Ron's Retirement Party

Ron finally decided to retire this year! He had waited two extra years for me to be eligible for Medicare, so I could be fully covered by insurance. Besides that...I don't think he was quite ready to retire! You can tell by the dates on the pics that this was early August when he retired.He was not expecting Keith to be able to come---so this was a good surprise for him!! Glad you could make it, Son!
Here, Kristopher, Stacy, Kirk, Keith, and Kevin are dressed out in their favorite baseball t-shirts for the party!A baseball 'theme' was used for the decorations. Everyone knows that Ron is a SPORTS FAN! Here he is enjoying the kind of food you would find at the ball park. Nachos, Hamburgers, Hot dogs/Brats, and peanuts and Cracker Jacks. There was soda [or beer if you wanted it] to drink; and for dessert they had frozen malts! There were baseball bats and ballons and gloves on the tables for decoration!
The lady behind Ron is Debbie Lamb. Her husband, Steve, is sitting across from her (you can see his hands) They are Chris Lambs' Mom and Dad. Steve also works at PC. His Dad, Frank, was Ron's boss in the early 70's.Don't expect you to know these people, but I wanted you to see the 'poster' on the wall. They used a photo of Ron from the 70's to make this baseball card type poster! His kids were loving reminicing over his clothes and hair and GLASSES! [The ladies in the pic work in the offices.]

Here, the Plant Manager is giving Ron one of the many 'gag' gifts that were presented. Ron had a few to give back, too. [The man in the white cap was Ron's boss for many years---until HE retired earlier in the year!] One of the nicest gifts they gave him was an authentic numbered picture of George Brett and the "Pine Tar Bat" that George Brett had autographed. It is very nicely framed with a certificate of 'authenticity'.

I must say that Ron has adapted well to being retired. We have been busy with several things and I don't think he misses having to get up and go to work everyday. He misses a lot of the people...but has been back a few times to 'go to lunch' with some of them.

Maggy's 4th Birthday Party-- at Truman Dam

Maggy's birthday is on the 21st, so her party was the weekend before that. Here is a picture with her Grandma Evans. They were discussing all of the 'princess' stuff that was on this cute gift bag.

Here she is with her Memaw [Cory]. She is ready to go down to the lake and "swim"!

Opening her presents. I am not sure who some of the kids were that came. Some of the people Danielle works with, and some of her friends, came with their kids.

Waiting to see if Momma can get her candles to light so we can sing Happy Birthday! The wind was really strong!!

Danielle is really trying to get the candles to light and stay lit long enough for Maggy to blow them all out.[ Important when you are four to do all of the traditional things!] I think she had a great time. She said,"Thanks Guys! for coming to my birthday party!"

Whenever she wants to say something to a group of people, she calls us ALL 'Guys'.

What a girl! We love our great-grand- daughter !!!

5th of July--Barbecue at Nana and Papaws

I'm SO behind on posting pics! Here are some from July 5th when Kirk and Stacy, Bostin and Emily came for a belated 4th of July celebration with us. [Kristopher was there all weekend!]
Stacy is helping Bostin choose what he wants on his plate. We had typical fare--hamburgers and hot dogs and all the other 'stuff' that goes with them!Emily has already cleaned up her plate and is waiting for MORE hot dogs. Bostin is peeking over the top of the chip bags that were on the table.Tried to get a good pic of Emily's hairdo. Stacy had frenchbraided a crown around her head. Surprisingly, Emily sits pretty still for Stacy to do this. She likes the result---no hair in her eyes, or down on her neck!
You can see in her 'part' that she was out in the sun and got a little pink!Pretty typical view of Kristopher and Ron! Buddie loves to be on someones lap, and if Kristopher is here---he is the lucky one to provide the lap! I don't think it bothers him much.If you click on this and make it bigger, you can see that Bostin is sitting on the couch watching TV. He also had a DS he was playing games on, too. No telling what pictures I'll find to post next. We'll just have to see!!!

Emily at Two

Such a little giggle box!

Drinking from a regular glass, and not spilling
She thinks she is really playing this game. Loves to 'drive' that vehicle!
This was the night before Emily's 2nd birthday.
We met at Bobbio's in Tipton for pizza buffet. I felt privileged to have her sit on my lap, usually she goes to Papaw and not me so much. She is a loving little girl, very bright, and VERY BUSY!!!

