“Don’t lick the dog WHY DO I HAVE TO SAY THINGS LIKE THIS.”
Archive for the ‘Rebecca’ Category
17 Dec
Happy 80th!
Grampa Great turned 80 last weekend, and we joined him for a celebration in Lincoln. He’s made life amazingly fun for three generations of kids, and we love him so much!
5 Apr
Rollercoaster (of love…?)
Here is Olivia’s latest art project – a mini rollercoaster, complete with twists, turns and–notably–fire.
When I inquired as to the terrified rider, she told me, “That’s you, Mom!” Rather than link to the supporting evidence, I will just share the artist’s rendering…
22 Sep
Weekend update
Last week was A Challenge. It would have been a comedy of errors, if not the for the tragedy that made its way in midweek. While we nursed sad hearts, life around us went on–though perhaps not as we’d have preferred.
The hermit crab died on Sunday, Ava spent the first part of the week with strep, then Owen came down with a virus that took up residence in his trachea. We had more than one middle-of-the-night discussion about ER visits due to breathing issues, and an acute lack of sleep to make it a little more difficult to deal with everything at hand.
I’m not entirely sure what happened with the crab—a few weeks ago, she seemed to want to change shells, but wouldn’t commit to the extra we had tucked into her substrate. I bought three additional shells in varying sizes, but by early the next week, she’d stopped burrowing. When I told Olivia that she didn’t make it, she was devastated, upping the Smith family pet body count to six (a guppy from Girl Scouts, four county fair goldfish, and now the crab). She looked at me accusatorially and said, “How is the CAT, Mom? Is SHE okay?” Ava handled it a bit better, noting that she’d been doing research on chinchillas.
Ava’s illness–the third one related to her tonsils in as many months–netted her an appointment with an ENT. Next week, they’ll evaluate her for a tonsillectomy. She’s thrilled; she’s heard you’re only allowed ice cream and popsicles for days. She didn’t miss any school, though only because classes weren’t held on Monday. By Friday, she was glad to attend the KU volleyball game with me and and her friend Sophia. Come that Friday morning, Owen was perhaps the sickest he’s ever been, and his swollen trachea made it hard for him to breathe. One strong dose of steroids and a lot of ibuprofen helped substantially, and by Saturday morning, he was feeling much better. While I had to miss a substantial part of a very busy work week, I will admit that the downtime spent holding a sweet baby made it a bit less stressful.
Ava and Olivia marched in the KU Band Day parade on Saturday morning with their Girl Scout troops, but the rest of the weekend was blessedly quiet aside from some yard work and errands. Given the work missed last week, I sent my event coordinator in my place to our Texas events, which start today. I was disappointed not to travel, but it seemed to make more sense to stay at home. We will head to Nebraska on Wednesday for Thursday services. Despite the circumstances, I’m very much looking forward to seeing our families.
18 Sep
Lyle Eugene Dankleff
My grandpa passed away earlier this week, and while it was perhaps not unexpected, it is heart wrenching. I’ve spent a couple of days looking through the boxes of photos and mementos that Grandma sent home with me before she died. The process has been alternatively comforting and terribly sad.
While I can’t offer many cohesive thoughts on the matter at this point, I did want to share a portion of a note from my Grandma, the photo that was near, and Grandpa’s obituary.
“There is no way you can tell someone else your love story, but I hope these two boxes help explain Lyle and I to all of you left behind.”
Lyle Eugene Dankleff of Avoca, Neb., died at the Good Samaritan Center in Syracuse, Neb., on September 15, 2014. He was born to John and Bernice (Mendenhall) Dankleff on November 14, 1932, in Avoca, and grew up in Nebraska.
Lyle married Carol Ann Wallen on July 20, 1952. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1953 and served in Korea. He received many medals and honors, including a Korean Service Medal with a Bronze Service Star, a United Nations Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
Lyle and Carol enjoyed nearly 50 years of marriage before Carol died in 2001. Lyle was a farmer, and he worked tirelessly for more than six decades to cultivate the land. One of his great joys was time spent fishing with his family. He also liked to trap, and he loved card games with good friends. He read voraciously, studied the weather closely and took exceptional care of the wild birds that called his farm home.
