Going Back In Time

It has been nearly a week since my last post. We had a wonderful time in Florida. Our weekend was busy too with family times. Catching up on sleep has been important and almost impossible. So I am going to write this blog backwards, starting with Florida and ending with today, Labor Day!

Wednesday September 2
Jeff and Matthew enjoyed their time at Universal Studios Orlando. Best rides were: The Simpsons, The Mummy, Men In Black and ET. The rollercoaster was good, but the wait was way too long. Wednesday was pretty rainy, but they were able to see and do a lot. The park closed at 6 pm, so the plan was for all of us to eat dinner together afterward.

Mom and I went to the mall, returned some "ugly" curtains and looked for some new dinner plates, curtains and a book. We came home hours later with Gator decals for my car. In the midst of our shopping journey, we did have the most delicious sesame chicken dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. Everything was good...there was just way too much food! Next time we will split an entree!

Dinner together was Sonny's Barbeque. Mmmm. I wasn't very hungry after that huge lunch, but managed to eat my favorite from the menu..sliced pork, with lots of sweet sauce!

Kept in touch with the girls and both are fine. Sarah busy at school and Mary bored at home.

Thursday, September 3
Today was Disney day!! First we stopped at Chik-Fil-A for lunch. It is one of Matt's favorite places and there aren't any in Michigan. Plus eating outside the park is a lot cheaper. We couldn't decide which park we preferred, Epcot or Magic Kingdom. Luckily, when we got to the ticket window it was actually less for a 5 day park hopper than a one day park hopper with the special deal they had going. Unfortunately, they do expire and we will most likely won't get back to FL before December 23. Still we saved money so that is what it is all about! I should remind you that we were able to fly using our frequent flyer miles, and Jeff received a free pass to Uinversal and Disney as a thank for serving our country! Anyway, so we were off to Epcot first and would finish the day in Magic Kingdom since they were open later.

Epcot was a lot of fun. Matthew really liked the ride inside the big ball in future world. We had fun sending electric postcards to the girls with our pictures imposed on a cartoon of the future. Other fun rides in future world were: Test Track car ride. I really like this one. Jeff and Matt went on the Mission to Space ride and the new Soarin' ride that makes you feel like hand gliding. I spent time in the interactive innovations area. All of us enjoyed the interactive areas, especially the weather experience and I learned about the origins of Velcro. On the other side of Epcot is the world showcase. We walked through each country where Matthew collected a stamp and die cut from each land. We rode the water ride in Mexico and Norway. Watched Taiko drummers and ate an authentic lunch in Japan. I had curry, Matthew had Chicken teriyaki and Jeff had Sukiyaki Beef, Teriyaki Chicken and tempura shrimp combo. By the time we walked around the world we were ready to head to Magic Kingdom.

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We had a plan for Magic Kingdom. We knew what we really wanted to do and headed there first. Matt and Jeff went on the water ride, Splash Mountain. I don't likethe last big drop of the ride, so I waited at the entrance of the next rollercoaster. All of us enjoyed Thunder Mountain and then proceeded to the Pirates of the Carribean and Tiki Birds in Adventure land.Tomorrowland was next for Monsters INC Laughs and Buzz Lightyear. We rode Buzz a couple of times, shooting our laser guns at targets hoping to get a great score. Matt did the best I think, I and just couldn't get it together and had a pathetic score. I still had fun though! Off to Fantasyland where I made a HUGE mistake. Matthew and I rode the teacups. We spun ourselves silly...well almost sickly. Matthew was laughing and I was thinking...what have I done? I was able to prevent him from making the cup spin the opposite way..that would have been the end for me. Thank goodness, we ended our rides with the 3-D movie Mickey's Philharmagic and a Small World. Watching the fireworks from the backside of the castle was different. We were very tired by now and still needed to get back to the Epcot parking lot. We met a couple of nice families, most with small children. I am glad I didn't have to carry anyone back to our car....whew!

Our Japanese dinner had been hours ago, so we stopped at the largest McDonald's in the world and had midnight snack. It hit the spot. It was pretty late when we finally got back to my mom's house, but we shared our day with her and had lots of happy stories.

Friday, September 4
We slept in today...got up around 9am! I always make a visit to the cemetary to visit my dad. He was a very special man and will always live on in part of all of us! We ate lunch at Beef O Brady's, we headed to Orlando to see WonderWorks a hands on science museum of sorts. Matthew has wanted to go there for several years, and so we finally found the right time to go. Grandma got to go with us today and that was extra special! We were hoping to meet up with Tom and his girlfriend for lunch, but that didn't work out. We hope to see them another time, sooner than later!

Wonderworks was a lot of fun. We experienced hurricane force winds, a 5.o earthquake, and pitched baseballs in a pitching game that recorded our pitch speed and strikes and balls. Matthew pitched 56 mph and had of course struck him out! I pitched 38 mph and walked him after a full count. Jeff pitched well too, getting a strike out. There are lots of interactive quizzes and mind puzzles. We tried to land the space shuttle, but I don't think any of us were sucessful at that. Matthew and Jeff went into a virtual rollercoaster. Jeff and Matt both gave lying on a bed of nails a try! After seeing a nail hold in Jeff's shirt, I said no thanks!

We ended our Friday with another delicious meal this time at the Cheesecake Factory. The food was very good and the cheesecake,well...Mmmm. Jeff and I split a Red Velvet layered cheesecake, Matthew had plain and Mom had the Tiramisu cheesecake. Wow! We were full and satisfied.

Once we were back home, Matthew, Mom and I played a game a scrabble. Grandma won, but we were able to use all the letters on the board. Matt wanted to stay up and milk every last moment he could with grandma, but we had to be up at 043o to get to the airport! That is early!

Saturday, September 5
Yes, we got up on time and packed up our things for our flight home. Matthew gave Grandma his collection of countries. She thought it was most interesting. I still have one that I made from years ago. We are glad she liked it. Our little blue rental car, Nissan Versa, was packed one more time and off we were to Orlando airport. Jeff dropped us off at the curb for us to check our baggage and he returned the car. For 0600, that place was hopping! Luckily we had checked in online, so no long lines for us!

Our first leg from Orlando to Chicago went well. I think we slept most of the way. I don't sleep that well on a plane, but got some cat naps in. Matthew and I never got a drink, so I guess we slept through that portion of the flight. Once in Chicago, we headed to the USO office to drop off our carry ons. We had a 3 hour layover, and decided to ride the trains for an hour or so. We got off at our half way point according to time, went outside, took a few pictures and then got right back on the next train and headed back to the airport. Security was slow and time was ticking away. Thank goodness our gate was nearby. We made it in plenty of time and waited as they called stand by passengers to get their tickets. We boarded this small plane with one seat on one side and two on the other. It wasn't very clean and the flight attendant must have been having a bad day. Her attitude wasn't too good. Thanks goodness it was only a 28 minute flight!

It was nice to be back in Grand Rapids! The weather was 75 and clear sky, unlike the hot humid air of central Florida. Mary was so happy to see us when we arrived back home. She even had warm cookies out of the oven. Mary had a busy day too. She was in a parade with the Queen's court. All of us were tired, and ended up napping. Matthew just plain crashed and slept the rest of the day. Mary and I watched "My Fair Lady" a portion at a time. It took the rest of the day. We also watched the Michigan Wolverines cream the W Michigan Broncos! GO BLUE!

Sunday, September 6
Our Sunday schedule is back to "normal". Sunday School at 9am and Church at 10:15. Sunday school was led my Thrivent. Teaching Kids about money. Younger children got piggy banks and the older ones at notebook of sorts to teach about saving, sharing and spending. Church went well. Matthew did a great job as the AV guy, Jeff had a good sermon on favoritism from the book of James. Lunch after church today was Pizza Hut. It was ok, but we really didn't like the new stuffed crust pan pizza. Not enough sauce.

