WOW Europe ------ Wedding------Netherlands-------Germany-------Italy

We went traveling to say the least.   Rick and Claudia picked June 30 for their Wedding Day.  Yes!! We would be going!!

There isn't enough room on this blog to write all the happenings nor to put all the pictures-----so this will be a small writing of some of the  happenings.  We have so many stories to tell and about 600 pictures to look at.   Some of the pictures, of course, are ....."what did I take that for...where is that?!?!....oh - bad!......" and so on.  But I will try to pick out some nice ones.    In time I will be putting together a (probably very large) photo album with the help of Shutterfly.    But for now.....enjoy.

We arrived in beautiful Nijmegen, Netherlands after being picked up at the airport by Rick and Claudia.

 The streets of Nijmegen are all brick.....with a bicycle path along every street.   Bicycles are EVERYWHERE!!!!

The "rail" on the right is for bicycles to get up and down the steps......

A bicycle parking garage!!!!!!  and this picture is only a small part of it!!!

We went immediately to a Flower Supermarket......every plant you can imagine is available and every container you might want.  And compared to the United States prices----Roses are almost a dime a dozen -- and OH! so beautiful.   Rick and Claudia were picking out flowers for their wedding.

The 1st ceremony took place outside at Fort Lent in Nijmegen......with a vegan meal and dancing and celebrating following.

Parents of the couple.

The 2nd ceremony took place at the Government office and is required by law. 

To be honest, I enjoyed the 2nd ceremony the most.   It was so much fun walking through the open market watching the people smiling at the good looking couple just married.  And then it happened......     I had my singing debut in a pub in Nijmegen.    I expect to be famous any day now.....HAHA.     Actually, Gary said to me "I think you should sing that song "A little less of Me" (by Glen Campbell).   So I had Rick find it on the internet and Claudia's Uncle had his guitar along and let me use it......and I had people crying.     :)  :)     Yes! it was fun!!!

The Pub where I sang....and toasts were made.

Saturday - the day after the 1st ceremony -  was not a good one for me.  My Meneres (ear problem) which makes me very dizzy at times --- hit me full force.   I laid in bed for the entire day --- except for the trip they made me take to the clinic....   I used the bucket way too many times.   We had hoped to go to the Cologne Cathedral the following day but put it off until I was more steady on my feet.  So we went on Monday late in the afternoon.

We arrived to late to make the climb up the tower -- but the Cathedral is just an amazing site!!!  It took 600 years to build and was almost destroyed in WWII.

Then it was on to Rome!!!

 My first night in Rome and this young man found a "sucker".  Well - it was a nice wooden bowl and he was such a good salesman and we had a lot of fun with him.   Shucks !! it was only 20 Euro ($).

First stop - Vatican Museum......this is the wall that surrounds it.   (Claudia forgive me for probably getting lots of things wrong --- no one knows but you !!!    :)   :)

 This hall was full of "busts" of anyone and everyone in Roman History.......

 This was a hall with statues of the "gods"....

Painting on the walls and ceilings were unbelievable....

Many many huge tapestries (perhaps 12' x 12') depicting Bible stories.....

And it all ended in the Sistine Chapel --- where no photos were allowed and the guards tried to demand silence.

Well -- I can see that this is getting way too much.........    So - - - - - the following will not be what we saw but some fun shots.......

 Espresso is THE drink..........Rick doing it right....

 Our bathroom in our hotel was compact to say the least -- but it served the purpose it was made for.

We had a meal in Koln (Cologne) Germany.......   Claudia knew what she was ordering --- we were the ones who were totally wowed!!!!   Check out that ham....bone and all!!

Jan (Claudia's nephew) and Janeka came with us to Rome -- what a fun couple!!!

 Our next stop was Pompei.....

I don't dare to start putting in pictures....... there are so many good ones.    This city was built in (according to our booklet) in the 6th century B.C.  A violent earthquake struck in 62 A.D. and damaged many parts of the city and then on August 24, 79 A.D. the volcano - Vesuvius - erupted and buried the city under ash and rock fragments.

 People were buried alive----dying due to asphyxiation and high temperatures.... and casts were made of the "air pockets" that were found - revealing the position of the bodies.

Notice the huge rocks that make up the streets.

 A panoramic view.....

The Grand Theatre......    so much more to show you.......  but that will have to be in the Photo Album to come later.   

 Our last stop in Rome was the Colosseum - where Gladiators fought and Christians were killed.....

