Where to Begin?

The past few days have been busy with family in town. Just looking at the pictures again makes me tired, although we did have lots of fun. Here are some photos to recap the activities.

It all started last Wednesday when we visited Gilgal Gardens
Then we went to the Bee's game that night (Thanks to Jared and Suzy!)
The boys enjoyed the game
Then it was back to the Big City to see M. Ward
Then back the next morning to watch the Days of 47 Parade with family and friends (Thanks Joyce and Rich for getting great seats!)
My favorite float is always the singers from the Baptist Church, they rock!
Next stop was bowling with the family
Then fireworks back home
The next day was a picnic at Bridal Veil Falls
Then more fireworks (Boy #2 is ready to go with his fireworks and Russian hat)
The End

Fixing the Sprinklers

Growing up the term "fixing the sprinklers" meant that my dad was in his bedroom taking a nap. In my house it now means actually fixing the sprinklers. My husband has become really good at this task and it looks like boy #2 likes to help and test out dad's work.

Inspecting the sprinkler line

Time to run

Family History Tour

On our recent trip to Illinois we went to a few houses that were significant to me. The first was actually in Iowa just over the Mississippi River from Illinois. It was the house that my great-great-great grandparents lived in and where my great Grandma Jo was born and lived until she was married. A favorite story that my grandma used to tell was that in her mother's family there were 5 children. Their names were Charlie, Georgie, Frankie, Jo, and Jack. Out of the 5 children only 2 were boys, Charles and John (Jack). The others were Jo (Josephine), Georgie (Georgia), and Frankie was Frankie. Apparently they liked the name Frank and this was the feminine version they thought of. My mom was supposed to be Frank, but when she turned out to be a girl her parents went with something else.

My mom and me in front of "The Shephard Place"
A side view of the house
The Denmark (Iowa) Academy where my great-grandma Jo met her husband. The original academy burned in 1924 but they have this plaque to honor the original academy.
The other significant house is the house where I was born and lived for the first 3 years of my life

Dance Moves

Thursday night we went to the Gallivan Center Concert series to hear Bon Iver and Jenny Lewis. It was the most crowded I've seen that venue so we were lucky to find a little spot that allowed us to see the musicians. Unfortunately the boys couldn't see too well so we tried to find a better spot with no luck. While Jenny Lewis played we had a nice picnic and there was enough space there for Boy #2 to show off his dance moves.

Loving the music
This is the sea of people we were scrunched with

A fuzzy image of Bon Iver

Wind in the Willow

Ever since we moved into our home we knew that the willow tree in our backyard was dying. Each year fewer leaves would return and an arboriculturist told us it had about 3-5 years of life left. That was almost three years ago. So after getting bids that we couldn't afford, we finally got a bid that was workable. So the willow is gone and the yard feels bare, but we have plenty of other trees to keep us happy.

It looks like a spooky old tree

The willow in mid fall
The mighty has fallen

The empty space

Having Fun with Grammie and Grandpa

We are visiting with Grammie and Grandpa who are currently living in Nauvoo, Illinois. The boys have had fun visiting historic sites and seeing folksy shows. Here are a few pictures of the fun.

Excited boys on their first flight they'll remember

Boy #1 ready to board

Grammy Jan

Funny faces on Boy #1

We had nice weather and one very rainy day