We were happy to have some of the extended Bartel family come visit us in Manhattan today. It had been too long since we had seen many of them! I wish NC wasn't so far away from KS. A special thanks goes to Larry and Cheryl for making the trip up from Wichita. As is typical at a Bartel gathering, there was lots of visiting, laughing and eating. Next time there will be more game playing!
Madeline showing off her new domino skills to Tante Kathleen.
Noah and Elisa spent the day with us at Grandma & Grandpa's house. After breakfast, Grandma pulled out her big box of supplies and the kids got their craft on. 
Grandpa helped glue the googly eyes on the handprint creations.
After naptime, Grandma taught Elisa & Madeline how to play dominoes. I have wonderful memories of playing dominoes with my Grandpa Funk, so it's fun to see this experience being passed on to the next generation.
Sheri & Katina arrived after school and we were able to catch all the kids for a cousins photo. Didn't even realize at the time that they were all wearing purple!
To celebrate her birthday, Grandma L decided to treat the girls to an afternoon of fun in
Topeka. We had lunch at Cici's, played games at Chuck E Cheese, and ran around The Toy Store. It was a fun day!
Madeline & Peyton "riding" the rollercoaster at Chuck E Cheese
Madeline asked to help with Julia's bath today. I love that she wants to help! Julia wasn't too sure about the accommodations at first, but she settled in as soon as she saw Madeline.
We needed a little outdoor fun today, so while Grandma B had a meeting, the girls and I played at City Park. My, how it has changed from when I was a girl! Madeline loved climbing on this rope structure.
This weekend was a big celebration for the K-State Theta chapter's 50th anniversary. The timing worked out so that I could come to Kansas with the girls to participate in the celebration.
Heidi stayed with me at Mom & Dad's house for the weekend so that we had more opportunities to catch-up and she could spend some quality time with Madeline and Julia. We started off our reminiscing by having dinner at Rock-A-Belly (where else?!) last night and started to run into familiar faces there. This morning we toured the house to see what had changed (as well as what hadn't!) and what was going to change with the upcoming major remodel. We would take a few steps and then there would be another person I hadn't seen since college to greet and hug... it took us a long time to get through the house!
Bielenberg & Bartel
Bartel, Ruckert & Bielenberg
Look who we ran into as we were leaving the tea!
VonFeldt, Buccigrossi, Bielenberg, Bartel & Ruckert
