Auntie Charlotte

When I was a child, I had numerous Aunts.  My Mother was one of eight children, and my Dad was one of four. In addition, there were several Great-Aunts too.  However, I have just one sister, and she has only one daughter---Chantelle.  For the past couple of years, Chantelle has visited from Indiana, and this time she stayed for 3 weeks. We love having her here, and I always try to think of fun things to do.  I love having a niece, I'm so happy to be her Auntie!

 

When she arrived, we went to her favorite Mexican Restaurant out here---

Casa del Rey in San Dimas.  This time she had a banana margarita.

 

 

I had to take her to the beach, so we stayed at The Tamarack Beach Resort

in Carlsbad, and the weather was perfect.

 

 

The sunset was spectacular that evening.

 

 

One thing we did a lot of was eating---here at P.F. Chang's in Chino Hills.  Notice

the bag?  Yes, we did some shopping there too at the Shoppes at Chino Hills.

 

 

One of Chantelle's priorities was to visit some wineries in Temecula.  We had

a great time that day with Adam and Melissa, and tasted soooo many wines!!!

 

 

The next day we revisited a restaurant where we had had dinner the night before

and had some Bloody Mary's at The Gambling Cowboy in the old town of

Temecula.

 

 

Of course we had to have a family Barbeque, and Heather hosted it this year.

I always love taking pictures of my three granddaughters (and granddog).

 

 

Scott, Kim and the girls loved meeting Chantelle, and Kim was thrilled

to find out that she was taller than Chantelle!!!

 

 

Heather and Jason did a great job with the meal, and

everything was yummy!

 

 

Reese was happy to show off his train set.

 

 

The day before she left, we went to Graber's Olives in Ontario.

It's a cute place specializing in everything olives, and we had

fun looking at all the olive paraphernalia. 

 

 

Truly an amazing variety of things.

 

 

Everything about the place was darling, and the grounds were beautiful

 

 

There is also a museum of old equipment, photos, and memorabilia.

 

 

The only regret we have is that we did not spend more time in Temecula

in its old town.  For instance, I wonder where this bridge leads???

 

Come back soon, Chantelle, so we can explore some more.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking Blue!

Life is constantly evolving, and nothing is as heartwarming as hearing the words, "We're going to have a baby!"  It's especially true if you are going to be the Grandparent of said baby.  I'm thrilled to say that this happened to us just recently, and we are tickled pink------but in this case, it's BLUE!

 

Adam and Melissa didn't actually say, "We're going to have a baby."  They were much more creative (possibly thanks to Pinterest), and gave us this charming bottle of wine.  I cried!

 

 

To let us know the sex of the baby they used another cute idea when they came over for a BBQ.  Everyone chose either a mustache or a tiara to guess which they thought it was.  Mostly, the girls picked the tiaras, and the guys chose the mustaches.

 

 

Maddie, of course, was wishing for a girl.

 

 

Then came the drum roll, and 4 girls were chosen to push up the confetti that would announce the sex of the baby-----either blue or pink.

 

 

 

And.......it was BLUE!!!

 

 

Confetti and blue stars flew everywhere, and everyone cheered!

 

 

The guys were thrilled that one of their own would soon join their ranks.

 

 

Then Grandpa grilled us a very manly bratwurst dinner, while making fun of hot dogs.

 

 

P.S.  Can you tell that Melissa has a cute little baby bump???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Bratsgiving

Johnsonville started a new and silly holiday this year---Bratsgiving!!!  It is a combination of Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Halloween.  There are bratwurst wreaths, bratwurst pumpkins, and even a bratwurst turkey.  The date of this holiday is August 16th.  So, in the spirit of this new holiday we had a barbeque on August 16th!

 

The stars of the barbeque were Johnsonville brats.

 

 

I couldn't upload the Johnsonville video, but you may be able to view it by going to

www.johnsonville.com

 

 

Duane is an expert at grilling bratwurst.  We also had to grill some hot dogs for the kids.  Just looking at this picture, which would you rather have?

 

 

Here, he's making fun of the lowly hot dog.  Oh yes, beer is also an integral part of the celebration.

 

 

Brat grilling is a great way to bond.