Dakota's Graduation

Dakota's graduation was on Saturday, May 16 2009. It was held on the fairgrounds, in the Matthewson Center. Here is a picture of Cory [R] and her friend Carrie waiting for the ceremonies to begin.
The next afternoon, there was a picnic at Bothwell State Park for family and friends to celebrate with Dakota.

Here is a pic of the banner Cory had made so friends and family would know this was the place for Dakota's Party. Cory's stepdad Jim, and family friend Earline [aka Mamaw] are included in the pic, too.
A shot of the cake, displayed with Dakota's senior pictures and his diploma.

Here he is opening presents. There are pics from his school days, and some of his awards displayed on the table. Cory found some 'music' decorations to hang from the rafters in the picnic shelter.

Reading through cards from friends and family.

The day was sunny, warm, and with just a slight breeze. So different from the day before at Rob's celebration.

These cousins were born just 24 days apart. Dakota's b-day is the 4th of April, and Rob's is the 28th. Proud of both of them!

Robbie's Graduation

Finally able [with my new computer] to get some pictures up! Here are some that were taken at Rob's graduation[Friday night May 15,2009] and party.

This one was taken at the school right after the graduation. The room is Valerie's classroom. She teaches FACS- Family and Consumer Science-[we used to call it Home Ec!]. From the left, it is Danielle, Valerie, Rob [all 6 foot 9 of him!] looking over his diploma and awards.

Here he is with Papaw Ron and Nana Judy.And here he is with Papa Jim and Nana Janet Clark [He always called her Nana Fay!]

The next day[Saturday, May 16], there was a picnic celebration at Valerie's house . It turned out to be windy, cool ,and damp. So most of us ate inside. We had a buffet of salads [Val made] and Subway sandwiches, and Cake, too, of course! This pic was taken at the side of the house--out of the wind!

This shot was taken in the kitchen before we ate. Some of Robbies friends are in this pic, but the guy on the extreme right is Dakota. His graduation was that evening in Sedalia.

Have you done this???

Today was the day...I have done MY part...Have you???

I went today and had my mammogram. No...It is not the most pleasant of experiences...but all of us gals need to do it---for ourselves, and the ones who love us!

Come on now...call and get that appointment if you haven't done it already.

AGE doesn't matter. My daughter was 32 last year when they found her cancer. My sister was 80 this year when they found hers. My daughter recently had her year follow-up check up and mammogram--everything is great! My sister is taking radiation treatments [she may even be through with them by now].

They would be the first in line to tell you...get your mammo!! They are sure glad THEY did!!!

Jacob at Two! [or was it One?]

Loving on TJ Cinnamon . Not so sure TJ appreciated it! Hershey Bar got in the pic, too.

Not sure what this was all about. maybe he was doing some kind of 'trick' ??? Uncle Kirk was looking on. Swinging with Mom in Nana and Papaws back yard.

Waiting for Uncle Kirk to graduate from SFCC. I found these pics the other day, and since Karen just finished blogging about Jacob's first high school dance, I thought I would share what he looked like as a toddler. See, he had lots of curls even then!! Love you Jake!!!

How to have a Garage Sale!

No, I'm NOT going to give you step by step instructions!  Just going to share about our very successful sale this past weekend.

E---N MO has a city wide sale in the Spring and in the Fall.  Kirk and Stacy have a great place to have a sale.  Their garage is big and their driveway is fairly level, and they live in a great housing addition, too, only a block off of a well traveled road. [like that run-on sentence??]

Anyway, we had a great sale last Spring with Stacy's sisters and her Mom, too.  The kids all know that we NEED to get rid of a lot of the STUFF that has collected in our house over the past 30+ years. I tried all summer to go through stuff and get a bunch of it ready for the sale this Fall.  I did get some work done, but there was always something else that needed doing ,too.

Two weeks ago, we did take a load down to their house, but most of that was stuff that we had brought back from previous sales- intending to try and sell it again. Once we got all of that out of the garage and a corner of the basement where it was stored, it was easier to get motivated about getting more stuff together.

