On May 8th we left Yosemite and headed west to Merced, CA to visit some of our favorite relatives. It had been several years since I had seen Mike, Judy, Rebecca, and Pam, and it was great to see them again, to introduce them to our family members they had not met yet (and vice versa), and to get the chance to catch up. I had forgotten what a beautiful place they have, nestled below the Sierras. Ellie was very excited to discover that they have horses. Ana was very excited to pet the very friendly neighborhood cat.
I had the girls to myself because Jean had to travel on business for a few days. We dropped her off at the Phoenix airport on Sunday morning and picked her up again on Tuesday evening, March 29. It was awfully good to have her back with us.
From the airport, we drove down to Florence, AZ to spend some time with Uncle Dan and Aunt Sarah. We arrived late but were welcomed with open arms. A wonderful neighbor, Wes, invited us to park our camper alongside his home. The following day offered swimming for the girls and very nice time spent with Dan, Sarah, Wes, and Arlene. We all had lunch together; homemade chili and root beer floats.
We got up bright and early on Saturday, March 19, and took what for many of us was a long-overdue shower, and got ready to head to the Springfield home of my cousin Dan, his wife Carol and their daughter Nichole (we missed their son Hank who is away at college). Due to a series of miscommunications between Van and I, and between the two of us and our GPS, our early start became a late one and our breakfast turned into a brunch but our hosts took it all in stride and, in the tradition of a true Hafkemeyer family, served us a wonderful meal. We really enjoyed seeing Dan and Carol’s beautiful home (and hearing about the work they did to make it so) and learning about Nichole’s plans for the future (college and a career as a zookeeper). . . and the girls had a great time playing outside. We drove away feeling grateful that our change in itinerary made a stopover in Springfield possible.
One day in Louisville, my family and I went to help pack glasses at my Grandmom’s business.
Girls Packing Glasses for Grandmom
When we got there, Pam taught us how to pack the glasses in bubble-wrap. My mom took all the glasses out of the first case. Greta set each glass in bubble-wrap and taped the sides, then I taped one end and stuffed the bubble-wrap inside the top. Stella and Ana did the same on the other side of the table. Then my dad took the finished glasses and set them in a box. It went on like this for four hours. We got to take a break and look around. Then we went back to wrapping glasses.
It was fun, because I got to help my Grandmom in her business and learned how factories work.
On Saturday, March 12, I started my online schooling. At first I was on the wrong level, but then I shifted up and it was actually pretty fun. We had sandwiches for lunch and then around 1:PM we got a phone call from my aunt Holly and cousin Carson. Carson was driving on the interstate and suddenly had to stop and a truck crashed into them from behind. The back of their car was bashed in, but they were fine. They were really lucky. They got a ride to my grandparents house and wanted to play laser tag. On the way, me, Stella, Ellie, Grandmom, and Aunt Holly played Uno in the RV.
We played two games of laser tag. The first game we played was a team game. My family and I were on the red team. When we started, I ran around for a while but always had to go back to the base to recharge. I tried to go to my favorite hiding spot on the first floor, but a bunch of people on the green team were hiding there. The game was in two rounds and the green team won both times. The second game we played was a free for all, so we were all working against each other. I hid in my hiding spot and got lots of points because no one found me. In the second round, I ran smack into Stella and then we both shot at each other for a long time. My grandmom is amazing at laser tag. No one seems to find her and she gets tons of points. She won the first round, and my dad won the second. After laser tag, we were exhausted, hot, and sweaty, but it was worth it because it was really fun.
We drove to a Cracker Barrel for dinner where we met my Uncle Randy and cousin Sam. I had a delicious salad. After dinner, we showed Randy and Sam the RV. We played Uno on the way home, too. When we got home, we put our tired bodies to bed.
It was really, really cool that we got to spend a day with all my dad’s side of the family and it felt really special. I really enjoyed our day together, and I am so glad they didn’t get hurt in the car accident.
March 10th was my dad’s birthday. I was with my granddad, grandmom, my mom, dad, Greta, Stella, and Ellie. We went to Butt Rubb BBQ in Lexington, KY. It was really nice. We did not know that we were going to go to a restaurant with such a funny name. We went there because we wanted some burgoo. My grandfather told us that it was squirrel soup. He is always really funny. I got a BBQ sandwich.
Ice Cream at the Pie Kitchen
Then we went to the Pie Kitchen in Louisville. It took a long time to get there and I took a little snooze. Ellie fell asleep, too. Once we got there I whispered in her ear, “Pie Kitchen.” She woke up and then I got birthday party ice cream. We all sat down at the table and ate our ice cream. It was really fun. Then we went to Grandmom and Granddad’s and went to bed. And now my story is all told.
When we were kids, one of our few and favorite treats were Mom’s cinnamon roles. It has been year’s since she has made them but the day before we left Iowa I asked and she agreed to do her best to remember how she used to make them, and to teach me and the girls her magic.
Learning How to Make Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls
We mixed up a huge mound of dough, let it raise, punched it down, and let it raise again. Stella, Ellie, and Luciana helped us role out the dough, spread the melted butter and cinnamon, and role it all up in a nice even roll. Missing the kind of the string she used to use to cut the dough, Grandma taught us how to cut the dough with a scissors and to make nice even rolls. We then baked them up and frosted them. They were as delicious as I remembered them being!
Grandpa Bill taught the girls this chicken song one summer. They sang it all summer long, often as quickly as they could.
A few nights ago, many family members joined together to sing songs at Grandpa’s bedside, and someone started the chicken song. Bill, who had been speaking very little that day, suddenly burst forward with the chicken song at breakneck speed, to everyone’s surprise and delight.
Grandpa passed away Thursday morning. We shot this video of the girls singing it as a tribute to him.
Last summer (2010) we went out to our Uncle Gary and Aunt Kim’s farm. There was a photographer on the farm for Organic Valley, so we went out there with Grandma and Grandpa. The photographer was really nice. He took lots of pictures of the piggies and the cowies. We didn’t get a picture of the cows, but here is one he took of the pigs.
Piggies on the Farm
While the photographer was busy taking pictures of the pigs, Ellie, Greta, Ana and I got our picture taken on the fence in front of the manure pile. It smelled really bad but the picture turned out good.
Hanging Out by the Manure Pile
Dad says they use the manure to fertilize the crops. It’s gross! I didn’t know that all the carrots I’ve been eating are planted in stinky poop! But Dad says all the best vegetables are planted in poop.
