STORED STUFF

We went to the farm to retrieve our "goodies" to take back to the shed. It was a surprise to see what we had there. Jerry put it up in the rafters in the building where he has about five of his 11 or 12 tractors, so he used one of them to lift the things down on pallets. Three of his farmer friends followed him home from morning coffee at the lumber yard to help.

It looked like a lot, and Kathy had 8 more boxes in the house.

Between the car, the basement full and several cabinets inside the RV, we got it all in.

Larry Wilson drove down from Grinnell to help us pack it. Thanks to him and Kathy and Jerry for storing it all that time. Good job!

WEATHER AT THE FARM

When we arrived at the farm, the sky was kind of scary looking.

The result wasn't bad-just more rain!

JOHN'S GARDEN

We were at John's about a month ago and I put a few pictures on of his gardens. He's been working hard on them, so I took a few pictures. This one runs along the back of the house.

Looking up the driveway.

He has a water garden at the end of the driveway.

John is a phamacist but he's also an artist. Notice his sculptured bushes. Very pretty! (He usually has shutters on his lower windows too, but he's in the process of painting. He fell off a ladder last fall and fractured his arm really bad-so he's been recovering.)

"RETURN OF THE WEDI"

Our nephew, Jesse, was married to Freeda, in Seattle and they had a reception/potluck at his father, John's housein Dubuque. Only Don's two sisters from Texas were missing, so they posed for a sibling picture. Left to right, it's Teresa, Kathy, Barb and Linda, and in back, it's Jerry, John, Marvin and Don.

With the bride, groom and Grandma added.



The groom's brother Jordan, brought his dog, Amadeus-Marvin had fun with him.

(Amadeus would be Grandma's great-granddog!) Congratulations to Jesse and Freeda!

OUR GRANDDOGS HOUSE

We went to Minneapolis and picked up our belongings at Scott's & Jeff's house, and they took us out to eat. Their landscaping along the creek in the backyard is looking nice.
Looking from the creek toward the house.
They have quite a nice view from inside and on the patio.

Our granddogs, Murphy and Buster.(right to left)

Thanks again for storing our stuff!

MOVING DOWN THE ROAD

We left Omaha and moved on to Grinnell to see Heidi's family and friends. We were scheduled to watch Lucas run two races in Oskaloosa, but it was cancelled due to weather problems. We did spend a day with Wilsons touring southern Iowa and doing a little shopping for my "whimsical garden". We also spent a lovely meal and evening of cards at Fitzgerald's. We taught Wilson's how to play hand & foot, and then we both taught Fitz's. We got down to the farm one day, and looked at what we had in storage and visited with Kathy and Jerry. We also drove to Des Moines for my cousins sons wedding. Here's Jake with his parents, Cindy, and my cousin Roger. (one of my two first cousins)

They're an interesting couple since the bride is 4' 8" & the groom is over 6'.

We then found a place at Tama for the holiday weekend. We stopped in Clear Lake overnight on the way to Minneapolis to see Scott and pick up our stored things there. We stayed at Campers World where they installed a new refrigerator, since ours died. We went back to Clear Lake and the front air conditioner developed a problem. So, we went to Dubuque to have that fixed. That's where we are now, at Swiss Valley, waiting for Thursday's appointment. Then we'll attend our nephew, Jesse's, wedding picnic on Saturday. Next week we'll go back to the farm when Larry Wilson can help us load the storage stuff in the RV. We then will head to Decorah for Dr.'s appointments and hope everything goes well, as I've had a few problems lately. Then, we should be free to head south.

JAKE'S GRADUATION

Our first grandchild, Jacob, graduated from Burke High School, 2 days after Joe. Jake's party was on Saturday and graduation on Sunday. There were DVD's in each TV and in the computer, so everyone could relive Jake's life. The living room TV had his team's football highlights. Here he's showing a friend how cute he was as a little boy-he's in the black shirt.

The house was decorated very well-this was the sports area.

Grandpa's favorite part!


The younger years and school projects were in the living room.

Jake was planning on going to Iowa State until his father got a job in Kentucky, so his plans have changed. Wherever he ends up, he'll do well, and we'll continue to be proud of him. We're blessed with six wonderful grandchildren! (Thanks again for inviting us to supper with the family-we really enjoyed it!)