Terry (Max) Maxwell

This photo of our 5 grandkids was taken on the Christmas before last.  They have all grown quite a bit since then.  Guess it's time to take an updated picture pretty soon, when we can actually touch each other again.

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

Probably the biggest thing our whole family likes to do is ski.  My son took this of his wife and kids.  I have skied with them but not lately.

When my two grandchildren were little we started a gingerbread house tradition that we do together.  At this point I provide the prefab houses and the supplies and try to stay on top of the mess.  This year they are just getting started.  At my kitchen table.

James (Jim) Rookus

Same tradition Wendy ... 5 yr old Oliver(Oz) helped with some supervision

 inTERRY... cute kids ... do the all live near by for frequent visits?

MEL ... not so much tenacity as made A covenant before God and we both committed divorce was NOT an option AND my folks divorced when I was 10 and knew I didn't want to ever put kids through that so we both learned a lot about the meaning of COMPROMISE!

Amazed at myself ... got all my comments WHERE I wanted them while on my CELL ! 🤪👍🏼😀

it helped to turn it sideways and enlarge it a bit !

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

Decided to show finished houses.  Blue chewing gum roof is Patrick's and the other is Emma's

They decorate all four sides, but I think one picture each gives you the idea.  We usually have a conference at Thanksgiving to discuss ingredients.  Cereal, pretzels and nuts all played a part this year.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Jim...

All 5 of our grandkids live close.  3 of them are about 3 blocks away an other 2 are only 20 minutes from us.  So we get to see them often, except during this Covid pandemic.  Can't wait until things are safe again.  

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Jim, just want you to know that when I referred to your tenacity, it was about your computer skills not your wonderful marriage, which is a much, much more impressive accomplishment. You have every reason to celebrate that as an act of faith. I'm sincerely happy for you.

Wendy, the gingerbread houses are fabulous, but Patrick might want to stick to rugby. On the other hand, Emma's was wonderful. Having said that, Patrick looks like a genius compared to my nephew Brent, Marv's son, who is always trying to outsmart the competition. Below is his entry into a gingerbread house contest a few years ago. He loves bacon, so he created a woven bacon roof and meatloaf walls mounted on cornbread to recreate the Manager scene. When the judges saw the baby Jesus as a minidog wrapped in swaddling bacon, they disqualified him and forever banned him from entering the contest again. NO WONDER!!!

James (Jim) Rookus

WENDY ... I Really like Patricks... the uniqueness and reminicent of a rustic log home/cabin in the mountains.

Jack Keefe

Speaking of gingerbread houses, we found this one in the student union atr Purdue University. Life size and made with real gingerbread, cookies and stuff. At least partially. 

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

I had a ride in a hot air balloon once.  My kids gave me that for a 60th birthday gift.  It was amazing and different than I was expecting.  Noisy!  We were in Melbourne Australia in 2016.  I was up early with jet lag, looked out the window and saw these hot air balloons.

David Brock

Thanks for all the Family Fun shots--looks likw the younger generaton has a lot of talent.

David Long

Hi All,

Great photos from everyone.  I'll get back in the swing, hopefully later today.  Working on a budget and trying to figure out how to keep a non-profit functioning since we lost the date and place for the annual fundraiser due to the Chinese Bat Soup disease.  We had our board meeting last night and things are looking a little grim.  In addition I have the Knights Meeting stuff to follow up on from last nights in person and virtual meeting - I stayed home.

Looking forward to going through pictures again soon. 

We could ad Great Outdoors to the movie list with John Candy and the huge steak.

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

      This is our 1984 Chrysler 5th Ave.  He loved this car so much, when he thought he was dying, he told me he wanted a silver casket like his silver car.   And he got it.     I knew  Ron was leasing this car so it wasn't a surprise, but it was around our anniversary and it was a surprise when everybody was coming up to me at work telling me to go look at my car.   He had wrapped the Happy Anniversary banner all around the car.  This is my 2014 Buick LaCrosse and hopefully the last car I own.   I've had it for 6 years and have only had oil changes and new tires on it.  No problems at all.    I guess I better not brag too loudly!

Terry (Max) Maxwell

My favorite ride was a '67 Corvette coupe, but unfortunately I can't find any pics of it.  I bought it when I started teaching because I finally had some money after getting out of college.  That is the one car I wish I had kept.

Jack Keefe

I bought my favorite ride a few days before I graduated from college. I was working full time and had just about run the wheels off my old car. This 1969 Pontiac was my favorite but it probably gave me the most trouble, most of it electrical. Still, I regret the day I traded it in.  

Jack Keefe

Thursday's topic will be Places in the Heart. If you've got a favorite vacation spot, or maybe the place where you and your spouse became engaged, you have a whole audience of classmates who would love to see it.  

David Long

I was a car junkie for a while.  I had several that I really liked:

1976 Triumph TR-6

Between the TR-6 and the 1971 Corvette I had a 1966 Mercedes that was all beat up and had 3-on-the-tree.  Then I went to a 1971 ZR Corvette T-Top with a 456 cu in engine.

Being really adventurous I went to the Lancia Scorpion.  It was a fun rear / mid engine car but being Italian it had Italian wiring and after a year or so every time I used the turn signal, the opposite headlight would pop up and down in sync with turn signal.  A real attention grabber....

There have been MANY others, but a fond memory of a ride is this one:

The Cerner Corporate Jet - I had just closed a $6 million deal that let the company hit their # prediction and the $ needed to keep all the analysts happy.  It was a great ride from Flagstaff, AZ to Kansas City!

