Home On The Range

It was back to Mom's roots for Christmas this year. We left Christmas morning for Midway and arrived in Arapahoe, Nebraska around dinner time Christmas night. Aunt Erica and Uncle Derek and my cousins - Keenan and Kameron - were there, too, so we had a blast.

I'll keep the lingo short because I have a ton of fabulous pictures to share, off we go...

Here's Aunt Erica and I playing Miss America, which I just loved.

Here's Grandpa hanging out with me while I ate breakfast. I'm looking forward to some fishing with Grandpa when I get old enough.

Here's Grandma and I, first reading a book and then at the Arapahoe Warriors gymnasium. Grandma and I had a great time getting to know each other a little better.
I interrupt this blog post to chatter a little bit. One afternoon Grandpa got the key to the gym of at the school where Mom went to grade school and high school and we went over to shoot some hoops and play some volleyball and dodgeball.

And I have to show you what was on the wall. Yep, that's Mom on there, who STILL holds the 100m and 200m school record, still holding up after 12 years - see S. LAMMEL. Yep, Mom's a superstar. Wait, there's more. The second photo is a picture of the basketball records and she still holds the free throw percentage record. An impressive 83% career average... in fact, I think Michael Jordan's career average was 84%, but I bet she's a better Mom than he is.
So I figured why not get a head start on this basketball thing.
And here's me running down the court on a fast break but I think I forgot the ball.

So that was a lot of fun but my favorite thing to do was play with the beads. Grandma had a bin with probably 40 necklaces in it and I loved to sit in the living room and just put them on and take them off.

All in all, just a wonderful trip to Arapahoe. I miss Grandma and Grandpa a lot but I know I'll see them again soon.

Okay, future posts to look forward to are our follow up trip to Denver from Arapahoe and my 11-month photos (which are already four days late, DAD!!)

Finley Meets Her Arapahoe Roots

So today Grandma Lammel got into town from the heartland and she'll be staying with us til Sunday; Granpda Lammel is set to arrive on Friday. For those of you that don't know, Grandma and Grandpa Lammel are from Arapahoe, Nebraska, where Sarah grew up.

Arapahoe is a town of about 900 people that is equidistant from Denver and Omaha, about a 4.5-hour drive from each. The Skertich family took a vacation there this past July 4, and had an absolutely fantastic time, though I'm not sure if the town ever wants them to come back.

The Lammels own a heating, air conditioning and plumbing store in Arapahoe, which you can see here below, that services Arapahoe and all the surrounding towns. As you might imagine, Grandpa Lammel is a little more handy than Finley's dad.

So back to today. According to Mom, Finley was awake most of the day (possibly a good sign that some sleep is on the way tonight) and had a great time hanging with Grandma Lammel. Grandma, well versed in the history of her hometown, explained to Finley that Arapahoe was founded in 1871 by a band of men whose dream it was to establish a town in the Republican River Valley. She continued on that the town was founded along the Muddy Creek, just west of Arapahoe.

Finley quickly interrupted Grandma Lammel and asked, "Wait, isn't the Muddy Creek that local tavern in town that makes a really stiff Whiskey and Coke but closes a bit too early on the weeknights?" Grandma Lammel had no response because Finley was absolutely correct on both counts. And in honor of Finley's surprising knowledge of the Arapahoe watering hole, I thought I'd post of a photo of the Muddy Creek Saloon in Arapahoe, Nebraska