My 55th Birthday

I know, my birthday was on the 13th but for some reason I have never gotten around to posting about it. Curt and I went down to Council Bluffs and stayed with Tim and Amy. After attending church Sabbath morning, we had a light lunch and then Curt and I took Smokey for a walk and just as we were returning, Ben and Ashley arrived from Lincoln. That night we all went out to LaMesa for Mexican food where Brett and his friend, J.L. joined us. Since it was my birthday I had the privilege of wearing a big sombero and having the staff clap and play drums so everyone else in the place also knows it's your birthday. It was a good time!

On Sunday we went to the Henry Dorley Zoo which is very large and even though we were there from 10 am-3pm., we still didn't see everything. Unfortunately the train and the skytram weren't running, or we could have at least seem some of it sitting down.
As always it's great to be able to spend time with the kids.

Halloween Fun

I should have posted this earlier but never go around to it. We even carved pumpkins which we haven't done in years. Mine's the one that's smiling. That's Cole and Jordyn in the costumes. I was considering dressing up in my pumpkin outfit for the trick-or-treaters but opted for only wearing the cap. We didn't have many visitors but it was fun seeing the ones we had.

The KC Renfest

Last week I took my mom down to KC to meet up with my brother to go to Texas for a wedding and I stayed in KC so I could go to the Renaissance Festival on Sunday. Tim, Amy, Ben and Ashley came down and went with me, along with Cindy, Cristy, Luke, Shasta and their girls, Elle and Mia. It was wonderful. Even bigger than Minnesota's and I didn't get to all of it. Curt wasn't able to come so next year we are planning on going down to it together.

A Week-end Away

Wow, where has the summer gone! Here it is already the 22nd of July. This last week-end I went down to visit Tim and Amy. Mom went with me because after the week-end in Council Bluffs we went down to see my sister, Cindy, in Kansas City.

We had a nice hot Sabbath so in the afternoon we took their boat out to Lake Manawa and had a relaxing time cruising around the lake. It felt a little cooler on the water, it was in the 90's with a very high humidity. As you can see in the pictures, Tim, Amy, and Smokey took a dip but Mom and I didn't have our swimming suits. When we got back we talked to Angela and Klaralynn through Skype so got to see them too. It sounded like they had a fun Saturday night. They are quite the party animals. They love to dance. Then we got to talk to Jeremy and Krissy with Skype also. They showed us their amazing patio garden! I don't know how they can grow so much in such a small space. Jeremy is getting so fit. He's down to 185# and he's 6'1''! I'd love to get down to 185# and I'm 5'5''. I have a lot of work ahead of me to get there and below.

July 4th Week-end

When the kids come for a week-end I so wish I could have the whole time off but such is life. Amy and Tim arrived Friday evening. Both Curt and I were at work so there wasn't much of a welcome. They flew in so we had to leave Curt's pick-up at the airport for them. Ben and Ashley were going to come on Friday but Ashley wasn't feeling well so they didn't leave until Sabbath morning and arrived just as we were finishing up lunch out at the cabin. Warren and Carol came for lunch also and the Thoms arrived around supper time. It was a beautiful Sabbath and we had some great fellowship time. Since I had to work the night of the 4th, we shot off fireworks Saturday night. It was a little breezier than I like but we still shot them off and they were beautiful.
Sunday the kids went out skiing and then we all went swimming. The water was the clearest and least green that it has been for years. It was a bit chilly when you got in but not bad after your body got adjusted. I got a bit of a sunburn on my chest. I didn't put on any sunscreen since I wanted to soak up as much Vitamin D as I could.
Monday morning I went out to the lake as soon as I got off work and rode in the boat and videoed Ben, Tim and Amy while they skiied. It was hard to say good-bye but I needed to get a little sleep before I had to go back to work.
The time went too fast. I hope I get to see them again before too long.

Fun and Exercise

Yesterday Curt and I went to Aberdeen to celebrate Father's Day. After a great lunch of grilled chicken and asparagus and all the extras we went to the waterpark and spent the afternoon. It was a perfect day, in the 80's, sunny with a slight breeze. They have 3 waterslides there. One in which you go down in a tube, one very fast one and one that you twist and turn. It's really fun but Curt wouldn't go down any of them with me. We did go tubing on the lazy river several times because at the main swimming pool they were having a swim meet so we couldn't actually go swimming. I met a family who had gone to VBS and they were just down for the day also. I didn't wear any sunscreen so I did get a little sunburned but not so much that I'm uncomfortable. When we got back Curt's mom grilled steaks and potatoes for supper. We never go hungry when we go for a visit.
Today we went out to the cabin and Curt mowed the lawn while I started hauling up some of the branches from when the tree got cut down. Wow, a few trips up the steps sure made me realize how out of shape I am! After Curt got done with the lawn he helped me and we ended up taking two loads to the brush pile. I did a little weed pulling on the slope also and right now I am totally wiped out after my shower. It feels good to just relax. But it was another fantastic day out, in the high 70's with a nice breeze. We are getting spoiled!

