I'll try to pick up where I left off. I came home Sunday after the celebration and Goldman took me back on Tuesday since he didn't have summer school class on the holiday. Leslie, that King boy's wife. came up from Springfield on Wednesday and was fabulous company and made some fabulous meals. She recently retired from the medical center and is loving every minute of her retirement. Goldman had to leave reluctantly that day because he had to teach on Thursday.

Jana, one of brother Bob's grandaughters, her husband John and 15 month old daughter Ellie arrived on Wednesday in time for the fireworks display, one of several that week. They live in Ellisville now but are natives of Kansas. John had to drive to Boonville on Thursday for something for his job but got back in time to take turns with Jana watching Ellie and riding the waverunner. Meanwhile, Leslie was in the kitchen cooking something that sounded inedible but was absolutely delicious. Late on Wednesday Sabrina, another of Bob's grandaughter's, her daughter Martesia and son Junior arrived. They are also Kansans. Junior is eleven and he became our official trash man. I've never seen a kid like that. We just had to clear our throats and point and off he went with the trash. His mother said it wasn't an act either.

REO Speedwagon was performing at a local lakeside bar on Thursday night and John was lamenting the fact that he couldn't attend. Rose did not have the same thought about the group's performance. She arrived very late that night and couldn't imagine why the traffic was so bad at that hour. The performance had just ended and everyone was leaving.

Rose and I got up very early Friday to say goodby to Leslie. Rose wanted to visit with her a bit before she headed out. Actually Rose and I got up very early every morning because we didn't want to miss anything.

The younger folks (they were all younger than Rose and me) spent the day swimming at the pool and/or in the lake and riding the waverunner. John filled the kiddie pool for Ellie and she was a little bathing beauty. Junior kept the trash cans emptied.

Jana's sister, Tricia who is another of Bob's grandaughters, and her boyfriend Walter arrived on Friday evening. They are both students at K State. They, too, enjoyed the waverunner. Walter will graduate in December as a mechanical engineer and Tricia is studying the effects of exercise on certain medical conditions. I wrote down what the name her degree will be but I can't find the paper this morning. I asked her about my condition and physical therapy, acupuncture, healing touch, etc. and all the other things I've tried and her quick reply was that any and everything helps. I liked her response very much.

Chris and Shelly arrived Saturday late morning. Goldman was keeping THOSE dogs for them in their absence. Shelly brought pineapple upside cake for dessert and of course it was scrumptious.

Sally Jackson and two of her grandaughters, Hailey and Stephanie, arrived on Saturday morning. They also live in Kansas but in a different part. Sally is a distant cousin and she and Joe discovered each other when they were tracing our roots in their geneology studies. She is such an interesting woman in her own right without going back any generations. She's doing that, too, and is working on writing a book. We just didn't have enough time to visit with her. Her grandaughters swam and also rode the waverunner. Once we thought they were lost so Chris went out in the boat to look for them. We were afraid the girls didn't know where to find their way back to the lake house or how to call us. If they knew my name is Boaz, the phone is still in the Spreitler name. The girls came back and hadn't been lost. Then we got worried about Chris. He wasn't lost either but we weren't sure. We needed walkie talkies. Cell phones sometimes don't work too well on the lake.

Joe, David, and MarEllen arrived on Saturday, too. David was glad they didn't bring THAT dog. Joe and Sally brought their geneology books and compared notes on our ancestry. They haven't discovered any one famous in our lineage but they've found some women of "ill repute" and these women's brother shot one of their customers and only did two years in prison for the crime. I guess it was justifiable homicide.

We had a delicious dinner. Chris did the brisket. He claimed he taught Goldman how to make the brisket, but we must remember that Goldman is of Jewish descent and he claims that it was his Jewish grandmother's recipe. Chris isn't Jewish, just cheap. Jana did the corn in the slow cooker. We tried to pass the store bought potato salad off as Momma's but we didn't fool anyone. The green salad was a joint effort. We had Shelly's dessert. Rose's told everyone they had to eat and keep eating so we would know they were having a good time.

Things started winding down after dinner. Joe, David, and MarEllen were just ready to go out the door when David and Walter got into a deep discussion about Walter's upcoming occupation and power plants. Shelly was going to join the conversation until sh heard the word 'algorithym' and decided otherwise. (I may have mispelled that word. I don't use it every day. It isn't exactly a household word.) MarEllen was tapping her foot and clearing her throat to no avail. David and Walter had a very long conversation.

I believe the waverunner was one of my best investments ever. I think all the young folks rode it. David said he could just ride it all day long and promised that he and MarEllen would come back and do that.

On a sad note, Bernie had been so looking forward to this occasion. We sorely missed him very much. Maudie and the kids decided not to come and we were sorry we didn't get to see them but we understand why.

Rose had to go to Chicago yesterday evening so Chris and I took her to the airport and then went out to dinner. Shirley was already in Chicago so I stayed alone last night. Chris called this morning to see if I had gotten robbed or raped during the night but it was an uneventful night.

I had an email from Joe when I got back that Vita's mother, Donald's mother-in-law, Lee Nicastro, had passed away on Saturday. Mrs. Nicastro belonged to the same parish that Chris and Shelly had belonged to before they moved to St. Charles. It was the church where Donald and Vita were married. I last saw Mrs. Nicastro when she came to the funeral home when Denny died. The obituary asked that masses or donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation preferred.

This is going to be our annual girls' weekend at the lake and the 'girls' have been planning it for weeks. Us old girls usually go to bed early and sleep through the commotion downstairs. They bring lots of food so we have to eat early and often. Us old girls (Liz, Leslie, and I) plan to get there Thursday to prepare ourselves and rest up for Friday. The husbands babysit for the weekend and appreciate the wives a bit more when they get home.

Chris is coming shortly to take me to the new Starbucks for breakfast. It's right around the corner and one of his ex-students is the manager. Goldman is taking me this afternoon to pick up this device that this ortho-something took a hand mold last month and sent the mold off to Washington to make this device that hopefully will make my hand more usable. My occupational therapist will help me learn to use it. Goldman took me when they made the mold and wants to take me back this afternoon to pick up the device because the nurse was so cute. I'm not sure what the title of this ortho-something is but he said he does everything but teeth. He said he's even made noses. Goldman and I will go then to the airport to pick Shirley up and Rose will be home tomorrow.

I'm a very slow typist and this has taken me quite some time. Lucky for Chris, he's late. He's going to be 38 years old on Friday the 13th. They're going to Stef and Dan's for dinner. He better let Shelly drive. How did my baby get so old?