Michigan!

Dave and I spent a few days in Michigan on the lake - the weather was cool, but we still enjoyed sitting on the beach, even though we were in our jeans and sweatshirts. We had a private room attached to a big house right on the lake. The owner had emailed us to let ourselves in...the key would be in the door...and we slid a check under her front door when we left. It was very quiet and relaxing. A highlight of the trip was driving to Hudsonville and going to church with Rhoda. She graciously fixed us a great meal which included lots of fresh garden produce. Yummy tomatoes! Thanks, Rhoda!

SUNNY SATURDAY

The sun is shining so beautifully - think I need to go outside for awhile. My flower pots need watering and the deck needs sweeping . . . . I've spent the morning doing laundry and cleaning and watching the interesting parts of the Kennedy funeral. What an ugly rainy day for a funeral - never saw so many big black umbrellas.

By the way, Jerry helped with the cleaning by running the vacuum sweeper. I've also assigned him to dishwashing duty - so he's been emptying and refilling the dishwasher and keeping the counter clean. I think he's actually kinda enjoying it - beats sitting in the chair staring at the tube or farming on Facebook!!

Now for something FUN to do this afternoon - probably begin my next embroidery project. Hmmm, should I do that before or after I take a nap.?.?

Empty Nest

We are now officially empty nesters. We took both offspring to college yesterday and came home to an empty house. No waiting up for a teenager to get in, but, with Mike at work today, nobody to carry in the groceries this morning either.

Angela's comments were right on. It's a huge mixture of emotions. On this, the first morning, however - I like it. There's a feeling of freedom!

Rhoda's Fair Week

This is fair week in Hudsonville. I'm surprised by how much I enjoy the fair here--I tell people I never knew I was a redneck until I moved to Hudsonville apparently. My friends school has a short order restaurant style establishment every year at the fair for a fundraiser so you can eat at the fair and not have only typical fair food. I also like to go to the off road races at the grandstand and then on Saturday night is the big demolition derby. Unfortunately this year the weather isn't cooperating with a few days of off and on again rain and unseasonably cold temperatures.

This was the first year Renae and I entered some of our garden items and a few antiques into the open (adult) division. We were pretty successful for our first year. You can go here to see the items that won prizes for us.

Edit: Mom just told me that the quilt was made by Aunt Mary Graham and Grandma K. gave it to her and dad for a wedding present.

And if the chickens interest you, you can go here to read about our chicken emergency last night.

Two good days with Andrew

What a nice couple of days to have Andrew drive over to see us. He arrived during the Bible study, so the ladies got to meet him and vice versa. You know how grandma's are--she had Andrew play his guitar and sing. He sang several Christian songs and then one humorous one. Mary came from work to eat with us and we had a nice evening. His summer wages as a camp counselor kept him on the sparse side financially, so it was only right that we go shopping for a few clothes to go back to college. Don't know who it enjoyed the spree more--Andrew or his grandmother.
Then last evening we went to the Medlens for hamburgers and this morning he had the chapel message at LCCS. He taught the kids a new song and accompanied several with his guitar. He headed home again after chapel and we were thankful for the time together. It seems that every age the grandchildren are has its special blessing.

Kelsie's at JU

I am starting to feel recovered from my whirlwind 4 days of taking Kelsie to Jacksonville University. We left last Tuesday, got there on Wednesday, spent two days moving in taking care of her business, and then I flew home on Friday night. It was a great experience for both of us, and she's so excited to be there. Here are some pics of the trip:

FOILED PLANS

Well, shucks!! We were planning on packing a picnic lunch today and going out to Lake Bloomington - sitting in the shade and watching any boats on the lake - maybe taking our books and reading a little. How romantic is that!? Now it's very cloudy and supposed to rain most of the day.

There's always tomorrow . . .

Train Trip to Kansas City

Laura and I (Carol) recently took a train trip to visit Brandon & Maria's family. We left Galesburg on the Amtrak on Monday and arrived @ 10:15 pm. Tuesday, Maria, Anna, Timon, Jesse, Laura and I went to the zoo. In the afternoon we swam in their wonderful pool and then went out to eat at a T-Rex restaurant which features dinosaurs and lots of other interesting creatures. Wednesday morning, we boarded the Amtrak and returned to Galesburg where I had parked my van to drive home. We all had a wonderful time! When each grandchild turns seven, we have a tradition that Grandma takes them to KC on the train. Matthew, Ashton, Sarah and Caleb have already had their "turn."

