We had NO clue!!

This past weekend we had family over to go and see our granddaughter, Taylor, perform as Cinderella in the Kaneland High School Musical “Into the Woods”.  We took up about half a long row with 13 people there to cheer her on. It has been a while (over a year) since we had heard her sing alone..She had been in choral concerts and performed in a few musicals the past couple years, but it was with a group..As one of the “leads”, Taylor had some songs to sing herself..First here are some photos of her as Cinderella…
Here are a few still photos of her as Cinderella....

Poor Cinderella!

 

 

 

 

 

We hadn't heard her sing in a while..WOW!!

I know this video will take data, but it is only under a minute..Turn up your speakers and enjoy..!!!!

Proud Grandparents~~

FINALLY!!

Last Monday, McGyver accompanied “moi” on another adventure to see a doctor at Northwestern University Hospital in Chicago.  We drive about 40 minutes to Elburn, IL and catch a Metra train into the city. The train station is right downtown on Madison Avenue..When we got on at 7:35AM, we were one of the few on the train. By the time we got to the station (and hour and a half ride) we had people standing in all cars…

ALL ABOARD!!!

As much as I really don’t love the traffic and the hustle and bustle of Chicago, it was a beautiful sunny and warm day…and NO wind off of Lake Michigan…

The trees were in blossom and so were all of the daffodils..Middle pic is a statue of Irv Kupcinet, one of the great reporters and columnists for the Chicago newspapers…

A statue of Jack Brickhouse, one of our great sportscasters..and a Hall of Famer!

One of my favorite buildings in Chicago is the Tribune Tower…also home of one of my favorite radio stations, WGN. This is the façade over the front entrance..

There were many street musicians all over the place…I love this kind of stuff!!

As it turns out, I will be able to post more photos of downtown Chicago…I am having surgery to remove a parathyroid tumor on June 8th…and I have two trips before that to get a Nuclear Scan of my parathyroid glands, and also have to go for pre-op evaluation. I LOVED my surgeon, Dr. Cord Sturgeon.  (Sturgeon the Surgeon..teehee ). He is one of the best in the country for parathyroid and thyroid surgeries…and it was important for me to get this guy because I have already had one unsuccessful parathyroid surgery.  This second one is what they call a “revision”…in other words, he is redoing this surgery…and this time he will get that nasty thing and get it out. He did an ultrasound in the exam room and saw the tumor clearly..YAY!! I’m NOT nuts afterall!!

I will be spending the night at the hospital, which is just fine with me…I know it sounds crazy to be excited to go through another surgery, but I have a very good feeling about this one..and great faith in this surgeon…FINALLY!!

Our weather here has been very nice…it’s about time! Dennis and I went to watch our oldest grandson, Peyton, run in an eleven school invitational High School Track Meet…Peyton is a Sophomore, and he is getting better , faster and stronger every time he runs..He turns 16 in June..and looks 12.. He ran the 800 meter, which is twice around the track…

In the left photo, Peyton is in the middle…right picture he is in the black and white running out front…He finished 7th of 16 kids, and his school,  Kaneland High School, was the smallest school there!  Peyton also runs Cross Country in the Fall, and this Fall he will be on the Varsity Team..WOOT!WOOT!

We have a busy weekend coming up…Our granddaughter, Taylor, is performing in the Kaneland High School Spring Musical, “Into The Woods”..and she is playing Cinderella…She has a wonderful voice and she will have a fan club in the audience..There will be 12 of the family seated all in one row for the 1PM matinee on Saturday…Den and I, Ter and Tim, her two brothers, Kelly and Cindy, their granddaughter ..and Chris , John and the 2 Wolff cubs ..Another regular Cave-A-Palooza!! Oh, …and of course you know I will have a plethora of photos to brag about..

OK, it’s cocktail hour and I am ready for a Cuba Libre…I thought I should update all of you with my merry medical news!!Cheers!!

A look back at our first visits to Florida

When I was very small, my Uncle Walter Fry was in the Air Force and stationed at Fort Walton Beach, FL. He was in SAC (Strategic Air Command) and eventually traveled a lot with the military. It had to have been in the early 1950’s when my Dad packed up my Mom, brother and sister and we drove to Florida to visit Uncle Walt and Aunt Edie…I was only 4 or 5 years old and we had a 1953 sedan .  My 1 year old brother sat in the front seat on Mom’s lap…My 11 year old sister slept in the back seat…and I had the back window for my bed.  Dad drove non-stop to Ft. Walton Beach…One of my favorite memories is of the ocean..I loved it sooo much. I swore I would go back some day…

Fast forward to 1969…I met Dennis in May, we dated throught the summer and were married in November…Whirlwind romance, as it were.  One of the things Dennis promised me was that he would take me to Florida again someday…and he was true to his word!!

 

Above were taken during the “courtship” days, Spring and Summer of 1969…and yes, one of the attractions to Dennis was his motorcycle..

