It's All About The Nieces!

The month of May has been a very exciting time for many of our nieces.

So, today we are giving them the spotlight!

However, first I must say congratulations to Nick. He graduated from St. Thomas University this past week! Suzanne took him out to lunch the day he finished his writing project to cap off his final semester. He had no interest in walking at commencement exercises, so instead we will all go out to celebrate with him in the near future as soon as he can fit us into his schedule!!! He deserves a post all of his own!!! Love you, Nick!!!



And even though I am focusing on our nieces, it does not mean I am forgetting about our nephews.

Congratulations also goes to our youngest nephew, J.D.


who is graduating from Fargo North this spring. I understand we missed a great open house given in his honor earlier this month and am disappointed we couldn't be there. I am glad we did get to see him play football in the Fargo Dome last fall! J.D. is off to Valley City State in the fall and football will again be part of his world as he pursues his college degree.

I enjoyed following the travels of our niece, Vanessa, J.D.'s older sister,


as she studied abroad in Barcelona this past semester, visiting a great deal of western Europe as a result. I envied her as she shared wonderful pictures on Facebook. She returned home in May and will finish her degree at Minnesota State University Mankato in December.

Speaking of finishing degrees, congratulations to niece Mollie, pictured here with her brother, Jake.

Mollie graduated in May from NDSU!!! Good luck to you, Mollie, as you head off into the business world!

Our niece, Amanda,
graduated last spring from Kent State with a major in photo-illustration. She is continuing her education at NDSU seeking a degree in early childhood education. She went with Jim and Mary to Florida recently to help them pick out a house! Lucky Amanda! I'd recommend working on finishing that next college degree in Florida, Amanda!!!

On May 6th, Paul and I helped Zuel, husband of niece, Melissa, move their belongings out of their house in St. Louis Park. Here is Jamie with their niece (and our grand niece) Meredith.

Meredith is the daughter of niece, Jessica. Here she is, pictured with her twin sister, Jennifer.

Jessica is a physical therapist in Fargo and Jennifer is an engineer in Virginia.

Their older sister, Missy, started her new career as a nurse anesthetist last December and accepted a position at a hospital in Fargo.

So, she and Jamie left the cities, bought a great house in Fargo and joined the clan up there. We worked hard that day loading up their truck, but Zuel always makes any event fun. I can hardly wait to see their new home. Missy has a real talent for decorating and I am sure is busy putting things in order!!!

On Mother's Day, we hosted a shower for niece and godchild, Elizabeth and her husband Mike. May has been a very busy month for these two. They just moved into their new home (right here in Inver Grove Heights!!) yesterday. I think their house should have been featured on HGTV. What a tranformation as their families pitched in and worked with them to clean and paint. It is a beautiful house and I am sure they will be very comfortable there as they start their family. We, of course, are glad because it is so close!!!

They are expecting their first baby on July 3rd. I am proud to announce we will have another grand niece!!!

Linda and niece, Jennifer, traveled from northern Wisconsin for the weekend of the shower.

Here they are working with Suzanne, the event planner, as they made candy baby rattles for the place settings.

And the finished product.


With niece, Jennifer, comes grand niece, Clara!!!


This young lady is the spice in the soup, let me tell you!

We love having her around. She gave me an excuse to get away from the kitchen

where I found myself most of the weekend to spend precious bonding time.

Suzanne encouraged me to expand my horizons by recommending a baby shower centerpiece idea, which I worked hard to bring to fruition.

This type of activity is out of my comfort range, but it turned out just fine. The bouquet included "flowers" made out of baby onesies, bibs, hats and socks. Speaking of onesies, we also had the family decorate onesies for Baby Rohrer as a prebrunch activity. It is always most enjoyable to observe the creative minds in the Geier family!


You should check out the brunch menu items on Suzanne's blog, http://qwerkyqook.blogspot.com/, because she did a great job.

And, we worked well together!

Arriving early for the event to offer his help in the kitchen was nephew, Joey.

Can you believe it? He not only arrived early on a Sunday morning (at the request of his mother) but also brought flowers! He's the best!! Joey graduates this summer from Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts. We plan to go to the school this week to eat dinner! I can hardly wait.

Last Monday we went to Northrup Auditorium

for the commencement of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management Graduate Program to watch niece, Lisa, receive her MBA diploma!! Bravo!!!!

The speaker at the graduation ceremony was Sherron Watkins, the 'Enron Whistleblower.' We all agreed it was the most interesting graduation speech we had every heard! Paul, Suzanne and I were lucky enough to share a celebration lunch with Lisa, Paul and Marlys, Kevin and Julie and their sons, Andrew and Matthew. Andrew and Paul are "best friends."

And while I am on the subject of grand nephews, we were able to share supper with

grand nephews, Tyler and Caden this month as well. I love having them closer to us now that Mike lives in Rosemount!!

Okay, back to the nieces!

Tomorrow our niece, Emily, celebrates her birthday!!!

Emily teaches Special Education in Breckenridge. She is a wonderful mother to their son, James, who is a true delight! We get to see them next weekend! Did I mention Emily is my godchild?

I am going to a shower on Friday in North Dakota for niece, Abby, who is getting married in August.

Abby goes to college in Tuscon, where she is studying to be a registered nurse, following in her mom's footsteps! Here she is pictured in an apron! Being her mom is a master cook, I can understand the calling to tie those apron strings and head into that kitchen in her new house!!!
The day after the shower, we head to Battle Lake to celebrate Lisa's graduation with friends and family. Her brother, Kevin, will be catering the event. Kevin and Chad are master chefs themselves, so the event should be quite the culinary feast. I have been assigned the job of guacamole maker. I am prepared to fulfill my duties!!!

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family.

In between family events and yard work this past month, Paul and I have been out twice with our camper. How fantastic to get out in the spring to do some birding

and hiking.



We will keep you posted as the summer unfolds!!