We ended up taking three more van loads-2 during the week prior to the sale and one the night before .  We spent Thursday night at their house so we would be ready EARLY Friday morning to get everything set out for the sale. Stacy's Dad and Kirk made an awesome rack to hold ALL of the clothes[except one small table of baby/kid clothes] that ran 2/3 of the way down their driveway.  It was great to not have to worry about the wind blowing a rack over, or a rack collapsing because it had too many heavy clothes on it! Other than an entertainment center for Kirk and Stacy, none of us had any really 'big ticket' items to sell this time. Stacy's mom[Debbie] and Ron and I and Kirk and Stacy were the only ones selling this time. We had a pretty steady stream of 'customers' all day Friday and up until about 2PM Saturday. Kristopher did bring a few things down Friday night and we put them out Saturday, too.

When we sorted out the 'remainders' we gave several boxes of items to Stacy's great aunt to sell in a 'senior center' store she manages, and several boxes to Goodwill/Salvation Army, but I believe we sold well over 2/3 of the things we had put out to sell. Stacy kept back a few things she wanted to try and sell again, and I did, too. We brought home one half full tub of knick knack stuff, and one fairly full of clothing and 17 empty tubs!![not counting the cardboard boxes of stuff we took, too.]

Now we need to sort through some more 'stuff' and get ready for another sale here in a couple of weeks!  I told you we need to get rid of LOTS of stuff!

Momma Gets a Day with Her Boys!

A little over a week ago, Karl called his Dad all excited.  He had found out that the Chiefs would be in St.Louis to play the Rams, and--that his boss had season tickets, and--that he wasn't going to use the tickets and Karl could have them. The game was on Thursday September3rd.

Anybody who knows us, knows that we are all Chiefs fans, so that looked like a great opportunity for some of us to go.  So Karl and Ron called around to the different brothers in Missouri, to see who could go--and of course everyone had to 'check their schedules' before they could answer for sure. [I had let them know last time they did something like this that if there were enough tickets, I wanted to go too!]  Meanwhile, Karl found out he could get 2 more tickets from someone else. It wasn't long before the calls came in that everyone could go!

We [Kevin, Ron, and I] left here a little after 10:00 AM and headed an hour South and East to get Kirk, then an hour North and East to get Kris, stopped for a Subway sandwich and drink to eat on the way and headed East on I-70 to St.Louis. Made a couple of 'comfort stops' on the way and got to downtown St.Louis around 3:00PM to pick up Karl.  We went for an early dinner, because we knew that the Cardinals were playing an afternoon game and we figured it would get busy in the restaurants when that game let out and also more people were coming in to town for the football game.  Had a great dinner in a rather large facility.  When we went in, there were about 2 other tables in use inside and 2 or 3 sidewalk tables, too.  By the time we were finished with our leisurely dinner, the place was really filling up!  We had strategized together and came up with a place to park that was not too far from a restaurant, or too far from the "Dome" where the game was played. The walk was easy for me [which was the point!] and the weather was great!  We entered the Lumiere Casino from the road area where we parked and went by tunnel, using moveable sidewalks, under the busy highway and came out 1/2 a block from the Dome.!  The gates opened at 5:30. Karl, Kris, Ron, and I had seats on the 30 yard line, seven rows up from the field.  Kevin and Kirk had seats in the end zone,2nd section up from the field, and 3 or so rows up from the concourse.  By the middle of the first quarter, we realized that there were a lot of empty seats around us so they came over and sat with us the rest of the game.

We had a lot of fun to gether.  It was nice to see the interaction and be a part of it!

 Some Favorites:  Ron making a deal with Kevin to let Kevin drive to St.Louis. So that Ron wasn't too tired to drive back when all of them needed to sleep if they could, so they could get up to work today!  Holding hands with Karl as we walked along the street toward the restaurant. Taking Kirk's arm so I could step down at the curb.Everyone sharing 'bites' of their different food choices at the restaurant. Kevin bringing his cane along for me to use if I needed it [thoughtful!]. Kris bringing along a 'mixed bag' of candy to share as we traveled.

