Yesterday Brooke was in a pageant for Miss Ft. Worth. She did not place in the ten finalists but she was a winner. She was a winner because she stepped out of her comfort zone and accomplished everything she set out to do. When it was over she had a smile on her face as if to say "I did it!" It seemed to be a very positive experience for her. We are all very proud of her. As her Grandmother I want to say "she was the most beautiful girl there."

Brooke on "Ice"

Brooke in Casual Wear

Brooke in her gown

Happy 11th birthday Austin!

We love you and hope you have a great day!

Austin

Before leaving Chicago we were guests at Bob's brother's home. Starting on the left is David, our nephew and Bob's God Son, Maria, our sister-in-law and Lee, Bob's brother. Maria cooked a wonderful homemade soup. (minestrone tortellini) We also ordered pizza but we were not as interested in the pizza after that delicious soup. We missed their son John who was away at college. Maria has a very interesting blog that I follow. She is an excellent writer and if you want to check it out her blog is: http://dreamsandepiphanies.blogspot.com/ I feel I have gotten to know Maria better and feel closer to her since I have been following her blog. It is especially nice since we live so far apart.
Their son John is studying art and also has a blog: http://johnsarteasel.blogspot.com/
It is fun and interesting to look in on John's blog to see what his assignments are. He is a good artist and it is interesting to see his talent develop.

David, Maria, and Lee

While in Chicago my brother Sy had us over for dinner along with some of their friends and neighbors. Silas is an expert in grilling. The food that comes from his grill is the best I have ever had.

Next week is Sy's birthday. Happy early birthday Sy and thanks for the good times and the good food.

Sy, the grill master!

Sy's dog Moose, eating corn on the cob

Sy just loves that dog! Moose has quite the personality.

While Bob had to work in the Chicago area I spent the rest of the week with my daughter Jane and her family. We had never been able to celebrate Ben's birthday but this time we were in town at the right time. We went to Weber Grill in Schaumburg. What a treat! The food was marvelous! It was a great birthday celebration.

Ben and his Mom, Anna Marie

I think Ben looks a lot like his Mom. She is a nice lady and often makes a special attempt to see us when we are in the Chicago area. We appreciate that.

And then there is Ben, nice guy, funny, and you just gotta love him. And we do.

My Brother Sy and His Wife Hollie

Hollie recently had surgery on her eyes. Her retina completely detached from her eyeball and started detaching from her other eyeball. She totally went blind in the one eye. After surgery she had to lay flat on her stomach for about three weeks with her head resting on a special made thing for this kind of recovery. She has not regained vision in the one eye yet but hopefully will after another procedure.

My daughter Jane with Jake.

Jake with a somber face?

First time ever and that was hard for him to do.

Bob with our Grandson Jake (my cane)

To summarize our stay in Racine Wisconsin I would recommend any one and especially people living in Wisconsin and Illinois to visit for a nice weekend get-away. I want to add that we visted the R A M Art Museum. At that time they had collections from Michael Lucero and The Donna Schneier Collection. Both unique.

Below is a photo of my sister Cece. After spending some time at North Beach in Racine WI we had lunch in a restaurant at the marina. The water, the bridge and boats surrounding us on the deck were definitely worthy of taking pictures. The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect day.

Cece Taking Pictures at the Marina