kc and ruth's blog buzZ ...

Isaac turned 2 today ... (-8b

2009-09-21T14:14:00.012-04:00

Isaac and Thea are great friends ... we couldn't resist with this card

he liked his " 2 " latest additions to his "cars" collection ...

and boy does he LOVE his "cars" !!!

new little sister Addison ... just bein her cute little self

the most blessed grampa we know and grandbaby #6 ... addison rose

and Addison makes 6 ...

2009-08-06T20:33:00.016-04:00

welcome to the family Addison Rose ... we've been waiting to meet you

Addison ... a week old already

... we ALL enjoyed the Mackmers visit from phoenix ...

•

we were blessed to have Jalene for a sleepover ... Thea was especially excited !!!

this may be my favorite picture of Evan ... as he here reminds me of a boy i knew when i was his age

... as Evan calls her ... Janellie Belle

we managed a visit to a local playground ... always a place for some great photos ... the kids had fun ... especially new BIG brother, Isaac

Jalene will be starting 1st grade in just a couple of weeks ... where does the time go

Ev enjoyed playing with someone elses toys for a change ... a train that was his Uncle Adam's and now Isaac's

Janelle looks pretty serious here ... i think she prefers her pictures taken by her momma ... (-8b

Kay & Don brought all the kids cool hats ... Isaac got a penguin hat but ... decided he like Janelle's duck hat much better

kc's 3 kids ... Steph, Terri and Adam

robert & fawn's wedding ... july 4th

2009-07-14T16:03:00.033-04:00

... mr & mrs robert congdon ...

... my great nephew and robert & fawns son ... deacon

... a much younger robert ...

... kenneth david and kenneth glen ...

... my all time favorite picture of kenneth glen ... in my 1st car ... a 1968 mustang ...

... robert, alexis, kenneth glen & megan ...

... kenneth glen, alexis, megan & robert ...

... alexis with london, dillon and nikki ...

... alexis, steph and adam ... 1983

... alexis, london and dillon in '96 ...

... dillon and london ...

... nikki ...

... megan, shaun, jeda and kalynn ...
•

megan's oldest daughter ... jeda

megan ... july 1983

Kay & Don's 40th "surprise" anniversary party ...

2009-07-02T18:10:00.014-04:00

the invited guests patiently awaiting their arrival ...

whatdayathink ... was Kay surprised or what ???

•

4 suitcases full of 40 years of memories ...

my sister Bethany ... did an amazing job planning and preparing everything ...

with the help of Maica & Courtney !!!

[ awesome job ladies ]

Myriah [ Beth's daughter ] and her friend Charisma ...

Joshan [ Beth's son ] and his girlfriend Kristina ...

Steph [ kc's daughter ] & Steve ...

Ruth and i ... what an awesome time we had !!!

congratulations Kay & Don

•

¡¡¡ YOU guys ROCK !!!

...

grampa's easter blessings ...

2009-04-12T22:31:00.010-04:00

Happy Resurrection Sunday all ...

we hope today was a "special" day for you !!!

¡¡¡ these are this most blessed grampa's easter blessings !!!

from the youngest to the oldest

[ thank you terri & paul and adam & jenn for sharing ]

janelle reese mackmer ...

isaac nathan congdon ...

evan wallace mackmer ...

•••

jalene noelle mackmer ...

•••

in memory of ... Steven Charles Sutton, Jr

2009-04-03T17:03:00.006-04:00

God decided He wanted my grandson Steven with Him yesterday ...

although our hearts are broken today ...

we rest in the assurance that Steven will greet us in heaven one day !!!

we got to spend some time with him today and this is a picture of his footprints.

couldn't help but think of the poem "footprints" and how true it rings for us today.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to him and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of his life.This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once i decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But i have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. i don't understand why when i needed you most you would leave me.The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Carolyn Carty, 1963

•••

please join us in praying for my daughter, Stephanie and son-in-law, Steve as they grieve for their ... and our loss

•••

thank you Jesus for always being with us ... especially during these very hard times.

a tradition continues ...

