Greetings from the Old Pueblo (that's Tucson, AZ)

Since I was forbidden to attend the Family Reunion festivities, I thought I would send my sad and very pathetic "I wish I were there" face. I am working on buttering up my boss for the next year to get time off for Inga's wedding. It's hard to work for a university and get vacation time approved for any point in the month of August.

Dan and I will be "photoshopping" me into the group picture so it will be like I was there. Don't prepare yourself for any good or realistic since my brother is the photoshop expert but is busy earning a living doing something other than photoshopping pictures for his sister.

And for those of you that weren't there or didn't see the photos, here's Dan's graduation from Northern Arizona University back in May.

Jennifer Wellborn

(In case you are wondering who these people belong with, they are my parents Steve & Linda Schiefelbein.)

Football Season is here....

The first Hawkeye Football game is this weekend at Soldier Field in Chicago. Soren, Piet and I are heading up there to take part in the festivities. Crazy Hawks fans in the Windy City??? Should be a blast.

We'll be sure to send some pictures....(if we make it through the weekend...)

Inga

More reunion photos from Vegas

Hi all,

We had a fantastic time at the reunion and really enjoyed the rain and the lower temperatures!!! We enjoyed seeing everyone and experiencing the love that was flowing around and through the group. Thank you all for coming and here are some of our pix. Let's do it again!!!!

Alex really had a lot of fun on the boats -- a real river girl!!!

The other thing she learned was how to work a pull tab at the RiverView......

Uncle Dick enjoying a ride in the houseboat.

Inga having a good (?) time.

Soren, Trevor and Dave having a good time in the corner.

Hmmm... I don't recall Trevor being taller than Dan.....

I distinctly note a family resemblance!

The two Dans

Casey and Alissa

Dave and Sooz talking with Corky

Tim and Kelly

Trevor and family -- nice of him to come!!!

One way to enjoy a rainy day.

Mike and Dick having a serious discussion.

Susie and Robert on the Julia Belle Swain

Random picture time?

This is me calling a moose while backpacking Isle Royale!

AND MOLLY ADDS:

THIS IS NOT ONLY A TREAT --- IT'S A CHALLENGE! but do-able ....

The river house is now almost back to normal. I looked at all those pillows and decided they should be cleaned. So I put them in our washing machine 2 at a time along with soap and oxyclean. FYI: you must monitor to corrrect balance and push down pillows while in the washer. And , given that we're having little sun /high humidity, it takes about 3 hr in the dryer. Sun would have been better!

So that's the exciting news on the homefront. I am otherwise occupied in reading about sweets in Escoffier, trying to ramp up my french cook book assignment.

It is great to have all the good memories of the reunion, thanks to you all. Blessings upon you.

Captain, Friday August 24, 2007

What a treat! Thank you, Lynn, for setting this up. I'm already enjoying it. Mary Lou and I are here at the River because we all got a big August surprise. Our River has NEVER flooded in August, nobody can remember when something like this has happened, but we're having a real flood. The weather front stalled over us and it started to rain about 10 days ago, mainly in Minnesota, so we thought we would probably get some high water but then it kept raining. The first forecasts were for a river stage of 10 feet here- normal summer stage is about 7 feet. A few days later, still raining, the forecasts went to 11 and I started to be a little concerned about the dock and the Whalers. A few days later, still raining, the forecasts went to 12 and I came to McGregor prepared to pull the boats and tie the dock to the shore so if it pulled loose at least it would be where we could find it. It is now at 13 and looks like it is falling but will be high for at least another week. It is a gorgeous River, even in flood because there is no wind and the surface is absolutely flat. The flood has pulled a lot of duckweed out of the backwaters and there are streaks of light green trailing along the surface.

We had a great time with all of you here, and the pictures are really enjoyable. We're looking forward to seeing pictures from the rest of you. We'd post ours if we could find our camera. It's not permanently lost, just resting in a place not known to us right now. I have developed a bad habit that maybe some of you can relate to, putting things down and then forgetting where I put them. Love to all.

Alissa and Her Chickens!!!

First, we had a great time on the river. Thanks to everyone who made it such a wonderful weekend.

When we went home it was all about getting ready for the fair and school. The Marshalltown newpaper came out and did a front page story about Alissa and her chickens, if you would like to read the story, you can go to timesrepublican.com and search for Alissa Orr. She got 2 blue ribbons, which are first place, but not Champion or reserve Champion. Robert and I were very happy with the blue ribbons, because if it would have been champions we would have had to stay the rest of the fair.

School started on Monday. Joe and Alissa are loving it already. Volleyball is going strong for Alissa, with the first Football game this Friday. Joe is ready for cub scouts to start, Robert does this with him.

The Banquet Center is really picking up, I sign 3 weddings yesterday I am really happy about that. Robert is wanting it to stop raining so he can bale hay....I am liking the rain, we are getting some things done around the house.

My father in law had a total hip replacement on last Friday, came home on Monday and is staying with us. My mother in law works nights so this way someone is with him all the time. I dont remember what it was like when Mom had hers....but this is keeping me moving!

Hope all is well. I look forward to seeing you all again.
With Much Love,
The Buerckley's

Wohooo!

Love the blog idea! Love the pics too!


Inga

Riding the Julia Belle Swain

The Hattery-Nelson-Orr Reunion continued on Saturday with a ride on one of the last 4 steam-powered paddleboats on the Upper Mississippi, the Julia Belle Swain.














Uncle John Hattery, his son Doug and grandson Travis joined us on board

Some of the best seats on the boat were outside, watching the rain and fog. Alissa, Casey and Frances were having fun. Kate was trying to stay warm!!








































Lothar and Ruth were in their own little world for awhile.

And others were trying to figure out what happened to the Bloody Mary mix!

















And all the while, the river slipped by...

Trevor shows up!

Contrary to existing military intelligence, Trevor was in McGregor, too!

Reunion fun

With 2 houseboats in Gerntz Lake the stage was set for lots of fun!

But then the rain set in and the action moved indoors - and the fun continued!

Welcome Family Bloggers!

Since we had such a good time together at the reunion, we decided to create this blog to share pictures and stay in touch!
Please share news and pictures regularly. Since the account is all under one name, don't forget to sign your posts with your name.

Laissez les bons temps roller!!

Lynn