(double click on photo for a closeup)
Tom and I have enjoyed a special summer this year. The weather has been extraordinary, less humid, not as hot as last year. Tom's great-nephew (Gail's grandson) Ben Welch came out to see us for a couple of weeks in July. We took him to see many of Cincinnati's points of interest, including the Krohn Conservatory, lunch on a B.B. Riverboat, The mechanical Pied Piper clock in Newport Kentucky, Cincinnati Museum Center at Union terminal, The Contemporary Art Center, the Cathedral Basilica in Newport, the Eden Park lookout, and the view from the top of the Carew Tower. I have included a few shots to share with you. I am sending the pictures in three e-mails.
The first set will include pictures taken on the river- The B.B. riverboat; the USS Nightmare (a decommissioned riverboat that is used as a floating spook alley at Halloween; the Big Mac/Daniel Carter Beard Bridge. In the picture taken from the top of the Carew Tower. The Carew housed Cincinnati's first television station WKRC. It remains one of Cincinnati's tallest buildings. You get to the last floor via the original elevator. That old elevator is a bit of a thrill in itself. We also attended a pig roast in rural Bethel Ohio, given by a friend of mine from work. Her husband's band entertained us and about a hundred guests. On the way back we stopped at East Fork/Harsha Lake State Park, and took Ben to see a pre-Civil War cemetery. The adjacent one-room church was last used in 1847. It is still standing and in reasonably good repair.
As some of you may know, the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center museum has a long and somewhat controversial history. When it originally opened in 1939, it was one of the nation's first museums dedicated to Modern Art. Tom and I were at the museum in 1988, when Sheriff Simon Leis temporarily closed it because he believed that Robert Mapplethorpe's photography exhibition was inappropriate for public viewing. The case was taken to court. A jury of average Cincinnatians disagreed with him. The exhibition reopened and continued. To tell the truth, it was kind of fun to be there that day. Simon Leis had all the officers dress up in their best and fanciest uniforms, because he knew it would be a big media event. We knew that he was threatening to close the show, so we went down to see what all the controversy was about before he did. By chance it all happened after we got there. Looking back, it was much ado about nothing.
The new CAC building opened in 2002 and was designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid. This museum contains a museum for children called The "UNMUSEUME." Designed for children, it is a hit with the adults as well. Tom and Ben took turns conducting an imaginary orchestra. As they waved their arms, the music played. They also had fun poking through a most unusual chest of drawers. Each drawer had a unique surprise inside. A full size 1950's style vacation trailer, allows visitors to get quite rambunctious. By running from one side of the trailer to the other. You can really "rock-out." Thanks to funding from Lois and Richard Rosenthal, the CAC museum admission is free on Monday nights.
Just outside the museum is Fountain Square, where most nights you can watch a big screen TV showing the Reds games, and listen to impromptu street performers.
We also took Ben to see the Cincinnati Museum of Art. This is a conventional art museum located in Mt. Adams/Eden Park. The Rosenthal's have also made it possible to see the Cincinnati Museum of Art admission free every day of the week. Thanks to everyone who buys their magazines, including The Artist magazine and The Writer etc. unfortunately that museum does not allow photographs so we have none to share.
Lastly, I have included a few shots from the Cathedral Basilica, in Newport Kentucky just across the river. This is one of America's most beautiful churches. It was built by European artisans who stopped in Newport and Covington Kentucky as they made their way across the United States in the 1800's. My own great-grandfather Welch stopped here for a couple of years on his way to Utah. Just a short distance from the Basilica, is the Pied Piper clock. This is a mechanical clock that tells the entire story of the Pied Piper acted out by little carved characters, once an hour. This was a favorite stop of grandpa Ross Wilhelmsen whenever he was in Cincinnati.
Inside the Basilica
Ben and De on the Riverboat
Ben and Tom looking through a dresser at the CAC
Ben and Tom in front of Union Terminal
Roebling Bridge and The Ascent
18 years and 5 months ago, the last thought that crossed my mind would be the day that Katherine would move away from home to go to college. Vicki and I typically hung with the older people in our wards. They would always talk about how these times go by so quickly. I acknowledged their sentiments while thinking to myself that they were a bit dramatic. No more.Yesterday, Katherine packed all her worldly belongings. When she had finished boxing everything, Ben made the observation that Katherine had less stuff than we had Christmas decorations. Vicki asked if he thought we should get rid of the Christmas decorations. That was a silly thing to say. He thought we should get Katherine more "stuff". She liked that.