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Over my lifetime, I've had many adventures, a couple on helicopers, puddle jumping plane from St. Thomas, and the disasterous Russian Aeroflot. I've never been much into cars, but always liked sleds, ice skates and bikes. However, my FAVORITE RIDES were at the Fun Fair in Miller Park. In the summers of 1963 and 1964 I worked there as a ride operator. As a result of running the merry-go-round I still can't stand organ music. The best were the Ferris wheel, miniature train, rocket ride and Tilt-a-Whirl. These aren't my photos, so please don't hold me accountable for the quality. If anyone has Fun Fair pix, I would love to see them, they are very hard to come by.

Kiddy Hand Cart Ride (photo from B/N Facebook)

Ferris Wheel (photo from McLean County History Museum)

My uncle and cousin on the Ferris Wheel (family photo)

Merry-Go-Round (photo from B/N Facebook) I've never found a good shot of it.

GM&O Miniature Train driven by Al Rees at the time I worked there. I sometimes filled in for him at lunch time. (photo from B/N Facebook)

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

I have a Ferris wheel at Miller Park memory.  My Aunt Betty's husband, Zim, had many different jobs.  One summer he ran rides at the Park, and once it was the Ferris wheel.  Thinking he was doing us a big favor, he had us ride for what seemed like an hour.  Finally as the chair would get to the bottom we would yell "Uncle Zim!"  After the fourth or fifth time he finally realized we wanted off.  That might be the last time I rode a Ferris wheel.

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

I have a funny story about a car we had once.  It was always parked in the driveway because it was pre-garage days.   David, our youngest, was about 4 or 5 and he came bouncing in the house and said, "Daddy, I filled your car up with gas!"  He was so proud of what he had done.    Ron said, "Ah, how did you do that?"    David had taken the hose that was on the side of the house and filled the gas tank with water.    If you knew Ron, he was really easy going and he hardly ever got mad about anything.   And this was no exception.   We drove that car for a long time after that.   We still kid David about that-he will never live that down.  I wish I had a picture of that car, but I don't. 

James (Jim) Rookus

JACK :  That was a era of cool cars... I had a 65 and a 69 Buick Skylark same basic body and good memories.

DAVE :  Both the MG and Corvett really cool too.... did those speedy hot cars help  you capture Dorothy?

SANDY :  The 5th AVE too was a sharp classy car in those years, they had a wonderful and plush interior...they don't make them like that any more 

This 86 Lincoln Mark was my 40 yr old mid life crisis.  At the time was driving an 83 Town Car and one day driving past the dealership this was sitting out on the corner turn table being featured and on impluse I went in and the next day was having my fling.  Kept the TC for business carting clients around and the Mark for week end fun for me and my teen age boys.  This was about first year of computers on dash for average gas mileage etc.  For about 9 months had my boys convinced it told me how recless they drove when using the car.  I kept a cardboard carrier carton of 8 empty pop bottles in the trunkk at eactly a 45 degree angle.  It never toppled over if driving moderately.  If over eccleration or wild cornering, the bottles would tip over and scatter all over.  So each time returning, I looked in the trunk and then went in house and confronted them causing them to admit to their "carelessness".  One day they caught me looking ... BUSTED !!!

This is my present favorite ride.... best one I've ever had for comfort, suspension and quiet!  Like Sandy I hope it is the last personal car I need to purchase since they don't make them anymore!  As of now only 117k miles on it so it should have several more years of life if kept up.  And if I live too long, the kids will probably take away my license anyway!  Have always loved a big comfortable car (with the exception of my ("FLING")

OF COURSE, the multiple car seats for grandkids carting around stay in the wifes MiniVan!

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

Today is Strange Plants.  When we were at BHS the sciences offered were biology, chemistry and physics.  I wished they had botany.  
 

This is a banksia 

This tree dates from the French Revolution.  It is near Marie Antoinette's "farm".

I don't know the name of this but the big shoots are interesting

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

David Long

Jim, The sports cars were Long gone by the time I met Dorothy.   I was driving a Pontiac Grand Prix with absolutely noting special about it.  It was transportation.  Today I drive a 2016 Volvo XC60 - see below - with 80k miles on it.  Prior to that I drove a 2012 Honda Pilot.  It was a tank and as we have a small garage and two cars thus one had to go.  Dorothy's car is a hybrid that gets 40mpg so it stayed.  The Pilot only had 130k miles on it and I'd still be driving it if fit in the garage.

David Long

Strange Plants:

Some of these are probably very common, especially since they're growing in the wild and are very close to civilization. 

These are in Canada - They must be pretty hardy since that's the Atlantic Ocean and they must get some saltwater spray at times.

This is just off a desert trail near Sedona, AZ

This is reported to be a 500 year old Bonsai in Kyoto, Japan

This is a plant clinging to the base of a redwood in Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco, CA.

Ladies, please excuse this next one, but perhaps the GUYS can help me out - Are those some type of succulents - the picture is a little blurry because it was an action shot.  This was at a company dinner on a trip to Maui.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

STRANGE PLANTS are everywhere. Even common plants can seem exotic to a traveler. From palm trees in Florida to mushrooms in Russia, I always get a thrill when seeing something out of the ordinary. So, being a city slicker from Chicago, I was totally fascinated by the cacti in Arizona. These are a couple of examples from the Saguaro National Park near Tuscon.