I'm back today with an update on some other family members. Also, still waiting on updates from others!

Rose and Shirley both have to go to Chicago this weekend. It's going to be a beautiful weekend here, but don't think anyone can go to the lake with me. If I'm wrong, just call me. Ding and I are going out tonight for our Thursday night dinner. I was up to 20 minutes on the exercise bicycle this morning and am going to try to ride it again. When I try to walk any distance for exercise, I get pain in my left leg now. Before it was my right leg. Don't know what they'll try next.

Margaret is seeing a specialist on the 16th about the problem she is having and awful pain in the ankle that she broke before. She saw one specialist on Tuesday and she said that, except for the pain, she would have been tempted to break the other one just to see him again. He was a real cutie. He says the problem is largely arthritis, and it's bone against bone since the cartilege is all gone. Sabrina went with her on Tuesday. She says she usually takes one of the girls since her memory isn't quite what it used to be. I know how being in the doctor's office can bring up anxiety that gets in the way!

The specialist will give her some options. It may be some medication, but perhaps the inevitable will be total ankle replacement or something like that. Meanwhile she says she's gimping around. She says she's thinking of all the money she might be winning if she could go to the Casino!

A quick addon before I go to bed. I wanted to tell this cute story about Brayden but had to ask Scott's permission before I posted it. Brayden does read the blog and, remember, he does NOT have any girlfriends.

A little girl named Olivia sits by Brayden on the schoolbus everyday. He has told me several times that she is NOT his girlfriend. Josie Hollensbe is the six year old FRIEND of his that lives here, and he always likes to play with her when he is here in St. Louis or when they're both at the lakehouse. They are all six are and all three just started first grade. Scott was talking to him one day about their upcoming lake trip and started to ask him something "Brayden, have you told Olivia. . . . . ?" Before Scott could finish his question (and this wasn't going to be what he was going to ask Brayden about), Brayden responded "Yes, Dad, I've told Olivia about Josie!"

I'm not sure how to end this since Brayden will be reading this and WILL NOT want me to imply that either of these two girls are girlfriends. They're just FRIENDS, really great friends..

I'm behind on my updates but so is everyone else. I'll go back to Thursday before the holiday. Mad Dog picked me up in the afternoon and we hurried down to the lakehouse to get ahead of the holiday traffic. He went over to see his Dad and brought back Steak and Shake for dinner. It was the only quiet evening. Doug arrived with a carload of 'stuff' on Thursday, part of which they called a carport. Anytime we had any rain, Doug, et. al., would jump in and erect it so we could sit outside and wouldn't get rained on, though it didn't rain much. Mark Lary and Karen arrived next, I believe. Then I'm not sure who came next. Goldman and his girlfriend, another Suzanne with her three, Ethan, Tim and Mattie, were slowed down by the holiday traffic as were Suzanne Hollensbe with Lukas and Josie. But we waited dinner for them. Scott and the boys popped in sometime in the middle of the night as did Beth, an old friend of Scott's from Kansas City. They were so late I got up next morning to make sure they were there. I was so sound asleep I didn't hear the last ones come in, and I think Brayden and Jalen slept with me. I think I counted everyone. If I've forgotten anybody, I apologize.

Saturday the action started. Those who've been there have seen what we call the "Red Thing". It's this big inflatable tube that will hold three people. A rope attches to the bottom of it and to the back of the boat. Three kids have to take turns riding on it. There's always a waiting line, so to speak. Once I counted nine kids in the boat with Scott and Doug. There were seven of my houseguests and two neighbor kids. The old Bayliner boat doesn't look so good but it sure serves the purpose. It had riders as long as they could find drivers.

Fishing was good, too. Doug cooked up a mess of crappie Sunday affternoon and also had enough to take some home in the cooler for his parents. I don't know how many of the kids fished, but I know Doug made at least two trips for minnows. He probably cleaned them all too. The kids just took credit.

Mark and Karen brought an inflatable kayak. It's huge and I guess the size of a real one. It will easily hold two edults. At first the kids seemed reluctant to get on it but soon they were, again, standing in line. Mark and Karen must have made it look fun. One time Josie, Mark and Brayden were on it. They got Mark to sit 'in the middle'. This was so Brayden could set in back and steer. I hope there are some pictures of all this. Mark took some and maybe others did too.

We did lots of eating and snacking. Karen and Mark rode their bikes 27 miles Saturday and 58 miles on Sunday. They're getting ready to ride in MS150 in Columbia next weekend so were just getting a little exercise. Karen came by this morning here at home to pick up some stuff she'd forgotten and said she thought she had gained 5 pounds over the weekend. I don't see how that was possible with all her exercise. I don't think she has weighed since they're back.

We did do a lot of eating but not at the table. It was filled with computers What smart kids we have today!! My computer was on a shelf because there wasn't room on the table where I usually set it when we're not using the table. They all know how to use the computers and also know how to share. They use these little hand held things. They rig up stuff to the TV. I tell them I had to walk 10 miles in the snow to change channels. Then I tell them the truth. Some of that time we didn't even have a TV. They don't believe me either way. It's "Oh, Granny".

