So Much To Be THANKFUL For

On Tuesday Nov. 20 we drove to Macomb, IL and got to see Greg for the first time since his graduation from UWPlatteville in May. It was great to see him and get a tour of his new surroundings including campus and the quaint downtown of Macomb. Greg ended up with an early Christmas present. He picked out the kitten he's holding and named him POTO. His turtles didn't seem to object. Greg was scheduled to work in Indiana for the weekend so he was unable to join us for Alyssa's wedding.

Adam flew in from Dallas and Lisa drove over from Green Bay to Ben and Kate's so we could enjoy Thanksgiving and a Packer game together. Lisa was maid of honor for a different wedding on the weekend so she couldn't stay for Alyssa's wedding either.

Lisa and Eli ready for the Packer game!!

Nate, Eli and Ava we loved every moment we got to spend with you !!

Alyssa Griffin - Andy Ruble wedding !

Friday November 23, 2007 we were privileged to witness the marriage of Alyssa Griffin and Andy Ruble in Baxter(Brainerd area) MN. Alyssa is Timm's brother Ray's daughter. Our blessings to the happy couple.

Kate and Ben you're looking great!

Timm with brother, Ray and sister, Kathy, at the reception.

Cousins : Adam, Ben, Andy, Alyssa, Brianna, Jenna and Tana !

Dogwood Canyon

Can't you almost hear the trickle of the waterfall?

Here we are with Glenn & Sue.

Along came a spider!!!!

The sunlight was just right to show off the webs.

Five Days In October 2007

In October we were able to get away to Branson, MO for a few days. We saw one show in Branson by a group called SIX. They're actually six brothers who put on a very entertaining musical show doing all their own accompaniment without instruments. The city was busy with alot of traffic and we really wanted some downtime so that was the only time we spent there. We stayed in a beautiful timeshare resort at Wilderness Club at Big Cedar. Glenn and Sue, good friends from WI, were able to join us for most of the week so we enjoyed some cards, talks, and even a six and one half mile hike in Dogwood Canyon. That day was nice with a little cloud cover, perfect for hiking. We saw so many interesting things, above and below are pictures of just a few. Other highlights of our stay were the nightly visits from the "cookie lady". She brought us fresh cookies each evening. There was also a canoe outing. It had been a long time since I had been in a canoe. Ask Timm sometime about his soggy extra little adventure with our canoe. Sorry no photos!! Never a dull moment.

So peaceful !!

Nice of it to stay still long enough for a photo!

Labor Day filled with hugs!!

Lee had a very special Labor Day weekend. On very short notice she was able to fly up to MN and spend the weekend with Ben, Kate and children. Ben & Kate even got away for a day and Grandma had a great time with the grandchildren. A very special treat was accompanying Nate to his very first day of kindergarten.
Above are Nate, Ava and Eli after completing a cooperative building effort. Perhaps we have some future engineers or designers in the mix.


Adorable, Ava !!

Charming, Eli !

Science Guy, Nate, on his way to kindergarten !
He told me he plans to be an inventor !

House Guests - Invited

We had a great weekend with friends visiting from Brookfield, WI. Tim & Dawn and their three lovely daughters arrived Thursday evening and left Sunday afternoon to take Missy, the oldest daughter, to UT Knoxville to start her sophomore year. We enjoyed and treasure every moment we got to spend together. Dawn and Tim we miss you soooo much!!!

Monday afternoon we had another house guest. This guest, however, was not invited or welcome. Shortly after Timm and I got home from work we were both walking into the great room when Timm noticed something on the floor. He thought at first that someone had left a hanger on the floor, but then IT MOVED. The movement also caught my attention. It didn't just move it SLITHERED and disappeared under the couch. Our uninvited guest was a SMALL king snake (non poisonous). Timm caught it with a long barbecue tongs and relocated it a ways away outside. It has been extremely dry here (no rain since mid July) so we speculate that it was looking for water. I'd gladly set a dish outside for it, perhaps down the street a bit. I'm just very grateful that Timm was home and I didn't have to deal with it alone. We didn't take time to photograph our guest but it looked similar to the one below. It was about a foot long.

