During my recent visit with our family, I was presented with art work done by Keenan and Gavin. Thought this would be a good place to share – a community refrigerator door if you will.

This was done by Keenan (he is doing a great job at staying within the lines).

This was done by Gavin (he is starting to learn how to use markers).

This is a slide show of my recent visit with the family. Thought I would try out some of the features of Lightroom 3 and Adobe’s Flash Media Playback options. You can go to full screen view if desired once the video is playing. Note that some dithering will appear in full screen mode as it is meant to play in the available real estate and just give you an idea of the photos I took. For those who care, the audio is used with appropriate permissions.

In early May, we got together and made a sandbox for the boys. Cliff bought the materials and we all helped create a 6 x 8 foot sandbox filled with 1,500 pounds of play sand for Gavin and Keenan. Ben came up with the design (including a cover to keep most of the water out). As you can tell, we had fun building it and the boys had a lot of fun playing in it. Should last for quite a while.

The photos below are small versions of what I posted on Flickr. Just click on a photo and you will see the larger version. You can then view more photos or view a slideshow of these photos. Hope you enjoy. If you would like larger versions of any of these photos, just let me know.

This Business and Information systems Department at Illinois Central College sent me these flowers after my recent hospitalization. Very thoughtful. Thanks to everyone who contributed (and to Marge for sending them).

I attended the Mid-America Paleontological Society annual fossil show and sale in Macomb, IL on April 1, 2011. Had a fantastic time and got a fair number of insect fossils. It was also a great opportunity to meet up with friends. Here are a few random photos from that show. If you click on the images, you have the option of seeing these as a slideshow at Flickr. Enjoy.

We spent the Easter weekend this year with our family in Fort Wayne. On Friday, we went to the Foelliinger Freimann Botanical Conservatory in downtown Fort Wayne. They had a number of crafts for children as well as a petting zoo and Easter Egg hunt. Here are a few of the photos. Will post more of the grandsons and family in a more secure location. Just wanted to capture the experience in part. A fair number of plants were in bloom for this time of the year. Curiously, the emphasis was on Belize. Good to see plants and photos of so many places I have visited. You can always view the photo stream below as a slideshow at Flickr.

The blizzard of Feb. 1 – 2, 2011 dumped roughly 20 inches of snow on our home. It was hard to measure due to the very strong winds which accompanied the storm. We even had thunder snow (with lightning). These are a few photos I took during Groundhog Day as I was digging out the driveway. Click on the photos below to view them as a slide show at Flickr.

The Peoria Geological Society hosted their annual rock and fossil show this weekend (August 28 – 29, 2010). It was a great opportunity to see a lot of old friends and get caught up on many of their life experiences. Also a great chance to examine many interesting specimens. Of course I bought some. Almost threw my back out with the piece of petrified wood. Enjoy the photos.

When I returned from visiting Ben and Lindsay (and Keenan and Gavin) in early August, I stopped to observe the Weston Cemetery Prairie (east of Chenoa, Illinois). This is a small fragment of original Illinois prairie which was never plowed. These  are a few photos I took of the area. I also forced myself to take one of the entrance to the site (just corn and bean fields). I find it amazing how different the state would look if more of this original habitat had been preserved.

We had lots of fun on July 4, 2010. A fair amount involved blowing things up. Ben got a great array of fireworks. This is just one of many we saw. Had a wonderful time. Yes, this video is of fireworks in the back yard.