As we used to read in the Marshfield Mail "A good time was had by all." Now let's have some pictures and other updates to confirm it.

I need to get my posting caught up with the pictures. Last Thursday, the 27th, Mark Lary took 'me out to the ballgame'. First we went to lunch at a nearby place called Winslow's Home. It's just up on Delmar and not far grom home. The food was great, and I'd like to go back sometime and just look around. They had lots of things on display but we were short on time. When we got to the ballpark Mark dropped me off as close as he could get and parked while I waited. Needless to say, the Cardinals lost, but I had a great afternoon. I was able to walk back to the car with no problem, and the walk wasn't very far for me. Maybe I'm better than I thought.

I no sooner got home than Ding picked me up for our usual Thursday night dinner. He's still on his raw food diet so we went to the Olive Garden to eat. I missed Karen in the afternoon and Shelly in the evening. We'll have to have an excursion without the guys soon.

On Friday Rose and I picked up Brayden and Jalen halfway over from Louisville. They were more excited about seeing the Hollensbes than seeing us three old ladies, so the boys and I spent the night with the Hollensbes on Friday night. We all went to Skyzone with Aunt Rose on Saturday. As Rose, Suzanne, and I watched at Skyzone, we couldn't figure out what was so exciting about jumping around on trampolines, but all four of them loved it. Again on Sunday we took the boys halfway to Louisville and I bet they slept the second half of the trip. They were exhausted from all their good time.

They've just found out that Aaron, Den's son, was born with one kidney and that kidney has been overworked for 34 years. He will need a transplant within the next two years. Let's all keep him in our prayers.

Sabrina and Dave and their boys and two of the boys friends went down to the lakehouse this weekend. Sabrina said they had a wonderful time but would have had a better time if I had been with them. I hope she didn't say that just to make me feel good. I didn't go because Brayden and Jalen were going to be here. Otherwise, you couldn't have kept me away.

I'm the first one up this morning and wanted to tell some of my faithful readers to watch for Mark Lary and me at the Cardinal/Houston game this afternoon. Mark is picking me up at 11:30 St. Louis time and after we have lunch we're going to the ball game! We'll probably be the ones in red shirts. The Cards are on a real winning streak.

Rose just got up but Shirley nor Leslie has come down yet. My legs, especially my left one, are still bothering me, but I told Mark that I think I can walk the distance at the ball park. I've been doing the exercycle the past few days without any repercussions.

Sabrina and Dave and the boys are going to the lake this weekend, and although I really hate to miss that Scott is going to let us have Brayden and Jalen for the weekend. Rose and I are going to meet them half way to Louisville tomorrow and they're going to spend the night with Luke and Josie that night, and then we're going to do something fun the rest of the weekend. We don't know what yet.

More later.

Sorry I'm so far behind on updating on my doctor visits. After waiting for the vascular surgeon to call me for two days and my calling him and leaving messages for those two days, his nurse finally called me back late yesterday afternoon. I guess what she told me was good news. I don't have blockage in my left leg. The pain I'm suffering there must be from arthritis. (Is it spelled right, Brother Joe? He sent me an email and told me I should have spell check on for my last update!) I asked what the February procedure that the surgeon did was because he told Chris it was a stent and told Rose and me it was a balloon. The nurse said they were both the same thing. Rose and I thought they were different procdedures and that the doctor had told us they were different procedures. The nurse told me I should continue taking the blood thinner because of the blockage in my right leg.

When I had called for this appointment, the nurse had asked if I wanted an office visit or surgery appointment. The doctor didn't even know my left leg was bothering me. I asked the nurse what he was going to operate on. She said on my right leg and assumed the pain was so severe that I was ready for surgery. Surgery on my right leg will entail a two month recovery period and is not nearly that severe. At the time I made the appointment, no one asked me how severe the pain is. I'm going to discus this with my primary care doctor when I see her next time. Meanwhile, I hobble around and take pain pills and tried some Tylenol for arthritis this morning to see if that will let me stay awake. Pain pills make me sleep a lot.

So much for my troubles. Thursday evening Chris, Shelly and I had dinner at the Olive Garden. Chris is on a raw foods diet and the Olive Garden has an all-you-can eat-salad dinner that he wanted to take advantage of. They were entertaining and quite talkative about their trip out west. I nagged them about updating the blog and told them how if you wait too long you forget things you wanted to put in - amusing happenings among other things.

Last night Goldman and I went to the Casino and had dinner and played until very late. He was afraid he would be in trouble with Aunt Rose for our late evening, and when I tried to reassure him that it would be okay, he responded "You may noy be afraid of her but I am!"

Pete called this morning with his weekly call. Kelly and the boys were there and he and Janet were waiting for them to get up and cook breakfast. It was going to be warmer there than it's going to be here and if Janet felt up to it, they were going to a wedding. It was going to be an outdoor occasion. Hope you can make it, Janet.

