We had brunch this morning with Tom, Jo, and Andrea.  Andrea works seven twelve-hour days, then has seven days off.  We were fortunate this was her week off so that we could see her while we were visiting Tom and Jo.  We had a window booth at the restaurant, which provided some good people-watching while we ate and talked for two hours.  The window made a group photo impossible, however, unless all of us became shadows.

On one side of the table (without the window backlighting), we have Tom, Andrea, and Jo.

Ted and I sat on the other side of the table.

Was the food good?  I think Jo’s waffle says it all.

 

We had an uneventful trip home from Tom and Jo’s house.  There was some heavy rain as we approached the St. Louis area but, except for a little sprinkle, it was south and east of us.

We saw a cumulus cloud developing into a thundershower as we drove.  During a period of light rain, we could see both ends of a strong rainbow, but couldn’t photograph it from the car.

 

We stopped at a rest area that had a small park attached, complete with a bridge over a little creek.  It was so pretty, we went for a selfie.

These two people just spent an enjoyable week visiting with friends and family in WI and IL.  The selfies still need practice.  I included my extended arm as a reflection in my sunglasses.

We’ve had beautiful–even unusually warm–weather every day on this trip–until today.  We drove to St. Charles, IL under gray skies and through several rain showers to visit my brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Jo.

Lunch was ready when we arrived, and included what I’ll call a “heritage recipe.”  It was a perfect example of the discussion Donna, Nancy, and I had at lunch yesterday about the imprecise nature of our grandmothers’ recipes.  Hershey Bar Pie is one of Jo’s mom’s recipes and it includes a “5-cent Hershey bar” as one of the ingredients.  I remember 5-cent Hershey bars, but I have no idea how many ounces of 2018 melted chocolate equals a 1950s 5-cent bar.  Tom said he looked up images of 5-cent Hershey bars on Google and read the weight of the bar.  The pie was delicious!

The four of us spent the afternoon catching up on family news and telling family stories.  We have eight grandchildren and Tom and Jo have four, so there were a lot of good stories to tell and lots of memories to share.  Tom and Jo treated us to dinner at a restaurant recommended by a friend.  They had never been there before, but we decided to live on the edge and try it.  We all agreed that we’d enjoy a return visit any time.

L>R:  Tom, Jo, me, Ted

Today, Ted and I had lunch with my cousins, Donna and Nancy, and Donna’s husband, Jon.  We went to Pier 17 in Sheboygan for a delicious lunch, caught up on recent events in our families, and shared lots of good family stories.  I’ve almost had a Girl Cousin Reunion on this trip:  I saw Lara and Linda in Holmen, and now Donna and Nancy in Sheboygan.  Judi (Milwaukee) is cruising in South America, so I couldn’t get together with her this time.

We laughed a lot at lunch as we talked about how our grandmothers cooked with ingredients only–no measurements written down–making it difficult for us to replicate old family recipes.  I told Donna and Nancy how I cracked the secret of Vienna Torte.  They admitted they have not yet mastered their Grandma Drott’s Christmas ribbon cookie recipe, but their mother could make it perfectly.  Ted and Jon had little to contribute on this particular topic.

L>R:  Jon, Donna, Nancy, Ted, me.

After lunch, Ted and I had a very nice visit with Uncle Gibby.  He has bladder cancer and is living in a facility that provides the nursing care he needs to remain comfortable.

In my photo gallery at home, I have a picture of my great-grandpa, George Washington Dexheimer, sitting at a table with “Eddie.”  I’ve always heard the photo described as “Grandpa and Eddie,” but I never knew who Eddie was, so I asked Uncle Gibby.  He told me that Eddie was one of Great-grandpa’s four brothers, all of whom were born in Germany.  Eddie moved to one of the Dakotas and bought land under the Homestead Act.  He farmed the land until he died in an accident with a plow, after which his body was brought back to Ada, WI to be buried in the Dexheimer family plot.

L>R:  Ted, Uncle Gibby, me.

Next stop:  The Oostburg Bakery.  When Ted and I come to Wisconsin, we make sure to buy some hard rolls to take back to Missouri.  When we lived in Maryland, we shopped for hard rolls, but the grocers and bakers all thought we meant stale buns.  Unless you’re from Wisconsin, I can’t explain hard rolls (which are not hard) to you.  Ted and I now have hard rolls, some of my favorite Danish pastries, and some filled coffee cakes to take home and share with Kari.  A stop at the cheese factory in Gibbsville, just a few miles up the highway from Oostburg, provided us with some awesome Wisconsin cheese to take home as well.

The other side of the sidewalk sign says “I am in shape.  Round is a shape.”  There is a chalk drawing of a doughnut beneath the text.

We ended the day by playing sheephead and sharing dinner with Gary.  Ted won the pre-dinner game and I won the post-dinner game.  These were not high stakes games–together, we made 16 cents.  Gary won’t have to skip a meal to pay his debts to us.

We’re near Elkhart Lake.  Those are all Road America race pictures on the walls.  P.S. Ted does not have a good sheephead hand.

Ted and I met the Spencer gang at a local restaurant this morning.  All of us had afternoon plans, but we caught up with each other for several enjoyable hours over brunch, courtesy of Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ken.  The food was delicious, and the company was better.  I’m already looking forward to the next time we get together with this group.

Around the table L>R: Tim Bena, Ted, me, Dave Spencer, Bev Nelson, Ruth, Ken, Lara Hines, Jim Hines, Linda Bena.

 

When our group reluctantly parted, Ted and I headed across the state to our next destination:  Kiel, WI.  We’re farther north than St. Louis, and it’s evident in the landscape.  The trees are already changing to their fall colors in this area.

 

We had a beautiful drive on a warm, sunny day.  After dinner with Ted’s brother, Gary, the three of us spent some time coordinating dates for an October trip to Nebraska for all of us and time in Colorado for Ted and me.  Working around previous commitments Gary, Ted, and I had, we passed our information on to Jeff and La (CO) and to Mutzie (NE).  If their schedules can accommodate us, Ted and I will have a chance to spend time with Jeff, La, and Zaque in CO, and Ted, Gary, and Mutzie will have a sibling reunion in NE.  Ted can’t remember being with more than one sibling at a time since his mother’s funeral in October 2000, so we hope the dates will work out.

Ted and I spent the afternoon and evening with my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ken and took them out to dinner to celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary.  Ruth told us they have been married longer than anyone else in their families.  It’s Ted’s and my goal to celebrate at least as many anniversaries as Ruth and Ken have.  There were lots of good stories and happy memories to share during the hours we spent with them.

We belatedly celebrated Sky’s birthday this evening.  As always, it was fun to spend time with Kari’s family and to share a delicious dinner with them.

These are the gifts we gave Sky.  Since he sent us an itemized list of what he’d like to receive, shopping was easy and his surprise factor was low.  His satisfaction factor, however, was high.

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  Mm-mm good!  At Sky’s request, we did not sing “Happy Birthday.”  I think he feels as awkward as I do when people sing to him.

 

Three of the things Ted and I always enjoy about visiting at Kari’s house are the boys’ bedroom tours.  Each boy gives us a tour of his bedroom, describing all the creative things that are currently in process.

