Yes, We Did Go to Vienna!

It seems like if we truly were in an awesome place like Vienna that we'd surely have posted some pictures by now, don't you think?  Well, not really much of an excuse from here other than that being gone for nearly five weeks (Colorado family vacation/family reunion immediately prior to the four-week time in Vienna) takes a LOT of catch-up time when you return home!  But alas, I'm finally going to try to do this and share some of my very favorite pictures from Vienna with all of you.

First, though, a couple of Colorado pictures:

 

While we were at Rainbow Lake, Drew and Carrie (along with Drew's parents from North Carolina) stopped by for an evening's visit with all of us.  We were really thankful it worked out that we were in Colorado at the same time all the Shaffers were vacationing in Colorado.  That made for some very special time for Drew and Carrie to connect with Grandpa and Grandma as well as Uncle Larry and Galena and Aunt Ann.

And here's our traditional Rainbow Lake photo of the gang!

 

 

 

After returning to Leoti, we had a great weekend of my high school reunion and a big Miller extended family reunion with around 80 cousins in attendance.  That was really special!

 

 

We had about a two-day turn-around at home before we flew to Vienna.  Our main goal in going was to be of help to Gregory, Kim, and Nathanael as they moved from their temporary home to their permanent apartment and as they received their shipping container of household goods that we had sent on its way to them in mid-July.  Gregory and Kim and Dick spent most of the first week we were there picking up some purchased items at IKEA and delivering them as well as some items that were purchased second-hand from a family who was returning to the States.  Of course, almost all of this had to be assembled, and the second-hand items had no instructions so some of this took a r-e-a-l-l-y l-o-n-g time to figure out and complete!  But the end results were really great functional pieces for the kids.  Now I'll have you know that while all of this was happening, I, too, was very hard at work -- my responsibilities included playing with Nathanael!  We had an absolutely delightful time, and that continued for me for the whole four weeks I was there.  Dick actually had to return home after ten days in Vienna for work.  We moved from the temporary house to the apartment actually before the overseas container arrived, and we were very settled in by the time it came.  There were strong guys from the kids' church who helped immensely in unloading the container and moving all the belongings up to the 6th-floor apartment.  Then followed a few days of unpacking and setting up the apartment.  During all of this time, Nathanael and I spent lots of time outdoors at a few nearby fun parks, playing and generally staying out of the way.  I'll have you know, though, that I did help unpack some stuff, etc., during naps and after Nathanael's bedtime!  As my time came to an end, I was so thankful I'd been able to be there and help but also that I was able to have a very clear picture of the neighborhood, the church, the community, etc., where the Kings now call "Home"!

 

And now, a few pictures of my favorite things in Vienna:

Playing with Grandpa!

Happy Giggles!

Cheesy Grins!

Every boy needs a John Deere (or two or three)!

Tickles and Hugs!

Walks!

Parks and Ponds!

Tickling Mr. Bear!

A trip to the zoo!

The grounds at Schonbrunn Palace

Tired Nathanael and Grandma on the train ride home!

One of the many, many, many green spaces in Vienna!

My precious grandson!

Mozart -- one of Vienna's claims to fame

Are you catching a pattern here? 

My favorite things in Vienna are the people who are there!

Like father, like son; notice that Nathanael has his ankles crossed just like his daddy!

I love it!

Nathanael's "zoo"

Not me, the animals!

A picture from what we call "Jeep Park" -- this ones for you Uncle Drew. 

The whole vehicle is on suspensions so you can actually make it bounce and jolt around like a real ride!

Jeep Park also has an awesome water feature that offers hours of play for little boys.  I love the smudge of "joy" on his brow!

And my final evening in Vienna, we went for ice cream -- that boy loves raspberry yogurt.  In fact, he's rather reluctant to let anyone even have a taste of his!

 

It was an amazing time in Vienna, and we look forward to many visits to come when indeed we will probably see more of the traditional sites of this lovely city! 

(But my favorites will always remain my family!)

 

Thanks for taking this lengthy journey with us!

 

Springtime!

