Summer Solstice Week

It's been hot and humid and pretty dry, but we did get 2+ inches of rain earlier this week.  Lots of fireflies around, which makes this one of my favorite times of year.  Katie and I went for a nighttime bike ride last night, and tonight we visited Fort Creve Coeur Park (there is a trail with about 197 steps) and watched the sunset over by the Illinois River.

Katie's Surgery and Father's Day

On Tuesday Katie had another cleft repair surgery involving a bone graft from her hip.  She was in surgery for over two hours, but she was out of the hospital in about 24 hours. Her hospital room overlooked the helicopter landing pad. She will be on a liquid diet for weeks, but her hip and her mouth are in less pain than they were.  On Friday night we saw Finding Dory which was good. Kristine spent the week at a music camp - we picked her up on Saturday and her choir gave a concert, On Saturday, we also met some of the Bland family at a Faith and Family Night at the Peoria Chiefs. We visited a couple of my friends on one of the local robotics teams that was exhibiting there. There were fireworks and a concert after the game.  Today, Katie and I went fishing (it is free fishing weekend). Katie cast the hook better that I did! We did not catch any bluegills, but after we ran out of worms we used dip nets to catch a few minnows (and a water snake, which we released).

The Past Few Weekends

It has been hard to keep up with the blog lately.  On Memorial Day Weekend we visited my parents in northern Wisconsin and saw my sister, her husband, and my 6 month old niece.  Last Saturday for Katie's 10th birthday Karen had an exam to take in Springfield.  Afterward, we visited New Salem State Park, a reconstructed town where Abraham Lincoln had lived for many years.  That night, back in Peoria, we played miniature golf.  The next day, we delivered to a friend five kittens and a mother cat that had taken up residence under our shed (we spent quite a bit of time and effort catching them). Yesterday, we attended one of my godson's high school graduation parties in Verona, WI. Today, Kris headed to Eureka College to begin a singing camp.

Buzzard nest

Turkey buzzards have again nested near my parents house in northern Wisconsin.  This time they nested under a couple of boulders, and I first saw the nest while standing over a gap in the boulders and looking down at one of the adults (you can see its head near the bottom of the second picture).  We saw two eggs in the nest at one point, and later saw an adult in the nest.