I'm way behind on my postings but so is everyone else. It was a great kids' week. Our 18th annual one. Mike Lynch came for a few days. Chris was there for the second weekend and got to meet some of his Kansas relatives that he hadn't met before. Leslie from Springfield came up and cooked us one of her fabulous meals. Leslie, would you send me another recipe for that green stuff? It was a mover and every little bit was scarfed up. Sabrina and Debby took the copy of the recipe that you brought me.

One of my nice neighbor helped the guys get the waverunner from the shop and it is running great. Thank you, Dave Meisel. Mad Dog had to leave before our pork steak meal but came back over from his dad's and cooked them for us. Again, I think we ate every morsel. Groves came for both weekends. Scott's boys brought a friend, Christian, and between the three of them and Junior they kept the red thing (spinning thing they ride in behind the boat) in action as long as they could get someone to pull them.

I believe there were quite a few pictures taken. I'm waiting for someone to post them on the blog and also to add some updates about the happenings during the week. Attendance was down for a kids' week but jobs and kids and responsibilities tend to make things different as we get older.

Since I came back I've been doing a lot of doctoring. On the way home with Ding on that Sunday evening I had an awful attack of pain in both my legs. We were on our way to the emergency room when Chris's car quit, so we called on Dave Smith who was there in a matter of minutes. Thanks again, Dave. The emergency room gave me pain pills, which relieved the pain, and sent me on my way. Shelly picked Chris and me up and dropped us at Rose's house. Rose was in Chicago so we could use her car next day since I had an appointment with one of my neurologists - the seizure one who was born in Springfield in the same hospital as Donald and I were. This doctor has me in an experimental drug for seizures along with lots of other people where I keep a diary of my seizures until Sept. 22 and then go back and add the drug to the medication I am already taking, or it could perhaps be a placebo, or they may switch it midway through the test where I take half the drug and placebo, or it might be the new drug all the way through. I won't know what I'm taking. Also, I can quit any time if I chose to. I really like this doctor, and he seems confident about my trying this. While I was there they took 5 vials of blood. I'm not easy to get blood from, and, having been limited to 16 ounces of fluid by my primary care physician for several days before, it was even more difficult. I looked like a pincushion when they finally finished with me. Then one of the vials showed I was anemic (which I wasn't the night before at the emergency room) so I had to get more blood testing done again yesterday between other doctor visits. Sure enough, I'm not anemic.

Shirley got back from Chicago on Monday and Rose got back on Tuesday. As soon as Rose got home we went to my primary care physician about my legs pain. The doctor assumed it was the recurring problem from last February and told me to make an appointment with the same vascular surgeon. When I called for the appointment, the nurse asked did I want an office visit or did I want to schedule surgery. Needless to say, I wanted an office visit. When Rose and I went for the office visit yesterday morning, the surgeon said the problem and pain in my legs may be from arthritis in my back. Rose and I were both so taken aback that there were several questions we were too stunned to ask. Can I live on pain pills? Is the blood thinner he has me on necessary? What did he do in that first surgery? If it's arthritis, was the first surgery necessary? He did send me yesterday afternoon to MoBap Hospital for a test with the vascular nurse for whole-system blood pressure testing. I think that's what it was for. The nurse told me she would have the results to the surgeon on Wed. He told me he would call me in a week. The nurse said if she were me she would call him on Thursday and I plan to do that.

That's all the doctoring news. I'll update with more regular news next time. Need more updates from around the reading area!!!

Sue and I go have our nails done occasionally. We are treated like royalty by young women whose English is much better than our Mandarin!

This week I'm in St. Louis for my second week back to work since maternity leave and I've really missed the girls. Ellie told me tonight that she wanted me to come home now and it made me said since my flight doesn't leave until tomorrow. I heard Kaitlyn screaming in the background and it made me feel even worse.

Last weekend we went to the Ozarks to visit Great Aunt Sue. Uncle Joe, Aunt Debbie, Sabrina, Martesia and JR were there along with Scott, Brayden and Jalen as well Chris. We had a great time. Saturday Ellie was on the go from 9:30am until sundown. She first wanted to go "water skating" which meant the waverunner so John took her for a ride. Then we spent a lot of time in the Lake. She was used to it this time and really enjoyed swimming by the dock with her life jacket. We even saw some ducks for her to feed and then she got to swim with them! She just couldn't wait to get on the boat - that is usually her favorite time of the trip! We didn't spend any time at the pool - we were too busy with all the other things to do. Saturday night she fell asleep sitting in the chair with Aunt Sue while she told her a story. It was so adorable to see Ellie so comfortable sitting there with my Aunt and dozing off to Aunt Sue telling a story about whatever popped into her head - even made me tear up a bit. Sunday got a little more playing in and Ellie was of course not ready to go. Both her and Kaitlyn were asleep before we got out of Aunt Sue's driveway! Kaitlyn slept the entire way home and Ellie woke up in time to watch a movie. I'll post some pictures when I get back home.

