Sarah & Josh's Big Day

Both Sandy and Betsy have already posted pictures from Sarah and Josh's wedding day. Check out their blogs too. Here are mine, in no special order. I wish I had taken more pictures. For example, here is my newest Swedish great nephew, Oliver William, with his lovely mom. Unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture of Felix.

Clara was resting a bit before the wedding. Later, she danced the night away.

Here is my good looking spouse and my oldest grandson, Henry, the author of books about dinosaurs.

Henry and Clara were willing to pose for me for a change. Sarah and Josh used roses and baby's breath for most of their decorations.

Jessica and Mike came from Nashville. I've never seen a bad picture of the two of them. Great smiles! And in another three plus months, they will be blessing us with another grandchild! Yay!

Cousins from Iowa City and California were also there.

Anders liked the baby's breath. He also danced the night away.

The person who introduced Sarah and Josh to each other gave the opening toast. Sorry, but I don't remember her name.

Here's their first dance as a married couple. They looked terrific. Sarah was so pretty and Josh so handsome, and they really had some moves on the dance floor.

I took this shot from a distance. Neither Anders nor Will probably knows that I took it. I have no idea what they were discussing.

Eleanor and her Pop watched the dancing, but they danced together also.

Eleanor liked the chocolate fountain and made herself some chocolate strawberries.

Cousins! I have so many great pictures of these two darling girls through the years. Here is one more.

Tighe Update

Tighe is now presumably half grown. We like his masked face and his curled tail. He is becoming more mature in his behavior but still has a long way to go.

Sometimes, he is very hungry.

There Is Always More Fun to Be Had at the Lake

Good friends, Dick and Rina, were here for most of last week. Of course there was fishing. Dick just couldn't get enough of it. He prefers to fool fish with plastic rather than try to entice them with meat, as he puts it. (Worms, minnows, leeches.) For him, bass striking a lure, even when they miss, seems to make any outing worthwhile.

Both Rina and Kathie caught nice bass on one trip up the river. (They used meat.)

I love this shot of Dick, who looks the very essence of a north woods fisherman here.

Rina enjoyed herself too. What's not to like about the scenery and the fresh outdoors?

Kathie took this picture of me. I guess I need to shave more often.

There was hot tubbing, with margaritas served by the cabana boy.

There were walks in the woods with Daisy, Josey, and Tighe. Tighe couldn't leave Daisy alone, and she was so tolerant of his constant nipping even though it made her neck sore. Too much puppy still!

There were more nice sunsets while we were out fishing.

Here are Dick and Rina just before they headed for home. Kathie and I enjoyed their visit very much. Hope they can come again next year.

Tighe Is Growing Up

Maybe some of you wonder how Tighe is coming along. On the one hand, he is not very well behaved. He has trouble leaving other dogs alone, although Josey seems usually to succeed in putting him in his place. Stealing things from other dogs is evidently completely justifiable to him. He isn't very obedient, and has a definite mind of his own, although he is learning sit and a few other commands. Everything in the world is available to him for chewing, or so he would believe. Repetition and training may eventually bring him around. He is still a puppy, after all, and at least he seems to be well house broken. His weight is now about 24 pounds, roughly twice what he was when we brought him home. Kathie believes this may have him topping out at about 50 pounds. There is no doubt he is cute.

Kathie succeeded in getting the two dogs to play tug-of-war with each other.

Both dogs like being at the lake. Here they are suggesting that coming back inside would be welcome.

Luna, a neighbor dog, comes to see Josey occasionally. Tighe likes chasing chipmunks and exploring, but he stays close to home for the most part. He accidentally went for a swim in the lake one day, and he seems to like paddling around, but the jury is still out as to how much of a water dog he will be.

Anders' Birthday

On our way back to the lake to spend the month of September, we stopped to see Anders and his parents. Anders has a second birthday coming up, and since we are not going to be able to join the big birthday bash, we thought it would be fun to bring his gifts and celebrate a little early. I made him an easel and a footstool, both of which you can see in use here. He was fond of saying that the footstool let him do pictures "way up high."

I think he is quite the artist.

He appeared to enjoy the gifts.

Will had a dinner to attend the evening we arrived, but while he was away, the rest of us enjoyed some yummy pasta that Sandy whipped up.

