Thursday, September 8, 2011

September 8, 2011--Home in Ohio

Well, time is flying. We are doing just fine and staying very busy. We have 12 grandkids very near to us, so we are keeping busy with their sports and other events. We go to our daughter Krista once a week for her grandma and grandpa dinner. She has the grandparents and friends in for a carry in dinner. One week we even had a seafood boil in the barn. It was great fun teaching other people how to eat crawdads. This week it is ham steak, sweet potatoes, vegetables and apple pie with ice cream. In October we will have an Oktoberfest dinner with polka music and dancing in the barn. I am scheduled to make cream puffs for about 35 people. Good times are rolling.

When we got back from our family vacation we had about 3 weeks of doctor, eye and dentist appointments. We now just have a few more before we leave in November. We have also been spending about 2 days a week taking my mom out to see relatives and family. This week on Tuesday we visited with her brother who is home bound, went to dinner, went to a soccer game with were our grandson was playing soccer and visited her relatives at the Egypt cemetery (her home parish). All of this activity has kept her physically sharp and mentally stimulated. She also enjoys our new grandson. He has been such a joy to the whole family. He is a very social baby and makes us all very happy. His Great-grandmother really enjoys his personality.

The local fairs were in August and we spent a day at two of the fairs in the area. When we went to the Mercer County fair we went on Seniors Day and met so many family and friends--all senior citizens. It was so nice to catch up with so many people at one place. Then on another day we went to the Darke County Fair and that was a family thing. We went with Mom, my sister and our daughter with her 4 children. It was a hot day but we had a wonderful day. The Darke County fair is a huge county fair and known all over the area for it's great fair. We had a great day.

I have personally been busy completing some sewing projects which have been on my back burner. I also have been doing some planning for the 3 quilts I must have ready by May for our three grandchildren who will be graduating from high school. Another project on my plate has been transferring all of Mom's slides to a CD along with our slides which we took in the 60's. These slides have a large amount of our kids childhood pictures on them. This is a big project.

We also had some sad moments this summer. We had a niece and her husband lose their first child at 21 weeks. The little girl was born a week after she died in uterus. It was a very sad time for the whole family. Then Walt's brother suddenly lost his sight in one eye--it was described as a stroke in his eye. Walt's brother is the grandfather of the little girl that died. Then they had a lightening bolt take out the electricity and computers in their large dairy. They have had a full plate this summer, but they are strong people and with the help of the Lord they will make it through this troubled time.

The last few days have been overcast and yesterday and today are days of a little light rain. We have been extremely dry in this area. The farmers are very concerned about the crops this year. Some of the beans and corn have dried up on the stems of the plant.

Well, this is about all of our activities for the last two months. We have moved past the 100 degree temperatures and have cool weather this week -- I am sure we will have a few more hot days before the fall weather comes in to stay.

We hope all is going well with you.
Marge

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

July 18,2011--Mooresville, North Carolina

This is Monday morning and we are at our son and his families home on Lake Norman in Mooresville, NC.
We drove back to this area from our vacation house on Saturday. Yesterday was a day of rest and recuperation for everyone. We went to Mass at 5:30 PM and then went out to dinner at a local lake cafe.

My mother has done very well on the vacation. She says she misses her video machine to work on her hearing aides so Walt and I have gotten a crash course on hearing aide care. She was very happy just watching the activity of the family during the week and we also took her out for a few meals and some shopping. She even made cinnamon rolls as a "bake off" against Krista. She had no pain while she was with us and her appitite was great. She was just so amazed how grown up our grandchildren have become. She was so happy to see how good Troy was during the week. He just rolled with the punches.

The meals were great---our son is a great chef but he had some rice left after his meal. When his son saw how much was left of the rice he said, "sell it on ebay."  He is such a humerous boy because on the last vacation he asked for a daiqueri which was non alcohol. When he tasted it his remark was that it was a "Drink of Happiness".