Saturday in Michigan

Saturday afternoon in west Michigan and the weather doesn't seem to know what to do. It rains for awhile and then the sun shines. I want to go out and dig potatoes while our first batch of salsa is simmering.

This morning we picked more tomatoes, peppers, corn, and onions to make the salsa. We picked more beans as well.

Monday is the beginning of the Hudsonville fair. For the first time in my life I'm planning on entering several items in the competition. At best we win $4 an item and at worst we took a few things to the fair and people go through the exhibit and feel sorry for the item that doesn't have a ribbon on it.

And if you're wondering: two more weeks for the chickens.

THIS AND THAT

I'm just taking a break from my LEAST favorite job - sorting clothes: which to put away because they're too big but might work later, which to take to Goodwill, which to throw away, maybe sell on Ebay? etc. Our closet is overflowing with clothes we haven't worn for a long time and probably will not wear in the future! Anybody else have this problem you've been putting off? I figure if I start in our closet and work outward through the house, say one section a day, I maybe could have the house in order in about three weeks - and probably need another three weeks to organize the basement. Hmmm . . . I think I might've just shot my whole plan!

Jerry's doing much better, says he "feels great" and he is telling the truth from my observation. Now he just has to be patient while the bone heals, which means using the walker for about another four weeks. He's sitting on the deck now soaking up the sun and listening to Southern Gospel music, and since it's cool today, we turned off the air and opened the windows, so I'm listening also. (hope the neighbors are enjoying it also!)

We went to Joliet to meet Janice and pick up Nathan. On the way home Jerry said "Wow, this is exciting! There IS another world on the other side of those houses I've been staring at out the window."!

Hope you're all having as beautiful day as we are - sunny and cool and dry.

My Son the Schmoozer

Last night in a weak moment I agreed to let Andrew use my credit card to get tickets for tonight's Signature Sound concert in Spartanburg - then, in another weak moment, I agreed to go with him! We got home a little while ago and really had a nice time together.
.

Since we ordered so late, our seats were very near the back of the crowd. With about five minutes to go, Andrew went out to the concession stand to get me a bottle of water. As he was returning to our seats, Ernie Haase's manager tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he would like to swap his seats for two on the FRONT ROW! So there we went, getting prime seats in the house just two minutes before the concert began. Andrew was beside himself.

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You may remember that last year Andrew went to the concert six hours early, with hopes of meeting Ernie and talking with him - and got his wish along with a couple of good pictures. Well, when Ernie came out tonight, he immediately made eye contact and pointed at Andrew, indicating that he remembered him. Then afterward, when they were talking, he asked Andrew if he is still singing. Andrew said yes - then asked him when he was going to call! I don't know where that boy gets such nerve!

last day here

Well, Nathan returns home tomorrow. What a week it has been! We have thoroughly enjoyed having him here.

Pictures are from a local park and then Brookfield Zoo with Grace, Owen and Michelle.