I suppose I'd get tired of the weather if each day were like today, but I'd sure like to give it a try!  I think I could enjoy morning coffee on the porch with a light jacket at 50 degrees that leads into a day of a light north breeze and a high of 70 degrees -- absolutely beautiful!  I had a really, really hard time staying indoors and getting my computer work done today, but I did it.  This morning, though, I spent a few hours outdoors repotting some plants, spring cleaning the front porch, washing a few windows...it was wonderful and much, much better than the 90s we had last week.
Before they left for Vienna, Nathanael and his daddy and mommy helped us get the garden started.  Nathanael planted a small area of potatoes for his garden.

And here's how they're doing so far, Nathanael.  When they bloom, I'll show you that, as well as when Grandpa and I dig them!

More than a year ago, Gregory and I cleaned out all the overgrown irises and lilies from around my birdbath in the back yard.  I divided the plants and replanted only a very few of them so they'd have room to grow again.  Last year, the drought prevented them from doing hardly anything, but this year, they bloomed beautifully.  Here are some of the fruits of our labor (mostly Gregory's!):

I cut these and brought them in the house early one morning that we were expecting temps in the 90s with a strong south wind.  I knew they wouldn't last outdoors, and I sure did enjoy having them inside.

When the lilac bush was in bloom outside my office window, it was covered for a few days with various kinds of butterflies.  I was able to catch this beautiful one with his wings spread.  It's a wonder I ever get any work done!

With the unusally early spring, the wild flowers are now beginning to bloom these few weeks early, and they're starting to look like it's going to be a bumper crop.  I especially enjoy the heavily scented wild roses.  It sure makes mowing a whole lot more fun when I get to see and smell all the flowers in the nearby pastures and ditches.

Hope all of you dear ones are enjoying your springtime as much as I'm enjoying mine!

Sure Is Quiet Here!

A little over a week ago we took Gregory, Kim, and Nathanael to the airport, sending them off to begin their lives in Vienna, Austria.  We sent them with lots of hugs and prayers and blessings, but we sure miss all three of them - and especially our little Nathanael.  We feel so much richer for having been able to be a close part of his first two years, and we look forward to Skypes and phone calls and letters and visits to Austria in the future.  I think the Amish have something pretty special going in their families by having multigenerational homes and homesteads!

We spent a long weekend in Erie all together as a family at the end of March, and we had such a good time - laughing and remembering and playing on the floor with trucks and tractors and toys!  Just continuing to make more memories! 

So we send the Kings off to Austria with not only an excitement and anticipation with how they will settle there and be used but also with a sadness because this chapter in our lives has ended.  Now we just need to start planning for a Gimple Family Christmas in Vienna, right Girls?!

Now, on a totally different topic:  I planted a salad mix in my garden this year, and it has a mix of a couple of "normal" types of lettuce - leafy green and red leafy - and also 3-4 more unusual kinds.  Every time I pick this (or eat it), I remember being at Ron and Sandy's wedding reception dinner.  Each guest had a wonderful little salad of mixed greens with some of the unusual types.  We were sitting with Bob and Ann, and I'll never forget Bob's comment when I said how much I liked the salad greens.  "What!  That's just like eating a bunch of weeds!"  Such a Kansas farmer comment!  I loved it then, and I still love it now every time I pick my salad greens from my garden.  Ah, good memories!

End of Summer

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of months:

Nathanael and Grandpa are waiting for a K-State football game to begin with their K-State shirts. Two pretty good buddies!

We spent a long weekend in Erie with Drew and Carrie and had a wonderful time. On that Saturday, we went to Pittsburgh and visited the National Aviary and had a fun trip together as well as seeing lots and lots of birds. Drew, Carrie, and Dick are in one of the habitats in the top picture, and the other, of course, is a couple of napping flamingoes. Looks just like a couple of yard ornaments, huh!

This is the little white table and chair set that I had when I was growing up. Then Carrie and Kim played with it. Now it's been repaired and repainted for Nathanael to enjoy -- which he definitely does -- stacking all kinds of toys and trucks, etc., on it and having snacks there.

