New Toy

This is Gene's newest "big boy toy". And yes, that's a gun rack on the front. The bucket-hat is his latest fashion statement. He is waaaaaaay cool.

Have a good weekend, love to you all.

Joan

Celebrations at the Nashville Perrys!

"We" just finished our second cataract surgery and so far the ol eye got an update-- a lifetime free of contacts or glasses-- if all goes according to plan. But better than that, John's boss took him to lunch on Monday and said that he had been promoted to "Partner". His name was submitted to a leadership group at the firm and he was voted in unanimously. He received a note from one of the guys of welcome, and he said what a fine addition John was and that he does all things with excellence. Rachel and I don't exactly know what exactly partner means, but we celebrated him with a candlelight steak dinner Monday night. The two Perry girls here are awful proud. I knew you'd want to know.

Other news:
RR is a bit overwhelmed with the "more homework" part of high school. She just was voted captain of the vball team, and is playing really well. Nice girls on the team, great new friends-- and she looks adorable in her catholic school girl uniform.

Since we couldn't go to the USC/UVA game (boo hoo!!), I listed the tickets on ebay. The bidding should be over around 5:00 PM today, and this morning the price is at $256. To ease the guilt of feeling like a scalper, we'll donate all the money to Immanuel. Have you checked out our website? Check here. Love to all.

Isn't John great!!

The Unsinkable Water-Dogs

That was our garage band's name, yesterday, as we played music aboard a big, beautiful houseboat. We were electrified and everything! At one point, the boat owner anchored in a cove (other side of the lake), and we attracted quite a crowd. The guy with the dreads, is Kendrick, local restaurant owner/musician/Jamaican. He always calls me "sister", which cracks me up! Now he wants us to come play at his restaurant. Next thing you know, we'll need a tour bus!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend, much love to all.

Joan

Arkansas Road Trip

Last weekend, Gene and I drove to Fayetteville, AR to visit Carole and her family. They moved there last December, and we had yet to make the trip. We dropped off the dogs at Andy's first, and from there it was about a 4 1/2 hour drive. We arrived Friday evening and had take-out chicken, the kind Bill and Hilary favor. Honestly. Saturday morning, we got loaded up and headed to the Elk River (southern Missouri) for a day of canoeing. Gene and I had Maddy (9) and Kate (7) in our canoe, while Dave and Carole took Sofe (5) and the ice chest. The outfitter drove us 8 miles up-river and unloaded us. The weather was hot and the river was beautiful. When we stopped for lunch, Carole and I discovered, to our dismay, that the made-to-order sandwiches were still in the refrigerator at her house. So lunch was chips, bananas, and Little Debbie snack cakes. Later, we came upon a low water road, which required us to portage over it, and down some steep rocks, back into the river below. You know, if there's going to be an accident, it's going to be me, and it was. Long story short, my foot slipped, went between 2 rocks, stuck, canoe coming at me, etc. etc. I bled for awhile, wrapped a towel around my lower leg to slow the swelling and did my best to "cowgirl up". It's a week later now, and this is one ugly leg. Good thing the river didn't have sharks! So Saturday evening, we took everyone out to supper and got a brief driving tour of Fayetteville. It's a lovely old, college town, with a surprising amount of money! Lots of Fortune 500 people/companies. Sunday morning, we drove back to Andy's to attend baby Hadley's baptism. While I was doing my hair Sunday morning, Sofe asked me what a "baptise" was. I did my best to explain it to a 5 year old... Finally home Sunday evening and tired of driving. But it was a good trip. I'll include some photos for your viewing pleasure.

It's really hot and humid here right now, dog days they call it, so we're out before the sun comes up, watering and choring, so we can get in as quickly as possible. Probably ought to rent some movies... This coming Thursday is Gene's last day at KSU. He still doesn't have a start date for Ft. Riley, and I don't think that bothers him at all.

Take care everyone and I love y'all!

Joan

The Goon Squad in Kansas

Well, they've come and gone and I think a good time was had by all. Brent and Maureen flew in from Maryland and arrived at our house Saturday afternoon. They had never met Gene, nor visited the Flint Hills. They liked both. On their way to our house, they drove through Emporia and Council Grove. Being the world travelers that they are, I didn't even bother with directions, knowing they'd find our house eventually. We took them to church Sunday morning, then did the driving tour of KSU and Manhattan. Supper at Brick's. Cheryl and Dave didn't arrive until late Sunday evening, along with 13 yr. old Reid and his best friend Anthony. We spent all Monday at the lake, swimming and boating. Our neighbor let us use their wave-runner, so we had that in addition to our boat. We had the pop-up shelter for shade and plenty of cold beverages, so it was a lovely day. Most people only need one foam noodle to float about on, but Brent, in all his largeness, needed 6! Maureen and Cheryl came to my swim class Tuesday, along with Brent. When he realized it was all chicks, he opted to read on a chaise in the shade. Wuss. He walked over to the post office and the grocery store, which caused all sorts of talk in town. Everyone he came into contact with, looked him all the way up, which is a very long way, and invariably said "you're not from around here, are you". And of course, they asked if he played ball at KU. Spent the rest of Tuesday in the lake. While we were at the pool, the boys wanted to shoot guns and Gene obliged. A few of our trees may be mortally wounded, but not many. Then Wednesday morning, they were off! Leaving Gene and I with one day to clean up before we left for Arkansas (blog to follow).

Since I never figured out how to place photos, I'll just put them in here and you'll figure them out. The one that really cracks me up, is Dave aka Mr. Safety, looking down the barrel of a gun! Good thing Cheryl didn't see that one! And the one of everyone around the coffee table, is a jigsaw puzzle in process. Pretty wild bunch. Anyway, it was a fun time and I'm sure they'll be back. Gene and I were commenting after they left, how lucky we were that everything worked while the house was full, you know, the septic tank didn't overflow, no severe weather, etc. So on Thursday, the electricity went out and the hot water valve on the washing machine blew! Talk about timing! So, that's it for now, I'll get the Arkansas story out soon.

Love to all, Joan

Speed demons

Museum quality gals