More blasts from the past...

I think this is 4th of July weekend and we're all sitting on Aunt Mary's deck in Lake View (IA), in 1990.

I'll try and identify the crowd: Front left (and bottom to top of the pic) is Matthew, Claire on mom-Ann's lap, and Uncle Joe and Delores behind on the deck; Rachel in front of her mom-Kathy, with (my) Alex on her lap and John behind them; me with Samantha on my lap; Anne (Montag) with her Rachael and Ben in front of her, and her hubby, James behind her; Michael on the far right and Grandpa Walker peaking between James and Michael from the deck behind them.

I'm pretty sure this picture was taken at Swan Lake when the kids had been petting the goats. Alex looks to be about 5 in this, and that would mean Samantha would be 4.

Scene of the First Wedding!

We had been to Swan Lake in the past with small children on several occasions, but I didn't remember this particular shelter area. The view is beautiful, even on a cold, windy, and not-very-green day (last Friday). I'm guessing it's MUCH more scenic with the trees and grass/flowers in full spring mode at the end of May (but I still thought it was a really beautiful setting for a wedding!)

This is the garage-looking restroom area, located not far from the shelter house.

This is inside the shelter itself, and if worst comes to worst, you could sit inside the shelter at the picnic tables and watch the wedding from there!

You've got to be quick!

When I opened the dryer to retrieve the clothes, the phone rang, so I went to answer it. When I came back, this is what I encountered! (It's Bogart sneaking into the dryer to nap!)

Before that, I had taken a load out of the dryer and put it down (to start folding and putting away!) and another distraction (cat) was meowing at the patio door to get in because her fur (Lucy's) was blowing off her body in the 20+ mph winds that we're having today!

Waiting.....

Izaac decided he couldn't wait until it's warmer to go boating, so he played in the boat in our garage last week. (I'm anxious for warmer weather, too, for boating and comfort!)

I'm waiting on a repair person, too. Why do repair people tell you things they have no intention of making true. One of the springs on our garage door has broken, and the garage-door repair person came within a day to see what needed to be done.

This repair person stated that new springs would be ordered, and then installed by the next mid-week. It's now the mid-week AFTER that week, and I'm still waiting..... I've put in a call, but no response. Waiting just isn't that much fun!

Past and present

These are a couple of the eagles we saw as we were driving (40mph!) across the mile-long bridge at Saylorville Lake near Polk City, Iowa, Sunday on our way home from Des Moines.

Below is Noel on the patio fence when the snow was still falling (and starting to stick to the ground--we ended up with 3-4 inches, Des Moines had 7 inches of snow!) last Friday.

This is one of those 'church' pictures of Samantha and Alex in 1991 (probably late spring??). Samantha would have been almost 4, and Alex was 5.

This is most of the Markey grandkids on Easter, 1992. (Michelle, Alex, Brian, Amanda and Samantha)

BACK TO REALITY--IT'S STILL WINTER!!!

So long, Daniel Boone...

Fess Parker died today at the age of 85. His widow, Marcella, was raised in Deep River, Iowa (according to a relative of mine that spent some years there, too). I'm glad we still get to enjoy Mr. Parker in reruns.

(above) I think this is Christmas, 1990, which makes Alex almost 5 and Samantha 3 1/2 years old.

(above) This is Alex, cousin Will, Grandpa Walker, and cousin Rachel with Samantha on her lap. I think this is 1992 or 1993, Easter?? Grandpa Walker cherished EVERY minute with all his grandkids!

Old photos for fun...

Grandpa Markey would entertain the kids when they were smaller with tricks like wagon rides and balloons (he'd blow a couple up when an of the kids were fussy and toss them around). This must be mid-1990?? Alex, Samantha and Amanda are in the wagon.

We had several Halloween's in Des Moines when it was cold, and some with SNOW! This must have been one of them--1993??

Below is the Markey grandkids annual Christmas card picture in 1992 when cousin Ben was new and the girls later decided to fight over who would hold him!

Reminiscing....

Not sure what year this was. Des Moines, possibly 1992? This would have made Samantha 5 1/2 and Alex almost 7.

Below is Alex, maybe 4? (so 1990) in our Des Moines driveway with our neighbor's dog, Sophie. Sophie arrived as a puppy right after we moved in that house, and the kids grew up right along with Sophie. She was a GREAT dog, and was VERY protective of my kids.


This has to be 1989 or 1990??? Lake View, IA, I think. I used to write on pictures I gave the relatives, but wasn't so efficient about the duplicates, etc. I think that's cousin Matthew at the left, Claire, Rachel, Alex, John & Samantha. Man, they were YOUNG!!!

Some sun on Sunday

Here's today's view of the 'lake' in the field...

The snow is disappearing in the yard and in the field. Behind the house is a different story.

Gracie was excited about walking in the grass (as all the cats were today) and raced up another tree. (above)

Even the bunnies came out in the sunshine...it didn't last all day, but while the sun was out, it was a nice day!

A Daniel Boone fan and a new lake across the road.

We watched a little "Daniel Boone" while Izaac was here, and these are the results. We had to dig out Alex's old horse, and he found a bag like Daniel wears (but I'm not sure what it's supposed to contain--gunpowder??--jerky??). He also can sing a verse of the theme song, too!

This was snow-covered about 4 days ago. Since it's rained and been slightly warmer this week, it looks like a small lake now!

Izaac got some new reading material!

When Grandma Walker and Aunt Mary came back from their Florida vacation last week (flying back to Minneapolis) they brought home a box of books for Izaac from Aunt Ann in Minnesota.

This is (great) Uncle Johnny reading the Richard Scarry book about the motorcycle cop, "Sergeant Murphy's Traffic Book" This is his favorite. Busytown is perfect for the otherwise-busy boy, Izaac! Lots of flaps to turn on each page to see what's really going on in the Busytown community.

A wild Sunday at OUR house!

Almost everybody that came to our combined b.d. party today (John made homemade beef and noodles and french bread--YUM) had something to try on! I shortened my mom's choir robe (someone took her shorter one from church and hasn't returned it). Michelle and Allison tried on their dresses for Samantha's wedding, and Samantha tried on a dress she may wear to the rehearsal dinner.

Grandma Walker (at left in picture above) attached pins where necessary and gave advice on how to make the dresses fit/look better.

Allison and Oliver relax last night in the Prairie Room while watching "The Incredibles", and Alex played on the computer (and attempted his tax return!).

These were some of the cars in the driveway today for the party. It really did look more like a used car lot than a driveway! Nice party, and Lucy (kitty) finally came out of the tree after being chased around the yard a little by Oliver...

Gracie up a tree and wedding clothes!

On Sunday, in Des Moines, Michelle and her roommate/buddy, "Nhu" (but we call her 'old' sometimes) tried on a couple of dresses Samantha is considering for her bridesmaids.

Before Izaac and I traveled to Des Moines, we had to get the furry children inside, and we found Gracie really high in the tree in our west yard. She did come down without much encouragement (I called to her, but before I got my boots on she was down and out of the tree).

She was in the left tree (above) and more than half-way up. It's hard to see her in this picture, but she is up there, and you can see it better if you 'click' on the picture to make it larger.


Izaac got a new outfit for Samantha's wedding, too, and was happy to try it on at Great-grandma's house Sunday. He looks pretty handsome!