America's Dairyland

We had a great trip to the land of cheese. Thanks to all of the local Fondly Sam readers who left flowers and balloons to welcome us home. That was sweet.

Briefly, here are some highlights -

* Going to a performance at the Grumpy Troll (brew pub near Madison, duh!) to see my sister Sue perform with her group, the calico Drifters. You can visit their web site at calicodrifters.com (sorry for lack of linkage - I'm not that advanced and really don't want to be). While you're there, feel free to order a CD and t-shirt. You won't be sorry. At the performance, my sister sang her heart out as 14 family members enjoyed. She's such a stud!!

* Spending time with my other sister - Ann - and her family. Three of her kids have facebook pages, and now I have three more friends, bringing my total up to the mid-twenties. Take that, all of you facebook addicts!

* Seeing my brother, Tom, and his new house (unusual) and land (beautiful).

* Going to Iowa to visit my 96-year-old grandfather and two aunts. The visits brought back lots of happy memories of childhood. In case you're wondering, there really are a lot of corn fields in Iowa (and Wisconsin). Actually, it's a little unnerving.

* Fishing and swimming in my parents' pond. Nick and Jonas each caught about 50 fish while we were there. Kevin caught one. Traci caught a bunch, including her nemesis - the bass that the rest of us couldn't land.

* Visiting a cheese factory and seeing big vats of cheese products being made. Also, they make ice cream at the Cedar Crest Dairy (which has no cedar trees near it and is not located on the crest of a hill) and I sampled the Play-Doh ice cream. NOTE: Play-Doh is not a food - which is why I tried it. ANOTHER NOTE: As expected, it was horrible.

As usual, my parents took great care of us during our visit. Their kindness and generosity are a part of who they are. They have always been great examples to me. Living so far away from them means that we don't get to see them very often - so we cherish the times that we do.