News from the Allenson Family

Hello family, Just wanted to give you an update in case you hadn't heard...last month,  Dave was hired as an Engineer with Amtrak based out of Indianapolis.  In 15 days, we sold our home in Monticello and purchased a home in N oblesville, IN - very near Aaron and Kara who live in neighboring Fishers. Dave has been in Delaware since August 10th for at least 9 weeks of  training/testing. He called today to say that he passed his first test with  a 100% score - I am certain that with his love for and knowledge of this  industry that this a trend that will continue! School in Noblesville began on August 11th and we felt that Emma should  begin first grade with her peers. So, she and I have been living in an Extended  Stay hotel in Castelton, about 20 minutes from her school building. Lord willing,  we will close on our homes next Friday (the 28th) and have our furniture  moved to IN that weekend. We are very excited about living in the Indy area. So far the community has  gone out of their way to welcome us and the opportunities that Indy offers  are overwhelming. I have spent many a day in the hotel room searching on  the internet for places to go and I have a VERY long list ready for Dave's return! I've included a few images of the home. We looked at 43 houses before we found  this one. I am astonished at how large the average home is and with my little family,  I just can't justify a 3500 sq. foot home even if it is in our price range -- nor do I  want to furnish or clean it!! It was very hard to find a small, quality home in a nice  neighborhood but I think that we did it. Our backyard faces a horse stable/pastures and  is very private but we are also close to town. I should tell you that when you come to  visit, the house will look almost identical to these photos since she included all of the  furniture that we wanted with the price of the house!! I love her style and am keeping  the majority of the furniture!  We were also excited to hear that Noblesville was just named one of the top ten  places to raise a family according to a Family Circle survey. The communities featured  in the magazine’s roundup of perfect places to call home combine affordable housing,  good neighbors, green spaces, and A+ public school systems. Emma loves her big school -  6 first grades compared to her class of 8 students (at the school she would have attended  in Monticello) is pretty exciting for her. Tonight, I signed her up for American Heritage  Girls - a Christian Girl Scout-type organization and tomorrow we will have her first  cheerleading class! I am elated with the opportunities that are present for her here.  So, unless the unthinkable happens and our deal "falls through" in the next week,  as of September, our new address will be: Dave, Jodie and Emma Allenson 17871 Village Center Drive Noblesville, IN 46062 At this time, we are contemplating using cell phones only but I will keep you  updated as far as our phone number. Obviously, our email won't change =) We are not far away and you all are invited to stop by anytime - maybe we can meet  with Aaron and Kara's family for dinner! I'll keep you updated and would appreciate  your prayers as we go through this HUGE transition. Much love,  Jodie home's exterior view from the back deck living room dining room with view of the tiny sunroom...

bunch of plants first, then the pool

That's how I explained the day's schedule to Nathan. We spent the morning at the Morton Arboretum. He liked the suspension bridge to the treehouse and the garden maze most. We also went to Lisle Sea Lion Park. Both are about 5 minutes from our house, so we're already home and he's down for a nap.

KELSIE'S OFF TO FLORIDA

While we are all very excited for Kelsie as she begins the next stage in her life, we are also sad that she is going to be so far away from us. She and Angela are driving to Jacksonville Florida as I write this. On Sunday, we had a "send-off" dinner for her at our house. All our kids and grandkids were here (except Heather) and we had a wonderful day together. Angela's family did not know that I had invited Drake's and Jason's families so they were pleasantly surprised.

Animal Rescue

I was cleaning up my emails and came across this. Shelley had called one day a couple of weeks ago with this horrendous story and I asked her to write it up for me. I love hearing about her escapades and thought you would enjoy it too. Shelley, hope you don't mind, I can't resist.

Mom,

Here's the story of my daring animal rescue last week. And my half-hearted animal rescue today.

One morning last week we were in the house when I heard a lot of noise going on out in the garage. I could not figure out what all the commotion was. I opened the door from the house into the garage and saw that there was a robin in the garage, perched on top of the stroller, going nuts and chirping as loudly as it could. I couldn't figure out what it was so upset about until I saw the stupid little kitten pounce out from under the van. He had a little baby robin trapped between his front paws. Then that little bird would stick his neck and beak up in the air and start chirping too. He'd flap his wings and manage to hop a few feet away and the kitten would pounce back on top of it. As much as I did NOT want to intervene, I also didn't want the boys to come out to find a dead or half-eaten baby bird on the garage floor. So I started screaming at the cat... "Shoo!" "Stop it!" "Go away!" But he didn't care. At this point the mommy robin flew outside but continued to screech and make a racket. The little kitty had the bird trapped behind the garbage cans and I was trying to stick a broom back there to get the kitten out.

