40th Anniversary

Keith & Alice

Catherine, Mim & Lynn

Perry & Carol

Friday evening, July 27, we celebrated our 40th in Mackinaw at the Tea Room at the Depot.  It was a special, memorable evening! --- Perry & Carol

Summer Company

Here's the pool, all ready for summertime enjoyment--

And look who showed up to enjoy it with me!

Judy and I have had a wonderful time just visiting for several days.  Oh, and spending a lot of time in the pool.  Dave's here now to get her.  Guess he missed her too much - he showed up a day early!

Mom and Dad have returned from Perry and Carol's party and they are staying there now.

Guatemala Adventure

Well, after 8 months of planning & praying & fundraising & team meetings, Christian and I are leaving Olney IL at 1:15am Sunday morning on an adventure to Guatemala. We (along with 16 others) will be building a house for a young family in the jungles around Sam Raimundo Guatemala. We're looking forward to it and can't wait to experience the culture, the people, the project, our Father God and the RAIN! We'll let you know how it goes...

A house built a few weeks ago for a Guatemalan family.

A Guatemalan school classroom.

The grandboys came to our cabin north of Peoria for 7 whole days from June 28 to July 4 and seemed to love every minute of it -- SWIMMING, fishing, catching every imaginable lake creature (fish, frogs, turtles, minnows, even a live rabbit, etc), playing basketball, scooter rides, Peoria Fireworks, etc.  A highlight was a birthday party for Caleb, now age 10.  And, another highlight was a gift for each from Uncle Marty K who MADE each of the arrowheads shown in the picture, mounted them onto the nice wood plaques, and gave a plaque to each of Aaron & Kara's 3 boys.  They were thrilled!
Pictured are:      Carter, 8 on August 13         Cooper, 4          Caleb 10 on July 22

COOL WAVE

We finally got a little reprieve from the heat - it's been hanging around 80 all day today. Still too hot to go out, but not quite so oppressive. It's a good thing I have two quilts I've been working on so I spend a lot of time in the basement where it's nice and cool.

We went to Nathan's ballgame Tuesday evening, and yes we sat in the 100 degree temp to watch him play. Right after I took this picture, he hit a good fly ball just past second base and ran as fast as he could to first base. They have an unusual method of playing for the first two years: the team coach pitches and keeps pitching until the child hits the ball, they can only run one base at a time, they continue until every child on the team has batted, then they change to the other team. All the kids on a team are placed somewhere on the field while their team is in the field. It's surprising how many can hit the ball, but catching a fly or a ground ball and throwing it to the proper base is lacking. It's fun to watch their excitement.

I think my hibiscus plant loves the hot, humic weather. Today it has 9 beautiful large flowers. Yes, the others are hiding on the other side of the plant and I didn't want to bore you with two pictures of the same plant SOOO trust me, there are 9 flowers!

I didn't think my Rose of Sharon would bloom this year as it was damaged with frost in the Spring, but yesterday we noticed 2 small blooms and look at it today! I believe these flowers are a promise that God hasn't forgotten us and there will be brighter days ahead.

Just a picture of our tan grass. As you can see, Jerry waters the trees about twice a week so we do have a little bit of green grass. :) He is pretty bored sitting around here all summer with no grass to mow, and it's too hot to do anything else outside. He does volunteer 2 or 3 days a week at Meadows. He also had cataract surgery in both eyes and is enjoying a bright new world. He's so cute with his narrow little reading glasses - hmmm wonder if he'd let me take a picture . . . :)

A few more pics...

We made pancakes for the Steffen boys one Saturday morning.

It wasn't long before the shenanigans began!



We enjoyed a picnic last weekend at Miller Park with our kids and grandkids...minus Eric's...
for whom it is too far to drive on a Saturday noon. We missed them



The kids had fun playing in the water sprinklers at the park.
Well, here's Carter and Joe having fun. Phoebe wasn't thrilled with it.

Yes, that's 3 inches in the rain gauge at our house in Bloomington.
Dave's fields, once again, got not one drop.

What is wrong with this picture? If you can blow it up,
you might be able to see the man just above the center of the picture,
standing all the way inside of  the cart return. Just standing there. He must have
been overcome with the heat. It was 100+ in that parking lot!
What on earth is he doing??

Let's hope the heat spell breaks and we have a nice day on Sept. 1. I'm hoping Jerime and Staci...and many more of you...are able to come to the K5K/breakfast. It's on my calendar!

City life!

We have moved out of Eureka to the "city" of Naperville! Jerime had a job change and is now working as a project manager for a company in Sugar Grove, IL called Dispays Now. They make retail racks for stores. One of their biggest clients is Jacks Links beef jerky.