Matthew had his buddy Mitch over for the day and to spend the night. They had lots of fun with the Wii and played some catch outside before we all headed to lake michigan to watch the sunset. It was beautiful! The guys played some football and Mary and sat on the beach. Matt and Mitch actually went into the very cold lake, nearly to their waist. I think they are crazy! I put my foot in and said no way!

Monday, September 7, Happy Labor Day!

Mary had to be up early again. She was in today's Labor Day parade in Belding. The girls cannot wear their Danish clothes to events outside of Greenville. Mary wore here black and white dress and looked just beautiful. We went to the parade with a friends mom as we did last year and had a really fun time! Mary looked so lovely on the float and blew her daddy a kiss! Brandon's family was there and his dad took a picture of her to send to Brandon. He titled it.. Here is The Queen Mary! I thought that was so ingenious~ We had a good lunch at Cory's and then Mary and Matt went home and Jeff and I walked around the fesetival a little bit.

You can probably guess that there was some napping going on again this afternoon. Mary and I went shopping for food and decided it was a good day for a cookout. Jeff grilled some delicious burgers and dogs. We had salad, applesauce and corn too!

Our summer has officially ended. School starts in less than 8 hours. Mary will be a senior, Matthew a sophomore...back to the grind. It makes me kind of sad. Before they went to bed, we all played a game of Wii Price is Right. Matthew was the big winner tonight.

Now it is late and I am sure that just as I close my eyes, the alarm will go off, and I will be sending my kids off to their first day of school. This will be the last first day at home for Mary. Next year college. Sniff Sniff! Sarah continues to love her school, friends and life at Hope College. It is a blessing to see her thrive in a wonderful Christian College community!

That concludes this edition of Going Back in Time~

Gracie

PS ~All Pictures were taken with the cell phone camera

~Thanks to Sarah for posting the video of Mary waving at the Princess Parade last month. Take a look at it on the video bar!

~As always, look at the photo album for more pictures!

Florida

We had quite the experience on our travels down to Florida yesterday. Arrived at the Grand Rapids airport on time; Jeff dropped Matthew and me off to check bags and he parked the car. Do you know that it costs $20 a bag now? What I am supposed to travel without luggage and wear the same clothes? I think that this encourages people to bring more carry on bags and of course it is a racquet because they know you have to check bags especially if you need more than 3 oz of shampoo. Anyway we had a little snack before going through security. Soon after our plane arrived, I overheard a deplaning passenger say- "You don't want to fly that airline!" I thought "Oh No!" Not a few moments later, the gate person annouced there were problems with the aircraft and there would be a delay! Evidently it had to be towed from the runway to the gate. Groan. Our connection in Chicago O'Hare allowed us less than an hour to get to the next gate. We are going to miss our next plane! Proactively, the American Airlines person booked all passengers on the next flights and connections. Some were sent to other airlines to get them to their destination in a reasonable amount of time. We were booked for a 2:15pm flight to CHicago and arriving in FL around 7 pm. After about 30 minutes, the mechanic was able to fix the plane and we would keep our original flights. So we were on the plane and in the air by 12:20pm and landed in Chicago at 12 noon. Our connections left us minutes to get from H-3 to K-17. The steward allowed us and another passenger with a "tight" connection to deplane first. They we were, running though the airport. We heard the final call for the Orlando flight. Jeff took the lead to get there first to have them hold the door for the rest of the family. Matt arrived second and I came up laset huffing and puffing. The door was already closed. The gate keeper was waiting till I arrived and then opened it and allowed us to board. Thank God we made it. It took a while for my breathing to correct itself and I had a couple of coughing spells. I bet I was wheezing because I sound like Sarah when she has a flare up of asthma. I took the window seat and was glad to see our bags being loaded onto the plane! YaY! The flight was fine. Matthew let me use his iPod to listen to music, Jeff rested and Matthew played some gameboy games, I think I saw Jeff playing too! It is wierd not having a laptop with us, but it is good not to worry about those things and just enjoy yourself. Once in Florida, we picked up our blue Nissan Vista and drove to Grandma's. It was probably around 5:30pm. Dinner at Outback. It was delicious and then we came home and watched some TV and visited until bed time. What a day! Checked in with the girls back home in Michigan and all is well!

Today is father/son and mother/daughter day. Jeff and Matt are at Universal Studios today until ~6pm. Mom and I are going curtain shopping at the mall and doing lunch together. The weather here is hot and humid in contrast to Michigan's cool but sunny weather. Tomorrow is Epcot day for all the Wilhelm's! Looks like I could make reservations for dinner at a World Restaurant, but will have to wait until tonight after my men get home. I enjoy Epcot a lot, but am not looking forward to the hot humid weather!

That is all for now. I don't have access to my cute little pictures or photos, so you will have to be happy with my creative writing skills! Hahahah!

Grace

Dinner Party

Tonight we had Brandon and family over for dinner. What was the menu? Salad, Chicken Crescents, Potatoes and Gravy, Applesauce and Chocolate cake. Everyone enjoyed the meal and we had lots of fun conversation filled with great stories! We have wanted to get together all summer and today was our last chance. We are going off to Florida in the morning and Brandon leaves for college on Wednesday. I am so glad we got together. Mary made the chocolate cake and made it into a Michigan Cake. Isn't great?

Yesterday we had a nice service. I played the"Yes!" song and the congregation did really well keeping up with me this time. I slowed down the verse part as it gets kind of tricky. Kid's church was fun too. I hope that some of the things we talked about and colored about stuck in their head. Later in the afternoon, I baked some brownies, worked on schedules for my musical groups and watched some baseball. Matthew and Jeff went for a bike ride and then worked on weeding. Mary went shopping with Brandon. Dinner was at our friends' Randy and Norma's house. It was for all the elders. We had brats/dogs, salads, chips, cheese, chocoalate cake and brownies. We had fun fellowship too. It was a really nice night. Matthew was glad when we got home. He doesn't like to be home alone. All of us played some Wii games before heading off to bed.

Well, now will get into the packing mode. All the clothes are clean, thanks to Mary, as is the house. We all pitched into a cleaned it up this morning. We are only going to be gone for 4 days, so I won't need to pack a lot! Jeff and I can even share a suitcase! Time of departure from our house tomorrow is 9 am and arrival at grandma's around 5 pm. There is a layover in Chicago. Jeff and Matt will go to Universal on Wed and we will go to Disney the next day. It will be nice to spend a few days down in the natural sauna with afternoon thunderstorms! What a difference! It was 40 degrees this morning here in Michigan! There was frost not too far from us! Once we get back, school will be just a few days away!

Last but not least, it is day to remember some birthdays! Happy birthday Greg! We also remember this day in honor my wonderful dad, Al. Belated Birthday wishes to Eric and Leslie!

Better get packing!

Grace

Payment

Matthew was very happy to receive his first paycheck for his work from the Performing Arts Center. He hopes that there will be many more! Way to go Matthew!

It's the Weekend!

Good News! I had good self control at the stampin up party. I bought a marker and a return address stamp, something I can use almost daily! I had lots of fun too making a card and talking with friends. Looks like my client won't be moving to Grand Rapids afterall. Things just aren't falling into place and should she stay in Greenville her other steady nurse can keep working.

Mary's Spanish class has been going well. She has enjoyed the class and says it is not too hard. Outside of class, she has been spending most of her time with her best friend, Brandon, before he goes to college this coming week. We are trying to keep a good schedule with all that her senior year will bring~Village Green, College Prep clases, Simply Strings Quartet, College Spanish and Miss Danish! Whew!

Matthew has been driving me around town whenever I need to go somewhere. He is doing really well, but likes to point out other driver's errors. I get tired of listening to his play by play comments of driving and just want him to focus on his driving! He continues to help keep the house clean and the yard nice. It has been pretty rainy lately, so We are waiting for some dry weather so he can mow. He is looking forward to going to Florida on Tuesday.

Sarah is back from camp and working AT clinic hours. She really loves it. Things are getting busy now as the freshman have arrived and the rest of the upperclassman arrive tomorrow. Classes officially start on Tuesday. Sarah got some pictures uploaded for me and there are a few here and more on the photo album.

