Month: May 2020

A Petition and a Proclamation!

How Fun! We received this petition from the Busentiz clan inviting us to come visit. We responded with a formal proclamation “To the citizens of Autumn Glen of the kingdom of Newtonia, Kansas”- what a fun way to start our next adventure!

Traveling during the COVID-19 regulations meant we could still not eat indoors. Our rig would not fit through the drive thru lane – so, Dennis had to do a walk thru between cars to order some lunch! …. making memories!!

What!?? We checked into Gunsmoke RV in Dodge City for the night. When we came out of the office we did a double look… the trailer only had three wheels! We never felt a thing – everything was fine in Garden City when we got gas (only 40 miles away!) We arranged to have it fixed the next day and went looking for the missing tire/wheel. We never found it. We are still dumb-founded about the whole ordeal! Due to damage on the axle, they had to cut off the end and put on a new spindle and temporary wheel/tire. After staying an extra day and night, we headed out to Newton again (although a bit gun-shy (pun intended!) about pulling our rig).

We were able to park at Ben & Janna ‘s house in Newton – THANKS! – a perfect setup for us! Our first day with the family was a beautiful day! The kiddos were full of energy riding their bikes and showing us new tricks!

These beautiful girls are basically the same height! We enjoyed a special time together with the “olders” as we went to a coffee shop to pick up some drinks and sat in a park just to talk. We got caught up on their lives, their summer plans, and their dreams for the future. Love these special times!

…and we went fish’n with the “littles” (not so little anymore!) We caught a lot of fun, smiles, laughter, chatter, and sunshine (but no fish). More special times – and great memories!

It was so much fun – these kids have a silly streak in them – its gotta be from their Mom and their Nana for sure!

Jon got a griddle! We enjoyed making several meals on this large griddle. Our meals were not just eating together, but we were able to cook together – every moment we spend with our kiddos is such an adventure!!

Let’s plant a new tree! We were able to help with a yard project, it was a whole family affair. Lots of fun digging in the wet clay soil ! It will be interesting to watch it grow and become a conversation piece in the years to come!

These kiddos kept Nana and Papa very “young”! We played hard every day and then enjoyed some sleep overs in our travel trailer (with bacon for breakfast of course!)

CONGRATULATIONS MEGAN!

One of the unfortunate results of current COVID–19 regulations was the abandonment of public celebrations that used to be so common for every graduating class and their families. We were determined to give Megan a joyous celebration of her completion of High School – the family came through with flying colors!

We love you Megan! Praying for your future as you step out into the crazy world we now live in!

Its always hard to say “see ya later” to any of our families – we are SO BLESSED with all of our kids, spouses, and grand-kids that love the Lord and serve Him well in every way! We love the memories, the smiles, and the exciting adventures of meeting again soon!

We made a trip to Colorado Springs to see our Kiddos and Grand-kiddos! We loved getting one on one with our family and catching up on all the news. It was a beautiful Colorado sunshine day – “it’s been too long” – what a joyful adventure!

Isaac, Kaylee, and Anya were all smiles and full of energy! We played, celebrated Isaac’s birthday, talked and shared our love…ahhh we needed this! The day ended too soon, but we’ll be back.

We were invited to Rick & Sharon’s cabin in the mountains near Guffy, CO. Wow – what a beautiful place! They have done most of the work themselves and have created a peaceful haven to live and share with others. We hiked down to their pond and had some great times of sharing! A very enjoyable adventure that God put together for us – we are so blessed!

Jesse and I payed our instruments on the mountain top! So much fun!

More smiles! We traveled to Pueblo to see Ron & Deb – also got to see Jason! More good times shared news and updates with family. We have missed these moments since we started traveling but its great to give/get our love and hugs again!

And then to Ben and Heather’s house to see them and Josh, Jeremy, and Jayden! Ben was recovering from back surgery so we told them to give us a “to-do” list of projects that we could help with – they were grateful for our help! We also played games and enjoyed just being a family – more great memories!

We were able to help replace several veneer rocks on the front of their house, Jayden helped mix the mortar and butter the rocks. Then she made her own “rock” with her hand-print! We also put up some crown molding in the kitchen attached to the cupboards. Something new for us – but Dennis went to “You-Tube University” and was able to make a jig that helped cut the correct angles. Turned out alright!

Wow – their neighbor Sam brought over his catch for the day – three large Wipers (striped base). He taught Jeremy how to fillet – then Dennis fried the fish outside. they were so good! Interesting story here – there were a good amount of leftovers that we bagged and put in the fridge. The next day we set the bag on the counter to prepare for lunch and the bag disappeared! No one knew what happened, although we all suspect Sadie, their large dog, did a “grab-and-run with them!

So now we HAD to go fish’n! Those fish didn’t have a chance! And we caught……nothing! But it was a great afternoon – we all enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air!

Sunday we enjoyed having church at their house – we watched an online session of David Platte and had some great discussion afterward. The we had a great Sunday lunch and played outdoors – Heather’s team won the bean bag toss tournament, look at that form!

We are thankful for our family and the friends God has given to us, living life together with others is always a great adventure! Looking forward to the next time we meet again – should be soon since we plan to stay in Colorado for the summer!