He is survived by his son Gary and daughter-in-law Rose (Syracuse); his son Greg (McCook, Neb.); granddaughter Rebecca Smith, her husband Bryan and great grandchildren Ava, Olivia and Owen (Lawrence, Kan.); granddaughter Katie Pasniewski and her husband Tom (Lawrence, Kan.); granddaughter Lindsey Miltner and her husband Matthew (Denver, Colo.); and grandson Christopher Dankleff, Taylor Berner and their daughter Addisyn Berner (Unadilla, Neb.). He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and his brothers Robert and Richard.
9 Aug
Summer’s gone
After a hectic week at work, we’re settling into a fun weekend.
Owen, who once served as the alarm we no longer needed to set, now prefers to sleep in late on weekday mornings (which didn’t work well for the 8 am swim camps we had last week). On the weekends, though, he’s up before the sun. We’re enjoying breakfast outside so hopefully the others will sleep in.
Today, we have yard work, errands and maybe even a boat ride (thanks to a boss who left his keys behind for us this weekend). The neighbors will join us for a cookout tonight, and then my mom arrives for a few days tomorrow.
School starts Wednesday–summer indeed seems over, though the blistering heat reminds us otherwise.
What are your plans for the weekend?
4 Aug
Western Nebraska
We spent last week in the Black Hills with the Smith family, and we traveled there via Highway 2 in Nebraska (thanks to Gramma Great’s recommendation). It was a long drive, but we saw dozens of trains—Owen at least was completely entertained—and the scenery was unbelievably gorgeous.
I’ve never been to the panhandle, and I was most excited to see Chimney Rock. We approached it from the north, which I think made it a bit less impressive than those who saw it as they journeyed east on the Oregon Trail. As we got closer, it’s stature was more apparent.
While I was ready to head to South Dakota after a quick photo, Bryan insisted we go further to the east to see Jailhouse and Courthouse Rocks. I’m so glad we did—they were astonishing in size (and they seemed to appear on the prairie almost out of nowhere). Despite only having flip-flops for footwear that day, we did our best to climb high.
15 Jul
RV adventures
Earlier this summer, we made plans to join Gramma, Grampa, Mom, Dave, Katie and Tom at the Minnesota cabin for the Fourth of July. After a bit of work, I was able to convince the Kansas contingent to travel by RV. (Typical response from Katie following an update on the rental plans: “Are we really doing this? I guess this is really happening.”) IT DID, and it was AWESOME.
Katie and Tom came around quite nicely, I think.
We spent the first night of vacation at Smiths, then picked up our RV in Omaha on Saturday morning. It was nice and new and clean, if not a bit cumbersome.
Once we loaded luggage for what seemed to be 17 people, we hopped in, and Doug took a few photos for us. (You can see Doug’s entire set here.)
It only took us seven hours to travel up north—we passed the time by playing games, asking Bryan to share the wheel (no), and trying to get Owen to nap (also no). A few choice overheards, from an intended series I neglected to fully capture, probably provide the best insights:
Rebecca, regarding potential carsickness: “I’m making seating decisions based on who is likely to be the pukiest.”
Bryan: “Buckle up. I want to try something here.”
Rebecca: “Please don’t tell your brother to shut his face.”
Owen: “Mosquito!”
Rebecca: “Olivia, do not stand on your sister’s head.”
Once we arrived, we parked by the cabins and used the RV as our own quarters for the week. It worked out really well. For the most part it was very cool, and we slept well (especially after Grampa helped us level it).
The ride home was a bit dicier, as is often the case. The table leg snapped, leaving us without an easy spot for snacks or games, so the kids had to find other ways to pass the time.
MOST of the kids, anyway.
I loved traveling in an RV, and while Gramma was quick to remind me of the two happiest days (the day you buy a camper, and the day you sell it), I also loved my mom’s remark: “RV having fun yet?” — a perfect nod to a Bornemeier vacation. Thanks, family!
12 Jul
Just desserts
Ava found an old issue of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food in an Ashland antique store, and she just had to have it. She paid 25 cents of her own money, and has studied most every recipe since.
She’s absolutely determined to make this cake. And, I’m all for baking, but maybe let’s start with a blueberry buckle or a pound cake. (Because, dear MARTHA, this is not EVERYDAY FOOD). Moreover, she’s making it with the cream puffs, which will of course be filled with raspberry cream. It’s the weekend, and what else is there to do, really?
I forgot to mention, she’s making two—one for brunch with Tom and Katie, and one to take to her grandparents. Two entire cakes, each with 30 cream puffs. NBD.
Send wine; stay posted. In the meantime, let’s hope she doesn’t find the 15 years of Living back issues I have stashed in the basement.
Smith Family Weblog 