We have another set of twins in the family!!!

Can you believe Tina and Bob have blessed Pam with identical twin daughters - born June 23, 2008 at 4:33 and 4:34 pm. Tina named one and Bob named the other, both are beautiful and healthy; mom and dad are doing well and I haven't heard how Joe & Betty are doing - I'm sure very proud!

Kate Ruth - 4:34 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs. 15.5 oz and 20" long

Madison Marie - 4:33 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs. 13 oz and 19" long

What absolutely beautiful babies!! Our congratulations to everyone and I can't wait to see more pictures!!!!! Keep them coming Pam, I'm sure you will have so much fun with these two cuties.

It's been raining all day -

Well, today is Saturday and it has been raining all day - so I decided to bake! On rainy days Grandma used to fill the time with baking, sounds like a good idea right? I was making blueberry bread, I bought a lemon because it called for a little lemon rind, I had all the mix together and I couldn't find the lemon! Can you imagine, Steve used it in water!!! Man, I mumbled a long time and it brought to mind another baking incident. Mary Ann loved to bake and when the boys were little they would eat the chocolate chips before she could get them in the cookie mix so she would hide them until she had time to bake. Boy, do I wish that I would have hid that lemon!!
I haven't tried it yet, hopefully it will good.

Which reminds me of one time when JoEllen and I decided to make a ton of cookies at Grandma's house. We had such a good time, especially since we did the mixing and baking and Grandma did the dishes. Remember - she didn't have a dish washer!
But she loved to do things with and for the family.

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink!

Well, Kevin (left) lives in Davenport and Frank lives in Burlington and they both are fighting the flood waters. The Mississippi, Cedar and every other river running through Iowa is overflowing and ruining crops and many homes. I haven't heard from Kevin, I hope he is high enough that he's not under water.

When I spoke with Frank, he was bragging that he has his own "indoor" pool, his basement was flooded. It's good to have a positive attitude, since there really isn't anything that can be done to stop it. Becky and Bill live in Cedar Rapids and they are alright, however their places of work are apparently closed - can't get around most of the town with so many roads under water. Keep them all in your prayers.

Lisa & John's Anniversary -

John and Lisa are celebrating their 21st wedding anniversary today - I looked through all the pictures and I found one of John with the boys -

John and their kids -

And one of Lisa with her sisters -
I could not find any with John and Lisa together!! We know that they both were there just not in the same spot at the same time. Actually I think Lisa was having too much fun roaming and visiting with all her cousins.
Anyway happy anniversary Lisa and John and many more happy years!

Tornado wipes out the Boys Scout Camp -

Kurt is a Scout Leader and little Mitchell is a Scout and was at the camp when the tornado touched down Wednesday night. As soon as Kurt heard the news he went to get Mitchell and and found that he was fine, scared but alright. Thank God! We need to keep all our family and friends in prayer during this horrific tornado season.

Jonathan turns 24 today!

Jonathan was born on the hottest day in Phoenix, he came in at 9.5 pounds and 22 inches long and as you can see he was a perfect baby. Don't you love these big guys and they are so handsome today with so many good things going for them.

Here he is with Grandma, look at the adorable, laughing face! And I love Grandma's "bed head"!

Look at this one!!! The look between father and son is priceless, a look of pure adulation. And that is the bike that Artie built.

Artie and Jonathan biking across Iowa in Ragbrai, looks very familiar with the silos in the background. Don't you love it?

Birthday boy Jonathan enjoying a day with Grandma and his two sisters just before the family reunion. Jonathan is presently traveling on his bicycle around Arco, Idaho, keep him in your prayers.

June is a busy month!

Today is Judy & Jim's anniversary - man they have been married longer than us can you believe it?  They were married in 1972 and they are still going strong, congratulations Jim & Judy!

And it is also Bernadette's Birthday.

Now you know where Monica got her beauty - Bernadette was/is beautiful. I remember my first day in Kindergarten, Bernadette walked me to school and she put her necklace on me so I would look really nice. And guess who came home without the necklace?


OK, so here is Bernadette now, looking for the registration table. I can also remember when I was a little older, Bernie was working for National Gypsum and Mom, coming from a musical family wanted to have a piano so I could take lessons. Bernie went half with Mom and they bought a beautiful piano. I took lessons from Pauline Kubecheck for many, many years. I loved to play and later I found out that Mom loved to listen, especially when I played her favorites: Whispering Hope and my favorite Beethoven's Piano Sonata #14 in C Sharp Minor or better known as "Moonlight". I found out that Mom would sit down where she was working and listen to me practicing those pieces. Thanks Bernie!

Bernie finally found the registration table and here she is with Connie and her precious granddaughter. What a sweetie!

Happy Anniversary Mark & Doris!

Yup, it's Mark and Doris' Anniversary - lets see, I graduated from High School on June 7th and they got married two days later on June 9th. I was matron of honor and Patti was the brides maid, the reception was at the folk's house. Can you imagine! How did grandma get everything done? I know they came to Wisconsin for my graduation on Thursday - I have the pictures to prove it and then she had the house to get ready for a wedding. WOW!!!
Patti was always a little faint of heart and when it got too stuffy in the church, she had to make a bee line for the side door before she fainted. Oh my, the drama.

Today is Dustin's Birthday:

Dustin with his Great-Uncle Virgil at the beginning of the reunion. In going through all the pictures the thing that I noticed the most is the good time everyone was having! Look at all the smiling and laughing faces!!

Dustin and Jeff were in the same group for golf and they loved to pull little tricks on the foursome behind them - which just happened to be Dustin's Dad, Gerald.

A little gift so they could not get the ball in the hole -
And through it all, Jeff and Dustin received an award - can't remember why but they had a great time getting to know each other again and having some good clean fun!

Yesterday was Dorene & Artie's Wedding Anniversary:

Here are some pictures when Dorene & Artie were first married - what a happy couple. I remember Artie sporting that butch hair cut for a long time. Actually, I really can't remember when Artie wasn't part of the family. They were married in 1953 which would have been 55 years of marriage.

This is Dorene and Artie with Chuckie, wasn't he a cute baby! They must have been Godparents for him. My earliest recollection of Artie was when he was working for D&B Ford Motor and they probably were not married yet, but Artie was sitting in an office chair in the little office that was added on to the house and Dorene came in and sat on his lap. The chair tipped back and they both fell backwards onto the floor, laughing all the way. And I can also remember Dorene sitting outside on the grass in her wedding dress with the yellow rose bush in full bloom behind her - I thought it was the most beautiful picture in the world.