Update on "Forest"

Just to let you know that "Forest" ---as Megan named the calf (him or her--not sure what it is?)-- has been a good calf and has not run away again. Thank goodness!! We don't need missing baby calves!!
I did think Bill's name for the calf was pretty appropriate ("Lunch")... but somehow thinking about eating that calf in another year and a half or two, seems kind of 'sick'....right now it seems too cute to eat! I will admit though, that the steak I ate tonight was sooooooo good....no chance of this girl becoming a vegan!

VA Inspection

Bob, the Sioux Falls VA is in good shape. I was in a wing that was built about 5 years ago so maybe you approved it or something cool like that:) I took some high school students to serve lunch to some vets. It was a really good time even though many of the guys were in pretty bad shape. They seemed to light up with the "young kids" there. Plus, one of the old guys hit on me the entire time.....just doing my part for those who served our country! Now I just need a job to pay me to teach kids about service learning....Amy Olson, the guidance counselor extraordinaire!

Megg, your picture is disgusting but amazing at the same time. How do you do it?
Shannon, your picture was just awesome.....I mean dispicable!

Hi From Bethesda

Hello Everyone,

We are all well here. We have finally gotten past some of the cold rainy weather and are into spring. Today was a beautiful day with temps in the 80's and sunshine. Lots to do but I didn't do too much this weekend. I spent most of this past week in northern California. Went to seven places in three days including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Sacramento and San Francisco. Was not in San Fran long enough to enjoy much, but did stay at a nice hotel in Fisherman's Warf and walked around in the evening and saw some of the sights. For those of you who remember, we had a huge Tulip Poplar tree in the back yard and we had it taken down. These pics show how much of a project it was. I know if you guys were here we would have done it ourselves.

Looking forward to this June.

Lunch

Megg has a good idea for a name for the Prodigal calf. Forest can be used for 15 mos. and then I vote we rename the calf LUNCH!! Mr Bill

Here is the first known pic of Shannon in a Sheriffs patrol car. I'm sure proud!Mr Bill

Picture Request...

Hey, can someone either email or just post the St. Pat's picture with me in the police car? It's facebook-worthy.

There's goes my 3 minute break... back to studying...

Is It Too Late To Join In?

Hi All, I finally found my way to The Neary News. Same old story here in Carroll. Kids are running our life. I didn't say ruining. Tonight Morgan is having a girl/boy party at our house, 13 kids. Tyler is in a Kuemper golf meet and Cole is at a friends. Tomorrow, Cole has soccer, Morgan has dance competition in DM and Tyler starts a new job at the country club (Not the Pro). Sunday Morgan still in DM, Cole in Ankeny to play two baseball games and Tyler probably taking advantage of good weather and playing golf all day. So you know who gets to drive them all over, D & M Taxi Co. We estimate that it is about a 60 mile a day job, if we don't leave town. The crazy thing is "I think we enjoy it."
I just looked at the Neary News tonight. I haven't read them all yet but it's a great way to keep up on everyone. Thanks Amy. And Megan, That picture of you and the dead cat. That's Nasty. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in June and we would be interested in going in on a present for Mom & Dad. Keep us posted. How about we bring the B'day Cakes and Home made Ice Cream for the Friday B'day party. I think everyone liked that at grandpa's party. Terry or Margaret, let me know if you have other plans for the b'day cake.
One last thing, Joe, Cole & I will send you $10 if you put it away for a rainy day. Wait we have had enough of those already. Go Ahead, Let It Ride! Don

The Prodigal Calf

Joe's had a fun last few days...one of the new calves (a 3 day old calf ) ran out into the field and it wouldn't come back up to the farm where the mother was...when he'd try to get it, it would just take off running in some other direction. One time he thought he had it (he snuck up on it when it was sleeping!) and it jumped through his hands, through his legs, and headed south...as in way south...across the road and into the field by the river. He looked and looked for it... even took the mother down to that field in the stock trailer and let it bawl awhile, so maybe the calf would hear it and come back. No luck. The next day was rainy and cold and windy, so we thought for sure the calf would not survive. This had been 48 hrs. that the calf had been running around by itself. He still kept looking for it, though. Then last night a neighbor south of the farm, called and asked if Joe was missing a calf. He said it was in his farmyard, but he couldn't catch it because he got "winded". He said the last he knew, the calf was headed toward some pine trees. So this morning Joe thought he'd head down there right away and see if he could find it or at least track it. Well, when he got to the farm, lo and behold, there was the calf in the cattle lot with it's mother. :) Amy thinks because this calf was so persistent and smart to get back all by itself, we should keep it forever (as in not eat it eventually!) and name it. So, anyone with name suggestions, should let Joe know. :) I'm sure he'd like to give the calf a really special name.... haha...I think he's already called it a few choice names. :)

PS.

