Been too long.

Haven't kept up with this. Too much time on fb. We had a wonderful vacation in Dominican Repuplic in October. Wife had knee replacement in July then had the other one done when we got back from D. R. She is doing fine, unbelievably so. By next spring she will be ready to go do a lot that she hasn't been able to do for a while.
Feels like winter is thinking about arriving anytime. Golfed last week then this week it is cold and rainy.
If anyone is thinking about a Caribben vacation, we can certainly recommend the Lifestyles resort in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Food is great, resort is great, scenery is great, did not try the diving. We would return there in a heart beat.

surgery nears

Wife's knee replacement is a week from today. Hope all goes well and she is better soon.
Summer softball and baseball for grandkids is over. Loved going to the games. Wish Bri's team had done better. She is already getting ready for basketball.
Had a wonderful few days with the MO. grandkids here. They are a delight and are always soooo good here. Was a little hot for the old man to spend time outside with them, but tried to anyway. Did some hitting. Levi is improving dramatically. Did a little BB gun shooting. Did a little slot car in the basement. Ben broke one and was devastated. Just a piece of the body broke, easy fix.
Shot my best round of golf today in a slight rain the whole 18 holes. Maybe I should play in the rain all the time.
Looking forward to regular Mon. night poker tournament tonight. Hope to get golfing once more this week before wife's surgery next week.
Going to DM on Sat. to nephew's 60th!!! birthday. Only 6 years younger than me. His daughter who lives in Jamaica is going to be there too. Will be cool to talk to her.

reunion

Traveled quite a bit the last two weeks. Brother and wife came to visit for two weeks. Had a great time, played golf three times and saw Iowa grandkids play ball. Went to high school reunion (48 years). Already talking about trying to get everyone there for our 50th.

Real treat came last week end when we went to Ashland, Nebr. for the first national family reunion. Met people for the first time. Wife and I worked on our genealogy stuff until the day before the reunion. Had a genealogy wall chart that was almost 12 feet long and three feet deep. It was the star of the reunion. People are now sending me additions and corrections. The book I did is over 50 pages. Am quite proud of the work, but now motivated to continue that and start a book of family stories. We volunteered to host the next reunion in two years. Need to start planning now. Looking forward to having even more people attend.

Saw our Mo. grandkids Mem. week end also. Were so busy we didn't get to see kids as much as we would have liked. Saw Levi play ball. Wow have they improved since I went to practice a month ago. Promised them we would be back soon. Big kids have a summer to do list that we would like to help with, so will get back down there soon.

golf time is here

At last warm enough to play golf. Have played five times, terribly! But good to get back with my golf buddies. Have worked hard outside on house. Tore out all plants in the front and replaced with stuff deer are not supposed to like. Grand kids are now busy with outdoor activities. Haven't got to see Levi play baseball yet, did get to a couple of his practices earlier. I am teaching two classes this term, T & Th. Bri is hard into softball, don't know whether she is playing varsity this year or not. I have been asked to be the voice in the PA booth for her high school games. Have been working on my Harry Carey voice. Did see one of Bri's ASA tourneys and plan on going to one this week end. Saw one of Evan's baseball games and may make another this week. He is playing MWF in a Babe Ruth league. Have been working on genealogy in preparation for the big reunion in Nebr. in June. Bro is coming next week. We are playing in an over 50 best shot on Mon. Then who knows what we will do. Are going to S. Iowa to high school reunion and visit with Paula on Mem. weekend. Damn don't know how I kept up with everything before I retired, can hardly keep up now. Ila's knees do not respond well to this cool damp spring weather, but the nice days she is good to go. COPD seems to be better. Thanks to you who left me a message, encouraged me to keep this up a little.

late again

Too much time since last time. Lots has happened. Will skip most of the happening. Did have a vacation to the Bahamas in Feb. Was unusually cool (60's) and windy. Not good for beach sitting. Did get in one nice dive. Dived a site called shark alley. Appropriately named. Went in at 50 feet and must have seen 10 sharks by the time we hit bottom. Sat there for half and hour watching 10 - 15 swim around us. Most were reef sharks. One diver thought he saw a tiger shark, but I am not good enough to id them. Was cool in all ways. Now am working on my genealogy. Have us traced back to first one in the country in 1728. Have contacted many family people thru facebook and have learned a lot. Will try to update more often. If anyone reads this I would like to know. Don't know if I am posting just for myself or others.

late again

Since last time(Sept) haven't done much. Got to play golf until mid November. Now am involved with Son's and grandaughter's basketball. Evan is just about done with his 7th grade season, but Bri's freshman season is just beginning. Once again I am traveling with the varsity and Soph teams and doing the score book. Levi is doing rollerblade hockey again and we must get to see him play soon. Will be going down there for a few days right after Thanksgiving. Jake is working thanksgiving so we will be going to Jeff's for the day. Several people invited from both sides of his family.

We just booked our Feb. vacation. Will be going to a resort in Grand Bahama for a week. Ila's sister, Marie, will travel with us. Long story on the booking, but did the deal through Cheap Caribbean again. This one is an all inclusive so I may have to start drinking again while it's included. Will probably dive at least once. Looking to do a shark dive and hopefully a wreck dive. Haven't really investigated the possibilities yet.

Don't know if anyone is even checking on this any more, but just in case, here goes. We have had a wonderful summer. Visited Bro and some good friends in Colo. in April. Was wonderful to see old friends that hadn't been seen in years. Always fun to visit bro and family. Returned to Colo in July (Aug?) to go to nephew's son's wedding. Beautiful location at a lake in Estes Park. Once again saw old friend in Loveland. Ila stayed with friend all day while wedding party golfed. Both of us had good time. Week after return from Colo.. we went to Puerto Rico for five nights. Wonderful resort that was very much upscale for us. (If you were a registered guest you could play their golf course for only $225) Wife, non swimmer, showed bravery by doing snuba. Finally gained enough confidence to let go of raft and do a little underwater exploring. I pulled her around and she breathed through the regulator and had a great time. Also visited rain forest on the island. Very beautiful and very interesting. Are home again now and getting ready for autumn and winter. Are planning a Feb. vacation haven't decided for sure where. Are leaning toward Bahama's. Oh! Almost forgot. Got hole in one in July. Made a big deal out of it, but few others did.