Grandpa’s 80th Birthday

The weekend before school started we celebrated my Grandpa Pete’s 80th birthday back in Harlan.  I think it says something about him that EVERY family member made it back for his party.  No one wanted to miss this very special occasion for one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. 

The festivities started Friday, August 12th at my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Cyndi’s house.  The cool thing about my mom’s side is that they all live within two miles all on the same road out in the country.  There are definitely times when I wish we also lived within this two mile radius.  I would LOVE to be able to walk over to my grandparent’s house to play cards or make cookies or to be able to stop over on my lunch hour release from school.  These are the things my cousins all have had the opportunity to do over the last 20 years.  Just this year my youngest cousin went off to college, leaving no grandkids at home anymore! 

A highlight on the farm is all the animals.  The number has decreased over the years, but between the four houses there is an amazing variety.  They have your everyday farm animals such as horses, cows, chicken, turkeys, dogs, and a million cats, and they also have buffalo (yes, buffalo!) and peacocks!  We have so many memories of watching baby animals be born.  Back in the day my grandparents had a ton of pigs and cattle.  Danielle and I have watched pigs, cows, and horses give birth to their babies.  I remember having to quietly kneel down behind the metal gates not making a sound while my dad helped my uncle pull out a baby calf with chains!  Talk about an eye opening experience for us!  

Being city girls on the farm is not easy!  We get made fun of for wearing nice jeans and shirts when we are supposed to be in sweats, and we have to borrow “winter gear” and boots so that we don’t get ours dirty! :)   

Ella’s favorite animal is a horse so she was thrilled when we started out visiting the horses.  This girl would have stayed watching and petting them all day long!  I was proud of Kenna for not being scared.  I was surprised at how close she got them.  Her favorite was the baby pony named Eugene (nice name Chelsy!!)! 

Uncle Garvin thought it would be funny to have Kenna get her picture taken with Jesse’s truck.  How inappropriate!  He also thought she needed to ride Richard’s crotch rocket! 

A family game of volleyball.  How many 78 and 80 year olds do you know that play volleyball with their family?!  My grandparents are AMAZING!!!

An amazing Petersen cooked supper!

Ella begged Grandpa Dan to take her up to the “tree house”.  Well guess who else had to go?!  They were able to watch the volleyball games from up top!

We continued to play volleyball until it was too dark to see.  Thanks to the big bouncy ball and older crowd (ha!) for keeping the little ones entertained!

Saturday morning we headed back up to Jeff and Cyndi’s for family pictures.  Leah Koesters (my cousin on the other side’s sister-in-law) took our family pictures for the Goetz side and did a great job, so we wanted her to take ours as well! 

It was a very sunny morning which made it hard to find shade.  We made due and got a great picture of the whole group!

My adorable grandparents!

My mom’s oldest brother Mark and his family

My mom’s brother Brian and his boys

Our family

My mom’s youngest brother Jeff and his family

We were very grateful that Leah came back to take our pictures for us.  It’s not often that all 28 of us are together at the same time!

After pictures we surprised Grandpa with 80 reasons why we love him!  This was a very emotional and special time.  Each sibling and their family was in charge of 20 reasons.  My mom’s oldest brother Mark started with an acrostic poem using my grandpa’s name.  The tears started flowing out of my grandpa’s eyes on the second letter.  :)  They continued to slowly flow as he sat there with his typical big smile as he listened to his family share their favorite memories about him.

It wouldn’t be normal if the Goetz girls didn’t cry.  I was determined to get through mine without crying.  I should have gone before my mom if this was going to happen! 

Grandpa’s request each year is an Angel Food Cake.  We decided to let him get away with only blowing out 8 candles rather than 80!

The afternoon was spent hanging out with each other- volleyball, swimming, laying out, and playing Dominoes. 

Since we don’t make it back to Harlan very often anymore we wanted to make sure we got to see some of the Goetz side.  Aunt Linda invited us all over for pizza Saturday night.  This was the first time some of the family had met Lily! 

The kids had a blast playing together.  Ella, Matthew, and Quinn weren’t too excited that the little ones wanted to play with them!  Kate was super sweet and played so nicely with Kenna and Cole!  

Sunday morning we invited Matthew, Quinn, and Kate out to the farm.  Farmer Ella was thrilled to be able to lead the tour.  “Wait for us Ella!!”

Feeding the cows was first on the list.  Everyone was a bit timid at first but quickly warmed up once Umple Matt (that’s how Kenna says his name) showed them how it’s done!

This is the silo that I climbed up when I was only 6!!!

Everyone took turns sitting on Grandpa Pete’s 1936 tractor! 

We ended at the garden.  Uncle Brian picked veggies for them to take home and eat while we walked through the corn stalks! 

Grandpa and grandma planted four “special” corn seeds in the flower garden next to their house.  They had received the package of seeds from the new Iowa magazine in the spring.  They were having a contest and were hoping to get stalks to grow as tall as 20 feet!  Grandpa and grandma weren’t sure how theirs would grow since the soil in that area wasn’t all that great.  Surprisingly their stalks completely took off growing over 16 feet tall!  Kenna looks so short standing next to them!

Sunday afternoon we had a John Deere themed birthday party for Grandpa at the Kirkman Hall.  Over 160 friends and family came!  Once again, I think that says a lot about this man.  He is loved by so many people!

Matt stayed back with McKenna so that she could get a nap in before the party.  The only picture I got of her was when she was eating Cheetos for the first time!

We had a short program during the party where we shared some fun memories.  We also opened it up for his friends to share.  It cracks me up that his generation remembers the exact year things happened- “Back in 1949 when we…”! 

Unfortunately we had to leave the party early so that we could get back to Cedar Falls at a decent hour since I started school the next day!  Maybe I should remind myself that I am the one that chose the date at Christmas.  It just so happened that Cedar Falls decided to start school a week early this year.  We didn’t find that out until the school calendar came out in the spring!!

Grandpa Pete,

You are an incredible man and I am so proud to call you my grandpa.  There are so many reasons I love you but here are just a few: 

*You have a smile on your face at all times and it is contagious.

*You are one of the most generous people I’ve ever met.

*You would drop anything for ANYONE in need of help.

*You sleep on the couch just so that we can sleep with grandma in YOUR bed!

*You wait patiently sitting on the mall benches while you wait for us as we shop.  Did I mention it’s your wallet that takes a hit on these trips?!

*You’ve supported us all by attending sporting events, dance recitals, vocal concerts, and birthday parties even if this means getting up at 5:00 in the morning just so that you can make it to Cedar Falls in time.

*You never judge.  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you talk negatively about someone.  You are a wonderful role model to us all.

*You are a hard worker.  Your hands and feet show it!  (I know this first hand since I’m the one that gives you pedicures!)

*You are sensitive and very tender hearted.  Others might not know that you can be a worrier!  (I’ll thank you for passing that trait on!)

*Your hugs are the best.  Even if it means I’m out of breath because you’ve patted my back so hard that you knock the wind out of me! 

*Your one liners are hilarious.  You know just the right time to throw one out that makes us all laugh!

*You play games with us.  Whether it’s cards, volleyball, bocce ball, or golf, you are in and you seem to always have the luck on your side.  “Same as out” and “Don’t sell yourself too short” are some of my favorite quotes from you!

Thank you for being MY grandpa and for loving us the way you do.  You are a special person and I thank God for you!

Happy 80th birthday!  We love you so much!