Sky’s room is a Star Wars enclave.  He’s modeling part of the complete stormtrooper costume Dean created for him.  Sky ordered the helmet and said it was exciting to get such a big box in the mail earlier than he expected it to arrive.

All of Sky’s Star War items and Lego pieces are sorted for easy access.  Here’s one wall of his room.

Additional mini figures (sorted, of course) are kept on these shelves.

Dean built stairs for Dylan’s access to his loft bed.

Each step of the loft stairs has a storage bin beneath the stair tread.

We gave Dylan a 3D puzzle for his July birthday.  I’ve never seen a completed 3D puzzle, but now I know that the end result is more of a model than a traditional puzzle.  This is Dylan’s finished product–the U.S.S. Constitution.

Dean gave Dylan this storage box for his birthday and Dylan has filled it with art supplies.

Teddy told us the boxes on the wall are his pig apartments.  The quilt and pillow I made for Teddy and Waffles are on the bed and in the rightmost apartment.  Waffles is in the penthouse.  Teddy mentioned that there is room for more pigs in the housing complex.  (Hint, hint?)

Teddy converted one of his closet shelves to an apartment for himself.  Dylan offered to rent the apartment for additional storage, but Teddy turned him down.  He likes having a private refuge.

 

I always enjoy the bedroom tours and, every time Ted and I are treated to a one, I marvel at the boys’ creativity.  Grandchildren are one of life’s greatest gifts.

One of the things I planned to do after my July 26, 2012 retirement was to stay up as late as necessary to watch the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks during the second week of August.  So far, there has been an obstacle to doing that every year–usually clouds, rain, or too much moonlight to see all but the brightest meteors.  Last year, Ted and I agreed we should drive to rural Kansas to watch the Perseids in the dark.  This year’s Perseids were predicted to be amazing, with up to 70-100 meteors visible per hour, clear skies, and only a new moon which set early in the evening, leaving a dark sky.  When we found out the peak viewing time was over the weekend, we asked Kathy if she’d like to have us visit her in Kirksville (no nearby major cities) for the event.  She’s an avid star-gazer, so she told us to come on up.

We arrived in Kirksville in the late afternoon and spent some time with Kathy and Annette at the house before dinner.

There’s a new look in the dining room.  It was very welcoming with the afternoon sun shining through the window.  Ignore any out-of-place objects.  Kathy and Annette are updating their bathroom now and needed to shift some things around.

The girls store their winter stove wood in the back yard.  Does that make this a wooded lot?  The big trees provide a shady setting for outdoor meals at the picnic table.

An interesting mushroom is growing on one of the firewood logs.

 

There was no rush to eat dinner or to leave the not-busy restaurant (it was Sunday night), because we couldn’t see meteors until after dark.  We had a good time visiting together and catching up with each other until we decided it was dark enough to begin searching for a viewing point in the dark country north of Kirksville.  It took us about 30 minutes to leave the Kirksville lights behind and another 15 minutes to find a place off the road, without lights, where we wouldn’t bother anyone or get arrested.  It was about 10:30 p.m. when we settled on the parking lot of some sort of large equipment storage area.

To get to our viewing spot, we took the Prius Kathy bought from Ted.  This gave Ted his first-ever opportunity to ride in the back seat of his former car.

We brought lawn chairs, but lying on the ground was more comfortable for looking upward.  You can see my vacant spot.

We were surrounded by large storage sheds, 18-wheelers, a caterpillar, a dump truck, and who knows what else.  It was too dark to identify everything around us, but we had a great view of the sky.

 

Unfortunately, the Perseid show didn’t match its hype.  After two hours, we had seen 19 meteors.  Only 19!!!  It was still a very enjoyable evening.  The outdoor temperature was in the low 80s, and it was so dark and clear that we could see the Milky Way.  We spent our viewing time identifying constellations, chatting about all kinds of things, and wondering how much longer it would be before we saw another meteor.  We saw quite a few spectacular meteors with very long tails and we had a good time together, so the evening was a success.

One of the nice things about not traveling this summer is that we’ve spent many summer afternoons with Kari and the boys in the pool.   School starts for the boys next week and September (cooler weather) is looming, but it was 90+ degrees today and a perfect day for another afternoon together in the refreshing water.

Thom and Katie are preparing to start their own business.  Thom’s last day at REI was July 3.  Katie continues to work at REI while Thom writes their business curriculum and makes other preparations to begin their new venture.  Thom’s Facebook posts tell the ending of his REI story and the beginning of his and Katie’s Ascend Leadership story.

Good luck, Thom and Katie!  Dad and I are very proud of what you’ve done and what you’re preparing to accomplish.

Dylan’s golden birthday fell on Friday the 13th this year, but I don’t think his 13th birthday was an unlucky day for him.  He chose Chinese food for his dinner and chocolate ice cream cake for his birthday cake/dessert.  He also received some very nice birthday gifts.

Dylan wasn’t the only one to receive a gift.  Dean was shopping and found a new pig for pig-loving Teddy.  The pig is soft (it even feels sort of “pig-like”) and, fortunately for a pre-teen boy, it’s squeezable with a small hole under its tail for the air to whoosh out.  This little feature was a source of delight for quite awhile for Teddy.

 

But back to Dylan . . . .  At a flea market, Dean found a perfect storage box for Dylan.  It was in bad shape, but Dean refinished it and then stocked it with goodies before giving it to Dylan.

 

Here’s Dylan with all of his gifts on display.  He wanted a compass and binoculars, so Ted and I gave him both.  He plans to use them on family hikes, but I bet he’ll also find other things that are interesting to spy on with binoculars.

 

After all the gifts were opened, it was time for ice cream cake, the birthday song, and blowing out the candles.  I hope Dylan gets his wish, whatever it was.  Happy 13th birthday to our sixth grandchild.

Jeff, Kathy, and Kari and their families joined us for several days over the past weekend.  It was hot outside, with heat warnings in effect, so we spent Thursday and Saturday in the pool.  On Friday, we went to City Museum.  We had a chance to use our new party lights when we sat on the patio every evening.  There was food and fun for everyone and lots of quality family time.  It’s the best of times for Ted and me when our kids and grandkids come home to visit.

We had plenty of pool time.  The water temperature was 88 degrees.

Sky fastened himself into a swimming ring with lots of noodles.  (I think the lump over Sky’s head is Dylan’s head.)

Afterward, there were lots of swimsuits and towels to dry.

Indoor games were good for cooling off in the air conditioning.  This time it’s “Exploding Kittens.”

Switching to “Settlers of Catan” was a change of pace and players.

There was afternoon time to relax and visit with each other . . .

. . . and evening time to relax and visit with each other.

Kathy and Annette gave us BevBoys so that when Ted and I relax in the pool, we can float our canned beverages in the water beside our mats.

These two guys bought shirts in Hawai’i.

Here’s the whole gang, waiting the final two minutes for dinner to be ready.

City Museum in St. Louis is a very popular attraction.  Jeff said when people find out he’s going to St. Louis, they ask if he’s going to City Museum.  To make that happen, Ted and I decided we should take the family to the museum while the kids were visiting last weekend.  While we were there, Jeff and La met some people they knew from Longmont.  (Maybe that’s why they wondered if Jeff and La were going to City Museum.)  It is definitely known far and wide–lots of out-of-state license plates in the parking lots.

