Atchison, Fort Worth and Abilene

What do Dave and Amelia Earhart have in common? They share a hometown! And not much has changed in Atchison, KY since either of them have been there, far as I could tell - it's kind of small town. But that's great because Dave was able to take us on a little nostalgia tour. We saw the house where he and his brothers used to ride their wagons down the hill to ramp up on the road, the garage roof where they could hide and throw stuff at teens smoking in the alley, and the corner shop where they took spare change to get snacks.

They moved when Dave was in fifth grade but he knew how to drive right to the old house, no problem. I was really quite impressed. As we toured he shared some pretty funny stories from when he was a little kid - I love getting glimpses of his childhood.

From there, we followed in his fifth-grade self's footsteps on down to TX.

First we stayed with Dave's brother Kyle and his wife, Megan, which was just one big party from start to finish!

Welcome goodies!

Puppy cuddles:

Riley and Joe fell in love with Mickey and spent the bulk of our stay trying to get him to chase them.

The Fort Worth Zoo!

We got the whole package: we fed the birds, saw not one but TWO baby elephants, ate the ice cream of the future (that'll be dip 'n dots) and basked in ninety degree temperatures.

 Dance parties:

Acrobatics:

Train Ride! (Riley is a little obsessed with Polar Express so this was a BIG DEAL.)

I'm bummed we didn't get any pictures with Kyle and Megan! It was such a fun visit and I am glad we got to spend a little quality time even though they were still in school while we were there. Thank you so much for having us you guys! Hope to see you all again soon!

We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to but we caught who we could!

Gary and Janet bought the kids scooters! A huge hit around this apartment! Our kids are spoiled.

We got to visit Mark too. Killian and Joe have the same hair color and are close enough in age to look twinnish. I love that they finally met these cousins!

We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to but we caught who we could! Some had to work, one brother had a stroke while we were there, a nephew had a broken bone...oh and Dave threw out his back our first day there. Tough week for the Munions! But everyone seems to be doing better now and next time hopefully we can get together more with you all.

The last few days we spent with the Smiths. We always love catching up with Patti and Joe, and this time they had just gotten back from a trip to the Redwoods and I drooled over their pictures - that is definitely on our bucket list! 

Joe and Riley had too much fun cornering the giant cats, trying to make them chase them. I was concerned Joe would be kitty food at first, but the cats were surprisingly patient as well as agile, so confrontations were minimal.

 Finally on Saturdays, after a big homemade breakfast, Pat stocked us up with about twenty juice boxes and snacks and we drove to Abilene to see Dave's Grandma Anderson in her new home there.

 Grandma Francis Anderson: a force (for good) to be reckoned with! She recently moved into a group home and we didn't know what to expect but she is thriving. She is one of those to be proactive about any situation, but especially here because she is in a position to help a lot of other people - she talks to everyone and helps them get around or calls the staff for people (the staff seem to be quite caring and available - Grandma calls them "her angels"). She kind of has the run of her wing :) . She also has daily physical therapy and exercise sessions and is in better health than she has been since I met her.

Something Grandma made to hang on her wall. I especially loved her title - that is so her!

Uncle Bruce was there too - he'll be down for six months out of the year in the future, and visits several times a week. I wish we could be there too - partly because you want to be there for her but also for yourself - she really is a gem and makes everyone around her feel better about life. Salt of the earth.

We said goodbye Saturday afternoon and drove right into a tornado warning. Eek - my first. We didn't see anything touch down and I hope to keep it that way!

Next stop: Utah!