A Sad Summer

 It's been over two months since I posted. During that time a lot has happened. Saddest of all is that my mother passed away on my birthday, August 17th. She had been diagnosed with interstitial lung disease about four years ago. Over the past year, I had noticed her health was definitely declining. However, she was a fighter; and was still able to be living independently in her home. On July 13th she was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a car accident. She suffered broken ribs, and went to the hospital. Little did we expect, she would never come home again. She developed pneumonia, and her lungs just couldn't recover from that. We were able to have her funeral, and get her house ready for an estate sale before leaving Wisconsin. It was a very busy and stressful two weeks. 

My computer crashed at the beginning of the summer, so I had to get a new one. Unfortunately, my photos are all digital, so I don't have one of my mom to share. I have them all backed up on a hard drive, but it's in Yuma. Instead, I will share a picture of her casket with a beautiful flower arrangement featuring sunflowers. She loved gardening, and I believe she would have loved these flowers.

The weekend after my mom passed, I needed a break. We drove to Amherst, Wisconsin which is not too far from Almond, where we were camped. There is a farm there with 30 acres of sunflowers. They were beautiful, and just what my soul needed.

In July we purchased a lot at Fountain Lak RV Park where we've been staying the last few summers. Decent campgrounds are not to be found near where our son Eric lives, so we've been staying about a two hour drive away. We weren't really looking to buy a lot, but the perfect opportunity presented itself; so we jumped on it. Here is a picture from the back of the lot. The lots are very large, and ours came with a shed. Fountain Lake is a membership park, and included in the membership is access to mowers, equipment and tools. So, Kevin is back to mowing grass.

This is the view from the front of the lot. We had to buy a cell phone booster because Verizon service is terrible in central Wisconsin. 

In July we attended a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game with Eric, Erin and Tyler. It was super hot and humid, but at least the Brewers won. In fact, they are playing super well this season. Do I dare hope there is a World Series win in the future???? As you can see, Eric was sporting long hair and a full beard. That leads to the picture below.

My mom always told Eric how handsome he was with short hair and no beard. In her honor, he got a haircut and shaved his beard for her funeral. This may be the last time I see him like that, so I had to have a photo to commemorate the occasion.

Months ago, we had planned a family reunion in Wisconsin the second weekend in August. Korey and Cathryn drove up from Nebraska for the weekend, and stayed with us. Eric and Erin rented a Airbnb near us, and we all went tubing on the Wolf River. Erin's daughter Mady, and her boyfriend Ryan also joined us. When our kids were younger, we went tubing there every summer, so they had fun reminiscing about the "good old days". 

Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions, the kids were not able to visit grandma in the hospital that weekend. Two weeks later, Korey and Cathryn drove back to Wisconsin for her funeral. So sad!!

Our friend Wanda from Arkansas came to Wisconsin for part of the summer. We had a great time golfing with her and her son Joel at Camelot Golf Course in Lomira. Wanda's dad was the founder of that course. They have a plaque in his honor below the sword in the stone.

We were also able to meet up with friends Mike and Joni from Yuma for lunch one Sunday. They are traveling throughout the country this summer, and visiting with lots of Yumans.

Today we arrived in Waterloo, Iowa for the holiday weekend. We'll be visiting with Kevin's brother and family and our friends, John and Janie. We won't be back to Yuma until about October 7th. We'll be quite busy between now and then, so I'll be posting more often.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!