Thankfully, we found our way back to the OCblog!!

Dear Family,

Any font using LARGER is best for readers here, Thanks.

Congratulations to Domino for being Vassar quality and her confident choice and to Magdalena for her "sportsperson journalistic"
description of the Mount Holyoke regatta victory!

Happy Birthday wishes for Susan today!

Pleased with the blog, e-mail and phone reports on the music activites of Declan, Cooper and Charlie. Perhaps we'll see a photo of Declan with instrument, suit and beard???

We were a small part of the photo shoot for Prom Court member Bridget on Saturday afternoon--about 1 PM --and she and Tony were just starting the series of events which kept her parents out all night as well! The photos in the blog really don't do her justice!!

Enjoyed recounts of the O'Connell-Long Colorado visit with M, D, L and R. The great house photos are impressive and certainly use of the new facilities would impress any guests. Thanks to Michele and David for sharing the many views!!

Praying here that the cortizone will provide Michele with relief promptly and continually.
Will hope she won't have to make any further
complex decisions. Appreciated the phone visit you and Mom had on Sunday evening with relating the weekend camping event along with other topics.

Our 4 day Retired Educator convention at Chula Vista in the WI Dells was worthwhile and we
had an opportunity to have a visit from Maura and Tim at our campsite and later at the new Dells Tanger Mall where the staff at Coldwater Creek served the ladies for at least an hour(I don't think it was that long) and found some lovely things. We had to get back for a dinner so our trip was shortened, but we had a good time.

We didn't tell you much about the trip to Boise, and I will begin with thanks to Matt, Casey and Freya for being such gracious hosts! Little Freya provided the entertainment, was very friendly after she got used to the new faces, and we were able to play and read and eat with with her. Matt got out the outdoor gym that he had purchased at a sale the last time we were there and, tho she couldn't climb up onto the slide, there were always helping hands to boost her up to the top and catch her at the bottom. Lots of pictures to attest to this. Plan to send a pack of photos to Idaho soon.

Dad and Matt had a (Snake River at Brownlee Dam) fishing day, Casey went to work, Freya to her baby=sitter and I had the day off to read and relax until the troops got home.That was Thursday.

Casey had been planning her garden for some time, so we went to visit a lady who was opening her greenhouse that day, and we found many things that she had planned for. We all made a trip to Lowe's to get wood for three square gardens, and soil, etc. to fill them and the men got three made and installed in the back yard. The trick was to keep Freya from helping, and the slide was a good distraction.

Really miss the good times we had with Freya, Casey and Matt. Also miss Matt's great homemade cookies which are partially responsible for Freya's most clearly spoken word aside for those for her parents!! Would guess "Grover" comes in next!!

Back home on Sunday evening too do laundry, load up the R.v. and drive to Chula vista on monday. dad has told you about that trip.

May is turning out to be as busy as the rest of the year has been so far. Lots of reunions,parties, etc. We went to Stein's on Sunday to purchase some annuals and perennials on sale, so spent Monday and Tuesday planting. we had an 80 degree day yesterday - perfect for outdoor work. Think we transplanted over 100 perennials, some from Steins, but most raised from seed last year, to multiple beds around the yard. Hope to get all the mulch salvaged from the basswood tree that blew down last fall on all these beds soon.

Like the blog "treasures", this entry seems to be going in reverse! Our AZ trip went almost without a hitch, after the first day. Near Bloomington, IL, we noted a soft rear dual tire and called AAA. A number of calls and nearly 5 hours later we were on our way with the flat fixed and the spare reloaded in the rack. Overnight at Scott AFB near St. Louis. On to the
Tinker AFB in OKlahoma City the next night.
Heavy head winds allowed us to get only as far as Santa Rosa, NM and Payson, AZ the next 2 nights. By the 5th night we were at a favorite spot, Usery Mountain regional park near Mesa where we stayed for 6 nights. Visited Aunt Gerry, cousins Mary Pat and Jack and their spouses and two couples we know from St. Joe's and Waukesha Retired Teachers.

The second week we were at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson. Almost every day we met Ann and Ed and
did things in the area. Most of the third week we were at Patagonia Lake SP near Nogales where we again did some things with Ann and Ed. Had a wonderful St. Pat's Corned Beef/Cabbage dinner sponsored by the local Senior Citizen group which was held in the old rail passenger depot which is now a Community Center.Not a
great year for birding or flowers because of the continuing drought. We were at Ft. Huachuca at Sierra Vista the 4th week. Did get back to the village of Patagonia on day to have lunch with A & E and their cousin Devera and her husband who
had come from their home in the LA area to visit A & E who sometimes see them when they visit Julie's family in CA. Had a rental car for the weekend which made it possible to get to some of the birding areas which are not accessible using the RV.

Started the 5th week heading home with a first night stop at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, the second and third nights in the Kerrville area where we spent most the day with our Whitnall friends, the Hokansons. Night 4 was spend after a day of dodging severe weather at a RV spot in Gainsville TX, near the OK border. It was Little Rock AFB the next night. Saturday night, 3/31 found us back at Scott AFB RV FamCamp where a tornado warning sent us to the laundry room/lavatory building at dinner time until we got the all clear on the Weather Radio!! After Palm Sunday mass there we drove on home to Big Bend on April Fool's Day--almost 5000 miles. Our new weather radio, a WPR pledge gift, got a work out, but we didn't have to use the crank up standby power, as the batteries held out! Susan & Jay used it on their Colorado trip, too.

Can't forget a couple of other "family" times we were glad to have had between AZ and ID. Had a nice visit with David and Finn on Good Friday
afternoon and then on Easter Sunday and Monday we were in Ft. Atkinson with the children when Mark was in TX. Found ourselves in the midst of the annual basket hunt at 500 N. Main which involved all four plus cousin Nick Schulz before he and Nemo returned to Madison. At the same time Domino and Beth were scrambling around getting ready to drive to Milwaukee to catch their plane for New York. Things quieter when
we went on to Lillian street with C & C. We stayed overnight and took them to school and picked them up and took Calvin to his guitar
lesson on Monday. The "unquiet" returned as we learned that Mark was in Denver after a flight cancellation and he wouldn't get to MKE until
late evening. We stayed until he got home and then drove to Big Bend--probably the latest we've stayed out for a long time. But worth the effort.

Thanks for reading to the end!! Love and prayers, Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Gene