A very HOT and HUMID July

For most of July, Lincoln has had 95-103 temps with extremely high humidity.  Luckily, we began the month with a trip to Vail, CO where temps were moderate and the air was dry.  Each year the Philadelphia Orchestra performs at the lovely Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Vail for the BRAVO!VAIL concert series.  This year we spent multiple days with the Caviezels and Fishers in Vail.

It was GREAT family time!

Who can resist a beer named Pretzel Assassin?

We spent time with the grandkids riding bikes...

...riding the gondola up Vail Mountain...

...hiking at the top...

Ruby, Pierce and Reece

Olivia and Di

Reece, Di and Pierce

The air was thin up there.

There are no pictures, but we rode our bikes down the 11,000 foot mountain to the valley below.  That was plenty scary for me!

The first concert night was a really big deal!

Olivia helped everyone primp and get ready.

Check out these two hotties at the concert!

waiting for the concert to begin

During the first half we heard Andante Cantabile from the string quartet in D Major by Tchaikovsky, arranged for string orchestra.  The first half concluded with the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major.  James Ehnes was the violin soloist.  He was amazing!  The audience loved it so much they gave him a standing ovation after the first movement!  Following the intermission the orchestra performed the always popular Sibelius Symphony No. 2.

The kids enjoyed the music too.

Sam did not play in the second half, so he was able to join us in the audience.

After the concert we were invited to join the Philly Orchestra members and families for the Opening Night festivities which included dinner and drinks and hanging out with orchestra members!  How very cool!!

The next evening's performance was held a little later so that it was dark enough for audience members to see the big screen behind the orchestra.  It was the "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial In Concert: Film with Live Score."

The amphitheater was filled to capacity and the audience was so captivated that during some parts you could have heard a pin drop.

When E.T. made his first appearances, Reece was clearly frightened and tried not to watch.  Before long, he was most invested in the performance.  By the end he said to me, "GiGi, that is my most favorite movie ever!"

As luck would have it, we had our own full moon during the performance.

Anyone who knows my daughter, Olivia, knows that she always brings fun to the party.  She didn't disappoint.

Olivia brought Mr. Duck with sunglasses for playtime in the pool.

Olivia also made the lemon-blueberry cake for Sam's birthday.

singing Happy Birthday to our star

Rusty and I had our own AirBnB and had some quiet hangout time too.

It was a lot of fun for me just watching the grandkids play.

Gigi paints Ruby's nails

The adults had some playtime too.

After we returned home we celebrated Rusty's 69th birthday.

And I rode 50 miles in The Cornhusker State Games.

And we attended a retirement party for my good friend, Mary Rieman.

Rusty continues to enjoy the clarinet and is beginning to do a few performances.  This Friday he will be interviewed on our local NET Public Radio Station on the Friday Live Arts Magazine program which is recorded at The Mill.  Follow the link to hear it live at 9:00 a.m. Nebraska time.

Wait. June is over already?

This summer I am volunteering to teach an OLLI class (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute).  I have a group of 15 and each week I take them on a different trail ride in Lincoln.  It's been fun for me to hear the group's comments; they are generally amazed at all the places the trails in Lincoln will take them.

OLLI riders rode the Bison Trail to Pioneers Park.

Rusty and I attended my 50th Westside High School reunion.  I connected with some of my friends and some of my classmates that I knew only a little.  The rest were a bunch of old people I didn't recognize!

We had a great time dancing to The Rumbles!

The Nacho Ride happens every Tuesday.  It's a 20 mile round trip on the Mo-Pac trail from Lincoln to Eagle.  Good food and drinks in Eagle.  We like to go early and avoid the rush as there are usually over 100 riders.

Di, Irene, Ed, Kathie, Rusty

We spent a couple of days in K.C.  Olivia had a pretty busy work schedule, so we got to spend lots of time with Pierce and Reece.  The boys took me on a guided tour of the Nelson Art Gallery.

Did you know that the artists of these sculptures at The Nelson are the same CLAES OLDENBURG AND COOSJE VAN BRUGGEN who did "The Torn Notebook" in Lincoln?

I helped them do a little art project to get ready for Father's Day.

...waiting for Reece's ballgame to start.

Kerry and Deb hosted a very lovely evening for us in their beautiful back yard.  Kerry cooked his "world famous" salmon on the grill.

Rusty and I spent a day putting down the inner layer of cloth and resin on the canoe.

Most days Rusty does a little wresting on the lawn with Gretchen.  Not sure who likes it more, Rusty or Gretchen.

I hosted my good friend, Sissy, for breakfast on a gorgeous morning.

I served a tomato-basil quiche that was delicious!

We spent a night in Cambridge, NE at this lovely B & B.  As often happens at a B&B, we met lovely people and had interesting conversations.

The Cambridge trip came to be because of the NE Chamber Players "Concert on the Creek".  Ed Polochick, the Lincoln Symphony's conductor, was the guest pianist who played with the NE Chamber Players.  I thoroughly enjoyed the music!  While we were inside listening to the concert, Mother Nature was busy outside.  This lovely vista presented itself as the concert ended.

View from Dick and Becky's patio. (There was a double rainbow to the left, but I was a little slow getting the picture.)

Dick Shoemaker has recently opened his own art gallery in Cambridge.  He has been painting for many years and wanted a place to show his work.

Dick and Rusty check out some of Dick's paintings.

Rusty and I had dinner at The Grey Whale to celebrate our 9th Anniversary.

The sushi was beautiful and delicious.

The sign behind us says "You are loved!"

I rode 52 miles on the Firecracker Ride early on the 4th of July.

Rusty cooked steaks on the grill and we had vegetables and salad from the garden.

Yummy.

Despite city ordinances outlawing all but the most benign of fireworks, there's lots of activity here for about ten days.  I think many of them are amazing and pretty, but everyone at Casa Blanca is tired of the ones that sound like this!

KA-BOOOOOM!!!!!!