These square pieces were at the very top of the structure ---- How in the world did they get them up so high?!?!

 It was a VERY hot day when we were at the Colosseum ---- so a trip to the Mediterranean Sea was a MUST!!!    What a great way to end our time in Italy and our trip to Rick and Claudia!!!!

Our last meal at a very fine Ristorante.......

Yup!   Gary got to liking the Espresso!! - Get that pinky up!

We had such a fun time !!   Claudia is the best tour guide we could have asked for.....  We kept an eye on her hat and followed like sheep.  It was great getting to meet Claudia's family and also to get to know her better.   She is a keeper  :)

We thank God for safety throughout the whole adventure and now are just hoping our bodies will get back to Central Time!!!!

Gary and Barb

just have to share these....

I was thinking that many of you saw some pictures of our 2nd Annual Peters Family Campout at Tri-Ponds...... but lots of you might not have......so here goes........  

We pulled our camper out for the Family Campout ------ and stayed our first night at the Ilini State Park.   Very nice park......where we got to watch the tug boats push the huge barges down river to who knows where.  Fascinating!!

We camped in the same place as we did last year......next year Gary and I will be staying in a little cabin just to the left of the picture....right close by -- so it should work just fine.  Colton, Brennan and Halle came along and stayed in their family tent.  Mom and dad were just too busy getting ready for the Colorado Challenge that Julie, Trenton, Austin and Sidney would be going on the following week.

The "Pond" was the best part of the whole week.   We never even went over to the pool....this was just way too much fun.  I even got in on the fun!

So did Axl --- Holly's family dog.  Dogs weren't really supposed to be in the water.....but good grief -- it was 96 degrees and Axl is black....he was one hot puppy!!!!    So we snuck him in.

You can't be near the water ---- near a bunch of kids ...that have access to water balloons........ and not have a water fight.  Neighbor kids got in on the fun too and war was declared.   Notice that this balloon was filled too much...it burst right above Clayton's head.

There was a game of bean bag toss.....  guess who was the winning team!!

Brennan had good luck catching some nice bass and came in 1st in the fishing derby ----- got himself a nice ice cream treat.

The highlight of the week was the Cherry Pit Spitting Contest.   This contest first took place when we camped at Glen Lake in Michigan with our family.  Traverse City is known for it's cherry orchards and we had enjoyed some cherries........"why not see how far we can spit these pits."  Wish I could dig up the pictures of that 1st contest. Everyone "pushed off" from a post that was on our site.........  Not sure now who was the actual winner of the first one - but I do know that it was either Mike or Gary.    And once again --- Mike and Gary were tops.  
Gary was first by a long shot until Mike came ---- then it all fell apart and Mike was declared the winner.   There is a technique to this madness and until you figure it out --- you're just spitting in the wind.

We had a great time but the roads are so nasty that we have decided that we won't pull our camper again....... at one point we must have hit such a bump that my refrigerator door flew open and I had oranges and milk all over the floor.  Wasn't a really bad mess -- but enough for us to say "hey"...not going to do that again.  Good grief Illinois, Indiana, Michigan --- well - Iowa too.... FIX YOUR ROADS!!!  

Now you have a little more of an insight into the crazies of the Peters family.    Good stuff!
Gary and Barb

REVIVED..........

We came home - from Michigan ----- on Tuesday dog tired.    We had received a phone call on Thursday June 15 ---- we were about 6 hours from home after spending about 10 days with our family.        A young man --- Joe Nicholson ---- had been diagnosed with Leukemia on June 6.  His body reacted to the first treatment and in just a few days he was put on a respirator....... On June 15 --- he passed away.    Gary had Joe in Boy Scouts --- he received his Eagle Badge while Gary was Scout Master.  He had a wonderful family and his dad was also a Scout leader.  Gary had known Joe from age 11 or 12 until he turned 18.  Joe served in the National Guard and was also stationed in Afghanistan for a tour of duty.  Joe served his Lord, Jesus, in all of his life!  Joe was just a fine young man in all respects.   We had to go to be with his family.   And so we got home .....washed the laundry.....spent one night in our own bed.....packed up ....and headed back.

It was a big Boy Scout Reunion.  All the old leaders and many of the young men who had known Joe were there.........and so there were lots of stories and lots of laughter ------ all mingled in with lots of tears.     We were so glad we had made the trip.  The funeral was on Monday and afterwards we headed right back for South Dakota.

