Christmas Time Remodelling

December has been a busy month down here in Oklahoma. We had an
ice storm that knocked out our power for 30 hours (we were the lucky
ones). We've got the trees and limbs cleared out of the back yard so
it is much more open.

favs from 2007

After gathering these for Heather & the 2008 calendar, I thought it would be great to share the pics with all of you too. If you double click on the slideshow it will take you to the album where you can save the pics of your kids at the original resolution. Let me know if you need help. Thanks for a great year. Love you all.

Texas with the Kidders

Ryan and I got to visit Fort Worth about 2 weeks ago for a job interview. The company kinda forgot about me and didn't plan anything for me to do. Oh well... much to Ryan's dismay there was a great shopping mall close to the hotel. (I had to do something "productive" with my time, right?)

However the BEST part of visiting Texas was the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Chad, Melissa and Charlie. They had been in Dallas for the weekend and stayed an extra day just for us! First we hung out in the hotel room and talked about all sorts of things. It was great to get to catch up with them (and to get to jump on the big hotel bed with Charlie).

After some downtime in the hotel, we opted to go eat at Riscky's in the stockyards, per Paul and Traci's suggestion.

(Oddly enough, the day before we went we were hanging out with both of them and when converstation would deviate from Texas food Paul would stop us all and remind us that we needed to talk about the "important stuff" - ie - which restaurants we needed to eat at. With their suggestions we could have stayed a week and never eaten at the same places)

Charlie loved the bread there ... he couldn't get enough of it!

Melissa was not very pleased with us when we gave him our four straws, giving Charlie a total of five straws... he did pretty well with them in his mouth, just not when he figured out how to suck on all of them at once.

It was wonderful to be able to spend some time with Chad, Melissa and Charlie. We are grateful that they were willing to sacrifice that day to be with us. Thank you Kidders!

Halloween at Kathryn & Charlotte's

Charlotte and little Maylie.

The annual Halloween party was alot of fun this year!

The kids loved the fact that Kathryn and Charlotte dressed up too!

They had a drawing and gave away some for the fun Halloween things that Grandpa Ray Berg had made and painted over the years.

All the kids got something special too.

The fun cousin picture, everyone looked so cute! What fun costumes.

We ate donuts, and another treats and drank the tradional hot cider, and hot chocolate, and had a fun time just visiting.
This year someone beside just Heather dressed up too!

We all had a GREAT TIME and missed all of you that couldn't be there!

Happy Halloween!

While we won't be able to go trick-or-treating with y'all this year, we thought we would share some of the holiday spirit. We made a Jack-o-Lantern for FHE Monday. Charlie had lots of fun. He was a bit disappointed because he couldn't help with the knives.

Worms!

I was digging the carrots in the garden the other day and Bekah Susan, Maci, and Rebecca decided they wanted to collect some worms. So they got cups from Grandma JuLee and borrowed the shovel from me and set out do dig worms. Eventually they just looked in the dirt I was already digging cause it was too hard to dig by themselves. They colleted quite a few worms each, and had a fun time!

Maci, Bekah, and Rebecca
No girly girls here, these three are true tomboys!

leaf fun

Leaf fun at Grandma's house Sunday afternoon. And by the way, Josh is eating an apple I pulled from the tree...not one that had already been eaten by various critters and on the ground. :)

Maylie's Blessing Day Fun Sept.16

Beautiful Maylie in her dress that Camille and Grandma Berg made for her. I made the kids sit on the couch for the cousins picture, it turned out good! Everyone is looking at me. After the blessing we went our to The Kolher Farm for the luncheon.The kids had a blast playing on the zip line and riding the man powered carnival ride. The kids conned most of the Uncles and Dad's to give them another push. It was a fun time.

Charlie riding the red rocket!
Carsten and Ray in the blue rocket. Carsten only stayed in for a little bit, but Ray didn't want to get out. You can also see Rebecca and Ellie in the pink rocket.
Weston in the red rocket and Bekah in the green one!

My kids keep asking when we can all go back to Uncle Brad's Grandma's and play again!
What a great day!

Love ya, Heather

rock cliff with cousins

It was a pleasure meeting Chad's mom, Christine, (sorry if I spell her name incorrectly). she is a wonderful grandmother and I really enjoyed spending time with her, Melissa, Charlie, Carsten, and Anneclaire. Amazing that it was the first visit for the kids and I to Rock Cliff on the East side of Jordanelle. What a beautiful area. It seems that other than Melissa's previous co-worker and naturalist, we were alone in the big wetland world. We parked, walked onto the boardwalk, and immediately Melissa spotted a deer in the tall grass. As she caught up with her friend, Christine and I I enjoyed watching the boys explore in the nature center. There were all sorts of animals to meet in there. Again on the boardwalk, another deer was spotted. Overall, the campsite and wetland was very well preserved and the trails really allow you to enjoy the area. We had plenty of opportunities for "rock breaks" which I'm sure were the boys' favorite stops. Anneclaire enjoyed the stroller ride. At the end, Charlie was ready to trade her and Christine was good enough to carry sweet Anneclaire as Carten and I took turns pushing Charlie in the stroller. Just at the end of the trail the boys excitedly observed what I think was their first live caterpillar. Pretty neat. As Carsten, Charlie, Anneclaire and I enjoyed the last moments together in the nature center, we saw several birds and a chipmunk scurry nearby, eating birdseed. A wonderful morning. Thanks so much Melissa!