I almost forgot that while we were there, Ellie kept referring to Scott as Aunt Sue's daddy! He made breakfast each morning and although Ellie ate some bacon, she didn't eat near as much as she did when Goldman cooked bacon last time we were there in June! Ellie also got to sleep with Aunt Sue and despite the fact she was hesitant at first, I know she enjoyed it. She asked me before we went there if she could call her Granny and I said yes, of course but she never did. She must have just been preparing ahead of time :)

One thing that I learned when we were on our 16 day journey, is that you have to pack a lot. And when you pack that much, it is hard to get away quickly. We arrived in Yellowstone on Saturday, stayed Saturday and Sunday nights and headed for Idaho Falls on Monday morning. But we had to pack and it took a bit longer than expected (because we had so much stuff). Then we had to go shopping. I should have known that, but it didn't register. And we didn't see any places that we had to stop at, until we got to West Yellowstone. So we shopped. Aunt Janet had emailed me that Nancy had made reservations at a restaurant for 6:30 that evening. Our original plan was to stop between Yellowstone and Idaho Falls for a hike, but suddenly, we were running out of time. After we played some phone tag we got Aunt Janet live and found out the eating establishment was called the SandPiper. We got to our hotel on the Idaho Falls Greenbelt (which was beautiful) and we could not have picked a room closer to the Sandpiper. Our room was on the end of the hotel closest to the Sandpiper. And while we did not have time to go for a hike, we got to go on a great run around the greenbelt.

Shelly and I walked over to the Sandpiper and met Uncle Pete, Aunt Janet, Rick, and Nancy. I hadn't seen Rick or Nancy in 12 years, and Shelly had never met them, and of course you can never get enough of Uncle Pete and Aunt Janet. We had a wonderful meal and of all the things Uncle Pete could have brought, he brought his famous credit card. Oh, and it was my 40th birthday. It all comes full circle....Mom came out for Nancy's 40th, I came out for my 40th. It could not have been nicer. Afterwards we were stuffed, but Shelly and I googled desserts in Idaho Falls and came up with Scottie's. The burgers looked so greasy, we had to get one of those too. It was a good thing we went for the run.

We met at Nancy's the next morning for a wonderful breakfast. Afterwards Uncle Pete and Aunt Janet took us for a tour of all of the old stomping grounds that we used to stay at when we would come out for the summer. The old house, the lava flow, the canals,...it really meant a lot to be able to revisit such an exciting part of my youth and share it with Shelly. We then dropped off Aunt Janet at home, and Uncle Pete took us through Wolverine Pass and around Taylor Mountain to Bone and back. (at least that is where I think we went). Uncle Pete should have been a real estate agent. "You could probably get a ranch up here for 40, 50k these days, Shelly could ride her horse,..." She was sold until he mentioned the lack of electricity and plumbing.

We dropped off Uncle Pete and went back to the hotel to get ready for the BBQ they were having for us that night. Uncle Pete gave us great, simple directions and I blew them and went the wrong way. We realized it after a couple of miles and turned around. About this time I was calling Kelly in Boise to make plans for the next day. The phone was ringing and Ahead of me about 200 yards away a Tahoe was making a uturn, not looking where it was going and got nailed by a tractor trailor. That's when Kelly answered. "Kelly I am going to have to call you back". Shelly thingks that the tractor trailor is going to hit us too and she is screaming. She calms down and calls 911. She tells them what happened and she asked me where we are. "We are on Highway 20" "Where at on Hwy 20?" "It's the Arco Hwy." "Where at on the Arco Highway?". "I don't know. Tell them that if you were coming from Uncle Pete's to our hotel and turned the wrong way on Hwy 20 for two miles and turned around and came back a mile, that is where we are at". She wasn't amused. But the driver of the Tahoe ended up walking around and being OK. It was a miracle.

Anyway we got to Uncle Pete's for the BBQ and it was great. In addition to our previous crew the night before, we also had the privelege of meeting Merri's son James and Rick and Nancy's son Eric. Oliver and Eli got to play with Eldrich, James' bulldog. The food was wonderful, but who would have expected anything differently. The highlight was a zuchini cake Aunt Janet made for me. She revels in the fact that she could get me to eat zuchini when Mom couldn't get me to eat, well, anything green. We got to ride on Uncle Pete's segway too. But most of all, we got to swap stories and tell tales that people who haven't seen each other in years get to do. And we decided that we have to do this more....and we will. The only disappointing part was not being able to see Merri, but that just makes it a necessity to go out again real soon. I don't currently have Idaho Falls pics as I write this, but I will throw them on at the beginning of my next post....The journey to Boise and beyond....

More later...

Ding

Brother Joe sent this e-mail to Sue, and we thought it should go here:

It is always very rewarding when a dear reader comments and responds to our blog. You are always welcome. A dear reader recently inquired about Crown Store, in Webster County, MO, however the e-mail address did not cooperate and we were unable to answer directly. We may be able to provide sources of additional information, upon request. For now, the following is suggested:

If you will Google Crown School, Webster County, Missouri, then click on Webster County Missouri Schools, then click on Crown School you will find a map and a list of nearby points. e.g. Crown. MO. 0.1 mile, etc.

