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4/27/2007 Spring FlingI went to the Spring Fling with my mom's side of the family last night. Anyone who is wondering about that title? It is a get together including dinner and entertainment for ladies and girls (plus some little boys and older men who don't mind being with the ladies) at my Aunt Ruth's church, held once yearly. We always have a good time, and it seems to turn into a sort of family reunion - which is marvelous since we don't get together often enough anymore. The food was delicious. We had a group called the St Louis Harmonica Club for our entertainment. They donate all the money from their gigs to various local charities such as Shriners Hospital, Cardinal Glennon Hospital and others. They actually sounded pretty darn good! I had no idea there was a bass harmonica (that thing goes really low) and a chord harmonica which looks like it is about 2 feet long and it has 134 notes on it. Whew! I bought the CD's and a tiny little harmonica that has 4 holes (8 notes) which came with instructions on how to play Meet Me in St Louis Louis. That is one of my favorite songs and movies. One of my dear friends actually sang that song to me for my 16th birthday at the suprise slumber party as she knew how much I loved it even then. But I digress... The evening went well and we got to catch up a bit with each other. I love going to that event! Now to master the harmonica... (they have a club and also free lessons once weekly, but I don't know if I could fit that in right now - it would be fun though! Nothing like learning something new, and harmonicas are something that I would love to learn to play. Maybe someday when life slows down... giggle like that is going to happen soon.)
Hugs and hope to see you back here soon! Leave a comment when you drop in, it is painless.  4/22/2007 April 22 07Welcome back! (that phrase is directed to me as well, since it has been a little while).
I have added some more Easter pics as well as some others that I wanted to share - some new, some not so new. The egg butting contest went well, and we had 2 new contestants this year. Both Mason and Keegan got to participate. (For those of you who do not know what an egg butting contest is, it is one of our family traditions. We "butt" eggs against each other, and the one who has the uncracked egg at the end of all rounds is the "good egg" for the year. I won this year, as my egg withstood the hits. We have had some sneaks in the past as we did this year... some have tried to slip in a wooden or plastic egg as a joke, and we have even seen taped ends. They 'fess up before the end if they are not caught outright (it is usually obvious), and we know who the culprits are to that prank, lol. They love to think of new ways to sneak a ringer into the contest. There is no prize usually, although a couple of times it was a candy bar or something. (Like someone really needs more candy at easter...) Anyway, the day went wonderfully, and everyone had a great time.
John and I have been busy working with Karina and Frank on their house, getting it ready to sell. Karina and I replaced two damaged basement windows with glass blocks. We both learned quite a bit since we had never done that before and it was from "scratch". They both look fantastic now, and the men were impressed. They have been doing lots too, and the house is coming along nicely. Karina and Frank will be happy when all is finished as they both want to move from there. John and I will be working more on our house when we are done with theirs, as we have a lot to fix as well and would like to move to a place with more land and a place to work on cars for John while I want a small orchard and a veggie garden and also perhaps horses (we have no room for that here). It has been put on the back burner for the most part though, probably to be picked up on in early summer, as helping the kids comes first since they are moving soon. They are thinking of Ohio for their next place among other choices, and it will be difficult to see them go farther than a not-too-long drive away, especially since we love being with all three of them and babysitting Keegan every chance we get. We cherish each time we get to be with them, and that will be few and far between soon - the babysitting and overnights will be a thing of the past too. I am sure we will be fine, but life will not be as sunny for awhile. That is what happens when loved ones move away, and it happens all the time in the world. It's just something I am not looking forward to. As a parent and grandparent, I have to remember the most important thing is supporting them in whatever they choose to do, not selfishly wanting to keep them close - no matter how hard that is to do. They will be coming into town now and then. Frank and I have our annual ballgame date in August for Cardinals vs Reds, and they have other events that they will be coming back for, so that is something to look forward to for sure. John seems to light up when Keegan is around, and I know we will be using the phone and web cams to stay in touch as much as possible. Thank goodness for technology!!!! I would hate it if this was 100 years ago, as then the only contact would have been by post. Letters are fabulous, but hearing a voice or seeing a face is so much better. Oh - and thank you so much to both of you Karina and Frank - we are so glad you came and helped with all the branch and vine cutting in our back yard a few weeks ago - that was a chore and a half for all of us and it took all day! We have massive growth back there every year and it gets unmanagable if we don't tackle it in early spring. It is so much better now - one HUGE thing off of our list here as it would have taken us much longer to handle without your help. Thanks also to Frederick for coming and hauling it all away!