Last Week-end

It's already been a week since I was down in Lincoln for a most enjoyable time with family. The drawing card this time was the play, "That's What Makes Them Pirates" being perfromed at Union College and Ben was a member of the pirate band. I wish I had a picture to share with you but as always I take the camera but never take pictures. Ben is so multi-talented and played the mandolin, melodica, acoustic and electric guitar (not all at the same time however). The play was very well done and we had a good time. We were fortunate to have Brett and Cindy join us for the week-end also.

Saturday we went to church in Belluvue, NE with Tim and Amy. Brett also joined us there and then we all headed to Lincoln where we had a wonderful lunch of haystacks with Ben and Ashley. Saturday evening we went to Ivana Cone for treats since it was Mom's birthday and Tim and Amy's anniversary and then went to the play.

After breakfast at the motel on Sunday morning Cindy left for KC and we went shopping at Scheels and Rocket Fizz and then had a late lunch at Chipoltle where we said our good-byes to Brett, Tim and Amy. Curt, Mom and I went back to Ben and Ashley's and took a walk with them to Holmes Lake and tossed the frisbee around and then all went to the motel and watched
"Wall-E". Monday morning we headed home. As always it was a fun week-end with family.

Peter Noone Concert

Last night Curt and I went to a Herman's Hermits and Ventures concert at Prairie Knights Casino. I really admire the Ventures. The lead guy is 77 years old and still out there playing guitar. Nokey Edwards was the lead guitarist in most of the songs and is still great even though he has to sit on a chair the whole time. They were still very good. Played "Wipeout", theme from "Hawaii 5-0" and all their other hits.

Peter Noone is quite the comedian. But I suppose when you get older you have to do more entertaining to get the crowds coming back. I sang along with all the songs and clapped and waved my hands in the air just like a teeny-bopper. It was really a fun time. Didn't get very good pictures because we weren't to close to the front but they turned out better than I thought.

The Ren-Fest

One of my favorite things ever is to go to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I feel like I am in another world. This year we took Curt's 2 nephews, Matt and Tim. We had a wonderful time as usual and I had a hard time leaving. I wish we could have stayed the whole day on Sunday also. There are so many shows to see and musicians to listen to that even in two days I don't think you could take it all in. Enjoy the pictures.