2009-02-01T23:57:00.009-05:00

Isaac and i continued our Super Bowl tradition [ 2 years running now ] of watching the game together ... he had his Cardinals red shirt on and this look was a result of Larry Fitzgeralds amazing catch and run for a touchdown to put the Cardinals ahead ... he said " dude • i mean grampa ... that number 11 is THE best " ... Aunt Terri and i couldn't have agreed with him more. but ... the steelers came back and ... [ did what do steelers do ] they stole the game back in the final seconds. oh well ... it was a great game and we had much fun together ... see for yourselves.

•••

Isaac thought it was awesome that his cousins Jalene & Evan & Janelle along with Aunt Terri and Uncle Paul were also rooting for their now hometown Cardinals ...

•••

Isaac brought a toy out that i recognized ... it was a bear his dad played with 28 years earlier ... [ see 2nd picture ] ...

how awesome is this

pretty awesome if you ask me ... Isaac thought so too

how cute are these boys ... this very blessed grampa thinks they are very cute !!!

thank you Isaac for another fantastic time together ... and thank you Adam & Jenn !!! ... i love you ... gkc

our Princess Thea turned 2 today ...

2009-01-25T16:22:00.009-05:00

it's hard for us to believe we've had Thea for 2 years already ... and ... it's much harder to get good pictures of dogs than it is of grandbabies

••

she loves cookies ...

Quality "TIME" with Isaac ...

2009-01-25T15:32:00.006-05:00

Issac does this thing that just melts this grampas heart ... he LOVES to play with my watch ... he also LOVES to take my hat off and usually just gives the hat right back ... but recently i have been getting him to wear it for a lil'bit ... well, sometimes just long enough to capture a precious moment in time.

he gets me to take my watch off ... then he puts it on ... then takes it off and gives it right back ... we do this over and over and over til he gets tired of it • as i never do !!!

he is so CUTE ... ya just want to hug and kiss him all the time !!!

the 2nd best thing about Christmas ...

2008-12-31T19:02:00.018-05:00

i think this Christmas gift was a winner ... what do you think ??? and ... how cute they decided the 3 peep snowmen in front of the house are ... Jalene on the sled and Gramma Ruth and i the other 2 !!!

we knew Jalene would welcome Ev's help and we knew they would have an awesome time doing this

• great idea Gramma Ruth !!!

THE most beautiful gingerbread house builder we know !!!

we think Ev was liking this project too ...

looking good Jalene ... we hope it tastes as good as it looks

poor Janelle has been sick for a few days with an ear infection ... if not i'm sure she would have helped with the project too

and after sitting for a short time ... the house became a new years eve treat ... reports are as we had hoped ... it indeed tasted as good as it looked • great stuff !!!

THANK YOU Terri ... for overseeing the project and for taking and sharing the AWESOME pictures with us ... and ... THANK YOU Jalene ... for making this Christmas so special for us ... we LOVE and MISS you guys SO MUCH !!!

Christmas weekend ...

2008-12-27T18:21:00.013-05:00

Steph & Steve made our Christmas weekend complete with their visit today ... they are approximately 3 months and 13 days into their first pregnancy and we are all SO excited with anticipation for them ... we're sure the last 5 months and couple of weeks will fly by ... for us anyways ... it may be a different story for them ... (-8b

•••

Adam brought Isaac over so we could see him in the awesome outfit we got him for Christmas and ... to copy many of the pictures i've taken of them the past few months ...

Isaac LOVES walking around and around in our little apartment ... we're not sure if he's chasing Thea or if Thea is chasing him sometimes ...

Isaac and Thea always have great fun playing with each other ...

kc's 2 favorite boys carrying on the congdon name ...

Christmas day 2008 ...

2008-12-25T22:46:00.006-05:00

we were blessed to spend this Christmas day with Adam, Jenn, Isaac and Julian ... thank you Adam & Jenn for having us in your beautiful new home for a "yummy" dinner and a wonderful time together !!!

we started out our time together "skyping" with the Mackmers in phoenix ... how awesome it was to see and talk with them on this special day !!!

by the time we got there ... Isaac had the gift opening down ... too cute !!!

