Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving brought Kirsti and Ryan from Utah!  They arrived the Saturday before and we had an entire week with them!  On Monday, both Sarah and Elise were off work and weather was lovely so we visited our very own Rock Bridge State Park.  The old trail down to the rock bridge used to go right by this natural stage where you see Elise.  The new trail is not far away so she climbed upon it for old time sake

We enjoyed a small hike.  

 

And we brought both Bones and Sadie.  You can see her at the end of her leash in the photo below.  I expected to have to carry her most of the way but I think Bones brought out her competitive nature and she was a gung-ho walker 95% of the time.  You go, Sadie!

 

Kirsti is turning into her mother.  It really was some cool lichen on that log. I took a picture, too...  

Tuesday I had a dentist appointment to fix a broken filling.  Since my dentist is in Boonville, I thought a bike ride along the Katy Trail either before or after would be fun.  BUT, finding enough bikes was a problem, and Steve needing to see the doctor for a UTI unexpectedly squelched that idea.  But, Kirsti and Ryan thought it still might be nice to check out the tiny little town of Rocheport which sits along the Katy Trail.  Well, nice idea, but unfortunately, in the middle of the week in the "off" season, Rocheport rolls up their sidewalks so they had nothing to do while I was in the dentist chair 20 miles away.  Sigh.

We celebrated my 60th birthday AND Thanksgiving on Wednesday, the 25th.  Both Sarah and Elise had to work Thanksgiving so it was the logical alternative.  Here we all are.  In case you don't recognize the family in front - they are Mark and Jenna Packard with two-year-old Tres and five-year-old Brielle.  I teach Jenna piano lessons and she had just had hip surgery and was not able to cook.  Another new face, between Elise and Sarah on the left, is Rachel Neal.  She was Elise's roommate in Indiana and we where happy to have her join us, too.

Here I am opening cards and gifts.

On real Thanksgiving day, Steve, Kirsti, Ryan, and I drove to St. Louis to have another turkey dinner at Emily's house.  Here is Quinn getting excited to eat....

Joe and Vicki were there.  It was so great to get to visit with them.  They are moving to Aurora, Colorado and were currently "homeless" :)
 


 












I love this photo of Steve....

 




















Thanksgiving night, we all headed to the theater to see the "Peanuts Movie".  I went in rather skeptical but came out happy and even a little tearful.




Because Joe and Vicki were staying in the Southerland guest room, the four of us (Steve, me, Kirsti, Ryan) stayed in a lovely Staybridge suite a few miles away that night.

The next day, while Emily and Joe attended the temple and Kirsti and Ryan checked out the City Museum, Steve and I and Joe and Vicki did grandparent duty.  It was so fun.  

The big event of that day was Noah's baptism!  How did he get to be eight years old already???

In spite of starting 45 minutes late (we think that the Bishopric forgot so we had to wait for the font to fill) and having to listen to Papa Joe's talk with running water in the background, it was a lovely event.  Quinn was REALLY curious about the running water and we think he thought HE was also going to get to "go swimming" because when Noah entered the water, Quinn hollered "I want to be baptized, too!" so much that Elise's friend, Rachel, who was also there, graciously took him out of the room and down to the nursery to play for the rest of the meeting.  

Here is a photo of Noah in his brand new suit at McAllister's Deli where we all ate a late supper

 

Steve and I returned to Columbia after the baptism.  Rachel and Elise stayed in our room at Staybridge.  Saturday morning, Elise took Kirsti and Ryan to the airport.  She and Rachel sampled St. Charles a bit before parting ways.  Later Saturday afternoon, Elise, joined us for our Christmas tree hunt at Lowes.



We decorated the tree Saturday night and brought down all the decorations from the attic but that was all.  Every possible minute and energy after Saturday was preparing to leave for Hawaii....

No-Blog November

I will start with where I left off a month ago – with a photo of Michelle and Mike from their visit.

Friday, November 6^th, Steve and I drove to St. Louis for the day.  This time, to watch Lucy and Quinn while Joe was at work.  Emily and Noah left that day for a quick trip to Washington D.C.  Joe and Vicki are moving to Denver and this was the last opportunity for a personal tour of the White House where Joe worked.   We had a great time with the grandkids.  First, we went to Ikea.  