We moved into a duplex right by downtown Naperville two weeks ago. So far we love it here. I have a lot to do yet to get settled. Reagan starts school in 4 weeks so we will try to get her registered today.

We hope to make it back for the K5K in September.

RDK Summer Event

On Friday evening, July 6, the RDK family gathered at Gloria's house for a summer get-together. It was 100+ degrees, but we had ample room inside with wonderful air conditioning for the adults.

Cleve and Marty enjoy conversation

A rare opportunity for a shot of Gloria's entire family.
Joe, Jamie, Jodie, Dave
Dean, Gloria, Emma, Benjie

The kids ate outside on a fun hand-drawn art "blanket" designed by Gloria.

All it took was a little water to keep the kids cool and happy.


Thanks, Gloria, for a very nice summer evening!

TRIP TO FLORIDA

Last Thursday Angela and I went to Jacksonville Florida to move Kelsie into a new apartment. She is working down there this summer and will be a senior at Jacksonville University this Fall. Kinda hard to believe, isn't it?!? She found this one-bedroom apartment and will be there through her senior year.

Angela drove a Budget rental truck with Kelsie's bedroom set, a pair of couches, table/chairs and a variety of household items packed in tubs and boxes. She "whipped" that truck down the Interstate, up and down the hills/mountains, and through the dreaded Atlanta just like a pro! We were two days on the road and glad to get to our destination safely.

We met Kelsie at work at 4 pm on Friday. She didn't get off until 5, so we went to a nearby Publix and got a few necessities and then followed her home. These pictures are kinda mixed up, but will give you a brief look into her apartment.

This is her bedroom - all put together and decorated.

Kelsie surrounded by boxes, tubs, etc. as we get ready to "dig in". To her right is the living/dining room, and to her left is the kitchen. Notice her bike on the small patio. 



Two beauties heading to the beach - after all one can't go to Florida without hitting the beach, right? I, however, stayed "home" and read a book and took a nap.

Monday night we went to a beach-side restaurant for dinner and took a walk on the beach. Kelsie's friend Kelley went along and took this picture for us.

We made several trips to Walmart, Home Place, Publix, etc. - and in the end we were pleased with the result. I hope Kelsie will be happy there. She is a very independent, responsible young woman. Angela and I flew home early Tuesday morning - 5 am departure on Southwest Airlines, 30 minute connection in Nashville, arrived in Midway on Tuesday morning and Grandpa was there to meet us.

Cover Photo

What a nice picture of Grandma K! Ann, did you recently change the cover photo or do I just so quickly check out a new post that I missed the change?

A Parade

With Perry/Carol's comment about going to the parade in Chenoa yesterday, it reminded me of this scanned in photo which is part of a CD of photos that I recently found.  I'm pretty sure that we were sitting waiting for the 4th of July parade in front of Dad's dealership.

Nog Blog Report

Update on retirement:

1. The first day, Dave said to me, "Now we're not going to fight, now that I'm retired."
I said, "We don't fight, we just bicker."
Dave: No we don't.
Me: Yes, we do.
Dave: No we don't.
Me: Yes, we do!

2. Today Dave said to me, proudly, "I took the whole day off yesterday!:"
My response was, "You're 63 years old, we've been married over 40 years, and you can't believe you took a whole holiday off."
The man is a work horse.

It's 8 weeks until the annual K5K! Still time to get on your running shoes and get in shape! And for the non-runners, let's hope for a nice, cool morning where we can stroll the park and play with the kids. I promise a good, full breakfast for all who attend!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy Fourth of July to all members of the EJK Family Blog!!!

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with ... picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." --Erma Bombeck

Poison Ivy

Anyone have a good remedy for poison ivy? It's not as bad as I've had in the past but it is taking it's time running its course or so it seems. I've been using hydrocortisone creme and got some Ivy Dry today.

I'm really eckled by it!!! (How's that for a good Klopfenstein word?)--don't worry no pictures coming.

More Wedding Pictures

These are two pictures that Nog Blog suggested posting. This one is Mom with Whitney and Haley, who was the maid of honor, at a bride's luncheon.

This is the engagament picture of Whitney and Josh that was in the paper since I didn't have a candid of him in the pictures that I took at the wedding.

June 29

Happy Anniversary, Mike and Ann!

Happy Retirement Day, Dave!

Looking for some rain in central Illinois! The crops are thirsty!

Wedding Pics

Here are a few pics from the big wedding Sunday evening.

Mark was there as well but this was a quick snap with the mother of the bride before the ceremony.