Isaac enjoying his new rocking zebra ...

and [ believe it or not ] this is how he gets off ... everytime ... which is fine as long as there aren't other toys within landing distance

Adam "trying" to help Jenn in our game of Quiddler ...

[ i think ] this is where Jenn bested Julian in one hand ... ???

Isaac helping [ ??? ] Jenn out ... whatdayathink • do they like each other or what

Ruth and her middle son, Julian

THE most blessed grampa we know and 1 very "cute boy"

O holy night ...

2008-12-24T21:11:00.011-05:00

... O Holy Night ...

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine,

the night when Christ was born;

O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,

Now come the wisemen

from out of the Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friends.

He knows our need,

our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break,

for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy

in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

...

my very favorite Christmas song ever ... brings tears down my face every time i hear it ... for me it began when i was just a young boy in our favorite hometown of Forestville, NY and every Christmas eve [ that i can remember ] my sister Beth sang this at the candlelight service at the methodist church we attended. i've since especially enjoyed Martina Mcbrides version and ... the Whiffenpoofs on West Wing ... and then tonight at the first of our 2 Christmas Eve services at North ... i enjoyed it SO much in the 1st service with 350 others ... i convinced Ruth to stay for the 2nd service so we could enjoy it again. along with an awesome instrumental song by the amazing Mapes family and "what Child is this" by Nate Bantle.

we wish you all a very merry CHRISTmas • LOVE ... kc, Ruth and Thea

ps • happy birthday Steve ... a birthday you share with my dad who would have turned 91 today ... if he was still with us.

it's the most wonderful time of the year ...

2008-12-20T23:26:00.012-05:00

seems like just a few weeks ago Ruth was making Christmas cookies with Jalene, Evan & Aunt Steph ... we were blessed to be able to have Ruth's grandaughter, Michaela over this Christmas !!!

these are just a few of the awesome cookies the girls made ... great job ladies !!!

Michaela had a blast playing out in the snow we got the last 2 days ...

¡¡¡ Thea LOVED having her over too !!!

we had a wonderful time with Michaela today • what a sweetheart she is !!!

hey --- how'd this "cute boy" sneak into this post ... this was from 1 of the last times i got to watch Isaac ... (-8b

our Princess Jalene turned 5 this week ...

2008-11-07T23:09:00.014-05:00

celebrating at school ... whatdayathink ... is she a happy girl or what !!!

cake is always a highlight of celebrating a birthday ...

Jalene after completing the special crossword puzzle i made for her ...

Janelle in a basket ... priceless !!!

Ev and his buddy Chuck E Cheese ...

2 of grampa kc's very favorite girls ... Terri & Janelle

THANKS again Terri & Paul for sharing your pictures with us !!!

halloween fun ...

2008-11-01T18:45:00.008-04:00

our favorite Princess Jalene and mini clark kent ...

sweet angel baby ... Janelle Reese

Isaac ... 1 very cute lion

THANK YOU

Terri & Paul and Adam & Jenn for sharing your pics with us !!!

Maica & Chris ...

2008-10-22T20:09:00.019-04:00

Chris [ a 12 year marine currently serving in san angelo, texas ] ... and Maica [ kc's neice ]

the setting was awesome ... at the belhurst castle, in geneva, ny ... on beautiful seneca lake

the proud parents of the beautiful bride ... and... grandparents of the very cute flower girl ...

Courtney [ kc's other neice and Maica's sister ] with her boyfriend Mike and her daughter

Tera Jo ... the very cute flower girl

1 of my favorite parts of a reception ... the father / daughter dance ...

Myriah ... [ kc's neice ... Beth's daughter ] ... drove her mom up from washington, dc for the event ... you're awesome Myriah !!! ... we missed you Chrissy !!!

me and my 2 favorite sisters ... Kay [ maica & courtney's mom ] on my rightand Beth on my left ...

a 3 generations fun afternoon ...

