There is something wonderful and exhilarating about finding in your field guide that the bird you found is uncommon to your location. We do we adore the “rare” in life, I wonder? Such was the case with our spotting today of this lovely black-crowned night-heron.  It is always such a thrill. We are very easily amused. 

For Ann Frank’s birthday I decided to write each of the granddaughters a History Letter from Ann Frank and another from her friend Miep. I also bought them each a diary and made an inscribed bookmark to track the current page. Click to read more and see more photos.

Dan arranged a foursome at South Hills today giving Greg a chance to cap off his week-end in Fond du Lac with his favorite past-time of all. Despite a little rain and wind, and a below average performance on the links, Greg savored every moment. Golf clubs have a magic effect on him. 18 holes of happiness!

Our wish: “We hope you made it a great day. And now make it an even greater night! Congratulations on the amazing life you have made together, the amazing people you have made together, and all the amazing things yet to come. We love you!”

I think this May Boys Mayhem should be at least a bi-annual event, if not quarterly. It’s so much fun to spend a good chunk of time together. One of the highlights was a family pool tournament and dinner at Tommy J’s. Everybody got to shoot, to win, to lose. We were having so much fun we lost track of who the overall winner was. Kallie was the only grandchild and a delight, especially to “The Uncles.” Keith was on so that’s always fun. I was not. But then again, there is a negligible difference between off and on in my case, so I never feel too attached to the outcomes. Excellent food, by the way. Best Reuben sammie ever!

Two of the things I love most about May Boys Mayhem adventures is the reminiscences and the laughter. We had an abundance of both at our delectable dining extravaganza at the new i-hop in Fond du Lac. Our waitress was really fun, the food was unusually tasty, and the company was perfect in everyway. I wish we could do this every morning. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Every morning would be great with these guys! They are three of the most genuinely kind people I know.

There was a little May Boy Mayhem out at Lakeside Park for the Walleye Weekend festivities. Fishing and Fun was the law of the day and they made it happen. Unanimously, the highlight was the fresh Walleye dinners and people watching.

It was rough fighting over every rule. Poor Google was exhausted and I think we crashed the Hoyle site. Not that we are inordinately competitive, but we did need to switch partners for this tournament so every possible combination was satisfied and the grandest player could be identified. And there was one. He won when he was Mary’s partner. He won when he was Greg’s partner. And he won when he was Al’s partner. Believe it or not, it was Keith. And I say that because he couldn’t even count his cards much less peg. All this proved is that cribbage is clearly not a game of skill. It is a game of chance!

Things like this always make me wonder. I understand the love for amazing machines that go fast. I understand the male bonding ritual of looking over and admiring each other’s vehicles as a sign of acceptance and to build trust. But, what’s with the red? Both Greg and Al’s cars are exactly the same hue, perfectly matching the love of Keith’s life, the red Toyota pick-up. What is it that made three brothers choose the same color? Coincidence? A genetic favoring of this color? A common red car event in their childhood? Or perhaps a warrior blood lust due to an over-abundance of testosterone. But I digress, here we welcome the start of May Boys Mayhem - the Walleye Week-end edition.

Since I had the May Boys together for some Mayhem and Greg brought assorted cheeses, I thought it would be fun to send Ada a photo. The assignment was to display two C’s, one C with each hand. I explained this stood for Cheese Club. Keith displayed a backwards C to himself with his right hand and a U with his left hand. Keith claimed this was the gang sign for sharp cheddar. Al displayed a C with his left hand to himself so no one else could see it. He hid his right hand completely. Al claimed that was the sign for asiago. Greg came closest with almost two C’s but had help from me. Greg wins for correctly displaying and naming the sign as Cheese Club and/or Curd Collective. He was the only one allowed passage to the Tier One tasting room. Congrats, Greg!

Presley spent the day sweeping up all the propellers from the maple trees that blanketed our yard. For almost fifty years it has been an annual ritual for me to do this. It was delightful to finally pass on the broom. Thank you, Presley!

I just love this photo to the core! When Maggie and Mollie were young, I would dress them alike often. It is a mild mental illness that still surfaces now with my husband and my pajamas. Totally unsolicited, they sent me this photo of them dressed alike on a chilly June morning walk in Wisconsin. Brrrrrr. That may be morning mist in the air, but I suspect it is smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Things like this stir those mommy feelings in my soul. They are still my little girls in these fleeting moments.