Sunday Afternoon Tea with the Green Girls

Addie was glad to see the sun after another weekend of record rainfall. Only 2 inches on Saturday. Flooding everywhere. Table Rock Lake back up 3 feet from Saturday's rain.

Well, we didn't actually have tea, but anytime you have something to drink mid-afternoon, it's called tea from Alex's perspective. Here you see Addison and Jasmine appropriately attired in their garden party tea dresses on our patio on Sunday afternoon. Much to my delight, they've graduated to dresses since they're both now walking. (Dresses are really a problem when one is mostly moving about by crawling.) We hope this is the first of many, many tea times with the Green girls.

Bower-Baker Reunion

Uncle Minor was named reunion master of all ceremonies. Our FU (favorite uncle) was open to all new ideas even dairy ease. He whipped out many lesser foes in the annual cribbage tournament. Remember it is more than luck. You must pay attention and play those cards.

The Green Girls got right into the beach house and vacation scene. This morning they were sorting through the previous night's celebration leftovers.

Little Sawyer seemed to love the lake and easy living of vacation. Gramma had lots of opportunities to get to know those wonderful grandkids.

It was great fun to spend time with the cousins and their kids. Kristie and Lexi were always ready for whatever the gathering threw at them. They even learned the reunion game- cribbage.

Needless to say some of our best times revolved around eating on the lakehouse deck. The lovey group in the front might have had one to many???

Jasmine Crosses the Threshold

Jasmine and Addison were here for supper last night and spent most of the evening walking or crawling back and forth over the threshold between the kitchen and the deck. Addison is walking and even running everywhere. Jasmine has taken a few steps and is not far behind. At the moment, though, she is very interested in this book about kittens and particularly the meowing sound it makes. You can see her little finger on the "meow button." It's a lot of fun being a grandparent and seeing how quickly the girls are growing and developing.

JB Takes On Sunday School Teaching

Our Sunday School program is trying something new this summer that involves the children moving from activity to activity, versus staying put in one classroom for the entire time. This week and next Paul and I are teaching the lesson. (I prepare and he assists with improvisation and crowd control strategies.) This morning we did the Vine and the Branches from John 15. Although there was lots of "activity," it came off pretty well. It was definitely a team effort and helped tremendously that Paul knew the names of most of the children.

Lake House View - Branson Gathering

Above you will find two views from the lake house where the Baker/ Bower family gathering will commence in just two weeks' time. From what we know, there will be various family members coming and going during the time we're at the lake house, e.g., the KC and Michigan Bowers are arriving on Friday and leaving on Sunday.

Here are some important things you might want to know.

1) Due to record breaking rains in the Ozarks region this past spring, the lake is 14 feet above its normal level. This means that the beach that once was below the house is no longer there. The good news is that a public area is nearby. It should be noted that many Ozarks lakes have rocky bottoms, so appropriate footwear is in order.

2) Bring insect repellant. The mosquito population, while normally pretty low, is now likely to be higher due to all the rain.

Other important news:

• Family / group meals are planned for evenings. Each family group can provide a contribution or two to the meal. A complete kitchen and large gas grill are available at the house.
• Every group should make their own plans for breakfast and lunch, but a refrigerator/ stove/ microwave, etc. will be available at the lake house for those choosing to use them.
• The lake house has two large decks and a hot tub overlooking Tablerock Lake -- very nice for visiting, eating, dining, card playing, singing, etc.
• Bring games.
• Brochures, information and maps of area attractions will be available. (Paul is collecting information on golf courses; Jennifer is planning shopping trips.)

Stay tuned to your email and this web site for more information.

He Promised Me a Rose Garden

When we moved to this house Paul promised me a rose garden like the one I had at our former house. This meant sifting an inordinate amount of soil and removing 20 wheelbarrow loads of dirt to the area behind our house, but I now have a beautiful rose garden. Note the beautiful blossoms in the photos. It's a real treat to be able to pick them and have fresh roses on the table every day.

Quilt in Progress

Recently I've been immersed in David Allen's book, Getting Things Done. With that in mind, I've decided to try to get move forward on getting some unfinished quilt projects done. This one is a group quilt in the sense that my friends, Mary Magnus and Sue Heinz will both be contributing some blocks. I made some for them, but have taken nearly a two year hiatus in asking them to do any for me. I'm proud to say that all fabric has been delivered or mailed and the piecing has begun. It's pretty exciting.