Journal

Leah and Theresa J. came for an extended weekend on 8/19. We had a fun time - went shopping at the base exchange, drove around the base and ended up at a brew pub in Leavenworth for a late lunch. The next day, Leah, Theresa and Pat went to the casino and "had a good time" - my euphemism for they didn't win anything. Leah and Theresa also talked to the cattle owners and walked around the farm. Hope they will repeat their visit in the future.

We headed for Texas a week ago and stopped overnight in Wichita Falls so P could play golf on Friday with a friend. Then onto Austin to visit the Churchetts. Never a dull moment in the Churchett household - played lots of Monopoly with J who loves to buy hotels and houses, took K for ice cream and read her current favorite book "Uno's Garden" about 100 times - I will not quickly forget the Snortlepig, and played with lots of puzzles. P & J played several hands of poker while we were there. Really enjoyed seeing Jennifer, Magda, Stepan and Matthew on Saturday. Jenny fooled us with a delicious chocolate silk pie made with Tofu. Elizabeth had a birthday surprise on C's birthday - very nice surprise with many nice presents and thanks to Jenny who babysat, we went to Trulucks on my birthday for an excellent meal and a creme brulee with a sparkler. We stopped overnight at Rita's in Ft. Worth and went out to eat with Rita and KL. A very enjoyable week.

Pat's first cousin Larry and his wife Annette came for a visit this weekend; I had met them once about 40 years ago. It was interesting and busy - Saturday morning the men played golf while Annette and I browsed the artsy stores - Nell Hill's and Garrity's - in Atchison. In the afternoon we drove to KC to the Country Club Plaza and browsed the stores there and then ate at McCormick and Schmick's. Sunday we drove to Independence and visited the Truman home and library - both very interesting. We had a late lunch in Independence and a late supper at home and thanks to Larry some excellent wine that he had brought with him. Pat's father and Larry's mother were siblings although they were not raised in the same household - it has always been an interesting family story. It was nice to be able to get to know them this weekend.

Atchison is having a festival commemorating Lewis and Clark's return trip on the Missouri river. We checked out the first day events yesterday and saw an Indian hoop dancer that was quite impressive. He managed to end up with 28 hoops on various parts of his body, some hoops he twirled and some hoops were interlocking. The dance lasted about 15 minutes during which he was stamping and moving the whole time and he was not breathless at the end. There was also a dugout canoe, a keelboat replica, a tipi and other assorted L&C information. About three miles out of town the historical society has built a replica of a Kanza earth lodge on the site where the Kanza tribe had a large village. It is at the end of a five mile hike/bike trail which will be fun to do.