2008-10-21T11:11:00.018-04:00

i just was going over to watch the penn state / michigan game with my 2 favorite congdon boys ... penn state indeed won the game ... but ... the photoshoot was my highlight !!!

any wonder why autumn is my very favorite time of the year ...

we settled in to watch the 9 game streak come to an end ... ... ...

isaac was like ... what is up with these guys ... they aren't looking like the #3 team in the country today ... patience, my grandson, patience

he was a lil'bit bored so he entertained himself elsewhere for a lil'while ...

adam even let him call his mom to see how she and lindsi were enjoying their movie ...

after awhile ... things started looking up ... good call isaac !!!

we were excited when the nittany lions finally took the lead ... for good !!!

and ... with the penn state victory ... isaac showed us his victory dance ... i'll call it the "lil'man walkin" dance ... priceless 4 sure

he thought we needed to celebrate even more and played us a victory song ... too cute !!!

after the game it was just back to being a little boy playing with his awesome toys ...

2008-10-16T10:39:00.006-04:00

tagged by Steph .... "4 things" ... kc's edition ... (-8b

4 things i was doing 10 years ago ....

• began my 25th year at eastman kodak company
• celebrated adam's graduation from greece odyssey high school
• watched cal ripken's consecutive game streak come to an end
• enjoyed the movie "you've got mail " for the 1st time

4 things on my to do list today ....

• devotions
• "officially" congratulate steph & steve on their wonderful news
• go to work
• be thankful for all God has blessed me with

4 jobs i have had ....

• bartender at forest lanes
• tailer at sterlingworth furniture factory
• film technician at eastman kodak company
• produce associate at wal•mart in kansas city

4 movies i have seen more than once ....

• field of dreams
• for love of the game
• runaway jury
• return to me

4 places i have lived ....

• forestville, ny
• northeast, pa
• rochester, ny
• kansas city, mo

4 places i have been this year ....

• the dmv
• church at the beach
• u-haul
• letchworth state park

4 places i want to visit ....

• PHOENIX, AZ !!!!
• nyc
• wrigley field
• schwabl's in west seneca

4 tv shows i watch ....

• sportscenter
• friday night lights
• seinfeld reruns
• west wing reruns

4 things you may not know about me ....

• i THOUGHT i was the last person to ever WANT a dog
• i love rainy days
• i once won a bike rodeo
• i had 2 fabulous little league baseball experiences

4 things i love about my wife ....

• i LOVE how she loves me !!!
• i LOVE and admire her daily walk with our Lord
• i LOVE that she wanted thea
• i love when SHE snores ... (-8b

4 people i tag ....

• Ruth
• Kay
• Beth
• my favorite cuZin Karen

... 1 of our very favorite places ever ...

2008-10-12T22:16:00.014-04:00

at letchworth state park ... everything was SO vibrant on this day

the "grand canyon of the east" ... not quite as big as the "other" grand canyon ... but ... ALOT more colorful ... we so missed the colors our last 3 autumns in kansas city ... it is SO good to be back home !!!

thea had a great time ... but like us ... was exhausted when we got home ... we'll all be sleeping well tonite

i think hot air balloons are SO cool • taking pictures of them anyway ... i knew steph would like this one !!!

celebrating isaac's 1st birthday ...

2008-09-07T22:49:00.018-04:00

what a beautiful day it turned out to be ... thankfully, the weather forecasters were wrong and it turned out to be a nice overcast [ best for pictures ] kinda day !!!

isaac had SO much fun ... the rest of us did too, of course ... he was his usual cute self and had many friends and family over to celebrate.

the awesome hosts ... can you tell isaac was happy to have everyone there ... the food was spectacular • i even heard there was a delicious pasta salad with sauerkraut in it ... ??? ... like i said, i JUST heard about it.