Crown Store, Crown School, Friendship Baptist Church and cemetery are all very close.

Going southwestwardly out of Marshfield, on Hwy KK, you will cross James River and come to where KK turns right. Bell Ford Road, going eastwardly, (left) intersects KK at this point. Crown Store was at or near this intersection, on the south side of the road. The store remained open during WW II but I don't know when it closed. Crown School was consolidated and closed, probably in the late 1950's?

Also the following may be of interest: It may also be necessary to use Google?

A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets of Missouri

Our niece, Kaye, daughter of our late brother Bernie and his widow, Maudie, sent Sue the following birth announcement with photos:

Hi Aunt Sue,I was just reading the blog and thought I would just let you know that we have a new granddaughter!! Aubrey Bouchee ( her mothers maiden name) Peterson was born on June 24, 2009 at 5:14 am! She is 7 pounds and 9 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long!! We tried to get mom to wait until Dad's birthday but there was no stopping her. The doctors sent Danielle home at 4 am and said to wait because they didn't think the baby would be born until the due date (June 30th) Good thing Dad is cop and can go 120 on the freeway or he would have had to deliver his second child in the car. They were still home at 5:00am!! Everyone is healthy and home. Ethan is being a good big brother but wants to play and doesn't understand why she doesn't. I hope to send pictures with this email but I don't always get it right so let me know if you are picture -less when you get this! Love, Kaye

PS The pictures are of Aubrey and one with Dad (Nate) I will send one with the whole family but they are not very flattering of Danielle so far!












Kaye and her family live in Mesa, Arizona. It is always a joy to welcome a new member in our far-flung clan! Congratulations!

Chris and Shelly have left us in suspense on their way to Uncle Pete's house. Their update so far has been great. Waiting for the next post.

I'm at the lake sitting outside on a beautiful morning. This is the 18th kids week here - no children allowed - and will run till Friday. Needless to say, the 'kids' have turned into practically middle-aged. I still call them kids and they certainly take good care of me. On Friday I'm expecting lots of Kansas relatives and looking forward to that too.

Goldman, Mad Dog and I arrived last Thursday. Scott came from Louisville Friday evening. He said he would be here at 7:30; I looked at the clock when he pulled up--7:30. Groves and Dave Smith (Sabrina's husband) also arrived that evening. We called it my male harem. Three of them had to leave yesterday but Mad Dog and Goldman are still here. I've hardly moved off the lower level except to go to bed but plan to go to town today. Scott has lost over 40 pounds and refuses to buy himself some new pants so I'm going to buy him some. I've been calling him 'baggy britches' and 'droopy drawers' which is what Joe used to call me when I was a kid. He did say the food was so good down here that he was afraid he had gained back some that he had lost this weekend. He will be back with the boys this coming weekend.

The waverunner is in the shop but should be fixed any day now. One of my good neighbors helped us put it on the trailer and take it to the shop to avoid an extra cost. Another neighbor offered his waverunner cause he and his family are off to, of all places, Idaho, for the rest of the week. It's Dover, ID. I'm having the shop talk to Doug about what they're doing to the waverunner because he has already done some things and knows the most about it. He and Suzanne couldn't make it this weekend, but we've talked often. They really hate missing being here. It may be the first kids week they've had to miss.

Margaret called yesterday. They were still 'down in the valley' but had to go home today. She had talked to Donald and to Pauline yesterday. Everything was good with Pauline. Donald and Vita were going to Florida today with four of their five grandsons. Sounds like a great trip.

Reading over old blog entries, I think I used to be wittier than I am now. I'll try to regain my wit. I'm limited to 16 ounces of liquid a day (because of low blood sodium) and the boys watch me closely. I may be up through tomorrow with my coffee already.

Mad Dog and Goldman aren't up yet but it's about time I got them up. When everyone was all here, they played cards until 3 A.M. one night, and I'm not sure about the next night. It's time for breakfast.

Looking very forward to next weekend and loving it that I can be here all week. Mike Lynch is coming tomorrow for kids week and I hope more 'old' kids come too. Leslie (my wonderful Springfield beighbor) may come up for a day. Sam has to work and keep those damndogs (one word). I'm trying to talk Joe into coming up - at least for a day. Rose has to be in Chicago next weekend and can't come and hates that.

Going to sign off. NEED MORE POSTS.

Shelly and I returned this week from a whirlwind trip that took us from St. Louis to Yellowstone to Idaho Falls to Boise to Riggins to Portland to Olympia to Seattle to the San Juan Islands to Spokane and back again. It took 16 days and we drove 5665 miles. And it could not have been better. We left St. Louis with dogs Eli and Oliver in tow at s:00pm central time on Friday July 10th, and returned at 11:30 PM on Sunday July, 26th. All things considered, the trip could not have gone smoother. We throw a futon in the back of our trailblazer, one of us sleeps, the other one drives...Shelly even makes it up with sheets and blankets and pillows.