Make your dreams come true

On August 14, 2009 Rosie(my car) and I were on the road again. This time Curt was not with us. I love traveling alone, it gives one lots of time to think. I have not been content for quite some time now. I suppose some would call it depressed but I just feel unsettled, like "is this what I am suppose to be doing with my life or is there something more". At first I thought it was the very long, cold winter. And then I thought maybe it was being evacuated at work and spending every night shift stuck back in a dark room with only a small lamp to provide light. I was sure once summer came and we got back to work as usual this "sad" feeling would leave me. But I find the only time I am truly happy is when I am with my children and that is not nearly enough times. So as I am driving down to Iowa/Nebraska I am thinking about my life and how I have always felt cheated not being able to stay home and raise my children. I never really resented Pat for that until Jeremy's graduation and he mentioned that he was so glad he could be living his dream and I made a comment to the fact that someone had to be responsible and raise the four children. And I got very angry that he had stolen my dream and he didn't even seem to care. Not that he could have changed anything at that point. And then when I got remarried I thought that at least I could maybe cut back and be able to stay at home a little more. Be able to have more time to visit the kids. But not so. And now that the kids are all grown you would think I would have no problem with working full-time but I still long to be able to stay home. Maybe because I have never had the option, it is such a driving force for me. I know people that say they would be so bored staying at home every day and I can think of so many things I would do. I would take up quilting, take dance lessons, do volunteer work, work on scrapbooking, counted cross-stitch, practice guitar, clarinet, piano, organize my house, landscape my yard. The list goes on and on...Oh, and of course travel, travel, travel. So as I am driving I feel that I just want to run away, keep driving and end up wherever the road takes me. I started crying and couldn't stop. I called Curt on the cell phone when I stopped for gas and told him I thought maybe I should go see the doctor when I got home and get started on an anti-depressant. And then I saw the sign..."I'm a wife, a mother, and a student making my dream come true". It was a billboard for a college. And I thought, "Yup, Terri. It's up to you to make your own dream come true". I can feel sorry for myself because I feel cheated but only I can change that now. I have a dream of living by my children and having some type of family business, I dream about being a marriage counselor, I dream about traveling and visiting every National Park, I dream about being a really wonderful grandma someday. How I am going to make those dreams come true I don't know but it lifts my spirits just thinking about the possibilities. Well, I got to Tim and Amy's that night and after going to church and out to lunch at LaMesa we went to Lauritzen Gardens and saw some beautiful flowers. landscaping and my favorite part was the model railroad garden where they have these model trains running through tunnels and bridges and everything is made out of trees, bark, pinecones and other natural things, even the buildings, which were replicas of buildings in Omaha. They also had an exhibit of the architectural wonders of the world also made out of pinecones, bark, acorns, sand and other stuff. It was really amazing what some people can do. That evening we went to a concert of the "Brass in Blues"(I think was their name), an Air Force band. They were very good! Sunday morning Amy, Mom and myself were up early and on our way to Lincoln to pick up Angela to take her on the long trip to Ogalalla to meet Mat and then she and Mat would be leaving for Japan on Tuesday. (to get more of that story you'll have to go to Angela's blog). It was nice to be able to visit with Angela for 3 hours on the way out to western Neb. I was sad to have to leave and head back home on Monday. But all in all it was a very good trip.

To Oregon or Bust

Starting July 17th we embarked on a very long journey(we ended up putting 4800 miles on the car). The plan was to go out to Greshem, Oregon to visit Jeremy and Krissy by way of Lincoln, NE to see Angela in the musical, "Footloose". On our way down to Lincoln, we stopped at Watertown, SD and saw an exibit on King Tut. Even though everything was just replicas it was still pretty impressive.

We spent Friday night with Tim and Amy and then went to Lincoln on Saturday after we went to church in Bellvue. We enjoyed a scrumptious meal of lots of garden produce and packed a picnic lunch for the play. It was quite an experience getting there 2 hours before the play to get a great spot, spread out our blankets, played Phase 10 until we felt like breaking out the picnic lunch. Ben Yancer, Emily and her husband and little girl joined us later. It was a lot of fun and the play was great!

We left the next morning and drove to Laramie, Wy, where we stayed the first night. Then drove through some very desolate salt flats in Utah, with a stop at the Great Salt Lake(very smelly) and ended up at Elko, NV where we enjoyed some great Basque food. Our next day's journey brought us to California! Where we finally started seening some pretty scenery. Northern Nevada is pretty desolate and brown. We visited Lassen Volcano National Park that day and then stopped at Redding,CA for the night. We headed out the next morning for the California coastline to see the ocean and Redwoods National Park. At the first sighting of the ocean we turned off and had to take a walk on the beach. There is just something so mesmerizing about the sound of the ocean. I just love it and could sit and listen and watch it for hours.

We then stopped at Grants Pass, OR for the night. A very beautiful area. Then onward to Crater Lake National Park. By far the most beautiful lake you will ever see. I couldn't stop taking pictures. The blue coloring of the lake is fantastic! That alone was worth all the days of driving. That evening we finally arrived at Jeremy and Krissy's in Greshem.

The next day we ate breakfast at Maltnomah Falls and hiked up to some other waterfalls. I was fun walking behind Ponytail Falls. Saturday we packed a picnic lunch and headed for the ocean and had a relaxing day on the beach. Sunday we slept in and went to "The Proposal" and went out to eat at the Bombay Cricket Club for supper and went back to the apartment for some swimming in the pool.

We started our jouney home on Monday. Stopping at Coeur d'Alene,ID for a brief stop and wishing I could live there. We stayed at Missoula, MT for the night and drove to Gillette,Wy the next day to visit Curt's sister Claudine and her family. Wednesday we drove the last leg of the jouney home, stopping at Wall Drug for lunch and drove through the Badlands. I forgot how beautiful they were. Right up there with Bryce Canyon. We made it home about 10 pm that night. It was good to be home but truth be told I could have kept traveling. Curt was really glad to not be driving for a while. You see he did all the driving(his choice, I offered) and I got a lot of reading done.