Here is a picture of me and my cat!
My lab partner and I started off
calling her Effer, but when we
disected the stomach we found
absolutely nothing inside, so we
changed her name to Mary-Kate. : D

Hey Fam!
So I thought I'd avoid some studying and write a post! I absolutely love this thing. I check it all the time. We are kind of in a posting slump right now, so get writing!! Tomorrow is my last day of classes!!! I don't get to enjoy that though because I have finals next week and two of them are going to be AWFUL!! I got my first final out of the way today. We had our Anatomy lab practical final and had to identify all of the organs, veins and arteries in cats that we have been disecting for about a month. Monday I have my Organic Chem. II final, and Tuesday is my Anatomy lecture final. After that it's super super easy! But until then, I'll be a big ball of stress. I'm really excited to be done with Organic Chemistry forever! Other than that, things are good. I'm super ready to move out of the dorms! Between moving out of the dorms and moving into the apartment we have about 11 days. For three of them The Jim's will be in Chicago and the rest I will be homeless in Cedar Falls! My two roomates and I are really excited about it actually. We have found a place to sleep for every night and are just going to have a kind of progressive sleepover. It will be an adventure! : D Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well!! Love you all so so much!!
~Megg

Hello - I hope everyone is still reading our Neary News - I wanted to touch base again about the Neary get together in June. I would like to find out who will be able to be at the farm for dinner on Friday night. We are planning the dinner and need a good idea of the number. I think most of us will be there, but want to be sure. Please either add a comment to this post or email me at leofam4@peoplepc.com. While you are at it, please let me know if you will be able to stay for lunch on Sunday. If anyone wants more details, let me know and I will give you a call.

Take care - stay safe
Margaret

Trip to London

So try this.

Go into Google and ask for directions from Washington DC to London.

Read closely

Bob

It is official!

Dave and I are officially moving to Madison, WI! We are here looking for a place to live and sampling some of the nation's best beer:) Although I am still a Hawkeye, I might have to cheer for the Badgers once in awhile because they gave Dave a great deal to come here. I am looking for jobs as a school counselor, teacher, or anything I can possibly make my resume look qualified for! I take the National Counselor Exam next Saturday and if I pass I will be a Nationally Certified Counselor and that should open up some doors as well. Can't wait to see you all at the farm in June!

I guess I can join too...

Hey everyone, thought I'd drop you all a line and update a little contact info.

Everything in Ames is going well as Eliza and I wind down our college careers. She'll be finishing up in August with degrees in Journalism/Mass Communication and Psych. Right now she's working with the Principal Charity Classic (formerly known as the Allianz Championship) in Ticketing and Advertising/Public Relations. So if anyone wants to buy tickets to see the old guys like Tom Kite, let me know.

I will be done with my B.S. in Management in 3 weeks and after Memorial Day I'll start with Pella Window and Doors as a Dept. Manager. Second shift doesn't sound very exciting but it'll pay the bills I suppose.

I won't lose my iastate email until December, but I will be moving my contacts over to my Gmail account which is shannon.neary@gmail.com.

Good idea on this, btw. Hope to see you all in June.
Shannon

Anniversary gift idea

At St. Pat's weekend, Margaret and I were talking and we were wondering what you would think about going in together and buying a new couch for Bob and Pat. Margaret doesn't think Pat would mind if we picked out the couch...(our other option would be to give them a gift card to Petersen's Furniture). Amy and I looked at couches at Petersen's Furniture in town and they have Lazy-boys that have the 'motion' like their couch now has, where each end reclines. Those couches were between $900 and $1000. I could also look at Matt furniture in Spencer...they usually have sales on Lazy-boys the month of June for Father's Day. What do you think? If we get a couch, do you want it to be from the 'kids' or should it be from whoever wants to go in on it? Let me know your thoughts on that. I realize that if some or any of the grandkids went in on the gift, it might just be a small amount....it makes no difference to Joe or me how we do the gift... if you have some other idea, let us know.

We're planning on Megan and Emily staying here if they want, along with Amy & Dave and Laura. Shannon---if you and /or Eliza want to stay here, you can stay too. The rest of you are welcome to stay, but you'd only have floor space left to sleep on!

We're really looking forward to the weekend and being at the farm with everyone. :) It should be a lot of fun!

Hello from Waverly

OK - So I think I have this down, I decided if Bill can do this - I should be able to - just kidding.

The boys are good - Payton is in preschool and we have found is very artistic and a perfectionist. He has his own "framed" art hanging in his room. He is very proud of what he does. And yes, the picture that Terry posted is foreshadowing his future, I am just warning everyone now. Brady is in first grade and all loves baseball, football and video games.