Honestly I was a bit nervous about going out west and staying and visiting with family, some of whom I barely knew. Every single person we met treated us like royalty. Also, not having every single detail planned out worried Shelly a bit (and me too), but I thought plans would be best left to the locals, and I was right.

We drove staight through to Yellwostone and go there around noon on Saturday. We saw most of the major sites and checked into our cabin which was in Mammoth Hot Springs. Elk sauntered outside our cabin like we were not even there. Eli and Oliver didn't even acknowledge they existed. We grabbed dinner in the town of Gardiner and then came back to the cabin for a long much needed night of rest.

While the cabins are canine friendly at Yellowstone Park, the rest of the park, not so much. No dogs on any trails, which at first I thought might be a detriment. However, there are lots of things there that could hurt them so it was probably a good thing. Right outside our door was the beginning of Old Gardiner Road, an old stage coach road about five miles long that took you from Mammoth to Gardiner and they could hike with us on that. On Sunday we went about 3 miles on the road and then back before doing some more sight seeing. It was beautiful. We then went on a ride to Yellwostone Lake. We started out at 89 degrees. But a thunderstorm was blowing in. By the time we got close to Yellowstone lake, it was 52 degrees and storming hard. We turned around. By the time we got back to our cabin, it had rebounded to 65. We saw herds of bison, elk, and even a black bear with two cubs on the way. We saw a magnificent double rainbow that ended right in front of us. However, there was no pot of gold. We ate dinner again that night in Gardiner, this time at an Italian place called Pedalinos. Shelly knew it had to be good because it was name after shoes. She was right. We went back to the cabin, crawled into bed, and had another sound night of sleep. We were on the road to Idaho Falls the following day....and my 40th birthday...more on that on my next post.

Ding

Our Brother Bob's daughter, Sandy, sent photos of her daughter Cassandra from the Miss Teen America Pageant this month. She is quite a beautiful young woman, and we wish we knew this part of our family better.

O.K. I grabbed this lovely photo off Sabrina's Facebook page. Could not resist.

You Have to be a Certain Age for This

I'll finish the entry I started this morning. I believe Margaret and Norm have been staying in their camper down in the valley. I had a short E-mail from brother Joe that he and Lydia had met Donald and Vita and four of their grandsons at Silver Dollar City this weekend for an outing. Donald and Vita and the four grandsons were going back to Plattsburg this week (where daughters Julie and Jennifer live) and then flying with the boys back to Florida. Joe said the youngest turned one-year-old
on Sunday.
Rose has been picking and weighing tomatoes. There's been a total of a little over 5 pounds so far. It amounts to one and sometimes 2 a day. Our Dad would be proud!

Now for the attendees at girls' weekend. We're all (my being the very oldest) not to be called girls but we still refer to it ourselves as such at least once a year. There were: Suzanne Hollensbe, Rachel Taxman, Julie Nichols, Laura Bedo, Laurie Stallings, Tricia Paschke, Melanie Dobin, Stacey Derrington, and myself. We didn't play any organized sports like the float trip participants did but all had a most enjoyable time. Very little cooking had to be done because they had it all done when they got there. Needless to say, we ate well.

Speaking (or writing) of eating well, Goldman and I went down to the lakehouse on Tuesday and on Wednesday Dave and Judy Meisel treated us to dinner at my favorite nearby restaurant. The place overlooks the lake and has wonderful food. Dave ordered alligator and I'm not sure he liked it. He offered me a taste but I didn't think I would like it.

It's past my bedtime and I'm still waiting for updates from others. Good night and hope to hear from you soon.

I'm behind on my postings but so is everyone else. The annual float trip began on the 17th. I'm not sure what river it happened on but those participating were: Scott, Groves, Scott Kaenter and his girlfriend Annie, Mike and Rachel Lynch, Mad Dog, Goldman, and Chris and Jane Crawford. If I left out anyone it's Goldman to blame because he gave me the list. They had their annual wiffle ball tournament and the Hank Krey All Stars were Goldman and Lynch. Runners up with second place were Mad Dog and Scott and third place was taken by Crawford and Groves. I'll expect someone to give us some pictures and some additional fun they had on the trip. Rose, Shirley I and got to keep Brayden and Jalen which I've already told about in a previous update.

Chris and Shelly didn't go on the float trip because of their trip 'out west'. They returned late last night. and Ding has promised a posting and lots of pictures from their trip. Mark and Karen joined them for the float. Karen has a wonderful camera so we're waiting for pictures and postings.

This was girls' weekend at the lakehouse and I have a great update from our visit but also a doctor's appointment shortly. This one is just my primary care physician and should be nothing so will update on that and more about girls' weekend when we get back.

