the billing dept, and Bryce is a Police Officer. They have two darling children Kaycee ( 6) and Cameron (3). They love to spend time as a family , camping, swimming, and keeping busy.

Kaycee is playing Soccer, Taking Tumbling lessons and will be in the 1st grade. Cameron is a Loveable little boy and loves to tease. He and his sister are real close to each other. He will be an athlete as soon as he is old enough. They live about 3miles away also, so see them often too.

The Christensens

Burke and Amy have 4 kids, Tyson (17) Kylee (16) Braden (13) and Hadlee (8). They are constantly busy running someone to a ball game, dance practice, to mention a few. Tyson will be a senior next year and is in to running track. Kylee will be junior and likes to dance, and plans on pursuing a career in the medical field. Braden is into Football, Baseball and Basketball and is going in to the 8th grade this year. Hadlee is a dancer too, and also takes tumbling. She will be in third grade this year. Amy still does daycare in her home and Burke is a sales rep for BG automotive products. They only live about 3 miles away from us, so we see them often.

The Harsha Family

Jeanie and Blake, Jake (11) and Ryker (3)Live in Palisade CO. Jake is in 6th Grade and Ryker will start Preschool. They love to spend time on their Horses and do Team Roping, and Sports. Jake plays All sports, and currently is playing Baseball. Kyler (20) lives in the Ogden area, works in construction and is attending Weber State University in the fall.

We miss having them around, but Love where they live. It is a smaller town and they really like it. It is only 5 hrs away, so we see them several times a year. Blake is a sales rep for a castings company, and Jeanie works for St. Mary's Hospital Blood Donor dept.

Happy Father's Day Robin

This Picture was taken with Robin and his four daughters on his 60th Birthday in March. He is so proud of all of them.