Grand Marais with the Family

Four-Wheeling...Finally!

 

The Ducsay Clan

Joey

Aunt Joanne gave me this tonight. It's something Joey and I made when I was watching him as a little boy. So precious. Hands and a foot from when he was four. We made two copies that day so Aunt Joanne and I each get to keep an original.

Fishing With Jeb

Like the nice scab between his eyebrows? It's from bugging the babies. One of them swiped at him, Mollie or Axel. That's what he gets for being a naughty uncle.

Best Friend Time

Today Cheryl and I spent about four hours together without kids. This is the first time since we were 18. It was so much fun. We went souvenir shopping, ate at Clyde's and walked the boardwalk. We even braved the crashing waves to walk out to the lighthouse. It got a little scary when we climbed up the metal ladder and were standing next to the metal lighthouse when it began to thunder and lightning. We got down as fast as we could and walked back to the car as quickly as possible, which wasn't very quick due to my knee. Poor Cheryl just had to wait for me. I told her she could go ahead. From the safety of the car, we called her kids who met us at her house for a competitive game of Phase 10. They'll be coming over later in the week for "family fishing" with Mom and Dad. It was nice to be with my friend and now it is nice to be home. I feel like death. I hope this cold or whatever it is leaves soon.

Father's Day

Today was spent doing what Dad enjoys most...fishing with family. We had a delicious roast beef and mashed potato dinner then headed out on the lake. It was quiet and peaceful. We had a fry tonight - perch, trout and catfish. Grandma Hollister came over and visited. Bonfire later, I think.

Texas, Missouri, U.P.

I arrived in Houston on time, no problems or delays with the flight, but as I walked out to the area where Lance was going to pick me up, it began to rain very hard. Soon it was thundering and lightning. Once I was in the car and we were on our way to Michele's house, it began to hail - the size of quarters. Power was knocked out, traffic was backed up, trees were blown over, pieces of "stuff" were flying across the road as we drove...to make a long story short, three hours after being picked up we finally arrived home - a trip that should have only taken about 40 minutes. Michele had manicotti waiting for us. She gave me a tour of her beautiful home, we had cookies and milk while visiting, and then eventually all went to bed. Curtis woke me up at 6:15 a.m. to go fishing before we began our trek to Missouri. I only caught blue gills but he caught a giant catfish. It was fun. At around 9:00, we pulled out of their driveway and began the 10-hour drive to Carthage where we met up with Mom and Aunt Sally. (**We made the trip in 9 1/2 hours. Mom and Aunt Sally managed to make a 16 hr. trip take 3 days. We pulled into Cracker Barrel at exactly the same time!)

Texas (Michele's estate)

 

We arrived in Carthage, Missouri on Wednesday and checked into the Precious Moments hotel. The next morning we went to the Precious Moments Chapel where Aunt Sally was able to see Grandpa and Grandma's stone. Aunt Sally and I had an extra special surprise. While we were in the Artist's Room, the Artist himself - Sam Butcher - came in to hang up a new batch of grandkid pictures. Anyone who knows anything about Precious Moments knows what a big deal this is. We were able to talk to him in an informal setting and his son-in-law snapped a picture of us. Great fun! On that same day, we stopped at Fantastic Caverns to explore the underground stalagmites and stalactites. They were quite the sight.

Carthage, Missouri

Finally...after two more days on the road...I arrived home. Daddy-o was waiting for me and we went out fishing right away. We caught a lot of fish and also a great variety...blue gills, pike, large-mouth bass, rock bass, perch, and bullhead catfish. We'll be having a fry pretty soon!

Home - the U.P.