BEVERLY HILLBILLIES' GARDEN

Here is a link to a slide show of Father-Son [Brother Joe and his son, David] Sailing that is on the Springfield, MO, newpaper website. ENJOY! Be sure to have sound on as Joe is speaking through the slide show.

http://www.news-leader.com/legacy/galleries/slideshows/sailing_to_web/

It's been a quiet few days around here with our boys missing. They spent the night at the Hollensbe's on Friday. I was going to also, but when Rose and I got out there, I had forgotten my medicine. We turned around and came back home, and I went out Saturday morning. Doug and Suzanne and the kids met other kids and parents at Bouncy-U that afternoon for Josie's birthday party and then came back to the Hollensbe house for a barbeque. I chose to wait at home and was glad I did. Brayden and Jalen were exhausted by the time we left that night. Jalen stubbed one of his little toes while he was playing that night and was in terrific pain. They were both so tired on Sunday morning that they were still sleeping when Scott picked them up on his way home from their annual float trip.

Goldman and I are headed to the lake this morning. I'll probably wake him up when I call over there but I'm up and ready to go. I'm feeling good again and really looking forward to some lake time.

The truth is I've been having some minor spells and I believe the neurologist is just as frustrated and puzzled as I am about what's causing them and how to stop them. I'm now in the 'donut hole' medicine-wise in this miserable insurance plan the Republican party concocted. The neurologist, Dr. Hogan (he's the one born in the same hospital that I was, just several years later), wants me to come in for a long visit on the tenth for a more extensive examination to get me into a research program ,in which I would qualify for some free medicines among other things. I'm not sure what the plan entails but the doctor's nurse seemed excited about it and I'll know more on the 10th. Rose has to be in Chicago that day so I am counting on Chris to go with me.

I talked to Margaret briefly this weekend. They were on the way to the Valley and weren't sure when they were coming home. Rose and Shirley have been fighting over who gets to pick our daily tomato. They're taking turns and argue about the degree of ripeness. I have an opinion but try to stay out of it.

Here is an e-mail from Brother Joe. His daughter Lisa has been nominated for a national Teacher of the Year award. We may not have all the details exact, but we do know that it is a fabulous honor for this gifted young woman. Joe forwarded information Lisa sent him in his e-mail.

"Now it is time to think about San Diego in November!

'I have received information for the ACTFL convention and they will
give complimentary registration for any family members who will be
with me. The awards will be presented during the Opening General
Session on Friday, November 20th sometime between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00
a.m. They do request that I turn in a registration form with the
names of family.'

Sounds like November is going to be an exciting month for some of our family members!

Love, Bro Joe"

If you have been following recent posts, you know that Chris and Shelly are visiting Pete and Janet in Idaho Falls. Here is an e-mail Janet sent Sue about that visit:

Hi Sue. Just wanted you to know what a great time we had with Chris and Shelly. Had dinner Monday night on the deck of a restaurant on the beautiful green belt of the Snake River. Nancy and Rick joined us and it was a trip down memory lane. Tuesday Nancy had a delicious breakfast for us at her house and then we were tour guides for the rest of the day. Actually, I was only along for part of the day because I wanted to make Chris a belated birhday cake. That night we had a barbecue at our house. We have a lot of people out of town, but we were able to corral Nancy,Rick and Eric, Merri's boy James, her daughter-in-law Angela and our new, beautiful little baby. Merri's Chris is working on the highway in Salmon, Merri was on the road somewhere, and Caitlin is coaching softball at a summer camp in Pennsylvania.

It was a very enjoyable visit and went so fast it seemed to be over before it started. We told them to save some energy for the Boise and Riggins part of their trip, because Kelly never stands still for very long and you just have to try to keep up.

Just thought you'd like to know how much fun it was to have them! Love to all, Janet

It's been a busy week with the boys here. Everyday seems like it was Saturday, and I wondered why Pete hadn't called On Tuesday Goldman and I met Scott halfway to Louisville to get the boys, and luckily I've felt much better these past few days. On Wednesday we got the Hollensbe kids and the seven of us went to City Museum. I mostly sat, but Rose and Shirley managed to keep up with the four kids. When the kids went last time Mark and Karen and two of Karen's grown kids went with them, and they were very helpful in keeping up with the young ones. I didn't go last time, and this time we finally got me a wheelchair to get around a bit quicker. I even went out to the Suburban (which we had borrowed) and took a nap. Suzanne warned us it was like driving a tank but Rose didn't think so. All seven could ride in it so we didn't have to take two cars. After we had dinner that evening the boys talked Aunt Rose into going the park to play basketball.

Yesterday we went to Sky Zone which is just wall-to-wall trampolines. Rose and I got to watch and didn't have to participate. It was still tiring. Again last night they talked Aunt Rose into taking them to the park. Needless to say, no one had to rock her to sleep last night.

Right now they're waiting for Suzanne to pick our boys up, and they're spending the night at their house (so am I) and going to Bouncie-U for Josie's 6th birthday party. I'm going to spend the night but not going to Bouncie-U. I've enjoyed about all of kind of thing I can stand this week. I told Suzanne I didn't want to go to Bouncie-U and she said she doesn't blame me cause she doesn't want to either but has to. The boys are both outside waiting for Suzanne's car to pull up.