Nathanael is helping Grandpa pick tomatoes from the garden. Picking tomatoes is one of his favorite outdoor activities ranking right up there with gathering sticks and acorns and walnuts from the yard. He's a good little helper!

And here's the little red chair that my Grandpa Henry Arthur Wiles made for his sons, Clifton and Earl (Daddy). We always played with it as we were growing up at home, and then all the grandkids played with this little chair whenever they were visiting at Grandpa and Grandma Wiles' through the years. Now Nathanael is having a turn with it, too.

Here's our little "farmer" on Grandpa's JD tractor. Of course, it's just sitting in the garage, but that doesn't make it any less fun for Nathanael to drive!

Grandpa took Nathanael out to see some BIG tractors when we were visiting at his great grandma Gimple's home.

Colorado 2011

We had two wonderful times with family and friends in Colorado this summer. The mountains with all the melting snows from the winter and all the spring rains were absolutely gorgeous this time.

The first was a week with Drew and Carrie and Greg and Kim and Nathanael in Winter Park, just relaxing together. This was in mid-June, and we actually had a couple of inches of snow the first day we were there! The mountains were unbelievably lush and beautiful; just couldn't get enough of them.

Greg, Nathanael, and Kim at one of our family meals in the condo.

Nathanael and his Auntie Carrie!

Drew and Carrie at the condo.

Nathanael and his grandpa taking a walk/wagon ride around Winter Park.

And we had a terrific time connecting with our dear friends, the Millers, for a bit of time in Estes before heading back home. This was the first time we had been all together since we had Drew, Greg, and Claire join the family as spouses and Evie and Nathanael join as first grandchildren! (Drat! Just realized I haven't yet received the group picture from the Miller camera of this.)

Then, after a couple of weeks in warm, humid, heating-up Kansas, Dick and I returned to Colorado for our annual get-away to Rainbow Lake with Daddy and Lois and Larry and Galena. This time we started our trip in Grand Junction to meet up with the Shumard cousins so we could go up above Paonia to the West Muddy area where Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Grant and Nellie Shumard and Grandpa and Grandma Art and Dora Shumard along with Aunt Rene and Uncle Wes (at that time both under about four years of age) homesteaded for a couple of years. Thanks to some invaluable preparation and legwork by Gary and Dorie, we were able to drive up to the location of the homestead, tramp around the area, and see a few meager remains of equipment and perhaps pieces of the old barn and see the spring/creek that had been dammed up for their water use. What a very hard life that must have been -- but beautiful mountains surrounding and gorgeous old quakies! Truly a special time with the cousins.

Julie's prolific flowers at her home in Grand Junction -- absolutely beautiful!

The cousins up on the Shumard homestead site. Rita, Julie, Joann, Larry, and Dora.A large grove of quakies near the homestead site. Dick and Gary went out close to them so we could get a picture of their size in perspective. They truly were big, old quakies!

Then it was on to Rainbow Lake for a few days of fishing and just enjoying that lovely, restful area together as family.

It sure was tough to return to Kansas in the midst of the hottest summer in lots of years. After the 60s of Colorado, we were hit really hard

Holiday Happenings

We had wonderful family times both here at home and as we travelled to Hutch and Douglass to be with extended family. Here are a few pictures:

Drew and Carrie all the way from Erie with their two dogs,

here for a whole week; it was terrific!

Greg, Kim, and Nathanael for a First Christmas picture. Santa brought Grandpa and Grandma Gimple a wagon! I wonder who might like to take rides in that when the weather gets nice!

Bob, Audra, and Grandma came to spend Christmas Day with us, too.

Card games for the "girls"...

...and Wii for the "boys".

Nathanael all tucked in for his car ride to Hutchinson for the Wiles family Christmas.

I didn't get many pictures this day, but we again had some lively card games going and had a wonderful time altogether.

The next day found us down at Douglass for the Gimple Family Christmas. Here's Mom and her boys.

Nevaeh and her grandma -- can you tell they like each other?

The cousins -- Darcy, Deena with Nevaeh, Audra with Nathanael, Carrie, and Kim.