Chuck and Joan and geocaching

Last weekend, Chuck and Joan stopped by on their way from Denver to Arkansas ... and points beyond. We compared notes about spoiling grandchildren. They told us about living in Denver and the latest news about Alex. While here, we took them out for a mega desserts

and Joan gave me an introductory lesson in geocaching. She is an expert. She quickly found two caches ... both in plain sight. I looked right over both of them. This is an interesting outdoor activity with witty clues and clever disguises. Here is Joan finding the cache for the spot labeled as "Sorry Superman." 

I missed it completely. Joan didn't. 

She also found the "micro" cache just a block from our house. Once again, hidden in plain sight.

People do this all over the world. Some claim to have found more than 100,000 caches. One almost 200,000. Really? How do they find time to play golf?

It was fun to see Chuck and Joan.

Samantha and Jake buy a house

After renting a 2 bedroom apartment for 7 years, Samantha and Jake decide to buy a house.  So, in early July, I jetted off to California to help them move. First of all, you cannot move without a trucker hat.

These guys worked hard.

I will not show you the unloading and unpacking frenzy that followed.

Suffice it to say that the new house is wonderful. 

So is the back yard.

So are the 1, 2 ... make that 3 decks.


The kids took to the new house instantly.

We also celebrated Aria's and Beth's birthdays. We even got to see some of the 3-hour long 4th of July parade in Downtown Redwood City

and the evening fireworks from Beth's back patio in beautiful Pleasant Hill.

 It was all a giant blast. (Get it?)

Congratulations to Samantha and Jake on your new home. 

Have fun!

Goodbye Brooklynn

Lucky us. We were able to host Brooklynn as she fulfilled her 8-week rotation at St. Francis Hospital as a part of her doctorate studies in physical therapy. 

Tomorrow she heads home to Nebraska.

So long. Farwell. We will miss you.

Father's Day 2019

I'm so lucky to be able to spend time with my wonderful Father.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Bella Vista 2019

My golfing group traveled to Bella Vista for our annual golf marathon. The day before, I sliced open my right thumb on a tuna can. What a klutz! The 1.5-inch gash made for an interesting swing variation.

Even so, I played 153 holes of golf, was able to hoist a couple of beers,

enjoy the fabulous scenery 

and eat fantastic food.

It was a blast.

Oh yes, the 5 days of "no-shave Arkansas" revealed unknown gray.

Let's call it distinguished silver.

Memorial Day Weekend - 2019

Today Dad and I visited 3 Cemeteries and a bunch of dead people. In addition to our standard Saturday visit to my mother's grave, we visited Riley's and Ruth's gravesite (Ruth's body is still at KU Med Center),

several Civil War Veterans' graves,

Grandpa Don's grave,

Sam and Phyllis Crow's graves,

and a whole bunch of really dead Crows

at Topeka Cemetery. 

I then took Dad to Bobo's where a nice young man wearing a Washburn Tech t-shirt bought our lunch. 

He thanked Dad for his service. 

The World is full of really good (and alive) people.

Potwin Circles - landscaping plan

The Potwin Circles are city parks. There are 6 full circles within Potwin and 4 half circles at entrances. They are owned by the City of Topeka and referred to (by them) as traffic circles. They are under the care and management of the Shawnee County Park Department. Recently, the Shawnee County Commission approved $43,000 to enhance the landscaping on the circles. The landscaping plan apparently adopted the "clean slate" landscaping theory as they removed several super-healthy 60-year-old trees.

The circles will never be the same.

Ouch!

Rosie

Thirty years ago I owned a giant 4-door Cadillac.

Her name was Rosie.

Last Saturday Samantha gave birth to a sweet little girl. 

Her name is Rosie.

Hmmmm ... was Rosie named after Rosie?

Snow Days

So far this winter, Topeka has seen the 6th most amount of snowfall since record-keeping began in 1888.

According to Channel 13 news, the most snowfall was in the winter of 1960-1961 and the third most was in the winter of 1957-1958. Maybe that explains why I remember trudging to school through huge mountains of snow when I was a kid. Uphill both ways.

Snow skiing in Colorado

George is 5.

Aria is 3.

Its time they learn to snow ski.

Three days after Christmas we loaded Helen's giant Cadillac and rented an enormous van to convoy to Colorado for 6 days of skiing ... and other assorted fun.

Helen set up play school in the back seat of her car. Sitting between her grandkids, she entertained them for the entire road trip. Games were played. Books were read. Songs were sung. They all had a blast! Especially Helen.

Helen found a super spacious VRBO condo that overlooked the slopes. Our daily view was the mega fast quad chair lift and the bunny slope. There was night skiing and New Year's Eve fireworks.

Since Samantha was 7 months pregnant, she could not ski. Helen chose not to. As for George, Jake, Aria and me ... it was 6 days of skiing.

George and Aria did great!


So did Jake.

As for me; I made a gazillion runs ...

and remembered why I love this sport soooo much.

Back at the condo, there was a lot of game playing ... 

and time for family selfies ... as directed by George.

Scary.

Yawning.

Rabbit ears.

Smiley. 

As they headed back to California, we headed back to Kansas. No road trip is complete without a stop at a small town for lunch and pie. This time it was Wilson, Kansas, which features the World's Largest Czech Egg. Who knew?

Snow skiing is a sport.

Sports are good.

So is family.