The next day, Kathie and I took care of Anders all day, while his preschool was in recess. We had a wonderful time having waffles at the local coffee shop, playing at the playground, playing in the sandbox, and taking wagon and bicycle rides. I forgot to take my camera along when we left the house and missed lots of opportunities for great pictures. I should be ashamed of myself! Later, we spent the evening with Anders so that his folks could go out on a date.

Cubs Lose (So What's New?)

We spent a wonderful few days at the end of last week as the guests of Peter and Mary, our daughter Betsy's parents-in-law. The visit started out with the grandfathers, Peter and myself, building a new sandbox for Henry and Clara. Betsy posted some pictures of that work which you can see by clicking here. All of us also enjoyed some time at Northbrook Days, especially the time spent watching the grandkids enjoy the carnival rides. Betsy also has some pictures about that here.

However, for a baseball fan like me, the time we spent on Friday at the Cubs vs. Cincinnati baseball game was extra good. Peter and Mary had four tickets and invited Kathie and me to join them for the game. Here we are in front of the Harry Carey statue prior to the game.

After downing some beer and brats, the first round anyway, we bothered someone sitting behind us to take this picture.

Here are the friendly confines.

And that unique Wrigley scoreboard, showing Derrek Lee at bat.

And, by golly, here is the man himself.

The Cubs lost 2 to 0, even though they did get men into scoring position several times. Ah, the Cubs... What can you say?

After the all the fun and before we returned home, we all went out for breakfast at a restaurant called Kevin's Place in Deerfield. Clara posed reluctantly with her dear old dad.

Then she admired Kevin, who is quite the entertaining host. Clara was fascinated with his stories and the special attention he gave her (a Minnie Mouse chocolate chip pancake!).

Meanwhile, Henry drew an elaborate picture of three robots for me. (I asked him if I could have it. He said yes.)

And The Name Is...

So after trying out many, many, many, many names, the winner is (drum roll) Tighe, pronounced with a long i and a silent h. It's kind of an English name, I guess, and it seems to fit him. I still think of him as "little buddy", and Kathie says I can call him that also if I want.

I have to admit that I haven't been enthusiastic about getting another dog or going through all the puppy training issues, especially the chewing on everything and the indoor "accidents." But I have to admit that so far, pretty good. Besides, something that can put this kind of smile on your spouse's face has to be a good thing, right?

Herrs At The Lake Part 2

In the week prior to the Herr's visit, Kathie had been scoping out possible new experiences for the grandkids. One of them was an area attraction called Wilderness Walk. These things can sometimes be rather cheesy, but this one turned out to be lots of fun and will be worth return visits. Eleanor and Anders will need to see it, after all! Anyway, here are Grandma and the grandkids near the entrance to the park.

There were lots of animals to see and to pet. Some careful coaching on how to keep the hand flat while offering food prevented any nibbled fingers.

Check out Clara's sharp new sunglasses.

Henry liked the tortoise.

As did Clara.

"Grandpa Bild, there are chickens in here!" Clara had this new version of my name during this visit.

We heard this guy all over the park. Actually, he was one of many of the proud birds.

Henry figured out how to operate this rocking (in more ways than one) bird.

Everyone liked the dromedaries.

Here's another example of "I'm tired of posing for pictures and am not going to be especially cooperative here."

On the other hand, "Heh, heh, heh. Velcome to the Monster Mash. I vill mesmerize you vith my semi-circular moves." (You need to have played our pinball machine to fully appreciate this.)

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones...Let's ride with the family down the street, through the courtesy of Fred's two feet.

I didn't take all the pictures.

But I did get this one of five of the most precious people in my life.

And another of just our visitors, some of whom were semi-willing to pose.

Betsy or Pete took this one of two very happy grandparents.

Back at home, I took this picture of Kermit and Kathie's new lilies. Kermit was a gift from Henry and Clara last year.

On a different day, we visited our favorite local greenhouse and nursery. They had this fairy village and garden on display.

Henry was fascinated with the paths that meandered through the hosta garden in the nursery's nearby woods.

Henry and Clara both loved seeing the koi in the pond in the flower garden.

On the way back to our cabin, we stopped at the local watering hole. They have acquired a new bear, so pictures were again required.

One of the last things on Grandma's list of activities was to make s'mores. I built a fire and then Betsy and Pete demonstrated the proper techniques for marshmallow roasting.

Henry and Clara, on the other hand, demonstrated how to get most of the s'mores into one's mouth.

You can see why I look forward to each family visit to the lake!