Date Night

Last week I (GJ) took the train from Zion and went on a date down by Chicago.

Great fun!

Seeing as it was supposed to be a fun night out, it naturally included a stop at one of my favorite stores: Vogue Fabrics! I really, truly thought that I was going to go in and out without buying anything. Well, that would have been a record, and no records were made that night.

(Ok, ladies, how often do you find a gorgeous piece of lawn in a lovely, historically accurate print, 60 inches wide for $2.99 a yard? Some things are just too good to pass up!)



Here is a picture of us on the train:

You thought I went out with Kyle didn't you! I got ya!
Actually, I went out with my brothers - we haven't had a date night in a long time.

Chef Andrew tried out one of his recently perfected creations on us.

The simplest of sandwiches, raised to an art form. I could describe them further, but my life might be endangered. Besides, you'll ruin your keyboard if you drool on it.

Andrew is getting settled in to his new apartment. Here are a few pictures for those who have not been there yet. Things are looking good!

We also took a walk down to the Lake Michigan. I love walking in the city after twilight.
If I have an escort, that is.

Suffice it to say, it was pretty late by the time we left. ;-) Thanks Andrew for hosting such a great evening! - GJ

Real Cabin Pictures

Since I ..........I mean we, lost the camera last weekend with all our cabin pictures on it, I thought that I should put up some real cabin pictures.

This is the famous Wahoo game played on the homemade board that Grandpa Bud made for us.

Wahoo is serious business!

I'm not sure what year these were taken but some of us look much younger in these pictures.

Matthew on parts of the pier in front of Beaver Dam Lake.

No telephone, no TV, no computer etc. It's so peaceful. We read aloud, play games, sing and just enjoy being together.

Fish Fry Fun!

This is it. Really. The last post from Gretchen and Nate's trip to Oakland.

Our last big event in Oakland was the annual Jonah Fish Fry. Folks come from all the surrounding towns, and it's a big event. After tasting that fish, we know why!

Nate and I volunteered to help out. At one point, I got to help with the fish breading. They had quite the technique - slice the fish, dip in milk, cover with crumbs and press, exerting exactly 45 lbs. of pressure. How we were supposed to know how much pressure we had applied, I don't know. We just decided that if we broke a piece of fish, it must have been 46!

Our trays of fish were then deep fried - no wonder it was so yummy! Well, it was all good grease. ;-)

Most of the time though, we worked on the drink part of the food line. We made lemonade and iced tea, Nate and I kept glasses filled, and Kyle went from table to table with refills.


We had a blast chatting with the other workers, meeting lots of new people, and just being together. Work in good company is no longer work at all! Thanks, Kyle, for letting us help. I guess it pays to have connections. ;-) GJ

Oops . . . . . .

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

We went up to the Lainio Family Cabin in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, this weekend to paint the garage. I can't believe we had so much fun, and we finished the whole garage in two days! Of course, that didn't leave much leisure time, but we did get in our traditional game of "Wahoo!". I won, but it was pretty tense at the end, with Matthew just a dice roll away from a resounding victory.

The sad part of the weekend has to do with the camera. Do you notice all the non-pictures on this post? Well, we took the camera along. Someone even faithfully took pictures of us all as we worked. We got great pictures.

• Haley and I working with orange lilies in our hair.
• Daddy and Kyle up on ladders.
• Matthew showing off his painting muscles.

The picture taker (who will remain unnamed to protect the humiliated) faithfully put the camera back in the same spot after every use, so he/she would remember where it was.

Unfortunately, the spot moved. The spot was the front bumper of the van.

We walked the driveway and road several times. Even the neighbors and the guests at their cookout looked. We drove very slowly back into town with our emergency flashers on and Matthew hanging out of the window. The camera was gone.

So, here are our pictures of the weekend at the cabin. . . . . . .

Kyle and I painting the side of the garage.

Matthew painting and Haley scraping.

I sure hope that camera didn't have any embarrassing pictures on it. - GJ

Breakfast by the Lake

Warning:

For those that are getting tired of posts about Oakland, feel free to skip to the next entry.

Last Saturday Nate, Kyle and I all got up early and headed out to Walnut Point (a state park just outside Oakland) for breakfast. The scenery with the morning light was absolutely beautiful.

The company wasn't bad either. ;-)

Nate and I both got their famous pancakes, having been warned to order only one. They were quite big, and much thicker than they look in the picture.

Before.

After: the pancake is still unconquered, and I can't fit another bite.

(Heroic Theme Music)
Fortunately, that's where brothers come in. Garbage disposals were invented for families that only have girls. - GJ

Kittens

Kyle found two kittens for us!

So on Sunday when Gretchen and Nate came back they brought with them two of the most adorable kittens!

The Black and white one is mine and her name is Peekaboo.

And the striped one is Matthew's, and his name is Mater.

Peekaboo!

A tiger in his cave.

Peekaboo cut in half?

Oh, maybe not.

So cute !

AW!

You are hogging the road.

Stop walking on me.

What is she doing?

Matthew that sandwich looks really good! :)

Time for a cat nap.

Day dreaming are we?

Sleepy? (well not the kitten)

She is so cute.


Thank you Kyle so much for the kittens!!!! :)

Love,
Haley and Matthew

Visiting Chef

On Monday night, my friend Jaimie came over to learn to make spaghetti. As you can see, we girls are into aprons!

Jaimie chopping onions. She didn't cry as much as I usually do! Maybe I should use the little chopper thing more often. Hmm.

Browning ground beef under the watchful eye of the supervising chef. Jaimie did a great job on every task I set her to do.

Voila!

Feasting on the results. It made for a very yummy meal, and everyone asked for seconds. :-) I haven't had so much fun over spaghetti for a long time! - GJ

Oakland Tour

Of course, while the cousins were with us in Oakland, we managed to do more than watch the store.

We got in a few games of Kings Corners. (If Becca's smile seems especially big, it's because she won five games in a row!)

We also got a driving tour of Oakland, which hit most of the local sights. This was our stop at Casey's to pick up pizza (the tour included dinner).

Oakland is a really cute town, with lots of fun buildings and homes.

Okay, okay, so it's probably for kids, but I have to admit I was intrigued! :-)

I love the fact that Oakland has a town square! It's so pretty and green, and has gorgeous old trees, not to mention the cute flags they put up for the fourth.

Kyle's store is on the square, and you can see it in the background of this shot.

Our driving tour also hit Oakland Lake (sorry this picture is a little fuzzy). It's such a pretty area, with woods, hills, ravines, lakes and a river - - - tucked into the middle of beautiful farm country. Sorry, I don't have enough pictures to do it justice. You'll just have to arrange for a driving tour of your own! - GJ