Once we cleared the downtown area we had no traffic problems all the rest of the way home.  We stopped once for gas, etc. By the time we made the rounds to take Kris and Kirk home and got to our house it was around 3 AM.[Kevin drove his car to our house and then had to wake up and drive home!] Ron had gotten coffee when we stopped for gas, and he really wasn't very sleepy.  Plenty tired, though!  We got to bed as soon as possible, and got up around 9:30 or so this morning  Will admit that we have not really done much today!  It doesn't help that the weather is dark and rainy!  We'll probably have an early bedtime tonight!

Retirement!!

As of Friday August 7th, Ron is retired! We have now begun a new era in our lives.

The company had a nice retirement party for him that evening.  All the kids who could get here were there.  Keith came down for the evening-stayed all night with us- and went back to Nebraska after breakfast on Saturday. Kevin and Cory were there, and Kristopher, and Kirk and Stacy. Of course Karen was in Oregon and Karl had been here the weekend before from St.Louis.

It was a very 'casual' affair with a baseball theme.  We were asked to come dressed in baseball themed clothes, and their were bats and baseball balloons on the tables and other 'ball' decorations, too.  Even a poster each from the Royals and the Cardinals. There were pics of Ron-from his early years down through this past year- on display, too.

There were baskets of peanuts and Cracker Jacks on each table, and the food was hamburgers, hot dogs or 'brats', and nachos! For dessert they brought out frozen malts like you can get at the ballpark.Several people had little 'gifts' or momentoes to give to Ron, and he had a few to give out, too. A silly, fun time with all that. The main thing he was given that night was a matted and framed print of George Brett and the pine tar bat incident and it was signed by George Brett. It was a GREAT night and a good celebrationof 38 years with the company, and Ron had a great time!

On Sunday afternoon, Ron and I headed to Branson for a week of R&R.  Did a lot of resting and reading, saw one show, did a little shopping and ate at least one meal a day out somewhere! Came home this past Sunday with a stop in Springfield to see my nephew Raymond on the way.

Now I am wondering when it is really going to hit Ron that he is retired...and NOT just on an extended vacation!!

How SAD!

I have some other things I want to tell you about...but first...I HAVE to comment about a tragedy.  It is so hard to even think about it, but maybe we need to think about it  a little.

A young man is dead. His wife no longer has her beloved husband.  His two kids no longer have their Dad. His sister no longer has her twin.ETC. ETC.

The big question is WHY???

Part of the answer we will never know--maybe all of it.  There were some clues---there was some treatment, and medication---there was a lot of love---  but for some reason he wanted life to be over.

He couldn't think it all through...couldn't see how much hurt and distress he would cause. [I'm convinced that if he could have he would not have done what he did!]

It is hard for us to wrap our minds around that fact sometimes:--They really don't --even can't-- understand how much we love them and want good things for them.

Depression is so insidious.  It causes a glitch in the thinking of those who have it!

[ Those with Bi-polar syndrome are another group of people who can not always think things through.  That is why so many of them want to get off of their meds when they are 'doing better'. They think that they don't need them anymore...that they have been cured.  If I am totally honest I have to say here that even diabetics don't always think right about their disease either.  It is easy to go into denial and decide to ignore your food plan , your need for taking your meds on time and getting enough exercise, etc.]

There are no 'easy answers'. No 'miracle cures' for depression. Each person's story is different.  The only thing we CAN do is just keep trying! Keep loving!  Keep re-assuring!  Keep nagging [in a kind way] to take their meds, see their doctors.....!  The biggest thing, and probably the best, that we can do is PRAY!, both for them and WITH them.

God Bless!!

Karl hits the BIG 40!

Karl had his birthday this past Tuesday.  It was one of those 'milestone' events we all face--the big 40!  I don't think it 'bothered' him as much as it would have a year or so ago.  He seemed to take it all in stride.

Danielle and I went to St.Louis to get him on Friday.  Today we all [the ones who live in this area] went to Truman Lake for a cookout and 'celebration' of his birthday. I found a few "Over the Hill" banners, etc. at the Dollar Store in Warsaw and Robbie and I taped them up around the shelter.  Karl had a little bit to say about that, but not so much.  I think He really kind of liked them!