Jeff described City Museum as “eclectic.”  I think another word that might apply is “odd.”  It’s not like any other museum I’ve ever visited.  Ted and I have not been to City Museum for over ten years, and it’s changed a lot.  The museum is located in a renovated shoe factory and began with displays of architectural city artifacts.  This might be where the “City” part of the name originated.  Over the years, many tunnels, stairways, caves, slides, etc. have been added, so there’s a lot of activity going on inside and outside the museum.  It is a very active museum.  (Also a very loud museum.)  Some of the throughways are very small–designed for little children; others have age/height requirements for older attendees.

Here’s City Museum from the outside.  The rooftop attractions require an additional admission ticket, but things on the level of the airplane are included with the rest of the museum.  The school bus on the roof has become the iconic symbol of City Museum.

This photo illustrates the jumble of the inside of the museum.  The kids on the right are in line for the slide that goes down to the exit.  If you take the slide, you must exit, so you’re limited to one trip down.  Use the stairs if you’re not ready to leave the building.

 

What the kids and grandkids did

Here are Jeff and Zaque going through a tunnel.

This is an entrance to a cave.  Paths–including staircases and tunnels–go every which way, including up and down.  I don’t do caves, so I didn’t get very far inside.  I talked with one lady who said she didn’t think she was going to find her way out.  It’s good that I left, if that’s what it was like!

Members of our group went outside to this level and climbed and crawled their way around.  Their report:  it was hot!  (Upper 90s.)

There were areas with all kinds of twists and turns.  You never knew where someone was going to appear because you couldn’t see the direction the paths were going to take.  Some kids found a way to get from the bottom to the top in this area.

Here’s Zaque, who found a way up to a new level from where he left us.

 

What Ted and I did

With all the optional directions to take everywhere we went, it was hard to stay in a group.  After leaving the cave, Ted and I decided to check out the museum stuff that didn’t require crawling on our bellies.

Here’s an old elevator door–one of the architectural artifacts in the museum.

How about a surprising twist from under a sewer cover?

Remember?

There’s an huge box of pencils on display–some new, some used.  Why?

Pillars throughout the building are covered in a variety of substances.  This one is decorated with shells.

For a change of pace, this tower is covered with gears.  All the round spindles on the stairway spin.  Some have messages on them; others have designs.  That’s the slide to the exit in the upper left.

The kids were having fun in the sit-and-spin area.  Why is there a net on the ceiling?

Some kind of mythical creature wraps around the staircase and the edge of a snack bar loft.

The mosaic birds on the floor continue up the wall.  Note that the bird on the wall has a pair of goggles in its beak.

We found an art gallery with unusual art.  I like the copper sit-and-spin in the back.

This man is trapped in glass.

There were two windows filled with slides encased in glass.

 

What we all did

We all had fun–even the boys who look serious.  It was time for a snack.

Our last celebration on this visit to Puyallup was Father’s Day.  It was fun to have four fathers with us:  Ted, Thom, Scott (Katie’s dad), and Nate (Katie’s brother).  Thom and Katie provided all of us with another delicious meal–this time from the grill.  There was German potato salad, corn on the cob, and hamburgers, plus a vegetable tray, a cheese tray, chips, fresh seasonal fruit, and beverages.  Julian made two more batches of his delicious brownies for dessert and everyone had a wonderful time.

The four fathers were the first to go to the dinner buffet.  L->R are Scott, Thom, Ted, and Nate.

Everyone had plenty to eat. Ryan and Jennifer (Katie’s other brother and his wife) were also with us and so was Nate’s three-year-old daughter, Naomi.  (You can see her blonde hair and her pink princess skirt and slippers at the left of Ted’s chair.)

Sefton enjoyed the bubble machine.  When he decided to inspect it to see how it worked, it got moved to a higher location.

We finished the evening with a fire in the firebowl and a glass of wine.  The patio lights Thom and Ted strung provided a warm glow in the darkening evening.  Good times!

June 16 was Julian’s big day–his high school graduation, including a celebratory lunch and dinner.  Katie’s parents, Scott and Carmen, joined us for a graduation lunch.  The ceremony was at 5:00 p.m. at the fairgrounds, about a half-mile from the house, so we walked and avoided the traffic and parking hassles.  After Julian was duly graduated, with all the rights and privileges thereof, we took pictures and went out to dinner in his honor.

Ted and Katie blew up purple and yellow balloons to decorate for the lunch party.  Sefton’s second favorite activity (after books) is gathering and throwing balloons.

Thom and I made German potato salad while Julian whipped up brownies for dessert.  (Julian is up to the licking-the-bowl part of the process.)

Katie made a candy bar bouquet (she’s so creative) and Thom hunted up photos of Julian to display on the table.  Julian is apparently an M&Ms lover like his Grandma Schroeder.

After all his years of hiking and camping, Julian never had his own tent, so his graduation gift from Thom and Katie was a tent and some camping supplies.  Julian loves hammocks, so Scott and Carmen gave him a hammock.  Our gift to him was money–not photographed.

The weather was beautiful and the lunch was delicious.  Julian gave it a thumbs up.

Sefton has his own toddler-size lawn chair.

 

This graduation was unlike any other I’ve attended.  The graduates were allowed to select seats at will for the rehearsal.  The seats they chose were the order in which their names were called.  There were around 450 graduates seated in four sections of chairs–two sections on each side of the podium  After all the speeches that no one remembers, two people called names in turn, bringing up a graduate first on one side of the podium, then on the other.  This really moved the ceremony along, and it was over in less than two hours.  There was a big screen on each side for a better view of the speakers and the graduates at the podium.

Here’s Julian on the big screen, waiting for his name to be called next.  Unfortunately, the screen on this side was in the sunlight, so the picture is washed out.

Even with three cameras among us, none of us got a picture of Julian accepting his diploma.  Here he is in the foreground, immediately after receiving his diploma folder–diploma to be picked up at the school next week.

This guy was the last to receive his diploma.  He got at least a two-minute round of applause and a standing ovation before his name was called.  He tapped his watch and gave the crowd a thumbs up while waiting for the noise to die down.  After his name was called, he got another big round of applause.

It’s official:  the graduates move their tassels to the left.

Mission accomplished.  The mortarboards are in the air.

Here’s “our” graduate with his little brother.

After the picture-taking, we went out to dinner.  Just inside the door, there was a sign to welcome us. It had four misspellings, but the one at the end of the second-last line was the worst.  Really?  Nobody caught that one?  Fortunately, the food was much better than the spelling.

Julian, waiting for his dinner to be served.  Congratulations and good wishes to our third graduating grandchild!

Ted and I flew to Puyallup for Julian’s high school graduation on Wednesday, June 13 and came back home on Monday, June 18.  During that time, we had three celebrations:  Ted’s and my 49th anniversary (June 14), Julian’s graduation (June 16), and Father’s Day (June 17).

Before we started celebrating, Ted and I had some time to get re-acquainted with Sefton, who is now 17 months old.  The last time we saw him was April 2017 when all of our kids came to St. Peters for my best birthday ever.  Of course, Sefton didn’t remember us, but he warmed up very quickly and was happy to let us play with him as much as we wanted to.