I have already sent her a box with things that got left here. I know she loves getting mail, so will post her address~

Sarah Wilhelm
Gilmore Hall #107
PO Box 9022
Holland, MI 49422-9022

Jeff is fine. Found some black mold in the corner of his office. Trying to dry things out is difficult especially when it is damp outside. He has been working on Air Force stuff, church stuff and home stuff. He recently repaired our front steps again. :(

We all enjoyed the first Greenville football game last night. We won! 28-17. The weather was cool and it was nice to go out together and root on our team! Tonight is an art show right here in Greenville. One of our members will have art on display, and there will be live jazz music. Tomorrow I am leading kid's church. The story is about Titus. I am all prepared and ready to go!

That is all...have a great weekend!

Gracie

Catching Up

Mom and Dad left early on Monday for their next stop in Ohio. Monday night was our Sunday School meeting and I will be teaching preschool/kindergarten class. I am very happy with that. Mary will be teaching 3,4, and 5th grade with a friend. They will do a great job.

My golf game on Tuesday moring was very good. My drives were really good. I parred one hole and ended up with a 53 on nine holes. I really need to practice my chipping. Lunch at Cory's afterwards with my friends was most enjoyable and the French Dip sandwich was delicious! Mary started her Spanish class on Tuesday evening and thinks it will be very good. She likes the teacher very much.

Sarah is doing well at the cross country camp. She is the Athletic Traning student assigned to that team this year. She is spending the week with the runners as a first aid person and also to "bond" with the team. Once back to campus she will pursue getting a rail for her lofted bed. The incoming class arrives on Friday. She is happy to back at Hope.

I worked today for 6 hours. We had a nice day. I am off now until after Labor Day. My patient is almost out of nursing hours for the month and then Matt Jeff and I will be in Florida for 4 days next week. It will be nice to visit with my mom. She will visit Michigan in October. Mary will be at home taking care of Sammy the dog and going to Spanish Class.

As for now, I am making mac and cheese for dinner and then I am off to a stamping party.

Better get going!


Love,

Gracie!

Back To College

Danish Festival is officially over. Sarah is back at Hope College and School starts in two weeks. Summer is almost over.

Soon after church and lunch at Wendy's, we took Sarah back to Holland and Hope College. She was very excited to get back and move into her new dorm, Gilmore Hall. This place is much different from Cook Hall last year. Still is has a lot of character and Sarah no longer has to clean bathrooms! That is a plus! We met her roommate and she is very nice. The beds are lofted that allows for more living space. There is will certainly be an adjustment time to sleeping higher off the ground. We got her stuff in the room, went shopping at Meijer for snacks and a few other needed items. We ate dinner at Red Robin, dropped her off at a smores party and then came home.

Tomorrow Grandma and Grandpa W will continue on their journey. We will send them off with lots of thanks and good wishes for safety on the rest of their trip.

It is late again... That is all for now.


Grace

Danish Festival 2009

The festivities started on Thursday evening with the raising of the flags. Jeff was there playing with the band and Mary got there just in time after her simply strings interview with a bride. It was a nice ceremony with songs, pledge of allegiance in Danish and the introduction of the the VIPS, including the Queen's Court. Afterward the Band marched down to the gazebo, followed by the the Queens for a Concert in the park. It was very good and we had great weather and ice cream!

Friday we went downtown for some shopping. We saw lots of crafts and came home only with some Danish coffee cake, Kringles. Mary was doing her royal appearances all day, and was treated as such by others even to get free food and drinks! 6pm was the princess and prince parade. Kids can come dressed up ride their bikes in the parade. It is lead off by the Danish Band and the Royal Court. It started to rain a bit as it had all done all day. On and off again showers and rain. Next royal appearance was the Princess and the Pea bed race. One royal girl sat up on the stretcher, while the others pushed her down the road on a course. It was fun but her team didn't win in the end. The evening concerts at the main stage were cancelled due to the rain. I was sad the the Big Band concert was cancelled. It is always a big treat! The night finished off with the parade of fire engines. It is always a nice event. Mary got to ride in the bucket of fire engine. She and the 1st runner up had to do some major ducking to avoid the trees! She said it was a fun experience.

Saturday morning came early and Matthew and I were out early setting up chairs for the parade. We had a nice group of people from church and the neighborhood to watch the parade. Mary looked especially lovely this morning. Sarah got up early to have her picture taken with her sister. The weather was mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles and much cooler temperatures. After the parade, Jeff, Mom and Sarah went downtown to walk around and have some lunch. Matt went with my client's family downtown to help out with the kids. Dad and I stayed home to have lunch. Later in the afternoon, Matthew participated in the Dodge Ball Tournament. His team came home the champions! Yay! He has a champion By 3pm I was making my Korean meal for dinner. It was simply delicious if I say so myself! Maybethe best bulkoogi I have ever made! So much flavor. Mary was supposed to attend the Greenville Glows Balloon show, but I got cancelled due to weather. So instead she was able to spend time with her friend just as she had hoped in the beginning. Things always seem to work out for good. Matthew Mom and I enjoyed a game of Scrabble and then I helped Sarah pack up for college.

Well, it is early Sunday morning and Mom W is playing the organ for church. There is a potluck fellowship/breakfast after the service and then we are packing up the van (and a car) and taking Sarah back to Hope. She is happy to be getting back "home". I will miss her as usual, but am also very happy when I know just how much she loves her school! Mary will be staying behind to participate in a few more events with the festival, including chasing rubber ducks in the flat river! I guess the weather will be more sunny than saturday.

Better get some winks!

Grace

Update Before Danish Festival

Monday: Mom W. rode along with me to my Physical Therapy appointment in Grand Rapids. I had a good visit and seem to finally be making progress with my muscle confusion problem. I made some chicken for dinner and then attended a Senior mystery trip meeting. Luckily it was only one hour this week! The family joined in the den for a Netflix movie before bed.

Tuesday: We got up early and began our journey to the "thumb side" of Michigan. First stop was Frankenmuth, where we had lunch with some friends of Marlene and Ernie's at Oma's restaurant. Next we spent about an hour at Bronners Christmas Store. There are so many cool things. I had good self control and only bought a small gift for our dog-sitter. Tueday evening was spent at a Tiger's Baseball game. First we ate a diner right across the street from the stadium. Sarah was the photographer that evening and got lots of great shots. The game was a little slow going at first, but the end was so exciting! We were ahead, then tied, then a 2 run double by Cabrera but us ahead again. But the most exciting play for me was the steal home! The runner on first base led off and baited the catcher to throw out at second, forgetting that the man on third would run home, which he did and scored! YAY! Rodney finished and was the saving pitcher. Sarah's favorite pitcher, Porcello, got the win with 8 strikeouts!

Wednesday: I worked for 7. 5 hours. We enjoyed a meal at our local mexican restaurant for dinner. Jeff had a gig with the Danish Band as he does tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday! Mary spent the day with Brandon after she picked out her Danish costume and had her picture taken in it. She had a event last night at a craft store, and will have many appearances this weekend. She will be on a pontoon tonight for the Night of Illumination on a local lake.

Thursday: Finally sent in the broken surge protector with the long questionairre. Turned in the picture of Mary in her costume to the dentist. He has a poster with all of his patients that are part of the Royal Court. His office is downtown. I also prepared the bulkoogi with Mary's help. It will be delicious on Saturday when we eat it! I will be making yakimondue after the Parade on Saturday. Tonight is the flag raising and Danish band concert at the Gazebo.

Looking ahead: Tomorrow is Kiddie Princess parade, concerts, craft booths and many activities. Saturday is the Grand Dansk parade down our street. We have had several people bring their chairs for the event already. We hope that weather will be favorable this weekend as it looks like rain right now. Mom W. will be playing for church on Sunday. What a nice treat for everyone! Thanks mom! Sarah goes back to college that afternoon. She can't wait!