Around this time the dog heard the commotion and comes running into the garage. He started barking and barking at the kitten and then starts chasing it so he can carry it around in his mouth like he usually does. So I'm chasing the dog, who's chasing the kitten, who's chasing the little bird. At least 3 of the boys are standing at the door screaming "Don't let them get the bird!" "What are you going to do?" Well I had no idea what I was going to do. I still had my pajamas on and no shoes. Thad helped me out by throwing a doggie treat out and distracting the dog. Then I managed to find a shovel to shoo the kitten away. Now that little birdie was hopping around the garage floor. It was obvious that he was dragging one foot (do birds have feet?) and one wing looked kind of damaged. He was still chirping loudly as he flailed along. I managed to chase him to a back corner of the garage where he hid behind some shovels. I was NOT going to touch it with my hands, that's for sure!! So I figured I needed to find something to carry it in to get it out of the garage. And I couldn't just put it out by the tree or the dog and cat would just go over there and get it. I found a big rubbermaid tub in the garage full of baseball gloves and balls. I dumped it out and ran back to the corner. It was tricky to get the tub close enough for him to jump into it, without just squishing him more. Yuck. Once I had him in there, Thad ran some shoes out to me and I took it down by that little creek behind out house and dumped it in the brush out there. I figured it would either (1) be safe from our animals until he healed enough to fly back to its mom, or (2) be eaten by other animals. I choose to believe it was option number 1. Either way it was out of the garage.

So then today I decided the boys had endured the stench in their room long enough and I had better change the hamster's cage. This is the hamster that I did not want and everyone else insisted they would take care of. Guess who gets to change his cage every week? So I get out all my supplies and go to open his cage and realize he's not moving at all. Even when I'm trying to get the door open he makes no attempt to wake up or come out for some food or anything. He likes to sleep in the little nesting cage on top of his regular cage and unfortunately it was so dirty and gross that I couldn't really see through the plastic very well to see if he was breathing or not. Secretly I hoped he was not and that I could just throw the entire thing away, hamster and all. But like a good mom, I faked sympathy as the boys started to get upset and decided I would have to get the nesting cage open to see what was going on in there. Thad kept trying to open it to see, but I wouldn't let him for fear he'd find a half-decayed pet in there. After I got a screwdriver and started to get the lid open, that silly little thing woke right up and started nosing around to see what I was doing. It was hard not to be disappointed. Aren't I awful??!! So his cage is cleaned out now and the boys all claim to love him again now that they know he's alive and well.

I'm not sure how this non-animal-lover ended up on a farm with a bunch of pets, with me being their primary care-taker. When I thought about moving to the country I pictured myself sitting on the deck reading a book as the kids played outside in the yard, or working in a garden as they politely helped me. Not chasing an injured bird around the garage and then dumping him in the creek to be eaten by snakes. This is not what I signed up for!

Pray for me!
Shelley

P.S. Did you know that if you dump a bowl of peanuts in the bathtub they become really slimy and are extremely hard to get out? You can't drain the tub because they'll go down the drain and clog it. You can't chase them with a strainer because they are so lightweight and slimy that they won't catch in the strainer. I finally had to put the strainer upside-down on top of the drain and drain the tub, letting the strainer catch the peanuts on the outside. Luckily we don't have any allergies!! (I'll give you 1 guess as to who the peanut-dumper was.)
______________________________________
8/17/09 I received a call from Shelley at 9:00 pm that the hamster was indeed now dead and she had 3 of the 5 boys hysterically upset. She has another story to share, I'm sure.

Nathan's visit

Nathan is staying with us for a few days while Angela drives Kelsie down to JU (Go Dolphins!) Tonight, he went to Noah's football practice. He tried out the tackling dummy and the ladder while I organized the boys' water bottles, helmets, and shoulder pads into straight lines. Zac, Noah and Miles are looking forward to taking him on some adventures this week!

Update

Mom found out her commercial will start August 25.

Stand-up transcript

Cleve or Judy - did either of you find the film of Grandpa's stand-up routine? I went through all our old videos and didn't find it. I would like to use some of it for my film project this quarter. Let me know. Thanks!

Passing It Along

I thought you might like to see that the wisdom of Harry Hill is being passed on to the next generation, even all the way in South Carolina.

I will be gone for two days to a beginning-of-the-year school retreat, taking the entire high school! (Fortunately it's a small school - about 125 students.) We hope it goes OK - our new principal is very good, very enthusiastic, and even he admits that he may have bitten off too much with taking this retreat the first two days of school! Not only that but our server and network have crashed - and we have new Macs that no one knows how to use. So it is a rather chaotic beginning to the new school year. I've been back at school for a week and have yet to be able to access my files. But when you have confidence in the leader, in spite of all the unraveled ends, you can also feel confidence that it will all work out.

End of Summer

Around here, we're pretty bummed when summer's over. I am looking forward to the day when I don't have to dread winter so much. Despite our despair at seeing the bottoms of the corn start to turn brown, this summer's end has a different feel than usual.