isaac got many awesome gifts and this is my favorite of the gift opening ceremonies ... i think adam & jenn were even more excited than issac with this one ... isaac actually was more excited with the cards ... (-8b

he had his own personal "little einstiens" rocket cake that jenn made for him ... he entertained us for awhile eating it while posing for some photos ... too cute !!!

this is my favorite photo of the afternoon ... this blessed grampa's 2 favorite congdon boys !!!

thought you all would enjoy this picture of adam ... 27 years ago on his 1st birthday ... he seems to have had alot more hair than isaac does and he was about 3 of those hairs short of being as cute ... (-8b ... love you son ... and grandson !!!

born in 54 and now ... 54 ... (-8b

2008-08-26T13:03:00.008-04:00

W O W !!! ... 1 of my favorite words ever [ at least i've been told for many, many years i've said it way more than i've needed to ... (-8b ] ... where has all the time gone and ... what did 1 of the only yankees i've ever liked say ... " if i had known i was going to live this long ... i would have taken better care of myself " ... amen to that mickey !!!

well ... if you were thinking you were going to see a picture of me here ... you were wrong. what a blessing to have my grandson, isaac, come over and personally sing happy birthday to me. the only thing that could have been better is if his 3 cousins jalene, evan and janelle were here to have sung with him.

isaac is so cute around thea ... he's not quite sure what to make of her but ... he does let her lick his hands

he is definately 1 of THE cutest little blessings in all this world and how blessed are we that we get to spend alot of Quality time with him !!!

church at the beach ... last sunday night

2008-08-10T23:20:00.016-04:00

ok ... i'm ALOT prejudice ... but ... is this the cutest little "church at the beach" worshipper you've EVER seen ... oh, you thought that was a ? ... it wasn't ... it definately IS this grampas opinion 4 sure [ and a few others too ] !!!! what a awesome night ... the singing ... the sharing ... AND ... 13 people were baptized in lake ontario this night and i was fortunate enough to capture some of the images ...

this is our senior pastor David ... man can he sing ... but ... more importantly he shares Gods word with us like none other we've known !!!

and this is 1 of our associate pastors, Scott, baptizing his son Adam ... he also baptized his son Noah ... how cool is that ... Noah & Adam !!! for those of you who don't

know ... my sons name is Adam and his best man and childhood friend is named Noah ... now you know just how cool that is ... well, as usual ... probably only to me that is ... (-8b

this is steve [ i think ] being baptized by David & Scott ... i just really like all of their expressions

and ... this is Makayla ... being baptized by John ... [ no, not THAT John ] ... her dad, John ... and once again i say ... how cool is that !!!

Ruth and her grandkids ...

2008-08-10T15:17:00.019-04:00

we were FINALLY able to get all 3 of Ruth's grandkids together for a few photos just hours before Nick and Trenton were scheduled to fly back home to georgia ... we all had a great time together ... special THANKS to Aaryn !!!

it was good to see the boys again ... it's way to long in between visits ... they have already started the new school year down in georgia

the boys both enjoyed meeting Thea ... especially Trenton ... almost as much as Thea enjoyed playing [ running for her life from • jk ] with them ... (-8b

Michaela was in her element at the park ... she pumped water for ALOT of the other kids in the park this day ...

the lake was a bit rough ... but the boys did get to swim in it a few weeks earlier ... they fixed up the pier a few weeks ago and Ruth and i went out for a walk on it last night [ our big hurrah for 8 / 8 / 8 ] ... it was the roughest i've ever seen it before and we wore quite a bit of it as the waves crashed into it on the west side ... (-8b

Michaela especially enjoyed spending time with her cuZins ... and she got them to pose for some pics for us ...... THANKS Michaela, Nick & Trenton for a very fun afternoon !!!

on a kinda funny note: Trenton asked me ... "are you our other grampa " ... when i said yes ... he said ... "the last time i saw you, your mustache was ... brown" ... (-8b ... sadly, he was right ...

just catchin up ...