Better get going. Have to get dinner in the oven and Mary has a meeting for an upcoming gig here at our house at 6pm! Ready for a crazy filled night!

Grace

Just Before Bed

Sunday has come and gone. Church was good and so was lunch. I had my usual pancakes and bacon. Unfortunately, Mary's burger came out wrong ( with all kinds of toppings) and they fixed it by scraping it off. By then the fries were cold too.

I played for an installation service this afternoon and did pretty well, especially for the late notice and very warm conditions. The meal afterward was nice and then we came home. Jeff, Marlene and Ernie walked around Baldwin Lake and then picked up the pizza I ordered for the rest of the household and watched some tv and played scrabble. Mom won.

Had some rain and are expecting more. We need some rain for our grass. We hope that this weekend won't be too rainy for the parade and festival. Mary will be out and about as part of the Queen's court. She also has another meeting for a possible wedding gig. What a busy girl! Sarah is getting excited about getting back to Hope on Sunday. Jeff is playing with the Danish Band Wed-Sat. Time is going to fly by now. Watch out soon I will be writing about Mary's graduation! It is on my birthday!

I only have two more days of work this month. I should have enough time then to get some other things done at home! No work related excuses! Plan to make Korean food later this week.

That is all.

Grace

Royalty!

We are happy to annouce that Mary did an awesome job tonight. She looked beautiful, played her cello wonderfully and answered an on the spot question with a great answer! The judges placed her at 2nd Runner Up. We are so proud! She had family and friends there to celebrate with her after the pageant. Congratulations Mary!

When we got home this evening, there was a message on the answering machine asking me to play for an installation tomorrow! I guess the organist is ill. I agreed to play and now have to practice and pray!

It's late! Good Night

Grace

Miss Danish Tonight!

Well the night is here! Tonight is the pageant, and there is excitement, anxieties and a few bumps in the road as time approaches. Sarah has already taken Mary over to the auditorium. Matt is there too ready for work. The rest of us will arrive after 6:30 pm to get seats. Thanks for your prayers. I am very proud of Mary for participating!

Yesterday after I got home from work, I baked cookies and printed softball awards. The picnic was lots of fun. Wish that more people had come out to join us! It was nice to swim and enjoy a meal together.

After we got home, we watched a movie together and then hit the hay. Time is really flying by! Gotta go.

Gracie

Welcome Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa Wilhelm arrived safely in Greenville yesterday afternoon, and had a very nice evening including spagetti dinner and watching the results of America's Got Talent. I couldn't believe they put the dog act through. Bad decision. Mom got a ride in the new Prius right away after their arrival as the meat I bought at the store didn't end up in my grocery bags. I got new meat at no charge or even questions, and we were back home. I just hated to drive back after a long day at work and shopping at "rush hour".

Brandon is back and joined us for dinner. It was sure nice to have him around again. He and Mary went to a movie and then enjoyed watching the shooting stars in the night sky. Mary and Matt are at the school auditorium this morning for the Miss Danish contest, dress rehearsal. Matt got to work, and there were too many people. I guess a few extra kids showed up. The boss asked for 2 volunteers to go home. Matthew was gracious enough to volunteer eventhough he was asked personally to be there. In the end, I guess the boss needed him afterall and he is still there at work. I am happy for him, and anxious to see how Mary feels after the rehearsal. Sarah got bit by a bug on Sunday and now her toe is itching and turning red. Not sure what bit her, and whether she needs to see the doctor.

Tomorrow is work and then our softball party. I still need to decide what to bring! Sarah is working on the award certificates. They are pretty good even if I say so myself. Saturday is the pageant! Time is going to fly by~

That is all for now. Happy Thursday!

Grace

New!

I added a weather link and the Tigers Link under "Take a Look at This" on the left. Check it out and go Tigers!

Hot Hot Hot!

The weather has been pretty hot lately. We had some bad storms on Saturday evening and Sunday night too. Looks like the weather is going to stay in the mid to upper 80's all week.

Our outdoor church service was small but nice. Mary was in a skit about the 3 Little Pigs, and putting a bible twist. Theme was to have a firm foundation of the bible and then you will be ready when the Wolf shows up. Jeff was the Wolf. Both did a great job. After lunch, we had a nice time on the lake. I always enjoy the pontoon ride and Jeff and the kids went swimming off the boat. Matt's friends were tubing and stopped by, and took Matt tubing too. He had a lot of fun.

Sarah and I worked Sunday night, and all of us slept in on Monday morning. Jeff was able to make several reservations for some upcoming trips. Jeff, Matt and I will be coming to FL ~Sept 1st-5th. We needed to use our frequent flyer miles and going to FL sounded great. Jeff has a military ticket for Universal and Disney. Disney sounds ok to me, but Universal will be a Father/Son day. Mom and I will find some other things to do. Mary can't go as she is going to take a college Spanish class this fall. Classes start in August. Sarah will already be at Hope College. Boy are my kids growing up! We will also be travelling to Minnesota for our good friend Mark's wedding in October. We are looking forward to celebrating with him!

Jeff played Price is Right Wii style last night and was a double showcase winner! I met my match! We also watched a movie that was in the end, very stupid and a waste of time. Don't spend time watching the movie "Knowing".

Today was golf day! Mary went with us today. I felt like I golfed a little better, but my putting was off so my score went up 9 strokes today, for a total of 58. Norma birdied the last hole! Yay! Mary did ok and will probably go again, but she needs longer clubs to make golf easier for her. Here are some pictures from the golf course. How do you like that lie by the tree? It was wicked. I took the liberty of improving my lie, so I could actually take a swing at it!

Mary's friends is back home and she will be going out to welcome him home. She has missed him a great deal. I have had a headache this afternoon and although I am feeling better, am debating if I will go get some groceries tonight.

Grandma and Grandpa arrive tomorrow! Just in time for our softball picnic party, Mary's Miss Danish pageant, a Tigers Game and the Danish Festival. They will also get to come and see Hope College when Sarah returns on the 23rd.

Whew! That's all Folks!

Grace

God is Good! All The Time!

The rain stopped and the sun came out this afternoon! No rain for the weddings! What a blessing for everyone. Now we are grilling burgers and will have fries and salad. Picked another tomato for the salad. Going to bake spice cake for the picnic. Sounds good? I think so.
\o/
Grace

Look Who Is Home!

After a 13.5 hour day at work with my little princess, I got home, rested for an hour, took the kids to dinner then we were off to the airport to pick up Jeff. He is wearing his new uniform in the picture. It is wonderful to have the whole family back under one roof. In a few more weeks, or as Sarah would say "15 days!", she will be back at Hope College. She just can't wait. We did get word that she has to be there between 1-3pm on Sunday the 23rd of August. We will have to be packed up before church, so we can leave in time to get there at the proper time. This is not a major moving in day, just some athletic trainers and maybe athletes. Parking shouldn't be a nightmare this year. Sarah will be living on the first floor of her dorm, so no steps!

The kids really helped out this week with the cleaning. The house looks really nice. Our grass looks good this year too! That makes Matthew really happy. Mary preparation for the pageant continues now with dancing and "learning to walk" and checking the bathing suits for appropriateness. Her accompany track turned out really nice for her cello solo, but there are parts that will be hard for her to hear while she plays, so she has opted to play the cello alone without the track. Once you get off with a track it is too hard to get back on.

Today is a day for weddings. Jeff has a wedding at Mt. Calvary at 3 pm, and Mary is playing for a wedding at a home at 3:30pm. She says the group is ready and sounds good. The couples shouuld have a lot of luck as it has been raining all morning. By the looks of the radar, it will be a very rainy day. Mary says they will play on the porch or under a tent. My big concern is for Mary to be driving them out to the house in a bad rain storm. Maybe God will give us a window without storms for everyone's safety and enjoyment.