Kevin brought pork steaks to grill[ I know that surprises some people--uh, not much, that is his favorite thing to grill!] Kirk and Stacy brought hotdogs and Ron and I brought hamburgers and hot dogs.  Kevin and Danielle made a fresh salsa [everything was from their garden] and Kevin fixed some guacamole, and sliced some tomatoes.  Kirk and Stacy  brought chips, too. And I made a pasta salad and some cole slaw. For once, Karl didn't get a lemon cake[there was a glitch about who was making it!?!?] but Kris and I stopped at Wal-mart and picked up and "excellent" chocolate birthday cake!  Kris also brought his famous Kristopher dip and the cream cheese, bacon and cheddar spread he makes for crackers that we all like, too.Val and Robbie brought several different kinds of cookies -homemade- that were great

Several people went down to the beach and played in the water for a while, but mostly we just sat around and visited together. and 'spent time' with each other.  Cory came down after she got off work and got to spend a couple of hours with us, too.  As we were leaving, the sun was beginning to set.  This giant orange and gold ball was reflecting on the water as it slowly sank behind one of the Ozark Hills. It was Beautiful!

Robbie came home with us and is spending the night.  Then he is going with us to take his Dad back to St.Louis tomorrow afternoon. Kristopher and I are making the trip this time.  After this coming Friday, Ron and I will be able to handle this part pf it,---but more about that LATER!

Busy, busy, busy...

Or as one of my grandkids said one time "Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy".[That is what they thought we were saying!]
It seems like we have been kept busy the past few weeks with one thing and another.
The Saturday before Father's Day several of the kids showed up for a 'work day' at our house. Ron fixed 'Biscuits and Gravy' for breakfast and after a short 'meeting' to discuss what they wanted to accomplish for the day, the work began. Kirk got his tall ladder and cleaned out the gutters [maple 'trees 'were growing in them, plus other debris that had gathered over the winter]. They had decided to take out the overgrown lilac bushes, so Kris got busy with the 'loppers' and started cutting them out. Kevin came back with his chainsaws and they also began to take out the redbud that was growing closest to the deck. It had 3 trunks coming up out of the ground and they had started to split apart so that the branches were getting lower all of the time. I didn't realize that was happening so much, just thought it needed to be trimmed,etc. When they got it down, though, you could see that it was starting to die from the inside. I miss it, and the shade and privacy it used to provide, but I'm glad they realized what was going on with it. There is a humongous, tall pile of branches and clippings waiting to be burned now! Each of the kids brought something to fix for supper and we had pork steaks and chops and weiners etc; with baked beans, salads, deviled eggs, and desserts for supper. Yummy!! [Forgot to say that I had fixed sandwich and chip stuff for lunch, including bologna salad, and braunschweiger for my kids plus other luncheon meats for the others. Had a little arguing over who got "piggy" over the bologna salad!]
A week ago last Sunday, Kirk 'borrowed' a pressure washer from his father-in-law and we started 'washing' the house. Have all of the front and the East side and half of the back done. Ron cleaned the front porch and the steps to the driveway one evening and then Dillon came and helped him do the steps up to the back deck and part of the deck floor, too. Then last Saturday Ron did most of the rest of the floor, and I finished the rest and did the railings around the deck and the seating area. It looks so 'new' now! Then we got a little carried away! Ron started washing off the travel trailer, and worked some more on a resin table he had previously started. Then I went back to the trailer and got most of it finished, cleaned off the picnic table, the yard swing, and some resin chairs. Kirk had come when Ron was cleaning the deck floor and he got in on some of that, but he spent most of his time digging up the root balls on two of the lilac bushes that had been cut down before. It is slow tedious work! Kris had worked some on the big lilac bush's root ball at the southeast corner over 4th of July weekend-in between rain storms. So we still have the West side of the house to 'wash' and the rest of the back.It will have to be dryer than it was last week when they wash the rest of the back because that is where the garden spot is and they will have to be careful and not sink the ladder in to the garden---or damage any of the tomato or pepper plants!

Dawn View;and Something Funny

The next two pics were taken from our balcony at the hotel on the morning we returned to Missouri. I'm not sure, but I want to believe that this is Mount Hood---but it could be another mountain.This is taken to the left of the last pic and a few minutes later. The sky color was a little deeper. There was a park directly across the street from the hotel. The tree tops you see were from that park. We were on the 7th floor.