We figure we had put on more than 2700 miles in 5 days.   As I said.....we were dog tired!!!!     But tonight was JDC night.   Gary told the Bible story about the Healing of the Paralytic.  We first had 4 girls  and then we did the same lesson for 5 boys.   Oh Man!   Did those boys have questions....... GOOD questions.  We got to share much more than just the one story.  And then we sang........  :)  :)  Really boosts your heart when a young man tells you "you have a nice voice".  :)  :).       But that doesn't mean a thing compared to being able to tell these young men about their need to have their sins forgiven.....which we ALL need.  And then all those questions..... YES we were revived.   I don't feel nearly as tired coming from JDC as I did going to JDC!!!

God is good and we thank Him for allowing us to minister to these young people. Thank you for your prayers and support!!!

Gary and Barb

YIKES!!! That was a close call!!!!

This morning we helped Dwight, Lee and Rob move some cow/calf pairs "across the oil"..... which was west from their place a couple of miles. ...."the oil" is the Kilgore road.   It all went pretty good --- no troubles with the calves wanting to go back to find their mama.    Then on the way home we stopped to talk with Dan and Sheri ----- "did Dan want to go look at the well timer  ....out by Rosebud.... that was giving him trouble?"    "Yes".    He had to go get a load of bulls from the Hard Grass Ranch and then he would give Gary a call.

About 2:00 Dan came and picked Gary up with 2 bulls in the trailer that he would put with the cows that were already out there.  According to Sheri ---- those bulls gave her a bit of grief.   "Dan says, 'just stand there'......I don't want to stand there"......  and I added 'and get run over'.   Anyway ----- on with the story......

Next to the cow tank (water tank) is a fenced in little 4 foot X 4 foot area where the electric box and well is located.  Gary had just climbed over the fence and into this little area when he heard a "buzz".....he looked and.... yup!!! --- rattlesnake.  Needless to say he climbed back up on the fence and yelled for Dan (who at the time was unloading the bulls)...... bring a shovel!!!!!

The rattlesnake measured 44 inches.......  cousin Lee had just killed a 50 incher out by Dwight's place.  We heard the record length of a rattlesnake (perhaps from this area) is 57 inches.   So these two were right up there in size!!

We really don't need to encounter anymore of these creatures ----- thank you.   Thank goodness there weren't any strikes!!!

And that was our excitement for the day......oh yeah ---- Gary took me out for supper at the Peppermill.......a nice end to a good day.

God Bless!
Gary and Barb

More of God's Creation

First, I have to say that I was totally wrong on the "Pine Warbler"...that was a female Goldfinch -- or else a young Male Goldfinch that hasn't gotten his beautiful yellow feathers yet.   Anyway just wanted to put in that correction.

TODAY ---- we were blessed with this beauty.... My photo skills weren't very good --- got too excited and too close (with the zoom)--- but at least it's proof that we had this beauty on our deck.

This is an Indigo Bunting....  According to Audubon -- they eat the same thing as the Goldfinch and we have LOTS of them..... I haven't seen him again today --- but then we don't sit in front of the window all day either.

I told you we had a Black Headed Grosbeak.....here he is...

And then I just have to share one more photo.... These little guys are so pretty...

Today it's quite windy and it's fun to watch a bird sitting in the tree and having the ride of his life as he clings to a tree limb that's just swaying in the wind.

We also have Robins that come to our bird water-er.   The Robins are here all winter and from their droppings it looks like they eat the Cedar Tree "berries" --- can't be very tasty - but must have enough of something for them to live on.

I suppose we're not very loving to all of God's creatures.......the Blackbirds and Grackles.... we chase them away.  They are a nasty bird that scares all the other birds away.     So --- SHOO!!!!!

Gary was gone to Michigan last week....helping Mike get the corn planted.   It's good to have him back home again.  He did the trip out to Michigan in one day....... body was just buzzing from sitting so long - driving so long.   So he decided not to do that on the way home.......  Stayed overnight in Norfolk, NE and made it home just in time for the Potluck at church.

We had over 3 inches of rain last week.....more last night again.   So things are nice and green but now we need some warm sun to make things grow.  We had frost -- but I got everything covered in the garden in time and save most everything.

Gary is working on our lawn mower......can't get that thing figured out --- but it won't start.    FRUSTRATING!!!!  Thankgoodness for good neighbors that let us borrow their spare.

God Bless
Gary and Barb