Tomorrow is our outdoor church service and picnic. I am playing the clavinova. Pretty much ready too. Plan to practice at church today sometime. Clavs feel and play just a little different than a piano. Not sure what to take to the potluck picnic either. Baking is always fun and then I still would have to bring some main dish. I am thinking italian, I bring stuff my family likes. Since tomorrow is going to be hot, 92, there will be swimming and games afterward. I will have to sleep somewhere along the line, as I work nights tomorrow.

Hope your day is sunny and bright!

Grace

First Harvest!

I picked the first of our home grown tomatoes! Don't they look nice? I hope they stay good until Jeff gets home on Friday. If not I will give them to my neighbors. I see more blossoms so I think we will have a good season.

I had a good day at work this afternoon. Only worked for 5 hours. I work 12 hours on Friday 5am to 5pm. Matthew got a call today to work crew for the Miss Danish Pageant. He will work on 3 different days, including the night of the show. I am so happy for him. Wonder what job he will get? He likes to work the lights. Mary had dance reahearsal today and said it went well.

Tonight Sarah and I will be watching So You Think You Can Dance. I sure hope the Kayla or Brandon wins. We will know tomorrow!

The weather is nice and all is well. Supposed to get hot this weekend. That is all for now!

Later Gators!

Grace

A Great Golf Game

I had the best golf score since I moved to Michigan~a 49! (9 holes). I didn't have very good tee shots like I normally do, and I had some really really good fairway shots and putts that don't normally happen. I even had a few 1 putt holes which is just amazing for me! I guess I should mention that I had loads of fun with 2 other lovely ladies as well. We laughed a lot and helped look for missing balls. I left one of my yellow balls in the rough. Never found it. We all had a delicious lunch at Cory's. I had the lunch special, Chicken Parmesean, for $5.99! It came with spaghetti and garlic toast. I added the best ranch dressing ever, and enjoyed every bite!

When I got home the house looked so clean and Mary was still de-griming the kitchen! It looks amazing. I pitched in right away and we got the work done quick. I treated the kids to Taco Bell and then took a nap. Dinner was chicken crescents and then off to Meijer for a milk run. Matthew has become my personal driver. He is doing pretty well with the whole driving scene. Mary went on a sunset walk with her friend Gia this evening and then worked on making a accompanying track for her cello solo for the pageant. It is sounding very good! Sarah cleaned a lot of her room today. Still lots of stuff, but you can tell she has straightened up a great deal. All of us have enjoyed playing the Wii together each day.

Monday I worked a few hours then had an appt in Grand Rapids. I drove in so we could be on time and then my driver drove home. We got a little lost going home a new way and ended up needing Sarah to google a map to help us get backon track. Mary had her string group rehearsal yesterday and the quartet is ready for their first gig together this Saturday. Mary says they were awesome! I went to the Senior Mystery Trip meeting and signed up for a committee and also to work at a burger stand at a football game. I started dinner, pancakes and bacon, and the girls finished up and did a wonderful job making dinner.

That is all the news for now. Have a great day!

Grace

PS My finger is healing well!

Oh What a Beautiful Day!

Today's weather has been spectacular! Blue skies mid 7o's and a gentle breeze. Church was very nice and the girls and I sang the verses of "Eat This Bread" without incident. I wish I could say the same about my piano playing during communion. Played sharps instead of flats for a few measures, then got back on track. We played some Wii Price is Right and then had McDonald's for lunch. Since it was such a nice day, we drove into Grand Rapids and finished off the clothes and shoe shopping. I can say that we found lots of good sales, so we really saved money! Matt got new shoes, Sarah got the shorts for athletic training and a few other needed tops and jeans. Mary got a top, scarf, book and shoes for the dance number in the Miss Danish pageant. She says they are quite comfortable. Sarah bought herself some shoes at Charlotte Rouse. They were quite affordable and got a second pair for $10! I showed my military ID and we got an extra discount! yay!

We skipped eating out for dinner and drove home and cooked some toasted ravioli, garlic bread and salad for dinner. It turned out great! Everyone liked it! After dinner I was trying out some new cleaner in the kitchen, when I sliced my R pinky finger open on the blade of my food processor. I don't think it will need stitches, and Sarah fixed up with a pressure bandage. I will check it in a while and reassess the situation. Matthew cut the grass and vaccuumed. He helped my clean the kitchen too. Both girls did their chores as well. All is well at home!

Talked with Jeff and he is also doing well in SC. Learning his job and still waiting for orders. Although he has had clearance for entering his work building, he didn't get a key badge until Friday . That means people had to come and let him in. Progress might be slow, but it is evident~ He gets home on Friday evening. Today he called after church and said there was a cookout after chapel. Guess he has been to 3 cookouts this week! I say yummmm!

Well, I am going to go check my finger and do something with the kids. I need to go to bed early, as I work from 0500 to 0800 tomorrow.

So Long!

Grace

A Day of Fun

Today we all got to sleep in! What a treat that was for everyone. Sarah made chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and then we played Wii games together. We all had our good moments. Mary applied to two colleges this morning, University of Michigan and Central Michigan University. She will complete the University of Oklahoma application soon. Now she is waiting for her high school counselor to write a reccomendation. Today was one of Mary's wedding gigs. She looked so nice that I took her picture. There was some rain at the wedding, but her cello is fine and everything went ok. Sarah and I watched some TV, took a little nap and then saw some white sox baseball before we went to get groceries at Wal Mart. We ended up getting a new Wii game too, The Price is Right! It is a lot of fun. I won lots of pretend prizes. It will be a fun family game. Now it is movie time. Our next Netflix movie arrived. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is playing in just a few minutes! Gotta GO!

Grace

One Week Down

Well, it's almost been one week since Jeff left for military duty. I one more week, I will have already picked him up at the airport and we hopefully be home!

The rest of our week has been very busy. Mary has been preparing for her cello wedding gigs the for the next 2 Saturdays. She has also put a lot of time into getting ready for the pageant. She changed the song she will play on her cello for the talent portion. Her best friend has been calling each day with updates on his adventure. I worked on Wed and Friday. Both days were good days with my patient. Matt came to work with me today to do some babysitting and cleaning. He got paid well. My clients family hopes to move in the next few weeks. Matt has been challenging everyone to Stratego. He has won a lot, but I can say I won a game a few days ago. Sarah went to visit a friend for a little while today and had a nice time. She even made muffins to take along! Sarah, Mary and I went to a stampin up party last night and had a nice time and didn't buy as much as I wanted to, I had self discipline! YAY!

Tomorrow we are going to clean a little and find something fun to do too. I am sure we will come up with some ideas. If not, we can always play stratego!

Have a great weekend!

Grace

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Feeling Better..So Here is the Latest!

Softball: We ended up playing 2 games on Saturday. We lost both. It was supposed to be a single elimination set up, but the other losing team wanted to play again. So I left it up to the team and we played with the players that could stay. I played R field and got a nice sunburn on my calves! Sarah pitched two whole games! The umpire was crazy and called flat pitches on Sarah, but not for the other team, the umpire even said to our team at one point. "OK, you guys can start hitting any time now!" I felt like giving him a piece of my mind, but I bit my tongue. The score was not that bad, I think both games had a spread of about 7 runs. I was happy with my team. We will have our first softball picnic in a few weeks.

Back to work: I had a pretty good first evening back to work. I was tired, sore and burned, but I still gave excellent patient care. I work Wednesday and Friday and this week. Should be a good week.

Church: Service went well. Matthew did the projection for the service and did a great job. He really liked that job a lot. As usual, we went out for lunch afterward. Pizza Hut was crowded, so Wendy's got our business.

Off to Military Duty: I took Jeff to the airport in the late afternoon. He arrived safely at his new base, Shaw AFB, SC. He had to buy new uniforms yesterday as they are phasing out the ones he has. He said the base is much smaller than the one in AZ, but it is nice and his new job will be challenging. I think he will be involved in weather regarding the middle east. He won't be home until August 7th.

