Andi and Bruceter!

On our way home we stopped in Indianapolis where Andra and I were born and partially grew up. We saw our former house and visited with good friend, Wes Alden, the neighbor across the street with the pool. His wife, Carolyn, taught us how to swim when we were just little girls. We also visited the church we used to go to before leaving Indy, then Andra and Bruce stayed with us a couple nights in Anna to see where we live. Of course, we had to take them to the Lincoln/Douglas debate site to snap some photos.

Crossing the Lake

Jonathan, Bruce, and Andy swam across the lake and back this year! Andra and I followed in the row boat to make sure the guys were noticed by any pontoons.

Jonathan and Andy came in together, swimming the first 1200 meters in 25 minutes and the last 1200 meters in 20 minutes. Sometimes they got a little off course so Andra and I tried to help direct them from the boat.

They were proud of their feat but happy to be back on shore! Good job, guys!!!

Independence Day

What a fantastic 4th of

July at the lake! It was

great to be back in Indiana

to spend the holiday with

family. The fireworks were

beautiful and the cool

weather was a nice change

from hot and humid Southern

Illinois! We watched the

fireworks going off all the

way around the lake, ate

s'mores, played ladder golf,

and even got in a round of

water volleyball.

birthday boy!

Jonathan is 30! I had every intention of throwing him a surprise party for this milestone when we lived in Charlotte, but being in a new town I had to come up with a different plan. I arranged for his 2 oldest friends to meet up with us and our siblings in Columbia, MO because it was a good middle ground. Since we had a bit of a drive from So. Ill. we needed to stay overnight. So several days before the outing, I began slowly packing some things and carefully placing the suitcase back in its storage position so as to not tip off Jonathan. Unfortunately, I underestimated my ultra observant husband who noticed the suitcase leaning slightly and the disappearance of his khaki shorts. Nevertheless, the birthday was a hit and he was glad to celebrate with good friends. *my apologies to Scott Kerens for not getting a picture before he needed to leave, my gratitude to Andra and Bruce for the superb table decorations, and my sincerest thanks to Jimmy for the pink birthday princess button for Jonathan's lapel. You are all wonderful!