The weather was very hot with humidity that gave an index of 100 to 110 degrees, so they did not spend to much time at the beach but someone was always in the hot tub which connected to the pool.
They did a great job on crafts (duct tape art and painted faces). Then one evening we watched some of the slides which Mom had taken in the 60's and 70's. The one comment from the peanut gallery was that Grandma Bruns was "hot" when she was younger. Well, she said I always liked to wear high heels and "the higher the better". Two evenings the parents had contests against the next generation with the game of Beer Pong. They did not have to drink beer with the game but they did have a very good time. The poor family that had a room under the dining room could not slept because of the noise. I even went outdoors to see if you could hear the noise outdoors, but all was well for the neighbors.

Here are some pictures:




Molly's quilt which I made for her for her graduation from high school.

Three of our older grandsons
YUM---DESSERT

OUR BEAUTIFUL GRANDCHILDREN
OUR CHILDREN ACCORDING TO AGE L-R
Our youngest son is absent
Our (affectionally called) out-laws (our daughter and son in-laws)
Our grandchildren with their great grandmother

Max challenges Kate to some exercise
Mom and dad with Julia's 11 th  birthday cake
Nate's drink of sunshine

BEACH PHOTOS
OUR HOUSE FOR THE WEEK
FOLLOWING THE PIED PIPER TO THE BEACH



Troy's first visit to the beach
Circle of prayer at mealtime

We are at home at the present time. We arrived home last evening and today was a day of catching up with everything and putting things away. See you soon,  Marge




















Monday, July 11, 2011

July 10, 2011--Charleston, SC

Sunday in Charleston! We started by going to Mass at the St. John the Baptist Catheral in downtown Charleston. It is a very old parish in the south with history before the Civil War. The mass was at 11:15 so we left the house about 45 minutes before Mass time. We finally got to the church just as Mass was starting thanks to Mom's handicap card so we could park right in front of the church.

These pictures of the beautiful church---
Before Mass --Aunt Trisha holding Master Troy


Stained glass window above the main altar
Troy's favorite thing--swaddled in his blanket and sleeping while being held by Mom
Main Altar
Spire of the catherdal


When we left Charleston we had to take this bridge to the island.

Aunt Krista is giving a short class on duck tape art
Fun in the pool--temp. in high 90's and very humid
Time for naps
You do not take a nap in a public area -- you are a target for an uncle to paint your toes pink.
The artists have finished their art project
Mom playing solitaire
Colleen's duct tape art--daughter of an art teacher--natural talent

Our daughter did art work on the faces of some of the older grandchildren


Painted faces from a dog to a fairy princess

End of day two.














Sunday, July 10, 2011

July 10, 2011--Isles of Palms, South Carolina

We are in paradise--but, it is very hot and humid. On Thursday the 7th of July we left early (6:30 am) for Charlotte, N.C. We have my mom with us so we are making the trip to vacation in Isle of Palms a 3 day adventure. We traveled to our son and his family in Harrisburg, N.C. for Thursday and Friday night and then we traveled the rest of the trip to the Isle of Palms on Saturday.

Everyone arrived at the beach house safely except for some mechanical difficulties. We had an air conditioner fan go out and our daughter and her husband had some brake problems due to a mistake by a mechanic in there little hometown. We were all able to get the problems repaired in short time and were on our way very quickly except for the repair bills.  Super expensive.

Our house is a 11 bedroom plantation style home with 3 floors. We are about a 1 and a half block distance from the beach, so our trips to the beach will be by groups only. The main living room is on the third floor so we are up above the trees.

Here are a few pictures----

The bridge to the island
Our new grandson Troy-3 1/2 months old and 15 pounds
Part of the first dinner provided by one of our sons--all of our children take turns providing dinner.

Meal time at Alber's Family Vacation
The lineup on the porch after dinner.
Molly
Mixologist of the family
Cook
Assistant Cook
Card game for young and old
Beer Pong

Groupies for beer pong players


End of Day One Family Vacation