Back to School I took the kids shopping for school/clothes yesterday. We got a lot accomplished. Sarah finally found some clothes that fit in Greenville! Matt still needs shoes, Sarah will need laundry and toiletries for college and Mary says she is all set! Yay!

Doctor Visits I had an appointment with my doctor/surgeon this morning. I continue to struggle with symptoms I had before surgery. Since everything checks out at this doctor, I will need some more diagnostic tests and follow-up with a new specialist. Sarah has her swallow study on Thursday to see the extent of her reflux associated with her Connective Tissue disorder. Mary twisted her ankle at the bon voyage party Friday night. She came home with a very puffy R ankle. Our in house athletic trainer assessed the injury and wrapped it up for her. It was awesome to watch Sarah at work and knowing so much already. She loves what she does. I did the nursing things with meds and comfort measures. Mary is doing well and has no problems with her ankle anymore!

Miss Danish Mary has completed all of her paperwork and requirements for the pageant. Next week she begins the rehearsals and dance practices. Mary has also been working on her esaays for college applications and even met with her English teacher to help edit them to make them even better! Her friend Brandon has been keeping in touch with her during his big adventure. It is nice to hear of his journey. She misses having him here in Michigan.

Poor Squirrel The mailman pointed out a squirrel in our yard that lost the use of his back legs. It was very sad. The mailman gave him some nuts and water, but the little rascal left and scrambled to the other side of the street. We watched as he tried to climb the tree over and over, but never getting very far before falling down. The kids and I wanted to help it some how, but a police man came and told us not to watch. He killed it with shovel and put it in a garbage bag. I know he had to put out of his misery, but I was sad with his choice of euthanasia.

Salutation That is all for now! I will try to be quicker on the updates.

Gloria's Daughter,

Grace

More Pictures Posted!

Click on the Wilhelm Family Photos!

Home!

The night before our last leg of driving home turned ugly for me. I had an upset stomach that led to being sick by daybreak. I felt sick all the way home, trying to sleep as much as possible. Everyone else is fine! Hope those little darling girls are ok! I am feeling better, but am going to take it easy for a few days.

We arrived home on Wednesday in time for Mary to go with Brandon to his gig at an anniversary party. She said he performed wonderfully and got paid more than promised! He sang Everybody Loves Somebody, Mac the Knife, In the Wee Hours of the Morning and You Make Me Feel So Young! I wish I had been well, I would have gone to the restaurant and ate dinner to listen to him sing! Mary is going to spend the day with him today, as he and his 2 best friends leave on their BIG Road Trip Saturday for 2 weeks!

Sarah is working today! She got a babysitting job for the whole day. Matt and I will hold down the fort. I have plenty to do at home. I pulled together enough people to play in the tournament tomorrow. The team is excited about playing another game. We will miss several of our key players though~

Lastly, things seem to breaking around the house. Our ceiling fan/light in the den is broken. Then last night the modem died. Luckily for us, Jeff stayed up and fixed up a new one (He didn't get a lot of sleep). He has lots to do! Wedding rehearsal on Saturday, Church and then he leaves for SC for Air Force duty until the 7th of August. He'll be home at lunch to go get a haircut. I hope nothing else breaks while he is gone. Oh, I forgot to mention that Matt found the deep feezer off yesterday. It wasn't off too long as the meat was all still solid, but the ice cream was soup. Not too much of a mess either!

That is all!

Grace

Day 8: Our Visit to Adam and Jill's

After 9 more hours of driving, we arrived to Adam and Jill's. They were outside playing with the girls! Ellie loved to have Matt push her on her swing! As you can see Ellie is quite the singer and sang several songs for us! She has wonderful pitch for a 2 year old! Claire is very cute and a very good baby. We all had a chance to hold and love her. We always have a fun time together with all of them! We ate some Papa John's pizza as a late dinner. Time past quickly and we were off to our hotel to rest up for the rest of the ride home. Thanks for a fun evening Adam and Jill!

Day 7: Driving, Driving and More Driving!

We had a wonderful time with Kathy. Got up and had breakfast and visited a little before we left around 1030ish. I forgot my purse just a few blocks away and we had to turn around to retrieve them. It wasn't until over 30 minutes later that Kathy called to tell us she found Mary's laptop. We were too far to turn around at that point, so Kathy is going to ship it to us. Thanks a million!

The girls were looking for some Texas postcards, so we stopped a place called Mary's Chocolate in Greenville TX! We got some chocolate, but no postcards. Luckily we found some at the truck stop a few miles down the freeway. Lunch was at a taco bell without sufficient A/C, but the service and food were good. Postcards were mailed and we were off for more driving. I drove for about 3hours much of it through heavy rains. Jeff kept his eye to the sky for any possible funnels. Mary took over after me, and drove a good while until we started looking for dinner. Sarah and Matt really wanted Chik Fil A, so we drove around town looking for one. We finally found one a few more exits down and had a chicken dinner.

In the meantime, Sarah talked to Jake to find out our softball results. We lost our last game. Still I know that a 7-3 record is great. Way to go team!!!! I got a call from the league manager that our team is eligible for the tournament this weekend. One of the teams ahead of us doesn't want to participate, so we have been asked to. Guess I will need to contact all the players to see who can play.

Matthew drove the last leg of this journey to get some night hours logged. He did well and now were are safe at our hotel in Jackson TN. We leave early tomorrow for Ohio. we can't wait to finaly see Claire our new cousin and her family!

Will post pictures just as soon as Sarah gets them to me. Thanks for your patience!

Grace

Day 4- Day 6: Norman and Dallas, well Plano

Friday morning we got up and then we had lunch with Jeff's ROTC commander. Panera Bread has a nice sandwich, but it is quite expensive. It was nice talking and visiting with Ralph and Jan. Ralph and Jeff talked about their stuff and Jan and I talked about Nursing, as we are both RN's. We left Norman around 2 pm and then began travelling south. Jeff did most of the driving as there was construction and he wanted to take us to a drive through wilderness.

We had a lot of fun at Arbuckle Wilderness. The animals come up and run along side the car. Mary was dropping food out the back window and Sarah was taking wonderful pictures from the front seat. There were a few close calls with the animals trying to stick their head in our windows, especially the llama! Sarah will be posting some pictures soon.

It has been a lot of fun visiting with Kathy, Lee and the kids. They are so adorable and have had the kids playing and swimming. Lee took Jeff and Matt to the gym to work out Friday night. Saturday we did a lot of swimming, where most of us received some type of sunburn. Greg, Lisa and the girls came just before 12 noon and joined in all the fun. Matthew probably has the most sunburn. After the weekend, I think Jeff is more sunburned than me! Wow!

Lee made delicious hot dogs and burgers on the grill and Kathy had fruit and chips to go along with it. We celebrated Joshua's first birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Hammons were here to celebrate too! Last night most of us went to see the Harry Potter movie. I thought it was pretty good. Hannah sang in church this morning as a part of VBS week. She did a great job! After church we had a tasty italian lunch nearby with 16 people.

The kids went swimming or watched movies, some of us went to Kohl's and then we took family pictures before Lee had to leave for the airport and Greg and Lisa and family started the 5 hour drive home. We got to babysit Joshua and Hannah while Kathy took Lee to the airport. Zachary spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa. We had light dinner where Mary tried her first sushi. One was enough for today, but she may try it again. Jeff ate some too. I know better. I just don't like it.

Tonight ended with an evening swim party. Those of us still in Plano had lots of fun playing in the pool, ball games, raft games and of course Marco Polo! It was nice to have the pool light on and just laugh and have a good time.

Tomorrow we will drive most of the day and arrive in Tennessee. I am glad that Mary and Matthew like to drive, then I won't have to drive as much. We plan to be in Columbus on Tuesday evening to visit Adam, Jill, Ellie and Claire.

Reporting Sunday night,

Grace

Day 3: University Oklahoma!

