Recent Travels

I got to spend last week scrapbooking with my friends at our 3rd annual Farm Crop. It is so much fun to just do whatever you want with no obligations. I spent about 4-5 hours each day outside on the porch or deck reading, stitching and listening to music. I love to be that obnoxious one to my friends that still completes more pages than they do. They LOVE to hate me!

From there, we went straight on a golf weekend where we girls continued our scrapbooking. I did a total of 20 double-page spreads (pictures to follow) for the week. That's just about 2 full albums. This is the longest time in a row that I've ever scrapbooked---6 days in a row. And now Connie is going to hate me too! Not only am I "caught up" on all of my needlework projects (train with her, Halloween suckers with Nancy), I finished another project! Sorry Connie! I guess if I was a really, really good friend, I'd offer to help you finish one of the FIVE projects you have going!!! (I do hope you're laughing---I may be faster, but at least you're skinnier). Gosh, I'm so obnoxious, I almost hate myself!

From Falls of Rough, KY, Butch and I headed straight for Kalamazoo, MI to surprise the Lapps' family. I did call Sandy last week, so the surprise was really for the kids. On the way, I called when we got to Indianapolis to just give them a time frame. Mitchell answered and said that they were having to clean, which he didn't understand because it was Sunday. Elizabeth was on the other line saying that "Mitchell was getting mad at mom for no reason." I told her that that's what teenagers do---get mad for no reason.

Lapps family update:

Greg---still makes the BEST gourmet burgers around. Actually, we should just dub him the "grill master". He made great steaks the second night too. We should also call him the master of the yard. I wish I'd taken a picture---truly, I have never seen a more beautiful lawn---not a single weed---bright green grass---solid---no bare spots or brown patches---absolute perfection. He does all the fertilizing and weed control and takes a great deal of pride in it---definitely shows.

Sandy---goes out of her way to make our trip perfect---and tries new recipes. I always love that. This time it was a White Cheddar Squash Casserole. As good as it was---and it was delicious---I knew that I would never go to that much trouble---anything more than 2 steps and I'm "out". Yesterday, I remarked to Sandy that she will be happy to have a rest when we leave. Elizabeth piped up, "grammy, mom isn't going to be arrested!"

Mitchell---aka the "big tuna" is "in" to his baseball---regular league and tournament travel. I couldn't believe it---upon our arrival, I realized he is now a head taller than me. Sandy said he's grown 5 inches since Christmas. She said that not having any boys in our family, has caught her completely off-guard. Now when Mitchell's friends come over, she said it's like having a bunch of "almost" men around---all tall with deep voices and the "stache". We went to his game on Tuesday night, but nothing could have prepared us for the joys of a baseball game in Michigan in April. Picture it---50 degrees, with frosty wind blowing off the lake. We sat huddled under blankets and froze for about 3 innings before we decided to call it a day. At least we were able to see Mitchell hit a double---line drive between the short stop and third base. They won---12-3. Do you have any idea what bats cost these days?---and each kid has to have their own. I'm not even going there....

Victoria is gearing up for golf---her sport of choice. She's doing great in school and recently was happy to have Greg on one of her class field trips. They went to the state capitol in Lansing. Someone decided that Michigan third graders needed to learn state history. Even Victoria can spell--B-O-R-I-N-G!! Why do that to kids? There's plenty of time to bore them when they're older. I have a feeling she's going to be a teacher. She never tires of playing school---with or without real kids. She's letting her hair grow out and it's really thick. We'll see how long that lasts. She loves to annoy Mitchell (or I should say they love to annoy each other). In the car, she had her iPod and was sitting next to Mitchell and singing. He kept asking her to stop---she wouldn't---he pulled out her earphones---back and forth. Instead of intervening, I just chuckled, remembering those good old days! Apparently, the "fight" is on between those two as to who will have to stay in grammy and grandpa's room in Disney. Seems to me we should get a say in that! I never thought WE would turn into a "punishment".

Elizabeth will also be starting golf. She's already done a golf camp and continues with gymnastics. We went to "ribbon day" so I got to see one of her "tadas"---that thing gymnasts do when they finish where they raise their arms and go "tada"! She is very coordinated and has quite a propensity for anything athletic. She zooms all over on her 2 wheel bike without training wheels since turning 4. Plus, I couldn't believe how well she jumps rope. She tried to teach me super Mario Brothers---I couldn't believe how her little fingers fly over the controller. She thought it was hilarious that I kept losing so fast. She can actually finish levels. She is one active little girl---always ready for the next activity. I always think I'm going to do anything she wants until she wears out. That simply does not happen. In the car, she plans out the day (okay, maybe she's a lot like me). "Grammy, when we get home, do you want to play a game and then read me a couple books and then watch me ride my bike and then swing me and then play that other game and then do a puzzle?" My response: "okay, Elizabeth, I'll read you ONE book and then I'm taking my nap. We'll do the other stuff after that." The first words out of her mouth in the morning are: "grammy, do you want to play a game?" Whew!!! That girls gives me a run for my money!

While the older kids were in school, we did some geo-caching. There's one cache that we have not been able to find. We hunted for it the last time we were here. This time, Butch went back while Sandy and I got manicures and still couldn't find it. He emailed the "owner" and asked for a hint. We went back with what we thought were some really good clues---still couldn't find it. Butch emailed the guy again---this time he told us exactly where it was and we still couldn't find it. Butch is definitely a pro when it comes to geo-caching, so we're sure it's gone. We'll see how the owner responds now that Butch has emailed him saying we still couldn't find it. We couldn't even find a spot on the location where a cache could even be hidden. We're all anxious to find out that secret. A real stumper.

We had a great time and crammed a lot into a couple of days. Butch is ready to be back home for awhile. Me, I'm off again to St. Louis in a couple of weeks, then home a week before Butch and I go to Tulsa over Memorial weekend to visit his uncle. I'm loving retirement---I've never been so busy!!