 This is a view of the wedding site. You can see the ropes hung from tree to tree. Windows were suspended from the ropes to give an idea of a room or an enclosed area. The picture doesn't do the site justice for the work involved or the intimacy of it.

 This is a mantle at the front of the site where the ceremony was held. What was unknown was that there was an M80 (? since I don't know fireworks) hidden behind the logs and a battery trigger on the back of the mantle. The best man reached behind and lit the firework when Whit and Josh were announced as husband and wife. Another interesting tidbit is that the cross is sitting on the mantle for the ceremony as it was suspended from the ropes as well. However, the day before and earlier in the day it was not on the mantle but the humidity caused the rope to sag and lower the cross.

 This is precious Emma entering the wedding.

 The best pic I have of the beautiful bride and her introspective father. The wedding was even more special as Josh's father is a minister. He personalized the wedding of his son and a wonderful girl that the Bateman's have known essentially her entire life as well.

 Had to share this picture to show Emma. She certainly knows what a camera is. When one is pointed at her she immediately grins and if you don't get the picture fast enough she throws her head back continuing her cheesy grin. What a sweetheart.

Cuteness Alert

Sunday night was Whitney's wedding.  It was an outdoor ceremony at the home of some friends of theirs who have a nice place way out in the country, and it was beautiful.  I didn't have a camera with me, but "stole" this off of facebook - it's Lindsay's little girl being wheeled in a wagon up the aisle.  On the back of the wagon was a sign saying "Here comes the Bride."  I think she is absolutely adorable!!!

Here is a link to a fine article about Uncle Perry and his latest writing endeavor, "A Pilgrim's Journey." The article appeared in the Pontiac Daily Leader on Thursday, June 21. Check it out!http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/news/x1660534855/Klopfenstein-pens-autobiography

Back in Action

Well, I've been totally away from here for awhile.  We took a spur of the moment trip to Omaha, Nebraska, to see Mike's beloved Gamecocks play in the College World Series.  It was a great trip - I've outlined it in more detail on my own blog.

We tried to stop for a few minutes to see Maria's family and meet the new baby, but Brandon got sick the night before we were coming, so that got scratched.  Sure hope he's a lot better by now.  Maria missed out on a jar of my homemade strawberry jam, but maybe we can fix that later on sometime!

If you're ever 45 minutes south of Omaha, I highly recommend Lied Lodge.  It's run by the Arbor Day Foundation and was a lovely place to stay.

Will try to catch up on what's been happening here in the past week or two!

Happy Father's Day...I think!

TIME FOR A CHANGE

It's a bright, sunny, and hot day in Gridley, although we're expecting and hoping for some much-needed rain later today. Everything's been pretty quiet and uneventful since the "reunion" of a couple weeks ago.

We plan to go to the visitation/funeral of a very dear friend, Evy Reis later this morning. She is a native of Chenoa, but lived in Meadows when I worked there. You may have seen her obit in the Pantagraph about a week ago.

Some pictures to share include the daisy bush which is just beginning to bloom,  a hanging pot that I purchased ready-made and is thriving, a quilt waiting for me to finish the binding, AND the new vehicle which now matches the truck. The electronics are a struggle, but the drive is SMOOTH!! What a difference seven years make!!  

Grandma Time

         Milan's first Sunday morning--- going to church with his family.

                  How exciting to wake up to another day with baby brother!

                                            Milan Perry Emch

I spent five days with this precious family.  What a special time!   ---Carol

The Gas Game

The comments on a previous post reverted to the current price of gas in various areas of the country the K's represent. I mentioned that gas was at $3.47 and wasn't sure if I should fill up with half a tank or hope it would come down even more with the price of crude oil dropping. I called it The Gas Game to fill up at optimal time.

Today at lunch the cry went out through the building "Gas is going up" so I headed over to Meijer which was still at $3.44 while Speedway a block away had raised the price to $3.79 a gallon. I would love the explanation for the .35 jump!

Did the price of gas spike in  your area today?

Bloomington Muralist

Speaking of newspapers, if you pull up the Sunday Pantagraph online...or from your stack of papers :) you will see a picture of the Girl Scouts painting a mural on a downtown Bloomington building. The article states that there was a contest among the Girl Scouts and the winning entry was selected and is now being painted. It says that "Bloomington Muralist Martin Klopfenstein" sketched the mural on the building for the girls to fill in. He has done several murals in the downtown area, and in private homes in the area.

Newspapers

Rhoda made these observations about newspaper reading on her blog.  A lot of K's are news readers - I'd be interested to know what you think.  Do you think print newspapers are on the way out?  If so - is that a good or a bad thing?