Amazingly enough we got to OU on time. The admissions recruiter was very enthusiastic and I thought gave very good information. Sometimes those info sessions get long and boring. It was quite hot during our campus tour. Good thing they gave everyone a cold bottle of water! Mary liked the campus and dorms too. She really liked the reading room in library. Unfortunately, Sarah slipped on the stairs coming out and fell hard on her bottom. She has a nice bruise because of it. Sarah kept going with a smile! Mary also met with the music department, theater department and the education department. Theater was defintely the best! The guide/recruiter was so nice and gave us a really good tour. There are lots of good pictures on the photo album. They are opening a play tonight of Henry the IV by Shakespeare. Since we would be gone, we were invited to the dress reahearsal last night. It was really good and a lot of fun. We stayed to watch the formation of the curtain call too. Mary really has a passion for theater and would really like to major in that area, but is unsure of potential employability. The meeting with the eduacation department was ok, but Mary was not impressed with the education lady. OU is #2 on the college interest list, right after the University of Michigan.

Our meals here have been tasty. We had lunch at a Campus Corner pizza place, then had dinner at one our favorites from years ago, the Interurban. I had my favorite, the Ranch Burger. It was obvious that our waiter made a special concession to make 3 Cherry Cokes for Sarah (cherry coke is not on the menu). Eating in OK wouldn't be complete without some ice cream from Braums! Mmmm.

Jeff and I were able to visit with some friends too. We saw Pastor and Mariane Klumpp before they move down to Texas to be near their kids. It was a nice visit. Jeff also visited the new National Weather Center. It is really nice. We wanted to get a tour, but you have to book them 2 weeks in advance! We tried to see some of his old profs, but they were gone on vacation, we missed one his old classmates by just a few minutes.

Can you tell we had a good time? Yes we survived the intense afternoon heat, recovered a forgotten phone (mine), saw a lot of campus, and experienced a late night Oklahoma thunderstorm!

Today we are going to meet with Jeff's ROTC commander for lunch and then off to Arbuckle Wilderness, a drive through animal safari. Tonight we will arrive at Kathy's house for the weekend. We are all anxious to see family!

Grace

Day 2: St Louis, MO- Norman, OK

We had a lot of fun on our driving tour of "Our St Louis". We drove by the kids school, Sarah's ice rink and then we stopped at our first Mt Calvary Lutheran. We saw Pastor Z and Matthew had many memories from preschool. Our journey continued as we drove toward the seminary. Lunch was at one of our favorites, Duffy's restaurant. They have great burgers! We drove around the seminary including our apartment. We made sure we saw Forest Park, the Zoo and of course as planned, frozen yogurt at Ted Drewes. We didn't leave St Louis till nearly 2pm!

Everyone in the family took turns driving. I started out after the ice cream and drove a few hours. Matthew drove next with Dad riding shotgun through some heavy traffic with lots of trucks. He did pretty well! Mary drove next for about 4 hours! She had some heavy traffic too and stopped near Tulsa where we ate at On The Border, it was pretty good. Sarah returned her salad as it wasn't the house salad she had thought it was. She added another soft taco instead. Well the waitress noticed that she pulled off the tomatoes and brought the next one minus tomato! What a waitress. Sarah drove the next leg. It seems that everytime she drives, there is a curve ball. As we left the parking lot of the restaurant, Sarah said looks like we need gas. We drove another 10-15 minutes on E looking for a gas station in an unfamiliar city. Finally we found some gas and we were on our way to Norman. Jeff drove the city tour and the last leg to the hotel.

We need to get up early and leave for OU by 0830, so I am getting up around 7 am. We hope that it won't be soo hot that we can't enjoy the campus to the fullest! We'll let you know.


Grace

Day One: Illinois/St. Louis

We left before 9 in the morning and had an early lunch at Culver's. Mary drove next for 3 hours around Chicago and then south into rural Illinois. Then Matthew took over and drove into Springfield, IL to see Lincoln's house. Matthew had a challenging workout out at the wheel especially turning into the narrow parking lot from the left lane of a one way street.

We enjoyed the Lincoln house and I got our token magnet for the fridge. You can see lots of pictures on the Wilhelm Family Photo Album. Sarah is the official camera person and she is uploading the pictures for me on shutterfly. There are also pictures of our friends in St Charles. Barbara has been a good friend of mine since we lived in Atlanta and we both have girls the same age. It was a lot of seeing them again and eating dinner at Steak n Shake. We had to eat quick because the All Star Game was going to start!

What a fun night and a great game. Barb has DVR and we could watch awesome plays over and over, or play back for a questionable call and check the umpires. Of course the highlight of the game was when Sarah's Tiger, Curtis Granderson, hit a triple to help the AL win the game. It was great to spend time with good friends and catch up family news. We had such a wonderful time! Thanks Barb!!

Jeff Matt and Mary went swimming this morning and now we are going to check out of here and get something to eat maybe see a favorite St Louis site and then get some Ted Drewes. Then we are off for 8 hours of driving until we arrive in Norman Oklahoma. Mary has a college visit there tomorrow. I think I am most excited about the visit. She is ready to go to the University of Michigan. But it is worth visiting and seeing a great campus. I am sure Jeff will be happy to show us his alma mater.

Better Run! See you OK!

Gracie

How Do We Always Get Behind?

Well, we wanted to leave in less than 6 hours, and here I am blogging. I had to let everyone know that our softball team won tonight with a big score of 25-10. Sarah pitched another whole game and got a triple her last at bat. Woohoo! Jeff stepped in and played 2nd base and is our switch hitter. Matthew isn't happy with his performance, but he had good hits, the other team just caught them. Our team is very cohesive and play well together. I couldn't be more proud of them. Our shortstop will be managing/coaching the game next week in our absence. Sarah avoided any injury tonight, but one of our players got hit in the head by an overthrow to first base. knocked his glasses clean off! He seems to be ok, will have a bruise for sure. Mom knows to watch for any signs of head injury.

I have had a sore throat and headache for nearly 48 hours. Needless to say, I didn't feel much like packing. I feel a better tonight after the game. Jeff always says that exercise is good for you! I even ran the bases for myself tonight.

Mary spent most of her day getting all her Miss Danish papers in order. Her salute page, that will go in the program is being sponsored by a couple from our church! She is close to reaching her goal for the Children's Miracle Network. She was very happy that her friend Brandon got home tonight and came over to spend time together before we leave in the morning. I am sure that there will be plenty of texts going from OK and TX back to MI!

Well, I have my clothes packed, the goodies for the car packed and the DVD player and movies packed. Just need to organize my purse and papers and then get a shower and rest for tomorrow, wait today!

Sarah is taking her laptop, so I will be able to blog on the road! Next stop St. Louis!

~Gracie

Whoops! Almost forgot! Mary got her AP Test results. She got a 4 on both Advanced Placement English and Literature. She will get college credit for English her freshman year! Hurray!

Two Days and Counting!

Just two days until our family vacation! I feel like I should be doing something to prepare right now, but Mary is doing the family laundry to earn money for driving money. I have dog care/mail collection and grass/garden set up and Jeff made the itinerary. We have called family and friends ahead of time. So I guess we just need to purchase needed items and car snacks and pack.

Church was good today. Lots of good songs. Lord of the Dance is one of our favorites. Jeff's sermon had a theme about dance. It was very good as well. Good attendance. The wedding was very nice and we had a nice time at the reception. The weather has been very nice. I hope it like this tomorrow night for the church softball game. It will be our last one of the season, unless we make the playoffs, which isn't likely right now. There are several teams with better records than our 6-2! There is one more game next week, but we will be heading home from Texas that evening.

Sarah is doing ok. She still have the discomfort around her R ear. The bruising is going through the regular resoling color themes. Daily pictures are found on the family photo album. I have started with a sore throat and some stuffiness. I really don't want to be sick with a cold this week :(.

Deadlines for Mary's Miss Danish are coming up fast especially since we will be on vacation. If you'd like to see her Miss America page her is the link: www.missamerica4kids.org/m.aspx. She has a sponsor for her Program page. Thanks to all who have supported her already!

