Family Time in Kansas City, and Missouri

It's been a while! That's what happens when I take off to visit family.

Twelve days ago I flew to Kansas City to spend time with family. Then, Dan met-up with us at Jill's Missouri lake home where we spent four days. On Monday (yesterday) we drove home - 15-1/2 hours straight through from Wright City, Missouri to The Villages, Florida. To say it was interminable is an understatement. However, we endured it so as to accommodate 15-1/2 year-old Hogan. It's difficult for him to stay overnight in a motel - to climb stairs, and be where other dogs stay too.

Now I'm playing catch-up with laundry, housework, photos, and blogging.  

It was great that our Texas family traveled to Kansas City too. 

Brent and Lyn

It was the first time in several years that all five of our grandchildren were together. 

KC time means a trip (sometimes more than one) to Krispy Kreme. The four grandsons liked watching the donut-making process. I just like eating those freshly-made, warm donuts. Nothing beats them.

On Saturday, June 29, Jill hosted a get-together of the whole family, and it was the best! For me, it was a chance to see siblings and spouses, nieces and nephews and their spouses and kids, and catch-up - very briefly.

My brother and sister have recently been in Ohio to help clear out our (maternal) grandparent's farmhouse and outbuildings. They brought back a lot of items: photos; books; papers; even a war uniform; and more. We spent time looking through pictures together. Susan brought back Grandma's fabric and four quilt tops. More about those later.

Alan, Susan, and me

The cousins (except for one in Iowa) brought their children. It was pretty cool to see all the second cousins together (except for one). In this picture, 11 kids are lined-up in age order, including the newest, a 16 week-old girl. I can't help but think how much my mother would have enjoyed this moment - her great-grandchildren together. 

Luke brought "Dapper" from Texas to have his ear mended.

This was the extent of my "sewing" in the past 12 days! A little bit of handwork, and Luke was a happy boy.
Afterward he said, "Thank you for fixing my Dapper." 😊

Some of us (me!) thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Missouri cabin in the woods. I'd been there before, in August 2017. It's a charming, one bedroom/one bathroom, stilted A-frame on a small lake. Though, being in the woods comes with the requisite ticks, insects, and resulting bug bites that I unfortunately experienced! I'm pretty tasty.

However, we weren't deterred from having a good time.

Cousins Austin and Tay with Hogan

Bapa is famous for "Bapa Pancakes," and did not disappoint his grandchildren.

Celina

Everyone enjoyed the lake.

Lyn and Luke

Luke and Austin kayaked for the first time.

Luke

Austin

Another reason to appreciate the cabin is that it's "off the grid." No cell phone or Internet access. Only a hand-held game and an iPad movie were available to entertain the boys.

On Saturday night, we watched fireworks, and let me tell you... they were absolutely fantastic! Innsbrook does them right! I've never seen such an incredible display, and it was set to music too!

For the first time I tried the "fireworks" setting on my Canon S100 camera. Not too bad.

I also tried the "night scene" setting while the fam was watching fireworks. It's pretty good!

Jill, Lyn, Celina. Tay in forefront.

It was just fabulous to spend time with our children, their spouses, and my five grandchildren. I love them all SO much!

And it's good to be home again too. I have some quilt-y things wanting attention, and will be sharing pictures soon. 

On the plane to KC and at bedtime, I listened to my audio book. I finished "Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens. The book reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver's lush nature-writing style, as in the "Prodigal Summer." (If you haven't read it yet, you must!)

"Where The Crawdads Sing" begins with the death of a local boy, but it's really Kya's story - about "the marsh girl" who grows up alone in North Carolina. Mostly it's a captivating story of living with nature, and living with neglect, hurts, wrongs, and survival - even success - against the odds. I could easily read this book again.

Linda's score: 4.8/5