There will be much more to come on the plans for this summer. Just to give an overview - For everyone who is there on Friday June 22nd there will be a birthday party for all the June birthdays - with food, cake and party favors. On Saturday we will be holding an open house style party for Bob & Pat's 60th wedding anniversary and Pat's 80th birthday. Then on Sunday for anyone who can stay for lunch - well we are just having Pizza!! Now, I am sure Pat will make something, but warning everyone now that we are not allowing her to cook the 22nd, 23rd or 24th -so anyone who wants gravy from the Gravy Queen will need to be in Emmetsburg on a different day. We will also be putting their picture in the paper for a card shower, as the only people invited to the house will be family.

If anyone has questions, please feel free to contact me or use the blog to provide ideas. Oh and one final note - there will be a family trip scheduled to the Wild Rose. Our tour guide will be Farmer Joe Neary. He will be instructing us on how to HIT IT BIG at the Wild Rose!!!

Take Care

Bethesda Update

Well, this is a pretty cool idea and thanks to Amy for getting it going. I must admit it is a bit depressing to review Megan's countdown of days to her next few exciting events. My countdown seems to work on months.

Hope you all had a nice Easter and are looking forward to the spring. We are freezing our butts off here. If Don Imus hadn't warmed up the society, we could all have expired.

Mike and Michelle had us all over for Easter dinner. Joyce, Bob and I along with the Bezos family and many friends. It was a great time.

Things are busy at the VA and I have been traveling quite a bit this year. We've got about $5 billion worth of construction in either design or construction so lots of interest in what we are doing. Much of my travel has been in the southeast but am going to California in a couple of weeks.

We are all looking forward to a summer visit. It should be a great time.

More to follow.

Bob

Paradise

Hey Megg-I'm with you on the weather. Pretty short spring and summer. Let's just call it another Beautiful Day in Paradise[Iowa]. Cya later-Mr Bill

Hey Family!

Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful Iowa weather! I woke up my roomate this morning when I screamed after catching a glimpse of the snowyness outside! I'm in the thick of scheduling classes for the fall and all the Bio majors are freaking out. We have limited spaces in labs next semester because the university is completely re-doing our labs. I register tomorrow and ALL of my classes have been full for days. Yay me. I'm not sure how it's going to work out, but it will. Maybe I'll start another minor or something...I don't know. But other than that things are so great! We are done with classes in 20 days and I move into my first apartment in 36 days! I'll be living with my two best girlfriends in an apt. about 2 blocks off campus. We've gone a little overboard with the internet shopping...we already have our futon cover, sofa cover, matching bolsters and pillows for each, a shower curtain, 3 piece rug set for the bathroom, lots of fun glassware and picture frames...we have packages coming every day! : D Anyways, just wanted to let you guys know how much I love you all and can't wait to see you again!!!

Aunt Margaret is coming!!

I just had two wrong email addresses for her.....but don't fret she is on her way to blogging soon! I see she made a comment - maybe she is up an running - but she should be a "contributer" soon.

Gravy Queen strikes again

Just had to share with you all how good the turkey gravy was on Sat. night. :) There were only 6 of us (including gr. and grandpa) to enjoy it. I did my best to eat enough for everyone else. And, we were treated to the chocolate/vanilla pudding pie dessert with real whipcream. Dave thought it should be renamed "miracle pie".
We might not have all the fancy restaurants you have in the 'big city'...aka Blair, Ames, Russellville, but we have Grandma Neary's gravy. :)

My first blog experience

Hi Neary family, we are officially part of the Neary family blog. Wow!
We went to DesMoines and bought furniture for Megan's bedroom for her first apartment. She'll move out of the dorms on the 4th of May and into her apartment on the 16th of May and starts summer school on May 15th, so she'll have to stay with friends for a night.
Emily graduates on May 5th in Business and has decided she does not like it, so she is going to go to Nursing school at Mercy College in DesMoines. She's going to get her BSN so it should take 3 years in the accelerated program. (She's already met a lot of requirements with her Business degree). So she's moving to DesMoines in June. We've become the Joe Neary"s!!!!!!
Hope you all have a blessed Easter. Chris

Hey Champ

Hey Everybody-Great idea! Joe did you get my envelope? The Easter bunny is going to freeze his little fuzzys off. cya all later-Mr Bill

Hello...we had a great time in Iowa. Grandpa Bill is the best and The Gravy Queen did not dissapoint.

Love to all,

The Brady Bunch

Matt, Melissa, Mason and Maddie

Show me the money!

Reminder #1: Send $5 to Uncle Joe on the Farm ASAP.

Wild Rose Casino is calling.

Whose Child Is This......

Look carefully at the picture - whose naughty child is this?

Happy Easter

Time to color those eggs! We're going to Fort Dodge on Sunday...but we'll get in one meal at the farm on Saturday night. :) Everyone have a great weekend.

Bringing Neary Back

Since some of us are already in withdrawal from Neary Madness, I created this blog for us to keep in touch. So, we can give this a try. Post as you may. Share as you see fit. Remember, this is public space so don't put anything on here you don't want the world to see, plus we're not that kind of family!