2008-08-10T12:19:00.017-04:00

here's winkin at you Jalene ... we LOVE and MISS you guys SO much !!!

i miss all the Mackmers ... especially my favorite model ... we've enjoyed getting all the pics and videos Terri has sent since they moved FAR FAR away ... (-8b ... hard to believe Jalene will be starting school soon ... maybe even THIS week ???

Isaac LOVED having Jalene and Janelle and Aunt Terri spend a couple nights at their house before they flew off to ariZona ...

Isaac is getting cuter and cuter by the day ... now that he's eating "real" food ... he's even gotten this grampa to eat a few green peas ... (-8b

i love playing [ i mean babysitting ] Isaac ... he has much nicer toys than i did when i was his age ... and an awesome toy box too ... (-8b

my new favorite photo ... (-8b

2008-07-06T20:45:00.005-04:00

THE most blessed grampa and his 4 grandbabies ... thank you Terri, Adam & Jenn and especially Evan, Isaac, Janelle and Jalene !!!!

one last holiday celebration before THE move ... (-8b

2008-07-06T19:45:00.019-04:00

we had an awesome time with Terri and the kids on the 4th ... THANKS guys for being the best photo subjects any grampa could be blessed to have ... we miss you already and you haven't even left yet !!!

a flashback to Oct 2005 ... i think i remember Jalene saying then that she couldn't wait to have a little brother to share this special car with ... (-8b ... Ev rode for over an hour ... til the battery died

what would a 4th of July celebration be without corn on the cob and watermelon ... HEY ... we forgot the watermelon ... ???

Jalene was awesome as usual ... when Ev wouldn't put on his [ special ] PJ's for a picture ... Jalene thought if she put her [ special ] PJ's on ... Ev would follow ... it was a great idea ... but it still took a little more convincing.

it took a super team effort of Super BIG sister Jalene and Super Baby sister Janelle to persuade Ev to wear his PJ's for a pose or 10 ... [ thank you ladies ]

and here is our favorite Super-man -Boy himself ... [ great birthday gift Uncle Adam, Aunt Jenn and Isaac !!! ]

me and my sisters Kay and Beth ...

2008-07-06T19:35:00.005-04:00

we got to spend some Quality time with my sisters and their families a couple of weeks ago ... i'm the much younger sibling in the middle ... Kay [ who lives in nearby West Henrietta ] is on my right ... Beth [ who lives in Herndon, VA ] is on my left ... (-8b

btw • my t-shirt is from Blue Springs South high school ... [ a suburb of Kansas City, MO ] ... which just happens to be THE high school that recent american idol winner David Cook attended.

Evan's 3rd Birthday celebration ...

2008-06-23T07:51:00.016-04:00

Ev had a great time celebrating his birthday ... as we all did ... everything was awesome Terri and Paul ... THANKS for having us ... (-8b

Ev sure is blessed to have 2 fabulous sisters like he does ... Jalene and Janelle ... these pictures say it all ... how cute are these 4 grandbabies ... how blessed are we ???

Isaac thought it was a pretty good party too as he sure didn't lack for any attention ... he's crawling now and had lots of fun trying to get at Ev's stuff ... (-8b

a FANtastic father's day weekend ...

2008-06-16T11:36:00.013-04:00

what a wonderful way to enjoy a Fathers Day ... 3 very happy CUBS fans watching their team win yet another game in the afternoon ... and then watching part of the Celtics game at night ... [ which i guess they just want to win the NBA championship IN Boston tuesday night ... very understandable. ] this very blessed dad / grampa got to spend time with all 3 of his kids and all 4 of his grandkids ... plus his 2 sisters and most of their families on saturday night ... (-8b

we love having our " Princess Jalene" over for a saturday night sleepover ... we are SO going to miss these when they move out to phoenix ... )-8b

everyone LOVES grammas peanut butter cookies

Thea is not a big fan of the water or she would have jumped in and joined Jalene ... she LOVES when the kids come over ... she gets a little too excited at first and her barking is not always a big hit with them ... thankfully, she only barks for a few minutes ... (-8b

while Jalene was enjoying her bath ... Thea couldn't resist trying out her sleeping bag ... and ... meeting Dora the explorer ...

