What a Summer

This has been one of the busiest summers I can ever recall. We decided not to take a long trip but just to stay home and enjoy all the things there are here to enjoy. Well in the long run, we have probably spent more time on the road than any other summer in our history.

With so many wonderful grandchildren to spend time with, all of whom live worlds apart from each other we have been to Minneapolis three times, Atlanta twice, and Green Bay once.  We also have been to Elkhart In., Forest City, Ia., Springfield, Il., Door County, Marseilles Il., Lanesbo, Mn., Petoki Wi., Lafayette In., and on a week long cruise to New England.

All that and we were honored to have the whole gang here for a week-end in June.

In our spare time we have been golfing, helping out at the local food pantry, and keeping up with our small christian community and Silver Spokes bikers.

For awhile I was getting overwhelmed trying to keep track of where we were supposed to be. It seemed like we were home just long enough to do the laundry and cut the grass. The dust bunnies have invaded the house and there was no point evicting them until we planned to stay put for more than a few days.

Our latest escapades have been back to back with our Fox Valley Winnies outing to the Feast of the Hunters Moon immediately after returning home from the cruise, and a wonderful long week-end in Alpharetta for the occasion of Ollie's baptism.

The Feast of the Hunters Moon is all about celebrating the European colonists who braved the hardships to settle this part of the country. Fife and Drum corps from all over the country converge in Lafayette on this week-end dressed in the uniforms of the brigades they represent; starting with the US Army Colonial Fife and Drum Corps, followed by French, English, American Colonial, Scottish and German reenactors. Each raised the flags that were representative of their countries at the time of their occupation of that particular part of the country and in particular Fort Quintenot. I got a little misty eyed watching them all march into the arena in perfect step.

The arrival of the Voyageurs is particularly exciting. These represent the fur traders who traveled all the way from Montreal via the waterways in canoes. Of course this was before the birth of locks and dams along the way.

The booths were filled with the food and wares representative of the era. Such as pork and beans, roasted sweet corn, venison, and squirrel stew.

We returned home to do the laundry and pack our bags for a fun-filled trip to Atlanta the home of Drew and Ollie Chilson; oh yes, Mike and Elizabeth live there too.

In the midst of all this we have a new roommate who joined us at the end of September. Niece Lindsay moved in for the winter as she is currently between homes and now enjoys the five minute commute to work. She joined us for "A Blast From the Past" dancing to the music of the 50s to 80s. What a great sport she is.

So she made the trip to Georgia us and it was a sheer pleasure having that third driver along for the long haul.

Drew has developed such a joyful personality. He is now old enough to remember who we are and welcomes us with open arms. Ollie is a happy-go-lucky little chap; yes, in spite of his significant girth he is still just a little chap. He has a Patterson snort, inside out laugh which  makes everyone around him join in the fun. Both of them made it up to the top of Stone Mountain. Drew under his own power and Ollie with the help of his Lindsay.

 By the way Lindsay also made it to the top under her own power and only asked to be carried once.

The highlight of the week-end was Ollie's Baptism. All of his favorite people were there to act as god parents and I think Don and I were the proudest of them all. Such a wonderful treasure; he is truly a gift from God. 

I guess I have to say it has been a pretty good summer. We are at such a great place in our lives right now. As I like to say on a beautiful day on the golf course, "God's in his heaven and all's right with the world."

So now it is time to settle into fall, which is one of my favorite times of the year. Golf continues as long as the weather allows and the cool weather and  almost deserted courses make it all the sweeter. We have a few Illini football games to look forward to along with the tailgate parties and family camaraderie. It would be nice if Illinois could win a few but if that's as bad as it gets for now we can all rest easy.