Oops!

• I forgot to mention that Fred and Dena also got engaged!
  

• Dad went for his blood check-up last week....
• Ursula and Dean have been having a hard time with little work coming their way, but Ursula has just started a new job. She says it is in communications and marketing, mostly writing and editing, and that it included the quarterly alumni newsletter. She studied journalism, so that's right up her alley.
• Janelle and Joe have set a date for their wedding: July 24, 2010. (That's 2 days after Mom's b-day, btw.)
  
• Pat and Gus were finally able to buy the rest of the building that houses their business. Pat's cousin, who owned it, didn't want to sell it but didn't want to repair anything, either. So now they are relieved to not have to build another building--but they've got a ton of repair-work ahead of them!
• Jim and Annie have become engaged. They will also get married next summer, but I don't think they've set a date yet. They will also be moving after the school year is over. I think they've already found a house about 2 miles from Jim's parents.
• Nikki has been seeing some changes at work due to cuts in funding. I think they may have her working part-time in another lab.
  
• Mom and Dad have named their puppy Sophie.
  
• I missed Lee's birthday last month--sorry!
• I think the reunion went really well yesterday! There were altogether 37 adults and 18 children there.
• Jo Ann's car was ruined by that flash flood that we had in August, so she had to get a new one--well, new to her ;-)
• Mom's storm windows, made by Gus and Pat's company, have now been put in. (Fred painted, I washed, Mitch screwed and August advised.) Gus had to buy extra firewood last winter because the windows didn't get replaced before the cold weather :-)
  
• A guy from AT&T went to Mom and Dad's house and decided they needed a new modem, so Dad should be able to surf to his heart's content now. BTW, since the computer's upstairs, Dad can get Mom to look at emails. Mom won't admit it, but she really enjoys the jokes.
• I have a pre-trial date for the house lawsuit at the end of October. Apparently, this is the last attempt to settle before going to court.
• Jill is signing up to start the Ovarian Cancer Screening program at UK. I had to fax them a copy of Gina's death certificate (since Jill's under 35), so if any of you nieces want to participate, Jill would be interested in getting a group together--UK will gladly accommodate a g roup when scheduling appointments. If you want to start getting the screenings, make sure they know about the fax. I'm not sure if it would be in Jill's or my file.

This reminder from Kevin:

I just wanted to remind everyone that today is the anniversary of Ed’s death. Sometime today, please take a moment to remember Ed’s life and what that meant to you. Luvya, Kev

On a completely different note, Skudder found a puppy stuck half-way in and out of Mom and Dad's yard a few days ago. She's absolutely adorable--honey/brown with a black muzzle. Mom thinks she's about 5 weeks old. At first Mom wanted to find a new home for her (she was filthy and covered with fleas, so there was no question of trying to return her to her previous owner), but now she seems to want to keep the puppy--it's so good for Dad, Mom says ;-) Skudder hates it! Mom's thinking about the name Boo but Dad seems to like Maisy.

September Birthdays

• Lillian--Fri, Sept. 11--2
• Suzanne Arndt Morris--Mon, Sept. 14
• Kim--Wed, Sept. 16--51
• Lee--Sat, Sept. 26--31
  

Two corrections:

• Andrew is in Kindergarten
• Tyler is in Kindergarten

Also, I forgot to mention that Nikki is going to work the beekeepers' table at her State Fair next week. If you didn't know it, she keeps bees in her backyard--not for honey but to help the waning bee population, which is a real agricultural problem, at least in the U.S.

Kids in School Update :-) Please, please correct me if I'm wrong or miss someone!

• Samuel--Kindergarten
• Kaela--3rd grade
• Andrew--Kindergarten
• Tyler--Kindergarten
  
• Caitlin--sophomore in college
• Natalie--freshman in high school
• Alec--sophomore in high school
• Erik--7th grade

I was struck by insanity while house-sitting for Mitch and Kim and signed up for 13 categories at the State Fair, but I got 7 ribbons out of it! Dad thinks I'll have gotten it out of my system now--ha, ha! I couldn't have done it w/o Mom and Jo Ann helping me carry things in. Like a typical Klein, I barely got things in under the wire both days! I sewed the last button on the sweater at 4:30 and they quit taking entries at 5:00!

• 1st place--petit fours
• 2nd place--semi-professional decorated cake with a horse theme
• 3rd place--Aunt Mary's sugar cookies
• 3rd place--buttermilk biscuits
• 3rd place--Aran sweater
• 4th place--white cake made with yogurt with caramel frosting
• 4th place--formal dress

Jason's beautiful drawing of Fritz and Robin's horse was displayed oddly enough right above a self-portrait by Terri Hans (Bill Hans' wife).

John Thomas' cheesecake won a blue ribbon this year--I think he enters it every year!

Dad got a new computer and I put it upstairs--much to his chagrin. There were some problems but it's all straightened out and they now have internet access. Now if only we can get Mom on there--she's having trouble with the mouse. I told she just needs practice. I think Dad might be thinking about giving the computer to one of the kids who might need it. We'd have to make sure it was, ahem, clean first. Of course, he has always sworn that it doesn't work... I was joking with Mitch that he ought to raffle it off to help pay for the new one!

Here's a note from Amy about Kaela's latest check-up:

The appointment did not go good. She weighs 39 pounds and is 3 ft 10 inches tall. She is back down to the 1% for her age. She is the average weight of a 5 year old and the average height of a 6 year old (she is 8). They took another x-ray to see what her bone age is and she is 2 years behind. She did grow during the winter months last year, so we are going to see if she does the same this year. We go back in February - if she does not make up any lost ground she will have to start growth hormones. She will never be a big girl, look at me and Jason, we are both short.

• The allergy specialist that Mom went to did a few tests and found that she's quite allergic to dust mites, which he said was interesting considering her age. Apparently, the older you get, the less allergic you become. He told her to quit taking her current allergy medicine since it wasn't helping and told her to take Prednisone for a few days and Prilosec indefinitely. She's supposed to call him back Friday to let him know how she's doing. He said he wants her to come in once a week for allergy shots. He also mentioned that one of the blood pressure medications she taking (Lexapro, I think) has been known to cause coughing after two years, so they're going to see about taking her off of it.
• Dad's doctor is sending him back to the neurologist (I think that's right) that he's seen before (been a while) about his Parkinson's. His medicine may be making him sleep all day. Also, they want to check out the pain in his legs and to try to pressure him to take physical therapy, which he thinks is useless. Mom has told me how crazy he is about his nurse practitioner and I can understand. She's quite a buxom lady! Aside from that, she knows exactly how to handle Dad!
• I had my Ovarian Cancer Screening today and they said my cyst has gotten larger, so I'm gong to see what a gynecologist recommends, as it could be endometriosis.
• Amy's been suffering from pleurisy.
• I think Jill and Jeremy's air conditioner is out--that's go to be nasty with this humidity!
• Janelle and Joe bought their wedding rings and, as she says, had their boring 8-hour marriage class :-)
• Tentatively Mom, Dad (ha, ha), Jo, April, Lee, kids, August, Gus, Pat and I are all planning on going to the fair on Sunday. Anybody else going to be there?? I entered 13 things (yes, I know, I went overboard), so I'm bound and determined to get another ribbon. I couldn't have done it w/o Mom and Jo's help!
• Also, aka the fair: Robin entered that gorgeous drawing that Jason did of their horse--which they'd have to be crazy not to give a ribbon to!