Nathan will be moving up to a new classroom. In fact, he'll skip the next class and go on to the next -- pre-pre-K! So instead of being the oldest in the room, he'll be the youngest. He's quite excited about this as he knows a couple friends who will be in this room too.

Heater is signed up for Driver's Ed, which we did not authorize, but which she is excited about. I will not be teaching her how to drive. We will see if Jerry does. Doesn't it seem that parents would have to give permission for them to be in Driver's Ed?

Heather's in her new apartment, and quite happy. We do not see much of her, but are glad she has an active and busy life.

Kelsie and I will leave next Tuesday for Jacksonville University. She's got a huge pile of college stuff in her room, and we've been making decorations all week. I will post a pic next time. She picked the colors black, yellow and gray for her room because of a comforter she found, but then we couldn't find any accessories. It's all turning out really cute, and it's been fun to work on.

Jerry completed his Master's Degree this week, so no more school for him! Yes!

So, in a week, our house will be so quiet. Kids back in school, one in Florida, one in her own apartment, Jerry done with school. Instead of just be lazy, I'll probably start off on something like training for a marathon or something. Wonder what kind of crazy idea I'll get this time. Wish I could just relax!

Watch for the Star!

Evergreen Place asked Mom if she would participate in an advertisement interview. After some thought, Mom agreed, and the interview took place a couple of days ago. When they were all finished, they told Mom to watch for the commercial on WEEK TV, to be run several times a day. She was shocked, as she did not understand that this would be a TV commercial! So all you locals, watch for it, coming soon!

HANGING OUT

We're just "hanging out" at home these days. Biggest excitement is watching our backyard neighbors train their dogs for the new electronic fence they've installed. I'm assuming eventually those dogs will be running free and barking -- and they better not try to jump that magical fence!

Went grocery shopping a couple days ago - at the top of my list was prune juice and raisen bran. hmmmmmmm . . .

The physical therapist was here today and said Jerry's doing great. He gave him a few tips for better manipulation of the walker. This also seems to be helping the discomfort in his back. We went out for ice cream last night - hot fudge sundae at McDonald's. We're thinking of heading out for breakfast Friday morning at the great Zorba's.

This is a picture of one of my latest sewing projects with my messy work area in the background. The flower petals and leaves are made on my embroidery machine. The flowers are attached to pens.

Starved Rock

We arrived home last evening from Starved Rock Lodge where we spent Monday night (a gift from Larry and Barb). We went to Starved Rock on our honeymoon so it was very romantic.

On the way home yesterday we stopped at a Roadside Stand and bought 3 dozen ears of sweet corn, so today we are going to freeze most of the corn. We like it much better than what we can buy in the store.

We are starting to eat potatoes from K's garden. We have had 1 tomato so far. They are taking so long to ripen.

Thanks for all the well wishes on our anniversary!

Cleve's pumpkin

There's no way I can keep up with all the outstanding Klop "gardens", such as those of Rhoda, Ada, Ann, etc. etc. But this year I wanted to surprise the grandboys with something new, so I planted about 10 kernals of sweet corn and a very tiny pumpkin patch hoping to nurture and fertilize just ONE pumpkin into a giant one. This morning it measured 4 ft. 9 inches around! Today I picked the first 6 delicious ears of corn with about 6 more ears waiting til they're "ready". That will be the whole crop. The pumpkin still has many days yet to grow but should allow Kathleen to make several pumpkin pies -- maybe???

For Keith and Alice

Lord, thank You for this couple
who love You and each other.
As they celebrate the time
when You first made them one,
may Your blessings be upon them
and upon their lives.
Give them joy in their memories,
peace for today, and anticipation
of all You still have in store for them.
(Author unknown)

Congratulations! What immeasurable
blessings are ours.
Really like your 50th photo and well
remember that hot summer day!
Lovingly, Lynn and Mim

A Michigan Summer

Written last night but had trouble posting:

I'm posting this sitting on the deck of a cottage on School Section Lake about 1/2 hour south of Ludington and 20 minutes east of Pentwater for those of you who may be familiar with the west shore of Michigan. I've been here with friends at their friends cottage since Friday night and will leave in an hour or so. Th weather has been less than perfect, but we've done some fishing (in two outings I had a total of four bass keepers) and a little jet skiing yesterday.


