The Muench Bunch

 We went to Williams for the Memorial service held at the park. My dad was honored and awarded the Quilt of Valor. "The quilt of valor is a quilt presented to cover service men and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts of valor." My dad along with Lonny Hensley received a handmade patriotic quilt. It was a special honor for them to receive for their service and many years of service for the Legion. Lonnie came up after and told me that my dad is the glue to the local legion and he has done so much for them. He has served for many years. It was neat to see my dad honored. He wasn't feeling his best. He was at the ER just yesterday from a combination of his new medicine and getting dehydrated. We tried to keep dad's activity to a minimum. 

I came across this fun photo of the Williams poppy girls. For many years, I helped put poppies on the graves in the Willliams cemetery. We put a poppy near each veteran's headstone by their American flag. As a Memorial Day memory, here is a little history of the poppy- After World War I, the poppy flourished in Europe. Scientists attributed the growth to soils in France and Belgium becoming enriched with lime from the rubble left by the war. From the dirt and mud grew a beautiful red poppy. The red poppy came to symbolize the blood shed during battle following the publication of the wartime poem “In Flanders Fields.” The poem was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, M.D. while serving on the front lines. On September 27, 1920, the poppy became the official flower of The American Legion family to memorialize the soldiers who fought and died during the war. In 1924, the distribution of poppies became a national program of The American Legion. Led by the American Legion Auxiliar

 Luke is hot and cold with all his hobbies. Right now, he is hot into golf. On the evening of Memorial Day, the two of us went golfing. It was a great way to kick of the summer!  We decided to golf on a range we had not been on before in Dayton. It was a nice course, however very challenging with all the ravines, big trees, sections of timber, and creeks running through. We lost a lot of balls on the course! It was a great night, but as the sun went down, the gnats got bad. We couldn't stop moving or they would surround you. It was the worst near the water. We had a great time, lots of laughs and being silly. Luke chased a squirrel that almost came back after him. He hit balls high into the timber, and far out into a field. He is such a good hitter; his balls go farther than I can see. Then there is me. I get excited if I get a good hit. Most of my balls don't travel more than 25 yards. Luke was waiting on me most of the time and he even hit two balls. The golf cart is always a

 May 24, My friend/college roommate Teng, was in Ames and contacted me to meet for lunch! My freshmen year of college Teng and I were dorm roommates and then got an apartment together.. We had lots of good memories and she is such a fun loving, happy, full of life person. Teng and her husband came to Iowa to celebrate her nephew's graduation. She spent the week and visited friends and family. Teng asked for some dining options, and she chose Provisions, a newer, classier restaurants in town. It was so nice to see her, visit, and laugh. In talking, we decided we needed to show her husband the ISU campus and also for us to reminisce. They hopped in my vehicle and I gave them a tour. We could pick out and remember all the popular buildings, and there were many new buildings too. Teng looks the same as she did in college and is still her spunky self. She never stops laughing while asking me, "Have you gotten taller?" She is a financial consultant in Las Vegas and doing well.

 Neither Mark nor I had ever seen the Sioux Falls of South Dakota. When we made our semi trip to Sioux City, we decided we would try to make a trip back up to see the falls. Mark enjoys a rest and relaxation getaway, and so do I!. With the crops all planted and things settled on the farm for now, we decided to go for a Thursday and Friday evening. We arrived in Sioux Falls where I lined up a massage for Mark. Afterwards, we checked into our hotel and took a walk along the bike path. We ate at Carnaval Brazilian grill restaurant. My friend Jess highly recommended it. She didn't tell me any details, and we really enjoyed it. It was a whole experience in itself. The restaurant was done up so nice and had an interesting and fancy décor. We were seated, our waiter gave us a thorough rundown on the proper procedure and a little history, then we could go through the salad bar. That alone was like a buffet with various choices. The "Gauchos" walked around serving 18 different cut

Jake and I made a road trip to see Jayden. Jake was done for the semester and wanted to travel. We started the morning going to church. We saw niece Jaynie at church, and we took her out to lunch. Jake and I then drove on to Oklahoma. I wanted to stay in Claremore. I liked that little town and remember neat antique shops and a great barbeque restaurant. We got in so late that everything was closed so we had to order in pizza to our hotel. We were so hungry! It was 10PM when we ate. Back at home we heard we had hail yesterday morning and also this afternoon. The next morning Jake and I went to the antique shops and looked around. we found a few things, nothing to exciting. We ate at Billy Sim's BBQ and it ended up being nothing like I remember; it was just ok. We drive on and took a highway going through the town of pitcher. As we drove we both noticed how strangely empty and abandoned the area looked. There were housing areas emptied out and an old school and old churches. There we

 Another semester is in the books for Jake. He is in a 6 semester program to get his Diesel certificate. He has received several certificates already along the way. He has been enjoying college more, but still ant wait to be done. He was not loving being in the apartment with his roommates. He is looking forward to his new living arrangements. Cousin Rylie bought a trailer in the vet school trailer park and Jake will be living there as well. Jake has a 20 day break before starting back into summer classes 5 days per week.

 I came across this post from May, 2, 2013. Ten years ago on this day, we had a snowstorm and the local schools had a no school snowday and out power was out. Our mail carrier did manage to trek out in the thick we heavey snow.