We were married November and immediately began planning our family…married November 22nd and our first born (Kelly) was born Sept. 5th…do the math! The summer I was pregnant with Kelly we decided it was time to go to Florida. So, after backing a baby bag with our luggage, we headed South during Caterpillar shutdown (2 weeks in August) and drove to Florida..I need to say that Den’s and my mom were NOT happy with me being about 3 weeks from due ..

Yep, this was Kelly’s first time in the Atlantic Ocean…and not to be his last..It began to be our favorite trip.  Every year when Caterpillar shut down 2 weeks in the summer, the Cave family headed to Daytona Beach..

Ahhhhhhhh, those were the days of curly perms, short swim trunks and bikinis…and, swimmies for the little ones.. We also were at Walt Disneyworld the second year it was open…and that became another “mecca” for our family..and still is for some.

A couple years, we took Den’s mother, Grama Kate with us…She even walked around Disneyworld once with us..in July…She was a real corker! Years moved on and everyone slowly grew up…

The Cave sisters began attracting admirers at the pool, and making Dennis Cave begin paying close attention to the pool action…

When Kelly enlisted in the Navy, 1988, it was the first time we went without  him…and it didn’t seem the same…Pretty soon, the girls had other activities in the summer and we stopped going as a famlily..

In August, 2008, Chris and John got married in Long Boat Key, FL.  We had our Cougar at the time, so we drove down and met the Heisers at Walt Disneyworld.  We stayed at Ft. Wilderness, which was really a great campground to stay at on Disney property.  Chris and John were married at sunset on the beach of the Hilton, Long Boat Key. We parked the Cougar in their parking lot for 4 days and stayed in the hotel with the wedding guests.

Sooooooo, as you can see, we have this love affair with Florida…I must say, that seeing it in an RV opens up a whole new world of the wild and wonderful parts of Florida you just don’t see from 2 weeks in a hotel room and pool.

One more thing,…Chris and John were married August, 2005.  After the wedding, Dennis and I drove the Cougar toward the Keys…to meet Chris and  John at Key West, where they were spending their honeymoon. We stopped at LaBelle, FL and stayed at Ortona Campground for the first time…We still love it there…Then we stayed a Long Key for a couple nights and drove to Key West to visit Chris and John…

Ours spot at Long Key was right on the Atlantic Ocean..and we had a wonderful view…and a few sand fleas joined us…Below it our spot at Long Key..

We left the Cougar at Long Key to drive into Key West…

When we got back to the Cougar that evening we noticed there was a tropical storm off the coast and it was swiftly becoming a Hurrican 1…Yep…Hurricane Katrina was on her way…and we left at first light the next morning..I must say that the ocean was absolutely stunning that evening with the storm building off the East Coast…

We drove 12 hours that day and made it all the way to the Georgia/Florida coast…with rain squalls following us all the way!

As you can see, Florida and the Caves go a long way back…Not sure we will get there this year, but I know in my heart we definitely return as soon as we possibly can…Thanks for tolerating my Florida fetish!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig…

Well, we have been home one week tomorrow..Luckily we left a day early from Grenada when we heard Wednesday looked like rain for the whole drive. As it turns out, after we got set up at Rend Lake, Gun Creek Campground, we got a call saying our 92 year old uncle had been taken to the ER by ambulance.  Needless to say, we got up early Tuesday AM and beat it home. As of today, he is out of the hospital and in a rehab facility for at least a month..His 100 year old wife is still at home, so we are very busy making sure both are OK..for now.

Having spent the first 3 days home up at the hospital, and moving our uncle to the rehab, we haven’t gotten much done. The Hiker is up on the pad, looking very forlorn..

Just when things were settling down, our daughter, Terrie,  ended up in the ER with serious back and side pain…Yep, a 7mm kidney stone blocking her ureter was the problem. She suffers the same dreaded kidney stone issues I do. The Urologist decided to new surgery that afternoon and he managed to snag that big bad boy and remove it. She is now home and doing good.. .That’s the good news…However, she apparently has lots more, so she will have Lithotrypsy done in a week or so to see if they can blast some of the remaining stones so that she might be able to pass them herself…Yep, as I said..busy week..and a good thing we are now home.  Things happen for reasons.

So, Den and I are trying to get our yard back into shape..He mowed the back of our one acre today in his Hooded Winter coat…I am soooo over this cold weather!!

I am also very ready to see my Endocrinologist AND surgeon on Monday, April 18th..We are riding the Metra Train into Chicago and walking to Northwestern University Hospital for my appointments..Hey, this is no big deal to us..and it’s going to be much better than last October, when I did the walk with a kidney stone in tow…

All in all, it IS good to be home and we were very lucky to get away again this last Winter…not too sure about next Winter, but taking one day at a time…

Yes, we did manage to get away Saturday for our weekly “Date Night”…and I am sporting the Kaneland Knights T shirt.  Kaneland High School is where our Granddaughter, Taylor, and Grandson, Peyton are active in sports and drama..

Lots of changes to come…But I will never be anything but crazy!!