Chris is doing well with his leukemia. The steroids make him cranky when he is taking them, but that can not be helped. The cancer remains in submission for now while he is being treated, and that will continue for another 3 years. Then we will keep our fingers crossed that it remains at bay after that. His hair has grown back, and he has lost some of the bloatedness that comes with the drugs. So far so good!
Well, it is time that I get started on some of the projects that have been set aside - we are taking a break today as John needs to do some things to the car (or it will cease to run soon), and I have neglected some things as well. It is Catch Up day and I have to get busy! That way we have a clean slate so we can get back to getting that house ready for the market!
 Have a cup of tea, relax, enjoy the new photos, and when you leave here give someone you love a call
 or write them a letter  and let them know how important they are in your life. Until next time, hugs!
   4/7/2007 Happy Spring!Hi all,
Happy Easter, Passover, Spring, or whatever it is you are celebrating in your life. No matter what, this is a time of renewal, both within the world and within ourselves. Somehow, it just feels right to do so (at least in the northern hemisphere!). Yes, some people are still feeling the cold winter chill - we broke a record low of 26 when we got down to 22 this morning - but that won't last very long.
Keegan spent the night last night (it is fabulous that we are allowed to have him over - that in itself is a renewal every time, as little ones tend to make one feel young again). Yesterday (Friday) there was an Easter Bash at the senior living center a few blocks away. I was babysitting Keegan as the daycare was closed for the day (and I was off work Thursday and Friday), and Joan brought Clayton and Chris up as well. The boys had fun petting bunnies, chicks, ducklings and lambs. There was an egg hunt in which they gave the kids only 20 seconds (!) to collect plastic eggs in bags that they had decorated themselves. Keegan got 3, Chris got 4, and Clayton got 5. Some older kids - the age went up to 10 - sprinted like crazy and grabbed most of the eggs up off the ground even though they were told to look up for their eggs and let the little ones have the ones on the ground. One child swooped down on an egg that Keegan was reaching for, and I made a very quiet but effective comment. (No I did not cuss or anything, the preschool teacher came out of me and the boy knew he was doing the wrong thing). He looked at me and stopped short, then went to another egg so that Keegan could have that one. I know they were not gold or anything, but children should learn to act nicely to others in such settings. :-) Everyone came away with smiles regardless. They also decorated cookies with icing, had ice cream, got "tattoos", colored pictures, and there was an attendance drawing. Keegan's name was pulled out and he got a squirt gun with a reservoir for bubbles. The easter bunny worked out well too, as Keegan did not cry at all, but seemed to like him! I think the fact that the "bunny's" face was in clear view really helped. Joan had to leave early, so Clayton and Chris did not get to do pictures with the bunny.
Tomorrow we will be having JoAnn's crew and ours over here for brunch and/or dinner - a couple are coming only for brunch, others for just dinner, and most for the day. I was hoping for warmer weather so the kids could have a great egg hunt, but inside will do nicely. I just have to think about how to hide the eggs so that they don't see them right away. I am sure it will work out. The baskets are done. Besides a bit of candy - some homemade - there are coloring and activity books, card games, kaleidoscopes, butterfly nets, bubbles, plastic walking eggs, pez dispensers, trucks and cars, and some other assorted goodies. We gave the little girl next door a basket today, and she was thrilled with the stuffed animal and the tiara that were included in her basket besides the little bit of candy and other treats. I got the biggest hug and smile from her.
Well, I need to go, as I am not done cleaning yet. Keegan is sleeping on my lap at the moment as he woke up from his nap but wanted to cuddle and drifted back off. Have a safe, healthy and fun weekend!
Hugs!
update 2 pm Sunday:
The brunch went well, Keegan is napping, all others are gone for now. John and I are enjoying a bit of quiet time before things kick into gear once more. Marty and Joan decided not to come in the morning after all and Simon (Amy's partner) is sick, so we had only 8 for brunch counting Keegan. Tonight we will have the entire crew minus Simon if he is still not feeling well. That will make 16 counting the children.
Cleaning went smoothly and all was ready when people started coming. We always finish our family's traditional easter dish - eggs ala goldenrod - together and that was all set too. The food came out just the right amount, so I told them to make a note that I did NOT cook for an army this time! (of course tonight will be a different story... I have made a lot of food).
I put some pics up of Friday's easter bash and last night's egg dying - that was a wild experience with a 22-month old! He actually did extremely well, and we ended up with some eggs being dyed multiple times. Only a few cracked ones too, which was surprising! Today's fashion statement includes green, blue and red fingers, giggle.
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