Isaac finds a fun new playmate ...

2008-05-18T20:28:00.013-04:00

Thea was thrilled to have Isaac come over yesterday and they had a good time getting to know each other ... of course, Thea loves to lick whoever will let her and Isaac had fun trying to grab her tongue when she licked his hands ... i think they will grow to be great friends over the next few years. Isaac was so cute with his "chicks love a boy in uniform" t-shirt on and this was yet another photoshoot this grampa couldn't pass up.

when i told Isaac about the pictures of Jalene, Evan and Janelle i posted yesterday ... he said he wanted to see them ... isn't he cute here trying to do just that ... of course he is ... don't be silly.

on their way to the valley of the sun ...

2008-05-17T21:21:00.014-04:00

i LOVE to combine watching the grandbabies with a photoshoot ... as i have said many times ... i feel like i'm THE most blessed grampa in all this world ... we are going to miss the Mackmers while they are in phoenix ... but ... i'm sure Terri will be sending pictures and videos like she did when we were in kansas city ... i hope you enjoy these images as much as i and the kids did while we were taking them ... (-8b

the ONLY ok thing about any snakes in phoenix are the "diamondbacks" ... Uncle Adam and i sure did enjoy their world series win on november 4th in 2001 while we were in green bay !!! hmmmm • will Ev become a D•BACKS fan ??? time will tell ... i do hope we can visit sometime in my favorite "season " ...

thank you Jalene, Evan and Janelle for letting this grampa take SO many pictures of you ... you are 3 of my all•time favorite models ... i love you all !!!

hangin with the suttons ...

2008-05-10T00:31:00.010-04:00

steph and steve have been great with our little miss thea ... and she LOVED getting out and visiting them and sarge at their house last night ...

this is SARGE ... steph and steve's awesome dog ... their cats BUSTER and MISSY hid the whole time we were there ...

sarge and thea had a great time getting to know each other and playing together !!!

kc's oldest and youngest daughters ... (-8b

the kids had a great time in the backyard ...

kc's 2 favorite fellow CUBS fans ...

2008-04-18T13:10:00.021-04:00

opening day !!! 1 of my favorite days ever ... sadly, i missed watching all the games because of my new job ... i sure wish i could have been watching with Adam and Isaac ... oh well, maybe next year. GREAT photo Jenn !!!

this was super bowl sunday nite ... just me and Isaac watching the game together while Adam & Jenn were hanging out with their community group ...

i sure do miss my wednesday nites with Isaac ... but ... Gramma Ruth is doing a FABulous job on her own with him ... (-8b

"grampa•nanny•ing" ...

2008-04-18T11:57:00.011-04:00

what a blessing [ for me ] that i was asked to sit with the kids a few days a week before i go to work so Terri could go back to work ... i know Terri would rather be home full time with them but ... her low has become my high ... it's awesome how God works these things out ... i LOVE my grampa time with the kids ... and as i'm adding this i'm realizing my low of not being able to watch Isaac on wednesday nites anymore ... Gramma Ruth gets that pleasure full time now all to herself ... i just have to stop by on my and adam's off days and get some time with Isaac ... (-8b ... btw • adam's off today • i'm off today • the cubs are on tv in little while ... hmmmm

Janelle was 2 months on the 15th ... she is such a joy and she smells SO good too

2 of my favorite "reality league" baseball players ...

it's hard to believe Evan will be 3 in just a couple of months ... he's got so much character and he's quite a character at times ... i love it when he gets a little disappointed and pouts and then he magically waves his hand in front of his face and a BIG smile appears ... (-8b ... he too helps grampa out ... he LOVES getting Janelle's diapers.

Jalene is a BIG help to her grampa ... she knows ALL the do's and dont's [ mostly for Ev ] and where everything is ... but ... when 11:30 comes ... it's ALL about "word world" ... the other day i got an envelope in the mail from her with a couple of words she just learned ... nothing else ... just the 2 words ... crown and gown ... ask me in 5 years what those 2 words were and i'll remember them for sure ... (-8b

a sleepover at grampas and grammas ...