And now at the risk of embarrassment I'll share something that I'm guessing none of you have done this summer: Yesterday morning early we were out fishing (we being Renae and me), and I was quite excited to be fishing with a new rod she had given me for my birthday last fall. She mentioned that I had some dirt on my leg so I stood up at the side of the front of the pontoon and promptly my foot slipped on the metal siding and I ended up in the lake with my new rod sinking quickly. Let's just say my body and and ego are both quite bruised.

Conference News

Adrian and I had a great time at our Writer's Conference in Philadelphia. We had long days, college cafeteria food, made some friends, and met with some successful Christian authors. We didn't get any pictures of us together, but here are a couple of Adrian. In the first she is taking notes during a class, and the other, she is with Susan May Warren, one of our teachers, and a great author.

Cleve & Kathleen's summer

You are correct, Angela -- More summer updates are needed on the EJK Blog.

Kathleen and I, despite being very "busy", have been living about 90% this summer at our 31-year-old "cabin" which is 15 miles North of our condo-house in Peoria. We've enjoyed entertaining alot, including our grandboys several times -- both with and without their Aunt Crystal and parents Aaron & Kara. Here you can see Bruce and Elizabeth's kids, etc. swimming. And that's grandson Caleb jumping off the old stump across the lake with the "cabin" way in the background.
With the Klop Reunion postponed this year, we were tempted to resurrect the old tradition of having you all out here on July 4th, but the weather on that holiday this year was rain, rain, and more rain so it would not have worked out anyway. We did, however, later enjoy Perry & Carol & Preston for an overnight and also had all of Bruce and Liz' family for a breakfast and fish/eat/&swim-fest. Crystal plans a big hamburger fry here next weekend for her friends, so we've all stayed busy on this very nice and enjoyable summer.
Keep the new POSTS coming!
Cleve & Kathleen

50th Wedding Anniversary

Today we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary!!
Larry, Barb, Erin, Thomas, Bonnie and Lauren came over this morning and went to church with us.

This afternoon we are going to Jim's Steak House for dinner.

Lauren made a beautiful scrap book for us with loads of pictures I had given her. She is very artistic and enjoys doing scrapbooks.

Larry, Barb and girls gave us a Waterford Bud Vase. They know I love glassware. They also brought a cake that we will have for dessert.

We can't believe we've been married 50 years. The Lord has been good to us.

Alice & Keith

Summer in the Southeast

Well, thank you for the challenge, Angela, and I too hope that some of those we don't hear from as much will take you up on it and let us know what their summer has been like. As well as those who do post a little more often!

Ours has been relatively quiet. Mike and I went to Savannah at the beginning for three days and really loved it. It is absolutely loaded with history and there are many interesting things to see. We spent one night at the beach at Tybee Island. And ML loved holding down the fort alone at home - she wished we had stayed longer.

Andrew just arrived home a week ago from counseling at a Christian camp in Louisiana for the summer. He loved it - acting crazy with a bunch of kids for a week at a time is right up his alley. He rode Greyhound home and got very little sleep - said a huge Haitian lady sat next to him, basically in his lap all night, and chattered in French to her friend across the aisle. Oh well, Andrew is always up for a good adventure. Since he's been home my food bill has been through the roof and food is literally evaporating from the pantry and refrigerator.

ML has been working at a daycare all summer. Here is a link to a cute picture where she dressed up her kiddies one day and took them to a free lunch at a famous fast food place (Chick-Fil-A for all you southerners who are familiar with it). She's out shopping for college things this afternoon.

Mike and I lead our usual boring lives. The Hohulins have a lot of activity compared to us! We watch Jeopardy in the evenings and on Mondays even stay up for Antiques Roadshow. How's that for excitement!

Stand-up comedy

Does anyone have a transcript of Grandpa's stand-up routine? I think someone has it on video.

Our summer is going by too quickly! Reagan is excited to start preschool in a few weeks. She can't wait to play with friends and cut with "sharps" (scissors).

Zi is starting to talk a lot now. He has about 15-20 words. He is ready to move out of the crib, so we are looking for a twin bed.

