Tim's Rehearsal Supper

 Tim's rehearsal supper was Friday night at the Lodge in Lacey Keosauqua state park.  The whole family had spent days decorating.  It looked very nice.  It was late starting but got into full swing about 8.  Supper was good.

Some of the kids that Tim teaches came to the wedding and they sang at the rehearsal supper.  They were very good and you could tell they really admired Tim or Mister K as they call him. 

Second Shower for Lauren and the Absent Tim

The second shower of the day was one for Tim (Mary's grandson) and Lauren.  They are getting married on October 1st.  We (Connie and I) went with an island theme as they are taking a honeymoon to the Bahamas.  Decorated with shells, sea creatures and sand.  Everyone received a lei as they entered the world of Club Wedd.  Tim was unable to come as work in Chicago kept him there, but Lauren came and joined in the fun and games.

Here Lauren and Barbie try their hand at one of the shower games.  Looks like they are thinking hard.

Everyone was in teams of two. One of the most unlikely teams was Donnie and Pete.  Pete said he had only been to two showers in his life and they both happened that day.  We had a good time and everyone was a good sport.                               

We went with the Island theme for food too.  Had banana bread, macadamia nut cookies, coconut rum cake, shrimp dip, spinach dip in Hawaiian bread,etc.  Hawaiian punch and coffee completed the treats.   We did a treasure chest full of money in lieu of gifts.  Think everyone had a good time.

Scott, Amy and Baby D

It was the Sunday of showers. Scott and Amy were back from South Carolina for Tim's wedding and what a perfect time for a baby shower.  They announced at the shower that they are having a girl. I think a few people must have known because there was lots of pink there.  Amy has the cutest little baby bump and they make a cute couple and will be great parents I'm sure.  The party was with all the in laws and outlaws so is was fun to see people you never get to see. 

Little Joe made a surprise appearance and was a very attractive addition to the party.  Here she is with Barbie.  Note the wild red hair.  She looks a lot like her momma as a baby. She is getting cuter every time I see her and is starting to talk and coo.                                                                                                       

Kristi will be a Grandma or Me ma as they say in the south for the second time and I know is looking forward to it greatly.  Hayden really loves his Me ma.  It was a fun party with cute games and good food.

Mr and Mrs Craig Eklund

Meet Mr and Mrs Craig Eklund.  They got married tonight in a really nice ceremony at Lake Darling Lodge.  Kathy had done made all the decorations and the place looked wonderful.  They made a beautiful couple.  Larry (Craig's dad and my bro) did the ceremony and it was so special.  Don't know if they had helped write the vows or not but was very personal.                                                                                                     

There was a cake at every table.  Kathy had baked and decorated them.  Very yummy.  Got to bring the rest of ours home.  The food was very good too.  Not sure who cooked but they did a good job!          

Larry and Olivia.  Isn't she cute.  Well he is too!

Bicycle Rally

Dan played with the Lester Cloke Memorial String Band Thursday nite at the park.   MUM had a bicycle rally and there were several bikes that rode from Howard park around town and then around the square.  Of course as groupies we had to go listen.  They only played about a half and hour and it was pretty cold but sounded good!

What a Fun Day

Dan was filling in for the bass player in the Lester Cloke Memorial String Band at their gig in Freemont at the Dutch Oven Cook off.  So Mary, Donnie, Katlin, Sue and I decided to go watch.  What a fun day.  The weather was wonderful.   The music was good and the dutch oven part was awesome!  I had never been to one before and wasn't sure what to expect.   There were three rounds of competition.  Deserts, Main Dish and Bread.  If you paid $5.00 for an armband you could try a little bit of each entry.   Man was the food good.  They made things in the  Dutch oven I didn't think was possible.

This is part of the desert table with the judges getting ready to judge. ( I gotta find out how to be a judge).  Mary and thought the "almost pumpkin pie "or the "Apple cake thing" were the best.  However that was not the judges opinion.   The three layer cake you see won that category.   We saw Amy's aunt and cousin and visited with them a little.  Every one was very friendly and nice.  It was just a fun day and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Labor Day Week End

 I picked Katlin up at school Friday.  They got out early at 1.  So by the time we got back it was time to get on the road.  Jeanine and Lloyd had started a little before and Mary's were going with us.  I was really hot that day.  Had been in the mid 90's.  By the time we got to Aledo it hadn't cooled off much.  They lead us to a place to park but the electric didn't work.  So they said we could move to the hog barn.  That there was enough electric for all of  us to run our air.  Didn't work.  We got all leveled and set up and Dan checked our plug in and it was hot.  So then they decided we could move to where we were last year. No one else was parked their and again they were sure we could run the air.  Again they were wrong.  They tried really hard to make it work but didn't.  Didn't think we could find a park to move to what with the holiday so decided to stick it out.  I was OK once we got laid down and laid still.  We all had a fan.  The next morning they came and told us they had an electrician come and wire up enough spots so we could all have air.  So we all moved to the place they wanted us to camp at to begin with.  The air worked fine, however about an hour after we moved a cold front came through and it cooled down and we wouldn't have needed it.  However Dan said we were going to run it even if everyone had to have 3 blankets.  It didn't get that cold  but we all slept better that night.  That said the music was really good.  Our two favorite groups were Monroe Crossing ( see picture above) and the Harman Family .  Monroe Crossing all dressed like they would have in Bill Monroe's day.   We had a good time.  When we got home Sunday I got ready and went to Cindy's for a couple of days to have some Kyann time.  She is getting so grown up.  Here she is making M & M cookies with mom. 

We played outside some.  She is drawing with chalk.  Cindy made her a hop scotch board and she can do it but mostly she would just run.   They have three different sizes of tins (like you get popcorn or candy in) and they play the drums and march through the house.  Kyann starts out the leader but she is so fast she is bringing up the rear before you know it.  She started preschool on Wednesday.  She is going to have fun with that.  She is almost too smart for her own good.