 

 

A good time was had by all, and we will be celebrating once again next year.

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50th Reunion Part II

 

Darlene and I wanted to visit the church we attended when we lived in Sunnyside Estates---

St. John The Baptist Catholic Church.  It is still majestic!

 

 

As you can see, the interior is ornate and reminds me of some of the old churches in Europe.  The carved wood is exquisite, as are the wall paintings, and statuary.

 

 

There are several stained glass windows that, when seen in person, take your breath away.

 

 

Even the cemetery is fabulous with its statues and grave markers.

 

 

It's full of grottos, chapels, stations of the cross and beautiful grounds with a pond.  Here we are in front of one of the larger chapels.  The structures are all hand made of stone.

 

 

This is the school we went to.

 

 

St. John's recently got a new roof and the old slate roof tiles were all saved.  This is one that Carol purchased.  The money goes toward helping the school and church.  I am happy to say that since this photo, Carol has also purchased one for me, and I should get it soon.

 

 

I also got another surprise from Carol-----a BFF diet Coke can!

 

 

That evening we went to the reunion itself.  Carol was showing her orange (our favorite color.)

 

 

The next day we picked up my cousin Mary Ann in Chicago, and drove down to Bloomington, Indiana to visit another cousin----Barbara.  

 

 

I love these ladies, who were like sisters to me when I was growing up.

 

 

Here we are in Barbara's front yard, with her husband Jim, and my niece Chantelle.

 

 

After our visit, we returned to Lake Geneva where we had dinner at Sprechers---another hot spot, and were happy to share a bottle of wine.

 

 

Back at Milwaukee airport, bracing ourselves for another long flight.

 

I must say, however, that this trip was among the best I've ever been on.  Good friends and relatives, good food and wine, and a memorable occasion-----my 50th High School Class Reunion!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50th Reunion Trip

This year was my turn.  Last year we attended Duane's 50th reunion in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.  Mine was to be held at the McHenry Country Club in McHenry, Illinois.  We really liked the Milwaukee airport, so this year we flew into it again, and stayed the first night in one of our favorite places-----Lake Geneva, Wisconsin!

 

We stayed at the Mill Creek Hotel in a darling room which overlooked the lake.

 

 

Lake Geneva hasn't changed much since we both used to go there in the summers when we were teenagers.  The Riviera is still there with ice cream and candy shops, and boat tours.

 

 

I wish we would have had time to take a boat tour on one of these fabulous crafts.

 

 

We went to dinner that night at a restaurant recommended by another guest of our hotel.  He bragged about its great food and "extensive" wine list.  The food was excellent, but the wine list had two choices, one of which was Robert Mondavi, which we already know well here in California.

 

 

We had to go to all the old haunts, of course, and here I am sipping a Pina Colada at Popeye's Bar and Grill, one of the local hangouts.  (My jet lag is showing.)

 

 

The next day we walked around the cute old fashioned town where they had flowers everywhere.  I couldn't believe they also had Sago Palms!  They must store them in the winter.

 

 

Mill Creek itself was right alongside our hotel, and was so picturesque.

 

 

 

 

We didn't want to leave, and promised ourselves that the next time we visit we will stay a month.

 

 

The next leg of our journey took us to McHenry, Illinois, my home town.

 

 

I had to take a picture of my old house in Sunnyside Estates.  I lived there from 1958 to 1968.

 

 

There was a pre-reunion party that night at the local VFW.  It was wonderful hanging out with one of my dearest friends from high school, Carol Perschke.  She was on the reunion committee, and they all did such an excellent job.

 

 

Another friend who was there---Carla Dietz---is a published author who has two novels in print.  We weren't surprised at her success, after all, she was our valedictorian.

 

 

Other very good friends are Jeannie and Terry Howard.....

 

 

And, Betty Becker Pickerill.

 

 

The following day, my sister Darlene, and brother-in-law, Robert joined us.  Doesn't he look like Hulk Hogan?  We went to a cute little Mexican restaurant in Fox Lake called El Puerto.

 

 

Carol and her husband, Johnny just love El Puerto, and couldn't wait to take us all there.

 

 

(TO BE CONTINUED)