I have an update from Pete and Janet to post about Ding and Shelly's visit, and I think Mark and Karen got to Boise on Wednesday. I don't know who's chicken sITting but I must warn Mark that Chris, having spent some time with Uncle Pete, has brushed up on his bullshiPPing.

Lukas, Josie, Jalen, and Brayden, sitting on the fin of a whale at the City Museum.

It't been some time since I updated the blog so I thought it was time I updated my faithful readers. I've been under the weather for thr past few days and hope I'm on the mend now. My doctors sorta say 'use your own judgement,' and Rose and I have started doing that. I sleep a lot and just give in to it. Rose and I are both up up extra early this morning. She usually goes out and counts the tomatoes on our plant but hasn't done that yet this morning. She had to add an extra stake yesterday because it's so heavy with little ones turning into big ones - thanks to advice from around the country.

Chris's 40th birthday was yesterday. He and Shelly spent the weekend in Yellowstone and called me yesterday from West Yellowstone on their way to Uncle Pete and Aunt Janet's. They didn't have service in Yellowstone. They were going to spend a couple days in Idaho Falls and then meet Kelly and Mark and Karen and white water raft for a few days.

If I'm feeling up to it, Goldman I are meeting Scott halfway to Louisville this afternoon and getting Jalen and Brayden for a few days. Goldman, bless his heart, will go alone if necessary. Tomorrow we're going to City Museum with the boys and the Hollensbe kids, Josie and Lukas. That is, if I feel like it. We'll decide from then what we'll do the rest of their stay. Josie's sixth birthday is Saturday, and our boys are invited to her birthday swimming party. Our plan is to take Josie to Art Mart so she can select her own gift. Art Mart is a place Jalen loves to visit when he come to St. Louis. Both Josie and Jalen are fine young artists.

I'm also waiting for other people to update this blog, and I know I've forgotten a lot. Remind me of what is left out or update it yourself!

The Schmitt and King Families have turned into fine gardeners. Here is an e-mail Catrina sent us:

"Hey - wanted to make sure you saw my comment on the tomatoes plants...make sure you pinch and remove suckers that develop in the crotch joint of two branches. They won’t bear fruit and will take energy away from the rest of the plant. Also, put about a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of Epsom Salt around the base. We did that with our tomato plants and each one of our 44 tomato plants has so many tomatoes we're having a hard time keeping them staked well.

Love ya!"


We have one tomato plant in a container in our back yard. We have consulted with Margaret, Norm, Stephanie, Catrina, Joe, Pete, and Google over its care and have done everything they advised--including the Epsom Salt around the base. For a while the thing stopped turning blooms into tiny tomatoes, and we thought something was wrong. Both Joe and Pete told us it was the hot weather, and it would make new tomatoes again when the heat broke. Well, they were right. It is weighed down with small and large tomatoes now. Not quite like Catrina's perhaps but nice. All three of us are taking an inordinate amount of interest in this plant. We actually had our first tomato off it at dinner last evening.

So, here is a photo of our garden:

Will do a quick post about the 4th of July weekend. The weekend at the lake was great. We had a fireworks display that overshadowed some of those of the resorts around us that we could see from our back deck. It's Doug's second favorite holiday, only bested by Christmas and nearly as costly if she'd let him go, says Suzanne. We were all eager for dark. The little kids got to shoot off some of theirs before dark, so that helped pass the time for them. We had some intermittent rainshowers, but they really didn't delay our show or get our supplies wet. At one point the guys needed a break so didn't mind the short shower. The guys had a tarp set up below the deck for a possible downpour, but it didn't rain that hard and they were glad they didn't need it. Doug and his helpers lit the rounds off on a piece of plywood they set up,, on the swimdock. The swimdock is far enough away to keep the little kids from getting too near and the plywood protected the surface of the swimdock. Needless to say, Doug is extremely cautious.

The weekend attendees were Scott, Jalen, Brayden, Doug, Suzanne, Josie, Lukas, Mad Dog, Groves, Goldman, Suzanne {Goldman's girlfriend}, Mike Lynch, Mike Lundry and his family and myself. If I've left anyone off the list, I apologize. Mike Lynch nor Mike Lundry and family couldn't be there for the fireworks display so they missed a great show. Lots of the neighbors appreciated the show and some chipped in to cover the costs. We heard great cheers joining in after Doug set off any huge display - which most of them were.

I went to bed about eleven that night, which is late for me, expecting to find a mess when I got up. But these young people had already done most of the cleanup and burned the trash from the evening. I really knew they would have things done. Most of them slept as late as they were allowed next morning. Even the little ones slept late. The boat ran fine and the guys put some time on it. We're having our woes with the waverunner but Doug thinks he can probably fix it. He'll just have to bring it to St. Louis and will probably do so next weekend. What would we do without Doug??