Sefton and me, April 2017.

Sefton, June 2018.  He’s grown so much since we saw him last spring!

The red barn book–one of Sefton’s many favorites.

A morning wake-up story with Grandpa.

 

Thom always loved Grandma Schroeder’s applesauce, made with maiden’s blush apples.  A number of years ago, Thom planted a maiden’s blush apple tree so that, someday, he could make applesauce like Grandma’s.  The tree is not yet ready to yield applesauce, but it is old enough to bear small apples, and each small apple has a maiden’s blush.

 

When Thom and Katie got home from work, it was time to go out for dinner to celebrate Ted’s and my 49th anniversary.  We decided on a nearby Italian restaurant, toasted the event with a bottle of wine, and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  The waitress was an experienced mom–she brought out Sefton’s pizza before the rest of us even had our appetizers.

Ted and I are ready for the next 49 years together.

Thom took this picture of Julian flipping on the ski slopes at Stevens Pass.  Thom noted that onlookers were applauding.  Go, Julian!

This week, Ted and I attended the St. Charles School District orchestra concert.  This is my favorite school concert of the year because it includes the entire string program in the six participating district schools:  elementary (5th-6th grades), intermediate (7th-8th grades), and high school (9th-12th grades).  In thanking the parents, community, and administration for their support, one of the teacher/directors mentioned that she is proud to be part of such a thriving string program (about 400 students) when many schools are eliminating similar programs due to budget cuts.

L -> R: elementary, intermediate, high school orchestras

 

The elementary school orchestra always plays first.  Their selections are short and simple (“Hot Cross Buns,” “Flintstones Theme,” etc.), and it’s amazing to hear their improvement since the fall concert.  Then the intermediate students play more difficult pieces (e.g., a simplified arrangement of Dvorák’s “Cavatina”).  You think the elementary orchestra sounds good until you hear how much better the musicians are with two more years of practice in intermediate school.  Finally, the high school orchestra performs and it sounds even better.  This year, one of their selections was a Disney medley arranged by a high school student musician.  The concert finale selections are played by all three orchestras together–a challenge for the teacher/directors, I’m sure.  Those pieces were my favorites of the evening.

Author’s note:  As a former band member (clarinet), I was amused at the way the directors kept the three orchestras on the same beat for the final pieces.  The elementary director (on the left) plays her violin along with her students and keeps time with her bow strokes.  The high school director (on the right) keeps his eyes on her to keep time with his hands.  The intermediate director (center and a little forward of the other two) watches the high school director and keeps time with him.  Teamwork! 

The intermediate orchestra takes its bow after its performance.  The arrows point at Sky (front) and Dylan (back).

 

When the concert is finished, cake and punch are provided for the students and guests.  The moment the musicians are excused after taking their final bow, there is a mad student rush for the gym door to get to the cake and punch!  (After all, it’s probably been nearly two hours since they had dinner.)  Yes, it’s always an enjoyable evening.  Next year, Teddy will be joining the elementary orchestra.

Cake!!!  The still photo doesn’t do justice to the speed at which these kids are heading for the door.

It’s spring (except weatherwise), so that means it’s concert time.  Ted and I were able to attend the orchestra concert at Hardin Middle School, featuring Sky and Dylan on their cellos.  They play much better than they did when they started, and it’s obvious that the music is more difficult than “Three Blind Mice”–one of the first pieces they learned several years ago.  The music was wonderful and, thanks to daylight saving time, it was still light outside when the concert was finished.

I couldn’t see Dylan very well from where we were sitting.  Follow the arrows to find Sky and Dylan.  Yes, that’s Dylan hidden behind the scroll of the cello played by the boy on Sky’s right.

 

Dylan is (a little) more visible in this close-up.  Sky takes this music seriously.

A few weeks ago, I discovered the secret of perfect Vienna Torte custard frosting.  Now I’ve cracked the code for delicious cherry pie.  My cherry pies are always ok, but not great.  Ted’s mom made delicious cherry pies but, for unknown reasons, I never asked her for her recipe.  “Aha!” I thought.  “Perhaps Ted’s sister, Mutzie, has her mother’s cherry pie recipe.  I’ll ask her.”

Mutzie’s response to my request was that she doesn’t bake much.  She did, however, have a Door County cookbook and thought that, since Door County is famous for its cherries, there might be a cherry pie recipe in it.  Sure enough, there is, and it’s called (surprise!) “Door County Cherry Pie.”  Mutzie doesn’t use the cookbook, so she offered it to me and I accepted.

I discovered some forgotten Door County cherries from last summer in the freezer and decided to try the recipe.  It tastes just like Ted’s mom’s delicious cherry pie.  Thanks, Mutzie.

Kathy and Annette came for a weekend visit to celebrate my birthday.  When they arrived, we headed to Pizza Hut to meet Kari’s family.  The boys had not planned to join us for lunch, because they thought we were going to have something like grilled cheese at the house.  When they heard we were going out for pizza, they announced that “Pizza Hut trumps grilled cheese” and immediately found time in their busy schedules to join us.

I saw the kids less than two weeks ago, and Sky was almost taller than I am.  Today, when I saw him, I was looking up into his eyes just a little bit.  I now have four grandsons taller than I am and three more who are growing quickly.

 

The girls, Ted, and I spent the afternoon catching up with each other while the kids played, and then we had a birthday dinner with gifts and cake.

The woman who has it all:  family, birthday gifts, and a perfect Vienna Torte.

Kari’s family gave me a book I can’t wait to read and a voucher for a lunch date with Kari.  That means there’s some quality mom-daughter time coming up soon.  The hand soap and lotion are from Kathy and Annette.

 

When I was about 11 or 12, my Aunt Shirley gave me a pretty bisque porcelain flower pot with hand-painted raised flowers on one side.  I could never get anything to grow in it, but I love it.  Some time ago, I gave it to Creative Kathy and asked her to think of a way to make the flower pot pretty to display.  She filled it with flowers to match those on the pot.

With a table runner Kari made, the enhanced flower pot is a perfect spring centerpiece for the kitchen table.

 

The big finish for the birthday dinner was the perfect Vienna Torte I made yesterday.  Yum!

Teddy (left) is in a state of supreme happiness anticipating the cake.  He came back later and asked for a second piece.  Of course, Grandma said “yes.”

 

The weekend was over too quickly.  Now I’m looking forward to my remaining birthday lunches / dinners with friends and with Ted–two down and five to go.  I love my birthday season!

In The Proposal, Betty White (the grandma) gives Sandra Bullock (the soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law) a necklace that has come down through the family.  When Sandra protests, Betty insists that grandmas love to give their things away because it means they’ll still be around in some way after they die.  This is true.

A few years ago, I gave Kyra, my only granddaughter (as she likes to remind us), a few pieces of my jewelry.  I wasn’t sure if she’d wear them or not, but I hoped she would at least treasure them as a memento of me.

Kyra is currently serving on a mission for her church in Bakersfield, CA.  She sends a weekly email message and always includes some photos about what’s going on in her life.  Today, as I was scrolling through the pictures she sent, I recognized a necklace from me on her neck.