What an awesome store!  Then, we went to Schnucks to get some stuff for dinner and to buy a specific gluten-free cereal that seems to only be carried at Schnucks.  


After amazing naps that afternoon, we fixed and early dinner and then left Joe and the kids while we caught a temple session and returned back to CoMo to prepare for THE CRAZY WEEKEND.

First off, we stopped at Enterprise to rent a car. (more about that in a minute).  Then, I attended a couple hours of a stake Relief Society conference.  Then, I have my fall recital.  Here is a photo of most of my music students.

After the 1:00 recital, after a 2:30 MMCO rehearsal, and after a 3:30 Prairie Strings gig, Steve and I drove to Indiana in the rented car.  Julina was called to be the ward Relief Society President and she was to be sustained and set apart on Sunday and we both felt it was important to be there for that big event.  We pulled into a Red Roof Inn after midnight.  Slept very well.  Attended the 9:00 to noon meetings, ate lunch at Julina’s, and left around 3:30 to return home.  It puts a new meaning to “whirlwind trip”.  Sadly, and surprisingly, I took no photos!

We had two days of “normal” at home before we rented another car Wednesday morning, November 11^th.  This time, it was to Omaha, Iowa, and Wisconsin.  Steve served his mission in what was then the Kansas-Missouri Mission back in 1972-1974 and, believe it or not, we have lived one state away from many of the cities where he was assigned.  This trip was to return to four of his mission areas in Nebraska and Iowa.  It was also to visit my cousin, Charlotte, in Wisconsin.  

First stop, through driving rain some of the way, was Omaha, Nebraska.  Thanks to saved letters home to parents, Steve had the addresses of all his mission apartments.  Here he is in front of his Omaha apartment.

Second stop was to the Winter Quarters Temple and to the visitor’s center next door.  


We entered the temple in a cold rain and came out to a skiff of snow on the car.  Thankfully, just a skiff!
We drove up to Sioux City, Iowa to stay the night and found his next apartment the following morning.  He remembered a fun candy store down the block but, sadly, it is no longer there.  T

These little sun-catchers were in one of the shop windows – maybe in the former candy store?

Continuing across Iowa, we stopped briefly at Ft. Dodge for his next apartment.  The Dairy Queen next door is now closed and appears to be used as an office.

Our destination Thursday was Portage, Wisconsin where Charlotte and her husband, Fred, live.  We arrived a teeny bit later than hoped but still had time for dinner that Charlotte fixed before heading off to see “Little Shop of Horrors” put on by a local theater troop.  Charlotte is their costume mistress.  I had NEVER seen this play nor the movie.  It was great and a well done production.  

Friday, Charlotte and I poured all day over all her family photos – l was looking for pictures for my Fraedrich photo book.  I found and scanned many, many great photos.  Happily, I found photos of other branched of the family, too.  I also found evidence that Charlotte and I HAD actually met previous to our first “meeting” two years ago.  She has a photo of her family and mine standing together in front of our house in El Paso.  She was 10 and I was 5. 

Charlotte and Fred

Charlotte and me


Saturday morning, after breakfast, Steve and I said our good-byes and returned to Iowa, this time to see the “Field of Dreams” in Dyersville.  Too bad it was November so the corn was all harvested.  Still, it was pretty fun to be there.

It was a short drive after that to Cedar Rapids.  Here he is at this apartment.  


We had a bit of time to kill before it was time for dinner and we found a local historical site called Brucemore.  A mansion build in the early 1900’s that was eventually donated to the city.  We were too late for the house tour but we enjoyed walking around the grounds.

Sunday, we attended the Cedar Rapids ward.  Steve brought his mission journal on the trip and, in each city, he reviewed his entries to pick out names and places.  He mentioned a Sister Merritt from Cedar Rapids who regularly fed the elders.  Well, shortly after sitting down in the chapel, an elderly woman approached us and introduced herself.  It was Sister Merritt!  She was so tickled to see Steve  - although she couldn’t have actually remembered him.  We got her address and will send her Christmas cards now. 

After church, we drove east to our last stop – Moline, Illinois.  Cedar Rapids was Steve’s very first area.  Moline was his final. 

Then, it was home via Carthage, Illinois and our regular route when we visit Nauvoo.  What a fantastic trip!