This shot was just a few minutes later, and you could begin to see buildings and other structures. We caught the light rail train back to the airport right outside the hotel. We felt like we saw a cross-portion of downtown Portland as we rode along. I think it was only 20 or 30 minutes for the trip. Some areas it traveled pretty fast, but some areas [near other traffic] it was slower. I kind of enjoyed the ride!

Okay, I don't usually take a picture in the bathroom! But I just couldn't resist this one. Oregon is one of the 'GREENEST' states I know about! So they encourage Ecology in many ways. This sign is posted above the stool in the bathroom.

In order to conserve water---this sign tells you how to flush! You pull up on the handle for "liquid" waste[ number 1] and down on the handle for "solid" waste [number 2]. And now you know!!!

HUNGRY! and SO Tired!

After the Finale, we were all pretty hungry so we decided to eat at the restaurant in the hotel. Here is Erika coloring her menu /placemat while we waited for our order.

This picture "says it all!" about how tired everyone was. It was a lot of work in some regards, mainly for Madison and Karen, to get Mad to her 'appointments'/rehersals, and events on time and in the right outfit etc. And there was some 'let down' after it was all over, but I am so glad that Madison got to experience something like this. and I am SO glad that we got to be there to see it all!

Madison is coloring her placemat with Papaw looking on. We all de-stress in different ways. One of the ways Madison chooses is to zone in on some type of artwork. She has always loved to color and draw and has had great comments from her classroom teachers over how well she does with it.[If you want to see what she created for the pageant contest that won her a 'first' rating, check out Karen's blog.--there is a link to it from my blog!]

Tropies and Tears and Smiles

After the pageant we met Madison in the hall and took a few pictures. Her trophies are sitting on the floor in front of her. The biggest one is for her "First" in the Art contest, the second biggest is for her "Second" for the Resume' she wrote [all the girls were supposed to write one.] and the smallest is the one she got for being in the state contest. Each of the girls that made it to state got one of those.Karen had gone running back to the dressing room after the finale thinking that Madison would go there first. Madison had been smiling and talking with the rest of us but when she saw Karen come up to join us she burst into tears. I think it was a lot of things--being tired, relief that the stress was over,being happy that she went so far in the contest, and maybe a little bit of diappointment because she didn't win, too. But the tears didn't last long and she got her 'smile' back real soon.Erika was concerned about her tears and gave her a hug. She told her she was happy for her. Chris had found a rose on the floor that some one had dropped and had given it to Erika during the pageant. She decided that she wanted to give it to Sissy, too. So Madison is olding both roses .One last shot of them all. [ Jacob didn't come with them to Portland because he had an "End of Season" soccer tournament to play in that weekend.]

Pics From the Finale-Sunday Evening

Here are some pics I was able to get from the finale. This first one is from the dance routine that all of the girls participated in doing at the start of the program. The girl with the sash and crown is last years winner. Madison is standing to her left [to your right as you look at the picture].Here is a shot of Madison, with her tropy for being in the state pageant, as she is being introduced for the final time. The girls all rushed back to the dressing area to change out of their 'dance' clothes and get into their formal wear for the rest of the program.This is right after they announced Madison's name as being in the Top 10. I believe she is receiving her Rose for that in this picture.Here are the Top 10 waiting for the judges final decision. From these ten there was chosen 4th runner-up, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and the winner. Madison is standing in the center, and the girl that you can barely see behind last years winner is the one Karen says was the winner this year.

Madison didn't place in the top 5, but she was delighted that she had made it into the top 10! We were proud of her! Glad that she went as far as she did, and really proud of her gracious attitude throughout the whole pageant! And she still had that big smile!

The End Result!

I'm not sure...but I think this big smile is partly because all of the "sit still,"head up" is finally over!

Here is how the back looked. Remember, this is all Madisons hair . NOT an artificial "fall" or hair piece!

A side view [and she is STILL watching the cartoon show on TV]

The Tee shirt and hair bow are part of the outfit she wore for the dance number that the girls did together at the beginning of the show. She put it on before Karen started on her hair so she wouldn't mess her "do" up by putting it on. Karen warned her that they would have to 'go slow' and be very careful in taking the Tee off when she had to quickly change into her formal wear for the finale.

Time for a quick pose with Nanny and Papaw before we all went down to the finale. She always has had this great big smile! Love it!!!!