Jonas goes to the THS Prom

Tonight Jonas is at the THS Prom.  He and Maggie (and about 100 other couples) gathered in Gage Park for a marathon photo session before dinner.

Not done in German schools, Prom is a quintessential American experience for Jonas.   

Beginning at 11:45 PM tonight Helen and I will help with the After-Prom.  Sponsored by the parents and designed to keep students off the streets and in a safe environment, After-Prom is amazing.  Free food, games and fancy prizes ... like TVs and laptops ... will be given away.  It goes until 4 AM.  Gotta go ... I need a nap first.

Easter - past and present

When Samantha was little, we used to "blow out eggs" and dye the shells.  It was fun.  In typical Crow-Gardner fashion ... we saved some.  Here are the survivors:

Fast forward to today when we attended the Potwin Easter bash including an egg hunt ...

and lunch ...

followed by delivering Helen-made Easter baskets of Peeps and chocolate eggs to our parents.

Happy Easter!

Boulder or Bust

Helen and I just returned from Boulder where we spent a wonderful weekend with Samantha and Jake.  They are terrific. We got to see their comfy and stylish condo

visit GNIP

scratch off another stadium

explore the Flat Irons

and generally ... just hang out.

It was great!  Thanks S & J for a wonderful weekend ...

and extra thanks for being soooooooo much fun.

Car text

Jonas is now driving the Honda.  Apparently his friends consider it as a new texting platform.

Unlimited texting on cell phones must not be enough.

Goodbye Harald

After a 3 week visit, yesterday we took Harald to the airport for his return flight to Wuppertal, Germany.  We were sad to see him go.

He is a wonderful man who endured lots of neglect while maintaining his charming smile and gentlemanly demeanor.  Thank you Harald for visiting.  You are welcome back anytime.

Brothers and Almost Brother

Last week Helen and I were treated to visits from our brothers.  Helen's brother Mark (and the always fun, always charming and always cheerful Daya) visited from Minnesota during Daya's spring break.  Mark and Helen were also visited by Bruce, their "Almost Brother" who was in town from Flagstaff, Arizona to visit his Dad.  These guys grew up houses apart and have known each other since they were zero. 

The visit from my brother was a surprise.  He visited by way of the Washburn University Alumni Magazine.  Yep, he arrived in the mail.  SACII and Cheryl have funded an endowed scholarship at Washburn University to assist non-traditional students pursing degrees in medicine.

  Cool visits from our brothers. 

Dude in a Dress and NOTO

Yesterday, and after much hoopla, the Topeka High School Historical Society unveiled the 7 foot tall bronze Trojan that now welcomes students and visitors to the main entrance of the school.  While I'm proud to be a Trojan, I'm afraid this "Dude in a Dress" may be an easy target for vandals ... especially those from rival schools.  Maybe the spotlights and video camera will help.

Speaking of art ... tonight Helen and I attended the First Friday Art Walk in the newly opened North Topeka Arts District.  It was fabulous!  The 3 new art galleries were jammed packed and people poured through the streets of North Topeka as they went from gallery to gallery.  Amazing!  This NOTO thing might actually work.

When we got home, the house was abuzz. I gathered everybody for an April Fools' Day photo.  Jonas from Hamburg, Harald from Wuppertal, Mark from Minneapolis, Mark from Perry, Helen from here, Leticia from Panama, Daya from Minneapolis and me.  

I hope your April Fools' Day was as much fun as ours.

St Patrick's Day ... glass blowing ... Persian New Year ... Mendel & Derek ... Ron

Let me recap some family events since Harald's arrival.  There has been lots of talk (in both German and English) about family history in Germany.  Harald brought a wonderful digital collection of old family photos and writings that he had compiled.  He has also been fixing things around the house and teaching Jonas how to drive our manual transmission Honda Civic.  Mostly, he is a wunderbar person and a fantastisch house guest who makes us all smile.

Last week we introduced Harald and Leticia to the spirit of St. Patrick's Day...

we also witnessed the art of glass blowing at our neighbor's Albo Glass studio ...

feasted on yummy food and celebrated the Persian New Year at Bobby's house ...

enjoyed a short visit from Mendel and Derek as they traveled from Boston to relocate in Silicon Valley ...

and smiled through lunch as Ron, a high school classmate and Helen's life-long friend, came from Idaho to visit his parents here in Topeka.

 Next week Mark and Daya arrive from Minnesota for a Spring Break visit.

It's great to be a guy

Today at lunch Helen was washing grapes and putting them in a bowl.  Thinking I might enjoy some grapes myself, I reached into the cabinet, pulled out a bowl and placed it next to hers.   Instantly, and with some degree of pain and anguish, Helen vigorously declared that I should have selected one of the "pretty" bowls as mine was one of the "ugly" ones.  Please help me .... which bowl is which?

Being Helen seems like an awful lot of work.

Harald Jaenicke arrives from Germany

Tonight Helen's Godfather Harald Jaenicke arrived from Wuppertal, Germany.  He is also Jonas' grandfather.  While Jonas has been with us since last August, it is Harald's first visit to the USA.  He is sweet and lovable and kind.   Here are the three of them at the airport.

Welcome Harald!