Koeper Siblings

 

Did Anything Happen In the 15 Months I Didn't Blog?

 Yes, and as I come across photos I am trying to share some of those occasions.

Jared graduated from Iowa State in May.

Nick (far right) graduated from University of Minnesota Dental School.

And Stephanie celebrated her birthday in May.

Boys Wil Be Boys

So many little boys act up when it is time to have their picture taken. Most of them grow out of it.
I am still waiting for my middle child to grow out of it.

One of his goals in life is to either not have his picture taken or have a bad one. He was being difficult this day.

I only had to take 25 pictures to get this one which shows how handsome he is and the quilting on the quilt.

Family Visit

It was great to have a visit with Stephanie, Blake, Julie, Greg and Oliver this weekend. I knew Greg and Julie were coming but Stephanie and Blake surprised me.

Happy Birthday To My MIddle Child Andy

Andy's goal in life is never to let anyone take a good picture of him.

For his 56th birthday this was his present.

No words necessary until the end.

The message at the end of the book read:
Happy 56th birthday Andy
To my "middle kid" who's goal in life is to never let anyone take a good picture of him.
Love, Your other mother

There were at least 40 photos in the book and you have only seen a few. 

A Beautiful Night With My Florida Family

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather this evening.

It has been a while since Andy' family has all been able to get here at once.

We started off with Andy's favorite Mexican dip.

Dinner was pizza and a green salad.
After dinner we played Vertellus with some entertaining answers.
Of course we had our choice of 5 different ice creams for dessert.
I sent them home with 4 boxes of things I was purging. 
They didn't even get a chance to look and see if they wanted what was in the boxes!
It's so nice to have family here for the season.

Eagle River Quilt

I made the blocks for this quilt close to 20 years ago. Each and every block took a lot of time to make. 

They sat in a box until I decided it was time to make them into a quilt this month. 

I was able to assemble the quilt in only 2 days which surprised me as there was a lot of figuring and filling in empty spaces to do.  

It is now quilted and bound and I'm pleased with the finished piece.

A Hug From Grandma Kay

I knit this shawl for my DIL Julie to wear for the wedding. I asked her to wrap it around Jessica and Kevin as a hug from Grandma Kay.

We are so happy to have Kevin as a part of our family.

Jessica and Kevin's Wedding

My granddaughter Jessica Sorensen and Kevin Brian got married on January 26th. I have been trying to write this blog post since then. 

January To December, We Had Moments To Remember!

In January I finished this miniature quilt that I had started about 20 years earlier. The quilt is about the size of a piece of notebook paper. Each log is 1/4 inch wide. It was a great way to use color to create a show stopper.

FEBRUARY was a time to dye fabric, design and create quilts while I enjoyed the Winter Olympics. It also was a time to enjoy seeing my Florida friends and family.

MARCH marked the opening of FLORIDA ICE, my solo show at the Ocala City Hall. The opening reception brought guests from Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina and other parts of the country. What a high for me to be able to share my work in this beautiful setting with those who appreciate fine art.

APRIL brought my son Greg and daughter in law Julie to Florida for a visit and to see my show.

MAY
On May 10th, 2018 at 2:30 pm the 1,000,000 visitor visited my blog. No, I do not know who it was.


JUNE
My entire Minnesota family was able to visit at the same time. This rarely happens anymore as jobs and school and activities prevent it.


JULY
In July I hung a variety of fabrics on my design wall so that they could tell me what they wanted to be and some of them did.

AUGUST
In August I had some home updates done. I gathered various things I had collected and this is one of the cabinets that new life was breathed into.


SEPTEMBER
A major studio purge and reorganization was finished in September.


OCTOBER
My Florida family celebrated Halloween in style and costume. Of course food also was an important part of it as it is of all our celebrations.




NOVEMBER
Thanksgiving with the Florida is always delicious. These are the youngest members of the family and they are all so special.


DECEMBER 
I had always thought this was a high school student in Edon, Ohio dressed up as Santa Claus. I have spent the last 10 or more years trying to find out who it was. With no one knowing who it was we have come to the conclusion it must have been the REAL SANTA!.

I finished 28 quilts this year. 3 of them had been started a LONG time ago and the others were new. My goal is to finish more than that each year, but I have learned in a year I have a solo show I am lucky to get anything finished unless I need to finish if for the show.

Sibling’s Evening Christmas Dinner 2009

I thought I came up with a very clever way to wrap these gifts.



This year I  gifted Connie, Mary and Karen beautiful scarves made by Florida artist Jane Steinberg.

Our family loves good food. I did the main course and everyone else brought something special to complement it.  Better than any restaurant.
Relaxing after dinner: Clay, Connie, Bill, Mary and Karen
A very enjoyable evening with my siblings.

Sibling Dinner And Gifts

Gifts to be opened.

Although our family loves big family get togethers with all the generations,
I decided to host a sibling only evening dinner and gave each one a special gift in 2008.
Karen, Connie, Bill and SIL Mary. Clay was there too.
I had these Santas made for each one of them.
I asked them to figure out what was unique about them and they made a lot of guesses that weren’t correct.
The fur on the Santas was from our Mother’s mink stole which she loved. It was my way of sharing it with each of them
They were all very touched.

Friday Family Foto

This photo shares my sister Karen, cousin Dorothe Wolff, sister Connie and myself. I don’t know when it was taken. None of us look too happy about having our picture taken!

Thanksgiving 2018 Out Takes

Some of the members of my Florida family really enjoy having their picture taken. I'm not so sure Madeline enjoyed the ride as much as her big brother did at the same age.

Not every grandparent has a Merry Go Round on their dining room table for their grandbabies!

Tucker is the only GUY I know who LOVES to have his picture taken and his beautiful sister is enjoying the photo shoot!


Drew arrived late but there was still food for him.




 Greatlookingfamily….and there’s that guy who loves to have his picture taken again! He’ll never see these as he hardly uses the internet!


He’s photobombing another picture.

Ryder is learning a few tricks from that uncle.

Andrew was having fun peeking at me through the doorway and then hiding and reappearing.

Lauren admitted Tucker is her favorite son and Ali is her favorite daughter…shhh, it’s a secret!

Tina didn’t want Andy to wear this shirt AGAIN! So he did!!!!

But he did change after dinner.
AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
THE END

Sharing Our Florida Family Thanksgiving

I’m thankful for my wonderful Florida family that has grown in the years I have spent the holiday with them.

I call this the “grown ups” table.Left to right Sally, Larry, Chris and our hostess and host, Tina and Andy are on the right. We all sure appreciate their willingness to provide a welcoming place for all the holidays and occasions.

Andy’s family: Ben, Megan, Sarah and Drew enjoying time together after dinner.


Lauren’s family: Trevor, Tucker, Ali, Lauren and Sean.

Megan, Ben and Andrew -Madeleine was either napping or with someone else who loves her.


Andy with his favorite teenager: Kendall

Andy and Ted: Brotherly love!


Tina with Madeleine.

Laney holding the newest family member Madeleine who is 1 1/2 months old.

Remember you saw him first here. Some day when you see him as a top country music star, remember the name: Ryder Roberts!

It was a long tiring chocolate day for Andrew and Clifford!
THE END