Beth and Scot

Somewhere over the Rainbow

Wow! Another week gone by --

From 2010-04 Beth's April Visit

This month is just zooming by!

I'll try to get us caught up --

On Sunday, April 18 -- we started with breakfast at home, then we went to a dance recital where Poppy and Lily were performing. After that, it was back home to get ready for the family dinner at our house. We were celebrating Pam's birthday, so Nancy made a French chocolate cake for the dessert.

Everybody came over for the dinner -- Italian chicken, veggies, pasta, bread and Ceasar salad. The babies are nearly walking now, it's such fun. After dinner, Pam opened her presents and we all sang happy birthday to her.

Monday was back to work! Nancy was very busy, so Beth spent the day with Tom at home, at the bookstore, and going to Curves. We had a light dinner and then we all went to a lecture on Mark Twain at a local college. Truth be told, it was a boring lecture, but Beth was occupied writing lists of her favorite musicians and songs.

Tuesday was another full day for Nancy -- all day at work, then home for a nice dinner with Bethie. She had Curves again and enjoyed the great day outside alot.

Wednesday -- guess what? Busy again. In the evening, we all went to see the kids perform in their church choir. That was sweet. Then home for a late dinner, outside. We saw the bat!

Thursday: Nancy was out much of the day, so again Beth was with Tom. Leftovers for lunch. Then in the afternoon, Tom and Beth went to pick up our guest, Kay. She is a visiting student from Taiwan, here on a study exchange program with Rotary. She's 25 years old, and wants to work in marketing and public relations. She's bright and quick to laugh, and we loved her immediately.

Tom, Beth and Kay had some wine while waiting for Nancy to get home; then we all went out to dinner at Aixois to get to know each other better. We also saw John Donnelly and Bill Byrne there, Beth chatted with them a bit.



Friday, June 23 -- the day started with Rotary, for Nancy, Beth and Kay. It was really fun, with all five of the Taiwanese girls. Our guest for the morning meeting was Kansas City's "Eco-Elvis," an outrageous performer with Elvis-songs converted to Earth-friendly messages. It was really fun!

Nancy was running errands all morning (my computer broke, lost several hours of work time and generated some anxiety before it got fixed). In the afternoon, Beth and Tom went to visit Andrea; it was her monthly open house with music and dancing and a food buffet.

Later, we all went to Fogo de Chao for happy hour with the Taiwanese girls. They had a busy day, too, and Kay was ready to come home and relax with us. We had a light dinner outside, then turned in early.

From 2010-04 Beth's April Visit

Today is Saturday. Tom and Beth went to Graham's baseball game, Nancy took Kay to meet up with her team. When Beth got back from baseball, she went to work peeling apples for a German apple cake for our dinner tonight. We are all going to a Rotary friend's home, where the Taiwanese girls are cooking for us. Sure home German apple cake will mix well with traditional Taiwanese!

From 2010-04 Beth's April Visit

Saturday, April 17

Oh joy, the weekend!

Beth once again got up early and started packing to go home. She's not understanding the calendar or the amount of time she is scheduled to stay here. I am trying to keep it top of mind for her, quizzing her and working with her to count days on the calendar, and to help her understand what day it is.

In the morning, we went to watch Poppy's soccer game, and then we went to run some errands, including getting the cars washed. Beth went with me to get a haircut, always fun! It's a beautiful day.

Beth and I did a little shopping and then went to the grocery store to buy supplies for Sunday's family dinner. We'll be celebrating Pam's birthday.

We spent part of the day outside in the beautiful sunshine and blue skies. Then, Beth helped with dinner -- we had shrimp provencal -- outside. Lovely!

Beth did really well in showering and getting ready for bed -- almost a record in less than a half hour. Then tucked in and warm in her cozy bed, windows open with a fresh breeze.

The April 2010 Vacation

Beth is here again, visiting from Columbus! Yay!

