Hey family!  If you haven't been to www.geni.com, you need to go!  It's awesome!  We have a bunch of profiles posted of our family as well as extended family.  Visit and enter your info.  Teressa has added her family, and Heather and Joe have added most of Joe's family.  Be sure to look at the exchange between Aaron and Lance!  The photos are great.

I love keeping in touch with family.  My Aunt Margaret's daughter (Mom's sister), Becky started it all and it's grown exponentially.

I'm really tired of cold, rainy weather.  It's raining again today.  Tomorrow is supposed to be nice. I'm ready!

My life continues to be filled with work and not much else.  Paul is finally working some more and has been gone all week. 

Gas prices in Springfield, Ill. are $4.15 a gallon.  Don't buy gas in Illinois!!  They charge a state sales tax on each gallon which is so wrong.  I heard that gas could reach $7.00.  Glad I can work from home three days a week. 

Wish I could be in Iowa this weekend to hear Gordon preach.  I know Dad is enjoying the time with both Gordon and Rayna.

Have a nice holiday weekend everyone!

   Seems I find time to write once every other month these days.  I do keep up with the nieces and nephews lives via Xanga though. 

California

We had a great time in California in October visiting Lance, Tiff and Mel.  Joe, Heather and girls were there and Dad made the trip with us. 

Here are some highlights:

• Excitement in the security line in St. Louis!  Dad's drivers license had expired, and I wondered if they'd let him travel with us.  But, they did.  He just had to get patted down each time.  They wouldn't issue his boarding pass at curb side check in in St. Louis, and I asked why.  They guy said that his name was probably on a list of some kind - criminal or terrorist!  That gave us plenty to talk about the rest of the trip.  Dad got along great, though.  He had wheel chair assistance in the airport which made everything run very smoothly.
• On Saturday we packed a picnic and headed north of Malibu for a picnic on the beach.  It was a small picnic area, few people, shade trees and plenty of beach.  Gorgeous day!  Piper and Paige chased waves, we sat in our chairs on the beach and enjoyed the day.  It was the best day of the trip.
• On Saturday night the Malibu wildfire started.
• Sunday morning we all got ready for church and drove on PCH to Malibu to attend the Malibu Presbyterian Church.  When we got to the Topanga Canyon road, we ran into a police roadblock.  They weren't letting anyone past that spot.  If you saw the news of the California wildfires, you know that the Malibu Presbyterian Church is the one that burned to the ground. 
• We headed up through the canyon because we were scheduled to get our family pictures taken after church.  The winds were unbelievable!  When we reached an open area, we saw another roadblock.  No one was allowed to go north further into the canyon. 
• When we finally got to the freeway, we could see smoke curling up from the hills.  At that time, it wasn't too bad, but of course, later in the day and the next, it spread.
• We arrived in Valencia to have our pictures taken.  Lance's friend is a photographer part time, and he and his wife welcomed into their home.  They were so sweet...had muffins made for us and everything! They made quick work of it, and we headed back to Santa Monica.  We just received our pictures yesterday, and they are great!  The couple who took our pictures had to evacuate their home the next day, but they came out of it ok and their home wasn't damaged.
• Paul and I went to Mickey's Halloween Treat Party at Disneyland with Joe, Heather and the girls.  Lots and lots of candy!  Piper fell asleep but Paige enjoyed every minute.  She even got to dance with Sully. 
• Lance, Tiff, Dad, Paul and I visited The Grove - a very, very upscale farmers' market and shopping area in a Jewish community.  You know it's upscale when the parking garage has a waiting area with carpet, couches and flat screen TVs!

We had a good time but it went way too fast for me.  Dad is a great traveler, by the way.  Here are some of the pics from our trip.

Recap

Time really does go by faster, the older one gets.This month has flown. 

My days have been filled with solitude and work.  

I think about Mom every day, and it's the little things that pop up that remind me of her.  I found  Tuffy scouring pads in the grocery store the other day and got so excited!  They have always been my favorite dish or pot scrubber (made my S.O.S) but I haven't been able to find them for over 9 years.  Mom told me they had quit manufacturing them.  That never stopped me from looking every time I bought a new scrubber.  But this past weekend, there they were!  Like magic!  And you know what my first instinct was?  To call Mom and tell her I'd found them. 

Tuffy

Paul has been working all over the place this month.  A couple of weekends ago, he had to travel to LaCrosse, Wisconsin and then go on to Duluth.  He had time to drop by Joe and Heather's for an overnight and spent time with the granddaughters.  When Piper talked to me on the phone, she told  me that I should just "come on over".  Before she signed off, she said, "Grandma, here's a big hug for you."  Nearly broke my heart.  I was so jealous that Paul was able to play with them, read them bedtime stories and hug them. 

Looking ahead

We have a vacation planned, and I'm so excited!  We even talked Dad into going with us.  Well, Lance actually planted the idea in his head, and he decided to do it.  We're flying to California in October and Dad will fly with us.  We have a plan to get him to our house.  We might even have a mini reunion in the process.   Joe and Heather are taking an RV trip out West and will end up in Santa Monica.  We're all going to be at Lance and Tiff's for a week.  Well, Paul and I will be in a hotel close by, but Dad is staying with them along with Heather et al.

Lance is planning to have a family portrait taken while we're there.  I'm looking forward to being together and spending time in Santa Monica, Malibu and perhaps a drive up the coast.  Most of it will just be relaxation.  I love walking to a coffee house and enjoying early morning coffee at a sidewalk table. 

But before that, Paul and I are driving to Iowa to spend time with Dad over the long Labor Day weekend.  He invited us to a dinner theater in the old Steamboat Rock gym.  It's Rainsbarger Days in the valley with all kinds of small town fun planned.  I'm looking forward to it.  Don't tell Dad, but I'm cooking up a bunch of dishes and using my newly purchased Food Saver to vacuum and seal individual meals for him.  I'm freezing them and labeling with contents and cooking instructions so all he has to do is pull one package out of the freezer and heat it in the microwave or simmer in a pan of water.  That machine is so cool, and I'm having a ton of fun playing with it. 

Work

But, before I can vacation, I have to work.  I go to Grapevine, TX, (Dallas area) for three days and then to Scottsdale, AZ, (another three days) the weeks before and after Labor Day. 

Birthday month

August is a big birthday month!  Paul, Rachel and Mary Ellen share the 28th.  Joe's is the 26th.  And Mom's was the 29th.  A friend at work celebrates hers the 26th and our close friends celebrate their 2nd anniversary the 26th.

Happy days to all!