2008-03-02T17:11:00.031-05:00

EVERYONE likes to watch football ... good to see
jalene AND thea have taken to it ALOT sooner than terri did ... (-8b

craft time is always a hit ... jalene made a necklace

for gramma ruth and gramma ruth made 1 for jalene ... and ... they both

wore theirs to church this morning ... (-8b

after her bath ... jalene dazzled us with her

puzzle prowess ... her dad would

have been proud

and ... she was quite pleased with herself when she finished ... (-8b

when we asked her how she did it ... she just

shrugged her shoulders and said ...

" i don't know • i just did it "

after a good nights sleep in her nice, new, blue sleeping bag ... she was

greeted good morning by thea ...

we all had a wonderful time together and can't wait til we can do it again ... YEP • it was what terri calls ... " a torturous weekend for sure " ... btw • sign us up ANYTIME !!!

it's [ almost ] all about the grandbabies ...

2008-01-27T12:57:00.000-05:00

xoxoxo ...

JALENE ...

2008-01-27T12:48:00.002-05:00

JALENE NOELLE MACKMER is kc's 4 year old grandaughter and here she is talking with grampa kc [ in KC ] on the phone ... it was conversATions like this that made it easy for us to decide to come back "home". jalene is amazing ... she loves crafts and baking and is quite the wii player as grampa kc found out last night ... (-8b ... she is an awesome big sister to evan and now janelle and ... she just may be the most polite little one this grampa has ever seen.

EVAN ...

2008-01-27T12:40:00.002-05:00

EVAN WALLACE MACKMER is kc's 2½ year old grandson. as you can see here he is a very determined little guy. the thing i like best about EV is how much he loves thea ... when he comes over he lets her lick his face and kiss him longer than most others can take it ... (-8b he is now a big brother to janelle and he is a great little brother to jalene.

ISAAC ...

2008-01-27T12:35:00.002-05:00

ISAAC NATHAN CONGDON is kc's 4 month old grandson and 1st to carry on THE congdon name [ wtgi ] ... as you can tell he is adam's son and already a packers fan. we've gotten to spend some wednesday nights babysitting him while his dad and mom go to their community group. it is amazing to see how much he changes just from week to week.

JANELLE ...

2008-01-27T12:31:00.003-05:00

JANELLE REESE MACKMER came into our world on friday the 15th of february ... just 2 hours and 5 minutes after valentines day ended. she looks alot like jalene did when she was born. she will no doubt add much joy to the mackmer household and to the rest of us blessed enough to be part of her journey.

MICHAELA ...

2008-01-27T12:18:00.001-05:00

MICHAELA is ruth's 10 year old grandaughter ... michaela is such a sweet girl and 1 of my favorite memories with her was when we were back for a visit in 2006 we all got together at terri's and how nice she was with jalene that night ... we hope to spend ALOT more time with her now that we are back home ... (-8b

NICK ...

2008-01-27T12:10:00.000-05:00

this is NICOLAS ... ruth's 10 year old grandson who lives in georgia. we don't get to see these guys enough but 1 memory with NICK will always stick out with me. during the fall of 2003 he was up visiting with his mom [ aubrey ] and he helped ruth and i rake many, many leaves at 101 el rancho drive ... which made for a real nice page in our scrapbook that year.

TRENT ...

2008-01-27T11:54:00.000-05:00

this is TRENTON ... he is ruth's 7 year old grandson who lives in georgia ... when he was just 9 months old he came to rochester with his mom [ aubrey ] to celebrate his uncle julians high school graduation ... ruth had asked me to take pictures for her at julians party and i ended up holding trent for about 2½ hours that day ... i think that's when ruth decided i might be a pretty good grampa ... (-8b

thea's 1st birthday ... (-8b

2008-01-26T13:26:00.000-05:00

it's hard to believe thea is 1 already ... she added to her stuffed animal collection with her new friend "leo" the leopard.