Wasatch State Park

It's always fun to go feed the ducks...especially when you have wonderful family with which to share the experience! We're soo glad to have Melissa and Charlie around for a couple weeks. Maci, Charlie, and Carsten enjoyed feeling the large ducks at the pond. Charlie and Carsten chased the ducks and tried to scare them back into the water. Charlie had a sort-of "bread dance" that he would do each time he threw a piece in the water. The bread must have been good, because they were not shy. Maci was being cautious, staying by we ladies. We think one might have even bit Carsten. That didn't slow him down however. After a while the kids were ready to play on the playscape. Maci impressed us all on the monkey bars...first with help from Grandma, and then all by herself! Anneclaire was in heaven chilling on Traci's lap. Charlie and Carsten followed eachother all over the playscape...doing a fine job climbing. Soon it was time for something new, so off we went for a stroll down towards Warm Springs Road. Melissa pushed Charlie, and Maci and I pushed Carsten and Anneclaire...that is, until Maci was ready for a ride and Carsten was ready to get out. At this point Grandma was pushing the two girls, Traci was carrying Carsten, and I was pushing Charlie. What an adventure, and what a gorgeous day. We all enjoyed the air, sunshine and the changing of the leaves in the mountains.

Cowboy Party at the Library

Story Time at the Library had a kick-off Cowboy party celebrating a new season of stories. Heather and Ray came over and went with us, Rebekah joined us all after she was done with school.

Miss Sally and the Library crew truly outdid themselves: great cowboy songs, and stories, a real cowboy singing cowboy songs to his guitar, cowdog Banjo dancing and doing tricks, rootbeer floats, snake tatoos, cowboy paperdolls to dress from die cuts, sack races, and carriage rides (or climb-ins). There are no pics of Anneclaire because she was on my back during the photos. She also enjoyed the party...especially the staw h'ordeurves.

Charlie's first Sooner Festivity

here's a great email i got from Chad tonite...

This weekend was the first OU football game of the year. For those of you who have not lived South of the Mason-Dixon line, you'll have to experience it some time. All the festivities around the football game are loads of fun. One of the nice things about living close to OU is being able to enjoy the activities that occur around the school. Saturday we took a bike ride up to the school to enjoy it all. Half the fun is watching everyone else as they go to and fro. We watched the drum line perform before the game. Charlie really enjoyed it. We had to strip him away from it.

The picture of the three of us is the second one we took. The first one you saw the back of Charlie's head as he was watching the drum line. The Institute here has an activity on game days. They have the "Sooner Family Fun Zone". We go sometimes to hang out with friends. They have a bounce-house there fore the kids. Charlie had lots of fun in them. He's turning in to quite the little climber. He had no problem going up the front of the slide. We hope that you all are doing well. Have a great Labor Day weekend.

--Chad Kidder

Celebrating Dale's birthday

A wonderful dinner at Paul & Traci's, a visit to Dale's grave, and cake & ice cream back at JuLee's. A hard day made better with family. We love you Dale.

I've decided to start recording as many memories associated with those I love. Here is one I've recently recorded about Dale and his truck:

A few days after Dale passed I found myself in Traffic Court appealing to the judge to send me to traffic school. I had been driving along Mill Road at 32 in a 25 mph zone. Incidentally, Stuart (in Sowby & Berg’s office) knew the cop that had been staking out that portion of the road. The officer was doing a traffic study on the street. So yes, I can say that I have been part of that study: physically and monetarily.

A month later our dodge had broken down and Carl was driving his father’s truck. Carl was to stay home with the kidos as I attended the dreaded traffic school. He suggested I take his dad’s truck in case he needed to go with the kids anywhere. I hopped into Dale’s truck and realized there was no way I was going to reach those pedals. The seat and everything connected to it had molded itself to Dale’s frame over the years. I tried to move the seat forward. It wouldn’t budge. If I didn’t get going I would be late for the class and then maybe I’d have to pay the ticket also! Saying a quick prayer in my heart, I yanked on the seat with all of my might. The seat flew forward. I looked down at my legs. My calves were squarely resting on the edge of the seat. They were not going to reach the floor. But I could barely reach the pedals with my toes. I could also barely see over the steering wheel, and out of the mirrors, but that was workable. So off I went.

As I drove into town I couldn’t help but thinking about Dale and that he must have had quite a chuckle watching me prepare to drive his truck. It was then that I had the impression that he must have helped me move the seat :). After the class, I stopped by JuLee’s. As I was telling she, Brittany, and Tonya the story, JuLee started to laugh and said that she had tried to drive it once and could not move the seat either, that Dale had to help her and that Dale must have helped me move that seat! We had a nice laugh together.

Duke Family Reunion

Congrats to Aunt Kathryn, the reunion was a hit. She'll tell you the official count...there were many Duke decendants, great food, lots of fun, the park looked wonderful, and the weather was great. Here's just a few pics...

baby Maylie & Camille's shower

Radiant as ever, the beautiful and gracious Camille enjoyed family and friends showering she and Maylie with gifts. The company was wonderful, the food great, and Camille was darling. We love you and are soo excited for you and Brad!

happy 4th of july

Another quality 4th at Whiskey Springs!

Farewell to Charlie

Just had to squeeze in a little more fun before Charlie got on the big plane ride. We love you Charlie and will miss you till next time!

happy 24th of july!

cobblestone park

A fun park day with Tonya, Rebecca, and Josh. Tonya and I rode with the kids in our bike trailers. We got hit by the sprinklers each way as they are doing far too great of a job watering the sidewalk!

Melissa's 30th birthday celebration

talent show highlights

The talent show was quite the production! Ellie Jo and Maile danced, Rebekah Susan, Rebecca, Maci, and Ashlynn sang, Weston gave peotry, and Kathryn joined all the kids at a little "hokey pokey." There are more pics on Heather's camera and I'll add them when I get copies. Thank you everyone for making Kathryn's birthday such a special event that we will all remember for years to come. The book of memories will especially be a treasure. We love you Kathryn!