Here's a little summary of her first week:

Friday, April 16: The day started with Beth and Nancy going to the Rotary meeting. Beth just LOVES to go with me to the meeting. It's in a lovely hotel, with a very nice breakfast buffet. Beth gets to wear a name badge, and many people there know her, since she has been three times or so.

We see a lot of friends and there's a lot of fun, along with the good breakfast, too.

After that, it was home. Beth worked on her artwork while I worked from home for a while. I had to go out to a meeting in the afternoon, but after that, Beth and I went shopping. We got a couple of little things for her and then some groceries for dinner.

Back at home, we had dinner together -- sloppy joes, cauliflower and broccoli, and Beth had fresh strawberries and ice cream for dessert. That's about it for today!

Thursday, April 15: Beth and Tom went out in the afternoon to meet Erin, Margo and Simon at the big open farm in town. It's a great place to walk and see the animals and plants, and to play. They fed the goats, who came up and licked the food right out of their hands. They saw chickens and hawks and buffalo and some other animals too. They had cookies and snacks there, too.



After that, we had to run a couple of errands (it was Tax Day) and Nancy had to go back to work. Beth went to Curves for a good workout, and then after dinner that night, we all went for a walk. We heard the frogs peeping and chirping, we saw a duck in the stream, also some fishies, and Nancy found a hawk feather. (Pan liked it.)

Wednesday, April 14: This was a day full of work. Nancy was out most of the day, lots of stuff to get done. Beth went with Tom to the basement at Aixois, where his books are, and she went to Curves for her workout. Nancy had to work late, until about 8 p.m., so Tom and Beth ordered a pizza for dinner.

Tuesday, April 13: We're getting into a routine. Beth has fruit and maybe toast for breakfast, plus yogurt and coffee. She takes a L-o-o-o-n-g time eating breakfast in the morning. I'm trying to discourage her from microwaving her coffee over and over and over again. She's learning.

Tonight, we invited John Donnelly over for dinner for his birthday. We had a really nice dinner with salad, potatoes and a pork roast, and then cake and ice cream and fruit for dessert. We had candles on the cake and even sang to him. Beth made him a birthday card.



Monday, April 12: Beth's first weekday here. Fruit and yogurt for breakfast, and then she worked on her art a bit while Nancy worked. In the afternoon, we visited Curves and got her all set up to come back as much as possible. She had a good workout.

We had dinner at home. It's just beautiful here, a bright and gorgeous spring, with all the trees blooming. Beth had to borrow a pair of shorts to wear! It's that warm!

Sunday, April 11: Today is a big day -- we are going to Brian and Pam's house for the family dinner today, to celebrate Simon's First birthday! Pam's parents are in town from Canada to celebrate too. It was quite an event -- Simon's first taste of cake and ice cream. He approved.

Beth made Simon a nice scroll that said happy birthday and may all your wishes come true, over and over again, with flowers around the edges. Everybody thought it was really nice. With all the kids there, we tossed the rugby ball back and forth in the front yard. Beth did really good. Everybody yelled "butterfingers" when ever anyone dropped the ball! Lots of laughs!

Saturday, April 10: This is the day Beth came to Kansas City! I went out to the airport to meet her. It was another slightly traumatic event.

I was waiting for her at the gate, and waiting and waiting and waiting. Everyone seemed to be off the plane, but no Bethie! Oh no! What do I do, where do I go, who can I call? Then, luckily, I spotted her in the secured area -- she had come off the plane in a wheelchair! She was sitting there patiently, waiting to be escorted out to me! She saw me waving and we both were very excited and happy to see each other! Yay!

When we got home, I made a nice breakfast for her since she only had peanuts and orange juice on the plane, and it was a very long ride! After she got settled in, we went to Poppy's soccer game and watched a little bit of it. Erin was there, and Patsy, too.

After that, we ran some errands and then went home for a nice dinner at home.

So glad Bethie's in Kansas City!