Yes, grandmas love to give their things away.  They love it even more when they see their granddaughters enjoying those things.

This is me at three years old.  Check out the necklace.  I’ll bet my mom made that skirt and blouse.  The decorative bow in my hair that matches the skirt is definitely her touch, and she loved to do detailed sewing like the blouse.

Here’s Kyra.  Check out her necklace.  Beautiful girl, treasured necklace, and a little tear of happiness in grandma’s eye.

Kari was notified that Teddy would be receiving three awards at school today, so she invited Ted and me to attend the assembly.  Each classroom teacher gave awards for subjects taught in that classroom.  Special subjects included art, music, computers, etc. in addition to reading, writing, math, and the Big 3–given to one student in each class for being a safe, respectful, and responsible learner.  We were very proud of Teddy.

In the special subjects category, Teddy received a music award.  He’s on the far left.

Next was the classroom reading award.  He’s on the right in the back row.

Teddy’s third award was the Big 3.  Kari said the teacher told her Teddy is the most mature child in her classroom.  (Check it out.  The boy on Teddy’s right is wearing a shirt that says “Fossil Fuel” and has a picture of a dinosaur riding a motorcycle.)

The Big 3 includes a medal in addition to the certificate.  Here’s our winner.

 

Today was also Hat Day at school.  Most of the hats were cute, but not remarkable.  Some kids went for the extremes.

A Beefeater, perhaps?

World’s largest hat?

No hat, but the boy in the middle wore a three-piece suit and a tie for the event.  He looks bored here, but he was excited about his award and was glad-handing everyone.  Future politician?

Back at Kari’s house, we celebrated all these certificates with fresh-baked raisin bread and fresh caramel-frosted chocolate cupcakes.

 

Meanwhile, outside in Kari’s driveway, the Camry lives on.  Ted and I bought the Camry in March 1992.  It wouldn’t die, and we got sick of driving it, so Ted replaced it with a 2003 Solara and we gave the Camry to Kathy.  In December 2017, Kathy bought the Prius from us and gave the Camry to Kari.  Those Toyota cars just won’t quit!

 

It’s so much fun to live close to one of our kids’ families so we can regularly be a part of days like this.

My dad loved Hostess Twinkies, and my mom packed one in his lunch every day.  I’m pretty sure Twinkies have negative nutritional value and an expiration date of “when the world ends.”  I wonder if Dad would have appreciated this treat for Easter dinner.

Ted and I spent the afternoon with Kari’s boys today.  Ted and I look forward to these days and, whatever we do, we always have a good time together.  As usual, we started with lunch.  History is a good predictor of the restaurant the boys will choose, so yes, we went to Steak ‘n’ Shake.

Sitting across from the boys at the table, I noticed that all three were wearing sweatshirts with orange zippers.

 

The best part of Steak ‘n’ Shake is always when the shakes arrive.

 

It was cold outside (10-12 degrees) and a dangerous wind chill advisory was posted for late afternoon through the next three days.  An indoor activity like bowling seemed like a good idea.  The boys were willing, so we each got a pair of ugly bowling shoes and picked out a ball.

The boys might have been overly optimistic about their superpowers.  Sky and Dylan selected ten-pound balls and Teddy chose a seven-pound ball.  After several frames of watching Dylan and Teddy drop, rather than roll, their balls on the alley, I suggested they look for lighter balls.  (Teddy’s ball would probably have been good for Dylan, but the finger holes were too small.)

It was Saturday afternoon on a cold holiday weekend, so all the lanes were filled with families whose kids also needed lightweight balls.  As a result, Teddy and Dylan couldn’t find anything lighter than what they had.  Due to the large crowd, the bowling alley policy was six people to a lane.  That meant that after throwing (or dropping) a gutter ball or a low-scoring ball, each of us had to wait five turns to try it again.  B-o-o-o-ring!  We finished the game, but no one was eager to bowl another line.

Here’s Dylan, using body language to coax his ball toward the pins.

 

These are our scores–but not really.  The screen only showed the first initial of each name, so Teddy and Ted and Dylan and I sometimes messed up and bowled on each other’s turn.

 

Looking at the family scoreboards across the lanes, I saw very few scores over 100–apparently there were few true bowlers present for open bowling on a holiday weekend.  The boys and I have tentatively banned Ted, the family jock, from playing miniature golf with us in the future because his score was a lot lower than anyone else’s.  We might also have to ban him from bowling with us in the future because his score was so much higher than anyone else’s.  The scores weren’t the important part of the afternoon, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we were ready to move on to a different activity.

The boys voted that we return to their house so they could show us all the things they got for Christmas.  After that, we played Michigan Rummy, using the new chips Dylan got for Christmas.  Just as Teddy was ready to quit because his chips were gone, he won several of the pots and perked up again.  The Christmas toys and Michigan Rummy were the highlights of our time together, proving again that the simple things are the most fun.  We were practicing hygge.

Kari’s family opened gifts at their house this morning and then joined Kathy, Annette, Ted, and me at our house after lunch.

Kari took a group picture before the unwrapping began.

Annette has apparently been waiting years to make waffles at home.  Now she can do it.

The boys seemed very pleased with the gifts they received.  Teddy added two pigs to his collection.  Is it significant that both are piggy banks?  The jar he’s holding is “pork and beans”–little stuffed pigs mixed with bean seeds.

Here’s Teddy with his Lego piggy bank.  Who knew you could get a pig Lego set?  When Ted and I saw it, we grabbed it.

Since he was a little kid with enough money to buy gifts, Thom and I have always exchanged a Christmas Lego figure with each other.  This is the one I received from Thom this year. . .

. . . and the one I sent to Thom (on the right).

I took a group picture after the boys distributed the gifts.

 

After an early dinner, it was time for Kathy and Annette to leave for Kirksville so Annette could get some sleep before going back to work tomorrow.  Our two-day Christmas holiday with our girls and their families was wonderful.  We had time to visit and time to play.  Family time is always good and always goes by too quickly.  Until next time, merry Christmas and happy new year!

From Thanksgiving until Christmas, the St. Charles Historic District is decorated for the holidays and has holiday activities and performances several days and evenings each week.  There are Santas from around the world, carolers, a drum and fife corps, and over 40 costumed Victorian holiday characters from history, literature, and folklore.  All of these characters walk throughout the district and interact with visitors and shoppers.  There is an opening parade the day after Thanksgiving and, on Christmas Eve, a closing parade, followed by a farewell to Santa as he leaves to begin delivering gifts to children around the world.

Kathy and Annette wanted to do some shopping in the Historic District, so that’s where we headed after lunch.  As we were walking around the area, the Christmas Eve Parade began.  We went to the parade with Jeff’s family in 2015.  It was sunny and in the 40s.  Today it was around 20 degrees with a wind chill about 10 degrees colder.  The parade moved faster and there were fewer attendees than in 2015, but it was still fun.

Here they come. The wassailers are first, singing warm songs in the cold.

These are the Victorian carolers.

This guy is the Master of Revels.  I don’t know why his lipstick, eye makeup, and costume are bright blue.

Here comes Santa Claus!

