Visiting Ft. Hood / September 14-18

On Wednesday, 14-AUG, Rosie and I drove to Ft. Hood to stay with Adam and Lottie while Amy went to a weekend scrap booking retreat.  We got there in time to go to soccer practice for Adam's team; Amy is the coach.  The team seemed to have a fun time at practice.  Lottie had fun with Rosie's camera.  She especially enjoys taking pictures of feet.  Hey, cute feet Lottie!

Nice feet, Gram!  Looks like they work out.

After evening baths, I got to read books to the kids.  "The Messiest" was a very popular book with both kids.

Friday morning we took Adam to school.  Later in the morning we took Lottie to story time at the Ft. Hood library.  The story that morning was about car races.  After the story, all the kids went outside to race their cars.  Lottie and Rosie are ready to send their car down the track.

Here's Lottie with her medal and car.

We picked up Adam at school then headed for the duck pond - the spot where Adam's class went last year and he wanted to take Lottie.  Lottie is ready to feed the ducks.

We definitely got the attention of the ducks and geese.

On Saturday morning Amy made a quick trip back to Ft. Hood to coach Adam's first soccer game.  Here's Amy and Adam in front of the net before the start of the game.

Amy coaching one of her kids.  She does a good job making the game fun and helping the players learn new skills.

Adam is looking down the field.

Here's an action shot.

After the soccer game, we took Adam and Lottie to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.  There was a "cow car" parked there so we had to get a picture.

Saturday afternoon the gang made me "surprise" birthday brownies - since Saturday, 17-SEP was my birthday.  Rosie, Adam and Lottie are hard at work.

I'm ready to blow out the candle.

Adam and Lottie got a turn to blow out the candle.  Great job, guys!

On Sunday evening Rosie got to read books to Adam and Lottie.  I think she enjoyed it more than they did.

Thanks to Amy for letting us stay with the kids.  We had a great time and they survived!

Thursday Evening, 08-SEP, Dinner with Friends in Cincinnati

On Thursday evening Rosie and I stopped by Dave and Barb Kitko's house for dinner with a group of P&G friends who lived in Japan the same time as we did and attended the same church .  In addition to us, the group included: Dave and Barb Kitko, Rob and Betty Johnston, Jim and Brenda Baird, Harry and Sharon Coleman, Tim and Cindy Long.  

Here are five of the six women (L to R):  Cindy, Betty, Barb, Sharon and Rosie (Brenda and Jim had to leave a bit early).

Here are four of the six guys (L to R):  Bob, Dave, Tim and Harry.

By the time we got around to the "guy photo", Rob and Jim were gone.

It was fun to see and visit with friends.  Thanks to the entire Cincinnati group for taking time from their busy schedules to get together with us. 

Happy Birthday Bob from the Koinonia Sunday Class

On Sunday, 11-SEP, I got a big surprise when I walked into Sunday School.  The class had a birthday cake ready for me.  This was a real "signature cake" complete with my picture on it.  How scary is that!

Here I am holding the cake.

Here's a close-up of the cake.  Isn't that neat!

 

Many thanks to Mary and Weldon and the entire Koinonia SS class for the birthday cake.  I was totally surprised.  FYI - the cake was delicious.  I'm also told birthday cake has no calories; so you can eat all you want.

September 6-8, The Inn at Cedar Falls, Logan, OH

On Tuesday, we left Doug and Ashley's place and headed for Logan, OH, and the Inn at Cedar Falls.  Our three kids went together and presented us with two nights at the Inn for our 40th wedding anniversary.  What a great gift!  Rosie and I had a wonderfully relaxing time at the Inn and totally enjoyed the food.  No cooking and no dishes to wash - fantastic!  We had fun sitting in the rocking chairs reading for fun and listening to the gentle rain.

On the way down to Logan, we stopped at Cabela's for me to look for some fishing supplies.  Here are the two bears in front of the store; I'm the little person in front.  I didn't find what I wanted but, of course, Rosie DID find something to buy--place mats.

We arrived at the Inn at about 3 pm.  Here's a picture of their sign at night.  Without a tripod, this picture turned out better than we thought.

Here I am heading into our cottage in the woods - the Honeysuckle cottage.

We had a king sized bed, hot tub, and a heater in the corner (that we used with the AC on).  The room was very comfortable.

The grounds around the Inn are well kept.  

Also, they recently opened a roof top flower garden and sitting area.

 

Here's Rosie next to some Russian sage.  We're thinking about planting Russian sage in our yard this fall.  It also grows well in our area and isn't high on the deer menu.

The Inn's dining area is very rustic.  Here are a couple of shots around the rooms.

The Inn's breakfast is always excellent.  In addition to their hot breakfast (we had stuffed French toast the first morning - yummy!), you're welcome to enjoy the Inn's homemade granola with either milk or fruit and vanilla yogurt.  The granola with vanilla yogurt was excellent! (but don't eat too much or you'll spoil your hot breakfast)

As we drove around the area, Rosie spotted a painted barn.  She had to get a picture.

On Wednesday afternoon we treated ourselves to a couples massage.  It was very relaxing.  Here I am as we left the massage cabin.  Don't I look totally relaxed?

We left the Inn on Thursday morning headed for Cincinnati.  Thanks kids for a wonderful treat!  We had a great time.

Labor Day Weekend 2011 with Doug and Ashley

On Thursday, 01-SEP, Rosie and I left HSV for Midland, MI, to visit Doug and Ashley.  We stopped at a motel on Thursday night and arrived in Midland on Friday.  Saturday afternoon we went with Doug and Ashley to Jos. A. Bank to pick out suits for the wedding.  They found what they wanted at a good price.  Here they are with the salesmen from JAB.

 

After picking out suits, we all headed for a minor league baseball game.  The local Great Lake Loons were playing at Dow Diamond.  The teams were on the field when we arrived.  We had great seats.

 Here's Doug and Ashley at the game.

The team mascot is Lou E the Loon.  Cute suit, Lou E.

On Sunday we drove up to Traverse City to eat at the Old Mission Tavern (1/2 roasted chicken - only available on Sunday), visit some wineries on the peninsula, and get dried cherries (specifically chocolate covered).  Here are some pictures taken from the Chateau Chantal Winery in Traverse City.  That's Lake Michigan in the background.  As you can tell, it was a beautiful day.

 

 

 Looks like the grapes were getting close to harvest.  Here are some vines full of grapes.

After a relaxing Monday (which included exercising with Doug), we left Midland on Tuesday morning headed to the Inn at Cedar Falls in Logan, OH.  Thanks, Doug and Ashley, for a great visit.

The Flachmans - Quick Visit to HSV

On Monday, 22-AUG, Karen, Logan and Kayleigh flew up from Houston for a quick visit.  We had a great time with Karen and the kids.  We had saved the box our freezer came in.  Logan and Kayleigh had a fun time playing with it and building a play house.  Logan is getting ready to do some painting.

Kayleigh is picking out her colors.

The finished product!

After lunch at The Shack, we drove over to the cold water dam on Lake Ouachita.  Of course, the kids weren't supposed to get wet, but the best laid plans don't always work as designed.

We also went swimming at Lake Balboa in HSV.  Both Logan and Kayleigh had fun in the water and did a great job of swimming and opening their eyes under water.  We were impressed by how much their swimming skills had improved since earlier in the summer.  Kayleigh enjoyed walking into the water.

Gram helped Logan and Kayleigh make cards for Daddy Shane.  Here they are getting things ready to put together.

Logan showed his finished product.  Great job, Logan!

Karen, Logan and Kayleigh - thanks for the visit!