That is all for today. I am relying that someone will bring the laptop on vacation so I can continue to blog while we are away.

Gracie

A Quick Note

Well, I worked almost 12 hours this afternoon and evening. I am off until after vacation. I do need to work on my days for next month though, so I have work when I get back. This morning Jeff, Mary, Matt and I went downtown to have a Danish breakfast. It was very good. I really like the little doughnut things. Many of our neighbors and friends were there too.

Sarah was back at the doctor today. Her R ear/Jaw area is still causing her discomfort. The PA that saw her ordered stronger anti-inflammatory and ordered a CT for Monday should it still be hurting. As you can see she is pretty bruised. When she goes to the store she says people look at her with a look that asks, what happened to you? Most probably think she got beat up! If you know Sarah you can expect some type of injury.

I passed on the torch of Sunday School superintendent yesterday. I hope that the binder I passed on will be easy to understand. Mary is going to team teach grades 3,4,5. I will be teaching too. Not sure if there will be a chime team this fall as I want to have at least 7 players before we start practice. Orchestra and Kids choir will continue as long as we have ~5 members. The more the better!

Tomorrow is a wedding that our family will attend I love weddings! I can just sit back and relax. Jeff can too! The grooms grandpa is a pastor.

I'd better get cleaned up and go to bed~!

Night

Grace

It's Finally Home!!

After a week of headaches for us and the car mechanics, the van is fixed and at home. Yay! The kids are especially happy. Now when dad and mom are at work, they can still get around. It is good to know that it is working well for our upcoming vacation next week.

Sarah is still very sore. Her jaw joint hurts quite a bit. I am sure that it got jarred really well, since the ball hit her on the left side of the chin/mouth. Her chin is still pretty swollen and bruised. The laceration is healing quite nicely so far. When asked if it is worth playing ball and risk injury, she says, Yes!

I am working about 25 hours this week. Just tomorrow afternoon shift left before our vacation. I have been quite busy at work lately, which is good since time goes by faster. My little girl is growing up and is beautiful and lots of fun. But like a toddler, is getting into everything, what good news!

The weather is beautiful...blue sky and warm temperatures. I hope it stays nice for the weekend. There is a wedding at our church for a very nice couple. We all will be attending.

The family went to McDonald's for lunch today. I came outside and found Mary and Matthew at a picnic table and it reminded me of when they were little.. Aren't they cute?

I guess that is all..

Gracie

A Fun Game and Another Win!

The big news from the ball game is that Sarah got nailed in the face with a ball. She missed the throw and takes full responsibility for the injury. It did bruise almost instantly and her lip has a good laceration. Of course she finished the inning and played the rest of the game as much as possible. I took her to the ER tonight just to be safe and there are no fractures! Her laceration could have had a stitch or two, but the doctor said it would heal fine without it. That is all Sarah needed to hear. So no stitches either! Can you see the bruise on her chin?



The whole team played well tonight. We scored lots of runs. Matthew batted 1000 tonight! I got on base all but once and I think Sarah and Jeff were on most of the time. Sarah pitched until she got hurt and then Jeff took over and did a great job as well. Good fielding and good sportsmanship on both teams! What fun we had!


Earlier today I was in Grand Rapids for a medical appointment and decided to go use my Kohl's money afterward. They had awesome sales and I got some tops and new earrings. Lunch was good and then I got some paperwork and laundry done before the game.


I'd better cut this short! I have to be at work in four hours and I really need a shower!


Good Night!

Grace

What a Night!

I worked most of the morning on Sunday School records and paperwork. I had a volunteer to take over as superintendent, so I want to give her a very organized and workable book. I guess I should order the curriculum, so we get the right amount next month.

We left for Craig's Cruisers, a place for pizza, games, go karts, mini-golf and such and enjoyed ourselves. Our mini golf game was pretty good for most of us, and the go karts are fun even if you daughter and her girlfriend bumps into you. I got lapped by everyone, but that what happens to safe drivers on a race track! By 8:30pm we were on our way to downtown Grand Rapids for the fireworks. We sat on some rocks along the shore of the Grand River. The fireworks were very good, lasted about 20 minutes. We had nice weather for the event as well.

Church went well. I taught kids church and ran out of time. We learned about Solomon's temple. The kids came down after church to finish their projects. I also had a softball meeting. The league is requiring signatures from the team stating they know the rules. There has been a lot of nit-picking and some poor sportsmanship. It is getting a little crazy. Supposed to have all the signatures by today, which is really crazy since several of my players are gone this weekend. I hope we don't have to forfeit a game! That would really be nuts!

Well, got to run, playing for chapel at the nursing homes and then we are going to a welcome home party for a family friend that just got home from boot camp. Have a great day!


Grace

Happy Birthday America!

It is a cloudy morning and Jeff is out jogging. The kids are sleeping and of course, I am blogging. We had a nice cookout last night for the family. Burgers, watermelon, potato salad and then soft serve ice cream at McDonalds. We played a game of running bases (aka pickle) in the side yard, and had lots of fun. Matthew absolutely loved it! I remember playing that with Dave and Dan for hours. Mary spent the day with her best friend, Brandon.

Speaking of Mary, she has most her paperwork done for the Miss Danish Festival and is working on her cello solo for her talent. Her platform is keeping the Arts in Schools. She is a little nervous, but is also excited.

Matthew's driving continues to get better. He suggested going to Craigs Cruisers today for family fun, so we plan to go this afternoon. There is pizza/pasta buffet, go karts, games, mini golf and laser tag. We hope to see some fireworks too. Hopefully it doesn't rain!

Sarah was very happy last evening when one of her best buddies from Hope called. She sure loves Hope and the people that go there! She can't wait to go back. The summer job never materialized. Not many are hiring and those that do hire friends or popular people. I am thinking I should quit my job and then refile FAFSA. We might get more aid!

Our van was in the shop all day yesterday and got a new alternator and battery. Unfortunately the battery light still goes on even with the new parts. We took it home for the weekend and need to return it on Monday for diagnostics.

That is all the news for now.

Grace

What A Difference A Day Makes

I was going to blog Wednesday night, but couldn't think of anything to report. I guess I could have told you that I had a good day at work or that I acutally made dinner last night, but those are just regular daily routines. I bought a new Wii game that we have played a lot lately, a Disney Trivia of sorts. Sarah especially likes it, she wins! I still have fun anyway.

But today (7/2), well I have some unbelievable news! Mary has decided to compete in the Miss Danish Festival Pageant. She thought that she missed the deadline, but they called today and said she could still apply. Since this morning she has accomplished much of the paperwork that is required to participate. Should she win, she would advance to Miss Michigan! How crazy is that? Jeff and I support her, and think as she does, that this would be a great opportunity and experience. Some of you may have already received an email from her. I guess this was kind of a Mary day, she received her driver's license in the mail and got a new hair cut this morning. She wanted some more layers and got a little more that she bargained for. It still looks nice and the length in general is about the same.

Yesterday, we weren't sure of our travel plans. Today we have an itinerary! St. Louis, MO-Norman, OK-Dallas, TX- Memphis, TN-Columbus, OH. All in about 10 days! Good thing we have 5 drivers in the family. We were thinking of what we could do tomorrow as a family, maybe go somewhere for fun. Well, the van is going to the auto clinic in the AM for a new alternator/battery and then Jeff has a private memorial service in the late afternoon. We hope to go see some fireworks on Saturday. Sunday I have kids church and Jeff and I will be doing chapel for the assisted living/nursing homes here in town.

Sarah has been applying for scholarships online and has pretty much decided that there is no job for her in Greenville, especially since she will be leaving for college in 7 weeks and 2 of those are on vacation. She'd really like to get to a Tigers game before heading back to Holland. Matthew just wants to drive, drive anywhere! He'd like to see transformers too, but his sisters saw it with their friends separately and I really don't want to see it at all. Guess he will have to wait or find a friend to see it with.

Guess that is about it. Have a great weekend!

Grace