 

Santa’s horse-drawn carriage is the last thing in the parade, so spectators along the sidewalks fill in behind him and follow him to the riverfront (one block east of here).  Annette, Kathy, and Kari opted to shop inside a warm store; the brave boys (Sky, Dylan, and Teddy) came with Ted and me to the riverfront where they could play in the snow some more during Santa’s farewell ceremony.

I’m not an official crowd estimator, but I’d guess there were about 200 people braving the cold to wish Santa a good trip.

The man is one of the international Santa figures; the woman is Saint Lucia, the saint of light (candles in the wreath on her head).

Four more international Santas.

There’s a short ceremony on the bandstand to bid Santa farewell.  That’s Dylan in his snow-covered jacket in the foreground.  Sky is bent over ahead of Dylan.

Santa said all the girls and boys in St. Charles are on the “nice” list this year.  Whew!  That’s Mrs. Claus on his left.

It’s time for Santa to leave so he can load his sleigh and get started with his deliveries around the world.

 

And then it was time for the boys, Ted, and me to join the girls in a warm store before heading back home.

Last year, when the kids arrived for Christmas, we decided to have lunch at Pizza Hut.  That was fine with me because I didn’t have to cook.  The girls and their families remembered the fun we had at last year’s lunch and said we should do it again this year.  Easy!  Kathy and Annette arrived last night, spent the morning at Kari’s house, and we all met at Pizza Hut for lunch.

We were the only ones at the restaurant when we arrived, so we parked our three cars side by side.  You can see that it’s snowing again for our white Christmas.  That’s now Kathy’s Prius on the right.

Just waiting for our food.  Dylan is toasting the fun we’re having.  Annette is still too cold to take off her jacket.

 

After lunch, Kathy and Annette wanted to browse in some of the St. Charles Historic District shops, so we headed downtown.  The boys are out of school and it’s our second day of snow, so they were hyped up about being outside in the snow–even if it was less than 20 degrees with a nasty wind chill.

The boys spotted a teddy bear decoration that had fallen over, so they had to inspect the fallen bear.  Dylan is in a sympathy pose, imitating the bear.

Dylan had fun rolling in the snow.

Sky and Teddy got in the sled and Dylan became the horse to pull it.

A view of the white Christmas riverfront.

Ted and I kicked off the concert season at the Hardin Middle School orchestra’s winter concert.  Sky and Dylan are cellists in the orchestra.

It’s Big Teddy and Little Teddy, ready to hear some music.

The orchestra is warmed up and ready to play.  Arrows point to the people we are most interested in–Dylan in the center ahead of the bass, and Sky on the right in the front chair.

Here’s a closer view of our boys.

Only the eighth graders played the most difficult piece.  Afterward, they stood to take a bow.  Sky is already in eighth grade!

 

Ted and I always look forward to these concerts, and we enjoy them.  The holiday music season has officially begun for us!

Ted and I have been looking forward to our stop in Longmont, CO to see Alex for the first time in 25 months.  He just returned from his mission in Peru on November 5, and we arrived at the house on the 6th, so we didn’t give him much time to recover from the international travel or to re-acclimate himself to the U.S.  After two years, it’s obvious he is a mature young man who’s had a very enriching experience.  We’re so proud of him!  We had a good time with the family and, as always, were sorry to have to leave and be on our way.

It looks like Jeff, La, and Zaque were excited about Alex’s homecoming too.

 

Jeff’s first ultimate frisbee game of the winter season was scheduled during our visit, so we watched his team play two twenty-minute fast-paced indoor games.

Here’s Jeff’s cheering section.

Jeff is a team captain, so I assume he’s giving the team a pre-game pep talk here, even though the team looks pretty relaxed at the moment.

Jeff in action.

 

Since Alex has been gone for two years, we needed to take some family pictures.

Here we are, looking at some of the pictures Alex took while he was in Peru.  Zaque had already gone to bed.

And here we are the next morning.  Zaque was in school.

Yet another grouping–Ted and me with our elder son.

Our final shot:  three generations of Schroeder men–Ted, his elder son, and Jeff’s elder son, our eldest grandson.

 

I think we need to do a better job of scheduling our trips.  At the start of our Spring Break Road Trip, we had three inches of snow in Nashville, TN and three more in Asheville, NC.  At the end of this trip, we had three inches of snow in Longmont, CO.

 

It must be time to get home and put the flannel sheets on the bed!

Ted wasn’t feeling his best today because he’s beginning to catch a cold.  It’s a mystery how that happened, but that doesn’t keep it from being a fact.  His energy level was low, so we opted for easy sightseeing in the Tucson area.

Yesterday, we were at the Desert Museum and saw a little bit of Saguaro National Park West, so today we went to Saguaro National Park East.  There is an 8-mile loop drive with lots of turnouts for viewing the desert landscapes.  We considered hiking, but Ted didn’t really feel like it and I was tired too, so we chucked the hiking idea.  After all, this is our vacation, so we get to do what we want (or don’t want) to do.

After the national park, our next activity of the day (following a lunch break) was a narrated tram ride through Sabino Canyon, northeast of Tuscon.  There were beautiful views throughout the canyon and both of us felt it was time well spent.

You can see the two stone railings of a narrow bridge in the lower right center of the photo.  It was about six inches wider than the tram, but the driver got both tram cars safely across all eight water crossings on our journey.  The rocks at the top of the center mountain are called the Acropolis Ridge because of their shapes.

Saguaro cactus are growing among the red rocks.  The tree on the right is a palo verde (green stick) because everything on the tree is green, including the bark.

Another pretty view of the Sabino Canyon.

Ted and me, having fun on our tram tour viewing stop.  We’re getting pretty good at selfies, aren’t we?  How about those two guys you can see between us at the back of the tram?

 

We hoped to drive the Catalina Highway along a mountain ridge for some spectacular views, but we ran out of time, so we checked into our hotel and freshened up for dinner.  We had a special dinner in Tucson with my cousin, Bob Lorenzen.

Both Bob and we thought he might have visited us once in St. Charles, prior to 1979, but none of us could remember for sure.  If not, the last time we’ve seen each other was at Ted’s and my wedding in 1969.  My youngest brother (Russ), Bob, and our cousin David were all born within a year, so they hung out together at Ted’s and my wedding.  They also signed our wedding guest book as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Superman.  If I had the book with me, I’d scan the page to show you this wedding artifact.  It’s been a fun memory for Ted and me over the years.  Bob is more mature now and we had a great time together for several hours.  As soon as we saw each other, both Bob and I said, “You look just like you used to.”  Of course, we look older, but yes, it was easy to recognize each other, even after nearly 50 years.

Can you believe that–even without planning it–we all wore blue shirts?!  It was so good to see each other and to catch up on all kinds of extended family news.

Ted, Dan, Vernie, and I spent the afternoon at Kitt Peak Observatory.  I will shamelessly name-drop that Dan is an astronomer and did work at Kitt Peak on his sabbaticals as a professor of astronomy.  Who better to take us to an observatory?

We took a tour with a very knowledgeable docent.  His only mistake was starting his tour by asking (somewhat playfully) if anyone in the group was an astronomer.  Personally, if I’d been in his place, I’d have been intimidated to be giving a tour to an astronomer who had previously done work at Kitt Peak, but the docent seemed to take it in stride.

