Family Fun

I decided I'd better get this done tonight or it might not happen for another week as the workload will be very heavy making up for the time I was gone.

Bob and Ann did a great job journaling about the time at Rainbow Lake with Daddy and Lois (and yes, we certainly did miss Larry and Galena!) and also about the end of the week with the Fair events.

I'm putting some pictures here to add to what was seen on The Wiles Farm blog:

The Rainbow Lake gang for 2009 -- Jo and Dick, Lois and Daddy, Ann and Bob

Here's the picture of Bob "petting" the hummingbirds. If I can get it to load, I'll put a video on of Daddy, too.

Here are Daddy and Lois waiting on the fish to bite.

A closeup of a Rufus Hummingbird. One of the R. Lake managers said that these come through for only a 2-3 week period and are more aggressive than the ruby-throated hummers that are predominant to the area. The rufus hummers would come around the feeders and drive everyone else away whereas the ruby-throated hummers would be more apt to line up all the way around the feeder like people bellying up to the bar!

Now on to the Parade!

Here's the Grand Marshall banner that was right in front of Daddy and Lois' carriage (below). They were co-Grand Marshalls of the parade with another couple from Leoti.


The "Cinderella" carriage was used to transport the Grand Marshalls through the parade route.

Here's a better picture of Daddy and Lois in their matching outfits to serve as Grand Marshalls of the Wichita County Fair Parade on Saturday morning. They drove to the starting point in "Goldie"!

And that's it! I'll try to add the hummingbird video on a separate blog in the next couple of days. I already tried once here, and it glitched.

As always, it was a wonderful time with family and friends, and we just wish we could have had all of our family together with us!

Recommendation

Last week we decided to go to see the new movie, Night at the Museum - Smithsonian, this weekend. So in order to get up-to-speed with the story line, we watched the first one, Night at the Museum, on Friday night here at home. We enjoyed watching that one again and were really glad we had done that. The new one is delightful -- fun, clean, great story -- we highly recommend it.

Also, our prairie sage (purple salvia) is really pretty this spring so I just thought I'd share a picture of that with you too!

Memories of This Beautiful Time of the Year

Eating the first radishes out of the garden! (I distinctly remember my mom coming to pick me up from High Plains School so we could go to my piano lessons, and she brought along a little bag with a couple of little radishes in it for me. -- That's a mother's love!)

The first sunbathing -- you brought back memories for me, Aubrey!

Finding the first pullet eggs that were hidden on the farm back when we were raising chickens!

Lilacs in bloom -- my lilac bush is covered!

Discovering that first litter of kittens hidden in the loft in the barn, behind the ivy in front of Grandpa's house, in a stack of bales ... I guess Bob and Ann have lots of experience with this!

And of course, that first baby calf to be born (even though that's way past from very early spring)!

Greetings from New England!

A quick hello out to all our KS, NM, 'Bama family! We're in Boston for Greg's graduation -- pictures to come after I get home. We've had a wonderful (but too short) time with Greg and Kim, Drew and Carrie, and Greg's family. I fly back to KC today, and Dick flies to San Diego for a week of meetings. Love all of you!

Happy Birthday!!

Everybody please sing along:

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday, dear Bob,
Happy birthday to you!

Hope your day is a great one! We love you!

Lane! It's Here!

I thought I'd better let Lane know that I picked our first of this spring's asparagus -- just four stalks, but they'll start producing pretty quickly, especially if we happen to get any rain. You better plan a trip to come see us, Lane, so you can eat some of the asparagus!

The Shumard-Wiles Gang

We had a very special trip to Grand Junction this past week to remember and celebrate Uncle Wes Shumard's life. It was a blessing to connect with these dear cousins and share memories and laughter and tears.

The Wiles and Shumard cousins: Bob, Joann, and Larry standing behind Rita, Dorie, and Julie.

The gang all gathered on Sunday evening at Gary and Dorie's home:

Standing -- Dick Gimple, Rita (Shumard) Campbell, Joann (Wiles) Gimple, Julie (Shumard) Campbell, Bob Wiles, Ann Wiles, Gary Alstatt, Dorie (Shumard) Alstatt, Larry Wiles, and Kevin (Rita's stepson).

Seated -- Cheryl Alstatt, Earl and Lois Wiles, Megan and Aiden Alstatt (Jason's wife and son).

The Shumard clan: Gary, Cheryl with Aiden, Jason, Dorie, Kevin, Julie, and Rita.