I am in one of my last quarters at RMU. I will have two left after this one ends. This quarter is a lot of fun. I am taking a film class where I will write, shoot, edit, and produce my own 5-10 minute film. I am also taking a painting class which I am enjoying. I am also working an internship with my uncle Eldon Hohulin. I will be creating slideshows and a website for his photography business.

We are not looking forward to the hot temperatures this weekend. We might have to fill the pool up for the kids!

Perry's family in Wisconsin Dells

Per Angela's request--- our most exciting summer event was our family get-together in Wisconsin. All 23 of us were present for three nights and some of us stayed a fourth. Our niece, Brianna, and her family joined us for a picnic lunch one day. For those of you who know Brianna, she and her husband, Brent, have 5 children and the oldest are 4 yr. old twins. My favorite part of our time together was in the late evening when we would all be together and sing while Perry II played the guitar. One of our "theme" songs this year was "Day by Day"---I especially love the melody to that song. In the above photo on the left are: Andrew, Anna and Ellie. In the other photo are: Brandon, baby Jesse, Preston, Perry, Maria, Charity and Brianna. Each summer, Brandon and Maria plan out family get-together and they do a wonderful job! It all started years ago when we would "borrow" Cleve's cabin for a couple days, but we soon out grew that.

Now Perry is back at work every day (even Saturday) and Preston and I help too. It is a busy time at our store with teachers coming in and shopping for back to school. We are thankful when we are busy!

Love, Carol

The Boring Hohulins

Hi, everyone!
Thought I would take up Angela's challenge and make a post. But, I have to warn you - we're pretty boring. Although last weekend was eventful.

One of our goals for this summer was to spend at least 1 night camping. So our first attempt was 2 weeks ago on a Friday night. About 11 p.m. it started sprinkling . . . then it very quickly turned into torrential rain, high winds, and continuous lightening strikes. And we tent camp. So at midnight, we jumped in the car and drove home, coming back the next day loaded with towels. Not to be defeated, we made another attempt last Friday night. This time we had a beautiful dry night . . . the rain didn't start until Saturday morning. Anyway, we made our goal and we had a nice, relaxing time.

Then Saturday night we saw Fernando Ortega perform in Bloomington. If you haven't heard his music, check out www.fernandoortega.com . Beautiful music!

On Sunday we went to Champaign to spend the day with Amy. She is doing a summer internship at Carle Clinic doing outpatient speech therapy. We spent the day going to church, walking around campus and downtown, having frozen yogurt at Cocomero's (a delightful place!), some downtime at her duplex, and then out to eat for Mexican food.

Sunday night 0n our way home, we picked up the Heiniger big sisters and brought them home for the night. It's becoming a tradition to eat popcorn and watch The Little Mermaid, so that's what we did!

This weekend, if the weather permits, we may go to the Michigan dunes, another of our summer goals.

Okay, everybody, your turn to post!

Love to all,
Cathy

Nathan's Frog

Kelsie brought a frog home that she found last night behind Subway in south Bloomington. While Nathan was at daycare today, Jerry let him go (to save his life) and made it look like the frog -- who Nathan named "Boat" (after considering "Subway" and "Wagon") -- had escaped into the yard. Never fear! A 3-year-old will find his pet. Boat is once again in captivity, awaiting a batch of fireflies, in hopes of making it alive to show-and-tell tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Heather met us out for dinner tonight. So good to see her. Kelsie couldn't come because she's on a "diet' before going to college in Florida soon, and since Kelsie couldn't come, neither could Heater. Fiesta Ranchera is our favorite place!

Surgery Update?

I'm wondering if Jerry's surgery occurred yesterday; and if so, how he's doing.

Also, how is Retta?

Zoo Lady

The best part of any public event here in town, including the McLean County Fair, is the Zoo Lady. She paints faces for free (well, she'll let you put money in her jar, if you're so kind, which I was) and Nathan just loves it. This is about the 4th time he's had it done, and I made the mistake of letting him keep it overnight this time. It didn't come off so easily the next day, and he looked like he had a bruised face until the next bath!

Grandma Hemmer

My mom sent out an email to her children and grandchildren with memories of her mother, who would have been 108 years old today! I posted it on my blog, then thought maybe some of you would enjoy reading it, so if you click here it will link to the right entry.