Until today, I didn’t realize that there was more than one telescope at Kitt Peak.  Actually, there are three operating night telescopes, two radio telescopes, and 22 optical telescopes on the premises.

Here are some of the telescopes on Kitt Peak.

 

There is also a solar telescope that is no longer in use.

This is the solar telescope.  I was trying to figure out what was inside this building, because I never saw a telescope that looked like this.

From inside the solar telescope building, you can look upward toward the sky to see where the light enters the telescope.

The focal length of the solar telescope is 285 feet.  The light is reflected deep into the ground (arrow).  I had to take this picture through a window, so it’s not great, but the telescope was very impressive.

 

Kitt Peak is one of the sites for the Very Long Base Array.  The VLBA is a system of ten radio telescopes that are operated remotely from the Array Operations Center in Socorro, NM (home of the Very Large Array).  These ten telescopes work together as an array that forms the longest system in the world using interferometry (simultaneous observations made by many radio telescopes, then combined to yield data as if from one extremely large telescope).

The telescope facing upward in the center of the picture is the VLBA radio telescope.

 

Kitt Peak’s four-meter telescope was installed in 1973.  There was a lengthy delay in completing the mirror, so a concrete model of the mirror was built to the exact size and weight of the actual mirror.  This allowed some of the other work on the telescope to progress.  At the time it was completed, this telescope was the second-largest in the world.

When the actual mirror was installed, one person suggested the 15-ton concrete model be rolled down the mountain.  Instead, a mural was painted on it and it was placed at the entrance to the visitor’s center.  Check out my trusty scale model (Ted) to see how big a 4-meter mirror is.

The building on which the telescope dome revolves is constructed of ten hexahedrons and is architecturally beautiful.

This is the 4-meter telescope.  They were shifting the position of the telescope while we were inside, so we actually saw it moving.  The black part within the white circle at the top is the piece that will look outside the building when the slot on the dome is opened.

Our tour took us to the level of the vents inside the dome.  The vents are needed because the temperature in the dome must always match the temperature outside; otherwise, the mirror might cloud up when the door is opened and that would not be good for seeing stars.

 

Dan told us that when the Kitt Peak Observatory was built, location and access were important.  In the digital age, however, no human actually looks through the telescopes; all of the visual information is transmitted electronically, so it doesn’t matter where the telescope is placed.  As a result, remote Chile is a popular place for telescopes now because it is dark and high.  I know that today’s technology will greatly increase our knowledge, but doesn’t it take the fun out of a telescope if you can’t look through it?

 

Note:  Dan, if you are one of my select few readers, please correct any errors or misunderstandings I’ve made.  Thanks.  And thanks for taking us to Kitt Peak.

This morning, Dan and Vernie took Ted and me to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum–a definite “must see.”  It’s an outdoor museum with paths that took us through true desert.

A variety of cacti are visible in this photo. The center plant is an organ pipe cactus; the lower center is an agave cactus (they make tequila from these roots); and just above the agave is the stalk of a young saguaro cactus.  I don’t remember the names of the leafy one on the left or the bare-looking one on the right.

The short plants are cholla cacti, but Vernie said they are called “teddy bear cactus” because they look fluffy.  (They’re not.  They’re sharp!)

The cactus on the left is called a “jumping cholla” because if a branch dies, it will “jump” onto your clothing if you brush against it.  It doesn’t really jump; it breaks off of the plant and sticks to your clothing.  How do you get cactus out of your clothes?  Vernie said you use a comb.  In the center of the photo is a prickly pear cactus, and behind it is a saguaro that is probably over 100 years old, since they don’t sprout arms until they are about 75 years old.

Here are many young saguaro cacti (no arms), some prickly pear, a cholla on the right, and the mystery (to me) cactus that looks like a bush of sticks.

 

There is a hummingbird house on the museum grounds.  I didn’t know until today that hummingbirds are found only in the Western Hemisphere, and in the U.S., only west of the Mississippi River.  (The docent admitted that with climate change, there might be a few hummingbirds just east of the Mississippi.)  Arizona has 18 kinds of hummingbirds; Missouri has one, maybe two kinds.  There are about 300 species of hummingbirds.

The hummingbirds fly all over in the hummingbird house and are easy to spot, but getting a picture is harder.  They move very quickly and they are hard to see when they alight on the dense foliage.  I got a lucky shot of this one.

 

Finally, here’s a photo of the people with whom I had a wonderful desert museum experience.

Kathy and I saw this shirt when we had our September “Columbia Day” together.  We both laughed when we saw it because it made us think of Thom.

Since neither Jeff nor Ted bought the colorful spring suits they found, Ted wondered if the darker fall colors might appeal to Jeff as a second chance to buy matching father-son suits.

Badaboom!  Matching jacket, tie, and pants, with lots of color.

This one has an added feature:  a purple lining!

Last week, Kathy and I met in Columbia for a girls’ day out.  We like to do that whenever we can make it work with both of our schedules.  It’s about a 1.5-hour drive for each of us and we get to spend an entire day together.  We always have a good time and have never yet run out of things to talk about.  We’ve got the routine down:

(1)  Meet around 10:30 a.m. in Columbia at the intersection of I-70 (my road) and US 63 (her road) where there’s a big Bob Evans/Steak ‘n’ Shake parking lot.  We leave one of our cars in the parking lot for the day.

(2)  Eat lunch or breakfast, whichever seems right.

(3)  Browse through the downtown stores in Columbia.  Sometimes we actually purchase something, but most of the time, we just look at things.  This time, our browsing led us to an interesting T-shirt.  (We didn’t buy it.)

(4)  After purchasing some hand-dipped gourmet chocolates at the Candy Factory downtown, go to the Columbia Mall food court for a beverage to accompany the chocolates and a few hours of talking.

(5)  Select a restaurant for dinner and a few more hours of talking.

(6)  Return to the car in the Bob Evans/Steak ‘n’ Shake parking lot around 9:30 p.m. and leave for our respective homes.

One of our favorite dinner spots is Shakespeare’s Pizza, a family-owned pizza parlor.  Shakespeare’s is always busy, and recently expanded into a huge space.  That was our choice for this girls’ day out.

While standing in line to order our pizza, we had time to read the “Pool Rules.”

The yellow brick road is present in all of the 6 dining rooms and leads patrons to the rest rooms.  When it’s necessary, just follow the yellow brick road.

We ate in the first dining room this time, but I think it might be the noisiest.  You can see that Shakespeare’s is a happening place.

After another great day together, it’s time to head home.  The time always goes too fast for us.

We arrived in Longmont and were happy to see Jeff, La, Kyra, and Zaque.  Kyra will be leaving on September 13 for her 18-month mission in Bakersfield, CA.  To celebrate, Jeff and La took all of us to Kyra’s favorite restaurant, Benihana, for a farewell dinner.  Jeff has told us many times how much they like this restaurant, so Ted and I were eager to see what it’s like.  (Remember the trail mix lunch in Cheyenne?  We were ready for dinner.)

There were six of us, and Benihana seats tables of eight, so two other people were seated with us.  The six of us ordered the filet mignon; the other two people ordered salmon.  I mention this because you can tell which food is going where in the pictures below.  If there are only two of an item, that’s what the other people ordered.  Everyone gets many of the same side dishes, so there are eight of some things.

