Berlin, Ohio

Sunday 8/30 we pulled out of Onsted and headed to Berlin, Ohio in the Amish community.  After a 200 mile tow we hooked up with Ron & Roberta and Mel & Dee at Scenic Hills Campground.

 As the Amish families tend to grow they build another home in their complex so many of the homesteads are quite large with several homes for their kids as they marry and start a new family.

Here's Judy and Dee after using hammers to make an "eching" by pounding thin metal on a form.

                                                         Elaborate wood carvings.

                                        The carver takes about 3 months to make each one.

We spent 4 nights here exploring and RnRing.

Onsted and M&M rally

Here we are back in Elkhart at MOR/ryde.  Earlier this year where here for routine maintenenace Judy spotted a option for our bed she wanted.  An electric slide that moves the mattress making it much easier to make the bed.

                                      Here's Devyn making good use of her new drivers license.

Judy and I host an annual HitchHiker rally called the M&M (Michigan Mini) and this year was the sixth one.  We had to move it the day before it started because the campground we scheduled last year turned out to have very bad power.  We found another in St Louis and hastily called the 15 attendees that night before and gave them the new destination.

                                               The opening night dogs and brats pot luck.

Chow time.

BS session.

Games

And when it rains..........

And when your tanks get full and you don't have a sewer hookup......

Organizing the convoy to the Amish restaurant for lunch.

The M&M VI group picture

Back in Randy's pasture and he smoked beef and chicken for a neighbor's party and on his way there he dropped off supper for us!!!

Not bad huh?  I was very moist and good.

And off he goes...........

The night before we left Randy & Devyn we had pizza and poker with Don & Zola and Al & Joan.

July and into August in Onsted

Here's Devyn and Molly.  I'm not sure who likes Molly more, Devyn or Randy.  Might be Devyn. Molly is about 50 pounds now.

If I can post Judy in the hospital in 2013 for her hip replacements I can post me for some heart tests. This was at St Joes two weeks ago, yesterday it was Allegance in Jackson to be Tazered to successfully get the old ticker beating evenly.  Nothing serious, all the tests said the ticker is in good shape but was a little erratic.

We are in the pasture next to the pool.  Judy has been spending time in Adrian for water aerobics exercise.  Sometimes she'll use the pool here.

Randy will often hop in to cool down, the pool is pretty relaxing on hot afternoons.

Jody and Renato sent us a good picture of them with Dustin and Brianna.  They are still going through the adaption process as current foster parents.  The court system is very s l o w!  We expect it should be completed by the end of the year.  Renato has spent the last several years going through the process to become a US citizen and last month became a US citizen.  Congratulations Renato and welcome to the USA as a LEGAL immigrant citizen.  He can now vote!!  
Jody really likes working for the Northeast Georgia Physicians Group.  They moved into a new office building (below) late last year.  She and one other doctor work in the facility and there's room for more doctors.  We'll be spending the last 2 weeks of September near them.

We stopped in Saline for lunch with Randy and here he is inside Klingelnberg, he returned there after the better part of a year at Ford......80+ miles from Onsted, they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He has a nice short drive now and has started a refurbishment group so travel is limited and he's enjoying the new responsibilities.  Into service management like his old man.  The service manager quit so he also has the service business until a new manager is hired.  He's a busy lad.  He has been procrastinating getting a suit, he's too use to getting his hands dirty but I suspect he'll be in one for a few special work situations soon enough.  

Here's Devyn in her first set of glasses, better for school work and driving.

Michigan

                              It's been a cold and wet summer in Michigan.  The misquotes are terrible!

Patches is a cool laid back cat.

Dan & Devyn making pretzels.  On a trip to Elkhart we picked up a pretzel making kit from Ben's Pretzels.  A rainy day is a good time to make them.

Ready for the oven.

Finished and ready to eat!  I must say they are (were) VERY good.

Pictures from the last month

                                                           The cows are getting bigger.

                                                              Patches in on the prowl.

                                  More soccer,  Onsted won a game and Devyn scored a goal.

Here's some pics from the Onsted HS soccer awards, she picked up several more.  Her coach told a good story, he challenged the team to a ball bouncing contest, at the end it was Devyn against the rest of the team.  After 150 consecutive bounces the coach told her to stop.  The rest of the team was done well before 100 combined bounces.

                                              Molly is 3 months old and weighs 43 pounds.

                             We were buzzed, Randy often marches to a different drummer.

Yesterday we went to visit some of Bev's family.  Here's Devyn & Molly, Hannah, Bev, Wes, Jill, Bill, Judy & Randy.  We had a good visit.