House Guest - Uninvited

August 2-9, 2007 Time with Lisa and Adam !!

What a joy to be able to have Lisa HOME for her birthday !!!! We're glad that she chose to include a stop in Collierville on her big road trip. She requested the drill for the work she does with theater. She seemed happy to get it.

We enjoyed some great music from our piano with Lisa at the keyboard.

On Sunday the 5th we drove to Dallas and had a great time visiting Adam. Yes, we claim them, those are two of our four adorable "grown up" children.

Do you remember this building? It's located in downtown Dallas. Go back a bit to November of 1963. Any memories stirring now? That corner window second from the top on the right (in the lighter brick building) is where Oswald fired from. You can faintly see an X in the road in front of the car. That's the approximate location on the street of where Kennedy's car was when he was shot the first time. Looking from that window toward the street we both commented on how much closer it seemed than all the pictures seemed to make it.

Dallas 2007

This X marks the location of President Kennedy's car when he was shot the second time. The view across the street is the "grassy knoll".

Looking behind us from the sidewalk was the fence where they theorized a second shooter might have hidden. We enjoyed our tour of the Kennedy museum on the 6th floor of the former book depository in downtown Dallas. It stirred alot of memories. I particularly remember sitting on a footstool in our living room watching President Kennedy's funeral with the family. I was a third grader.

We also got to browse through the Fort Worth Art Musuem. They have an interesting collection.

Couldn't resist taking a couple of opportune photos of Adam.

Meyer Siblings at Play

Watching a youtube video that was titled 'Mother's Day'!! Pretty funny!!

Shiloh, Tennessee civil war battleground cannons.

The ten of us in front of a rebuilt Shiloh chapel where the battle began and got its name.

A quick refreshing dip in Pickwick Lake. Aaaaaaaah!!!

Meyer Siblings at Play Narrative

June 30 to July 9 we enjoyed visits from all of Lee's siblings and their spouses; Ron and Lou from New Berlin, WI; John and Gerri from San Diego, CA; Al and Shirley from Menomonee Falls, WI; and Bruce and Gloria from Lake Mills, WI. They arrived and departed on various days and were all present for most of five days. During their visit :
Bruce and Timm, after an exciting chase, caught a tiny lizard in our house (that was a first)
we talked alot,
we reminisced,
we sunned a bit,
we laughed repeatedly,
we played some games,
the women did some shopping,
we talked some more,
we ate alot,
we did some sight seeing; the downtown Collierville square, - Corinth, Mississippi civil war museum and national cemetery, - Shiloh, Tennessee civil war battlegrounds, museum, and national cemetery, (Lou, John and Gerri even made it to Graceland and Ron, Timm and Lee joined them for a walk down Beale Street in downtown Memphis),
we watched the 4th fireworks,
we talked awhile,
we ate more,
we took a pontoon ride on Pickwick Lake, (some took a short swim)
several of the men golfed at at least three different courses in Mississippi and Tennessee,
we celebrated Gloria's retirement from teaching,
and did I mention that we talked a bit and enjoyed many good laughs.

It was sooo goood to be together and to catch up on each other's lives. I can hardly wait for next years' adventure.

May 11, 2007 Eli's third birthday.

Shhh, don't reveal the true identity of these two awesome spidermen!!!

May 12, 2007 Greg with Ben and Lisa at his graduation from UWPlatteville.

Greg's graduation party in Platteville at Captain's Cove!!!!

Great family days

May 11 we were privileged to be with Eli and family for his third birthday!!! It was a very special treat for us to be able to share that day with them. Eli, Nate and Ava you're so much fun to be with (ummm, Ben and Kate you too). The secret is out; we are grandparents to two powerful young spidermen.

May 12 was another special occasion as Greg graduated from UWPlatteville. What a proud moment to watch our youngest child receive his bachelors degree. What a joy to share the celebration with Lisa, Ben and family, some awesome Aunts and Uncles, and cousin Sarah and husband Justin. Thank you all for making Greg's day extra special.

Two weeks of Delight

Tennessee sunshine in March!

Molly and Greg making smoothies!

An Eli and Ava original duet!

Ahhhh, down time!!!