The first course (vegetables) included the onion volcano.  I’ve got to try this at home!

This man had sharper knives than I’ve ever seen.  He has to cut the food to chopstick size and his knives slid right through everything, from the zucchini to the steak.  Here he’s stirring the chicken cubes he cut.

And now, the main course–our steaks.  It was so much fun to watch him cook and to smell everything, then have it served piping hot.

On Saturday, none of us wanted to do much of anything, so we relaxed at home.  I found an interesting lamp in the room where Ted and I sleep and asked La about it.  She said her mother made it for her.

La’s doll lamp.

Look what La’s mom used for the lamp base: a weighted Clorox bottle.  You never know what women put on under their clothes to look good.

Sunday was church day and it was special because it was Kyra’s last Sunday and she was scheduled to give a 20-minute talk to the congregation about her upcoming mission.  She had worked on the speech a lot before we arrived and she also spent several hours Friday night and Saturday polishing it and timing it so it would be just right.  The speaker ahead of her went over his allotted time, but Kyra was told to use her full twenty minutes anyway.  Her talk was excellent.  She has a gift for personalizing what she says and it’s always interesting to hear the personal side of people’s stories.  Church worked up an appetite, though, so when we got home, it was time for a snack.

At 4:00, we headed back to church for Kyra’s setting apart service.  This rite set her apart as a missionary and she will have to follow missionary rules from this point forward.  Only family and close friends attend the setting apart, and Ted and I were honored to be present.  I asked Jeff ahead of time if this was a photo op celebration or if it was reverent and without pictures.  He said “reverent” (no surprise to me), but I brought my phone along anyway.  After the prayers and congratulations, the man who conducted the service (I don’t remember his title) smiled at all of us and asked, “Does anyone want a commemorative photo?”  I produced my phone and he took a group picture of us.

Knowing what a busy and important day this would be, La had a beef roast in the crockpot.  Combined with fresh seasonal corn on the cob, we had a delicious dinner and then sat around talking and playing games.

Sheephead has become a favorite of Zaque’s and Kyra’s.  They must have some Wisconsin blood in them.

At one point, we found ourselves talking about rewards and punishments parents use with their children.  Jeff’s family started talking about the “bucks” the kids used to get for good behavior that could be redeemed for privileges.  Naturally, that required digging out some souvenir bucks.

Zaque tried to duplicate the expression on his childhood 10-buck.

Kyra’s grown-up smile is the same as her little girl smile.

Alex is still in Peru, but we included his bucks in our discussion.  When she was little, Kari would have called these recollections “rememories.”  I’ve always liked that word.

Much too soon, it was bedtime and our time together was over.  Ted and I plan to leave at 5:30 am; Jeff and Zaque will be going to seminary at 6:00 am; and Kyra’s missionary rules say she should get up at 6:30 am.  It looks like only La can sleep in tomorrow morning.  We said good-night and good-bye to each other before going to bed.  Jeff was up and dressed when Ted and I were ready to leave, so he wished us a safe trip and we were on our way.  This MAT was one of our best trips ever.  (But we say that after every trip.)

The sun rose as we drove eastward from Denver.

The next stop on our Midwestern Adventure Trip (MAT) was Grand Island, NE–home of Ted’s sister, Mutzie and nephew, Glenn.  The state fair was in town, so the three of us set out in search of adventure at the fair.  This was opening day, so anyone who arrived before noon was admitted free (admission was $12 for adults).  We arrived at 11:45.

The sign on the gate behind us says we are welcome at the fair.

As we headed for the main aisle of the fairgrounds, the first thing we saw was the local NBC weatherman telling his viewers that the weather was beautiful for fairgoers.

The forecaster was broadcasting from right in front of the Nebraska history trailer and was wearing a red shirt and tan shorts–just like Ted.

We decided to scope out the fairgrounds to discover what was offered before deciding what to see, so we caught one of the trams that toured the fairgrounds, complete with a narrator on board.  There was a minor adventure when one of the riders on our tram fell off.  He was standing on the step instead of inside the tram.  Fortunately, he suffered only a minor scrape on one elbow.

Naturally, nothing but a large tractor would be appropriate to pull the tram car at the state fair.

Here we are, enjoying our tram tour.

When we got off the tram, one of the first things we passed was Nebraska state fair kitsch.

Just like home.

We were passing the dairy barn, so we had a delicious lunch:  pie with ice cream.  Ted had peach, Mutzie had strawberry-rhubarb, and I had cherry.  Yum!  Moving onward after eating our pie–ahem! lunch–we saw three semi-trailer trucks with Brad Paisley’s name on them.  Brad was scheduled to entertain the Nebraska crowd at 7:00 pm.

One of Brad’s trucks.  You can see some of his guys setting things up on the stage on the left side of the picture.

Grand Island, NE is the manufacturing home of Case IH combines.  Don’t think you’re going to see Brad Paisley’s show without a ticket.

Case combines (the red machines behind the tractors) were displayed around the arena field, making it impossible to see the stage from outside the venue.

There were traveling individual and group musicians.  One group went by as we were walking along the main aisle.

The group did a good job and gave the crowd a happy, toe-tapping feeling.

Since Mutzie is a Quilting Queen, we checked out the display of quilts.  There were over 650 quilts displayed in a room designed to display 400, so some had to be hung over each other, allowing only part of each to show.  The quilts were beautiful and the building was air conditioned, so it was a nice break.

This is just one corner of the quilt display.  There were many aisles filled with hanging quilts, plus all four walls of the room covered with quilts.

One of Mutzie’s friends entered this quilt.  The challenge was to design a quilt using the Dresden plate pattern.  This quilter used the pattern in the bicycle wheels.

As we were leaving the fairgrounds, a “giant” came up to us, so I took a picture of him with Ted.

He’s jolly and he’s a giant.  He was also extremely steady on his feet as he danced and twirled.

We had fun at the fair and enjoyed our family time in Grand Island.  Until next time, “fair well,” Mutzie and Glenn.  (Groan, I know.)

Note:  Mutzie apparently knows everyone in Grand Island and possibly in Nebraska.  I don’t think ten consecutive minutes went by without meeting someone she knew.  She’s way ahead of Kari when it comes to seeing friends wherever she goes.

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Kari invited Ted and me to join their family to celebrate Dylan’s birthday last week (July 13).  He is now 12 years old.  He usually picks ice cream cake for his birthday dessert, but varies the ice cream flavor each year.  This year, the cake was one-half vanilla and one-half chocolate.  Yum!  What an enjoyable evening we had!

Sky and Dylan ready for Dylan’s favorite meal:  ham, mashed potatoes, and Waldorf salad with lots of cherries.

Ice cream cake and candles for the 12-year-old birthday boy.

Kathy’s gifts had a hippie theme with a tie-dye shirt and cake mix, and a VW flower van card and model car.

Kathy also found a Lego chess set. Dylan started a chess game right after we left.

We gave Dylan stuff for his bike (lights, speedometer, water bottle) and he got a new scooter too.

Dylan tried out his new scooter on the skateboard ramp Dean built.