The bunny arrived

Easter at our house was a return to tradition. It has been several years since I had to assist the easter guy, showing him where to hide eggs. I offered him some spots that were easy and some that were not so simple. The 32 year old blonde visiting our house needed help with a couple of finds. AND, if the original count was correct, AND the dogs only ate one, we have two yet to find. We may find those when the wind  blows, they will surely rot soon in the AZ sun and heat. For Luis and Parker, it was the first time following jelly bean trails and picking up eaggs. Not sure who enjoyed it more of the three and I have to say Sandy and I loved our roles in the hunt.

We found a church by trial and error and enjoyed the experience as well. The newly appointed pastor was friendly, told jokes about the pearly gate admission process, and seemed to be genuine. Parker seemed to enjoy the back of the church more than the front, but made it through with minimal whimpering.

Then it was off to lunch at Pappadeaux's. Cajun seafood is hardly traditional Easter fare, but it was great, with a super nice wait person named Kayla. Parker found the resident Easter Bunny to be very nice and enjoyed being transformed to a cat by the face painters on duty.

We enjoyed the afternoon sun, watched a little golf, found the pool inviting for Parker and his mom (they have enjoyed it a couple of time before) and chased those elusive eggs.

I trust that all reading this enjoyed the holiday.

P.S. Two little girls made me follow an ice cream truck last week. Their pictures are included. They were amazed that dream bars are still served.

Today sees some work in store for me, but I am still a spending time with Parker and Brenna, since they have only about a week until they end the AZ adventure. Still plan some more travel, Brenna and I hope Parker will allow time for a quick golf game, and then we will see what else we have time to do.

AZ picture time

Not sure how to make this program love me. Got the pictures, now having trouble with the text.
Arizona does not often display rainbows. This one was a beauty, double at times, very vivid and close, so close I could not get it all. Darn, missed the pot of gold location. Sandy was estatic, I said, oh it's a rainbow, then reallized how special it was.

As you can see, Parker enjoys the outdoor climate and his toys. I think he is prepping to join the boys fishing adventure in a few years. I am sure he can master peeing in the woods, farting, and burping, he has been practicing. Mom so far has kept me from testing his beer drinking skills. what a spoil sport.



AZ memories,ancestry , and life

Brenna and Parker are here in AZ visiting and we all are enjoying the expeience(s). What fun to have them share our house and our AZ time. Kids, both adult and young, enrich our lives. Parker has changed so much in a month that I am totally amazed at his progress. Sitting up is no problem (OK-so once in a while he plops sideways) and the world continues to amaze and excite him. Last night he giggled the whole way through his bath time. Not, showers are good but?? If we all could continue to have that excitement would it not be awesome. And our Brenna is candidate for Mother of the Year (Kate, please don't take offense, you had the award last year) She is patient, instinctively does the right thing, and grows in her role as a mother every day. Her interaction with Parker is delightful to observe

AZ is at its best, temps in the 80's with low humidity, and the usual sun. Had the convertible out 3 days ago, the roses are growing with vigor and bright color, and the pool is inviting, although a little cool. Try the pool again in July, it will be perfect.

We toured the Heard Museum Wednesday, with the world famous guide, Sandy Nielsen. The event will be a future feature on an on - line travel posting by Brenna. We have plans for lots of other events, although I was surprised that Brenna had little interest in this weekends Gay Pride event. Guess I will go to a car show instead. Just found one offered tommorrow evening 7 blocks from home.Maybe the Music Museum will work then or next week. Sedona and the Grand Canyon may also work a bit later.

Think next about relatives and geneology. I have been in frequent e-mail communication with Niels Nielsen in Denmark (TODD - Sandy-Mom has called me Niels for decades, so you have no claim to the name, be satisfied that Grandfather Viggo was really named Charles Viggo) and he has led me to much about the family history. I am back to the early 1700"s on the both the Nielsen and Mealy side at this time. We have pictures of original books where history was recorded, with hand written entries. In the early days in Denmark all records were kept in the church parish books, no matter whether you were a member or not. Not only has it been enjoyable to follow the tracks, but the written record will allow future generations to look back, if they choose to keep the record, and follow the path.

The record shows that life was not easy in any decade. Many children died young, including Grandpa Viggo's beother, who passed away on the trip from Denmark to the new home in Wells, MN, when he was an infant. On the other hand, many of the survivors lived to the 80's, in spite of diets we would shun today. I expect hard labor offset the consumption of cream, lots of eggs, and a meat and potato diet emphasis. We know little about the occupations, labor, railroad and agri-business stuff seems to be the typical job focus.

David Erickson , a more distant relative from Red Wing, sent me a wonderful set of old pictures. I had some similar pics from a box I got from Grandma Nielsen, but David's helped me to identify some relatives that I could not name. I have enjoyed the journey and wish time would not be so fleeting.

Your input is invited as I continue to share things, If you know of relatives who would like to connect share the address or let me know. I realise this stuff may not be high class journalism, but I have found it to be a useful outlet. Will try for the moment to avoid politics, religion and posturing in my posts, can't promise that forever.

I tried adding pics to this post, without sucess. It is one of my recent disappointment. High speed internet is expensive and often does not meet expectations. So no rainbow or picture of Parker

Wow-Time moves fast

It has been too long since the last post-but on the other hand, maybe no one cares. I have been in AZ, MN, and now back to to AZ. I worked on picking up parts for my 49 Ford pickup project and of course, Sandy makes me work in the meantime. She is a slave driver. I have lots of work on car stuff lined up when I return to MN.

When I returned to the US from Germany I implemented the family tree search process. The box of information I acquired when Grandma Nielsen passed away gave me a start to the history. I purchased a subscription to ancestry.com and started looking. So far, the progress has been beyond what I expected. I found links to the Nielsen Family and was especially blessed with finding Niels Nielsen, an ancestor residing in Denmark who has a passion for the family. His infomation and work on the family history takes us back to the early 1700"s. He continues to offer a wealth of information and is willing to continue the search as needed. He has found relatives I never knew of in Denmark and in the US.

I also very recently found connections to Grandma Nielsen(s)  (Mealey) side of the family. While not as detailed or complete. it still has led me back quite a ways on the search. I have found other family trees that seem initially to be unrelated, but which have been genuinely connected to the immediate family. I am confident this will move along faster when I get time to work on it

The Mischke side of the family is less complete than I would want, but I am confident this will proceed once the time avaiable to me lets me search. This history seems to be more in the US than the Nielsen and Mealey family trees. Don't know about those newcomers.

Anyone in the family who would like to assist is welcome. Brenna has a keen interest and will be assisting as Parker gives her the time. If anyone connecting to this blog has an interest or knows of someone who wants to connect/or help, let me know.

One of these links has been to the Hardy Family, which goes back again to the 18th century. My connection there has been able to offer the tree access, with less other information. I have less interest in long term search there, but the history I have found is quite deep.

While in AZ I expect to nurse along my roses, which are doing well, and visit car events. Brenna will arrive tommorow for a visit and we intend to travel with she and Parker, as well as hanging out in the AZ sun.  We have become child friendly, with baby beds, high chairs and other entertainment tools acquired from Craigs list. It has been cool for here, with only one 100 degree day so far, but this is AZ, the temp will climb soon. Expect a warm summer.