Early this morning, with the car full of gas and "stuff", Katherine and Vicki were ready to make the trip to
This week includes activities from the previous week since we went to Death Valley on Friday 14 March. It was a great time to go since the temperature was moderate and the spring flowers were blooming.
Saturday morning, there were lots of complaints of the the wind blowing. I never noticed. After a quick breakfast of syrup-less pancakes, we went to Mosaic canyon, the sand dunes and Scotty's Castle which really wasn't Scotty's Castle but you'll have to go on the tour to figure that out. The elevation difference between the dunes and scotty's castle was 3000' We didn't notice the difference much while in the car but with a cold front developing at the same time as we were changing elevations, it felt like we had lost 30 degrees.
men. Katherine went with Vicki to RS because they had one girl in YW and Katherine is so close to turning 18 (March 30 greetings can be sent to 12smile4 at mstar dot net) she figured she would just go with her this time. I liked what they learned in RS. The canning leader was talking about food storage and encouraged the women to can wheat with the reminder "The whiter your bread, the sooner your dead!" Share that quote if you like.
Vicki and Katherine made it back by 3:30pm and we were off again. We visited the lowest point in North America called Badwater Basin, the Devil's golf course, and Artistic loop.
sleeping in his tent. Amazing how a four man tent can barely fit two 11 year-old boys and all their gear. This camp was organized to help the 11 year-old scout progress towards rank advancements. They did orienteering, first aid, indigenous plants and animals and knots and lashings.
Vicki was prepping the soil yesterday to plant our garden. She asked Ben for help and Spencer for help but Toasty was the only one to volunteer. I guess we shouldn't be mad when he harvests the garden even if he only waited one day to start pulling up the strawberry plants.
“Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.
“The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride” (“Big Rock Candy Mountains,” Deseret News,
And though most weeks seem to be filled with delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust cinders and jolts, we have seen some of the beautiful vistas this week.
Katherine is playing the piano in her high school's (LVA) Broadway version of Cats. The royalty company has encouraged different locations to use indigenous settings. The setting LVA chose was the Las Vegas neon sign graveyard. (If you haven't seen it, it really is something.) They have done further adaptations with the different cats taking on Las Vegas personalities including Sigfield and Roy, Liberace, The Rat pack and current Mayor Oscar Goodman. Vicki and I have our tickets for the 22nd of February. Katherine told us it took three nights to finally get good. I have seen these kids production. If Katherine says it finally is good, it's great. These kids live for the arts. The newspaper said that production costs are close to $100,000 (a good portion for royalties) but that is what the theater department puts into it to make a great production.
Ben turned in a biology project that included a DNA Model with a select portion that was supposed to represent a protein within the DNA. He found a way to build the model using items we had in the house including a coat hanger, clothes pins, corks, small spools, wire, paint and hot glue. It is amazing what he did.
Spencer celebrated his eleventh birthday. Although he loved the gifts from his Grandparents and siblings, he we crazy for the "electronics learning lab" circuit board from his parents. He is now learning of transistors, resistors, capacitors, wires, diodes, batteries and STUFF. He has spent every last minute moving wires and pieces around to learn how they interact. He even found that different family members generate a different pitch when the complete a circuit di to the amount of water in each system. (Spencer has the highest pitch.)
Vicki and I continue to facilitate the learning. Its great to have a family.
night. Wouldn't you know that on his final night they had a pine wood derby race. That was Spencer's fourth pine wood derby race in cub scouts and one too many as far as I am concerned. This year, he did the majority of the work so the car was much more his than Dad's or Mom's. His average speed
of 4 races was 61.7 mph and he took fourth overall. The grand prize winner was 62.8 MPH. To give an idea of how close the race was, the close up picture shows Spencer's car in the 2nd from right lane and the winner in the 4th lane. The other second and third place cars were clocked at 62.8 and 62.7 MPH respectively. Spencer's car was second fastest in the ward and he got a very nice 2nd place trophy.
from when her mother was a little girl. The nightstand was completed by Ben for one of his merit badge requirements but supervised by Vicki. Add to that, a black Papa San chair that Ben got for Christmas last year and now the room is pleasant to be in. It needed the quilt to top it off. 
No great and monumental occasion. I just decided to do a TWIR and whomever want to read it can without the email.
training him to go potty.
Katherine continues to be heavily involved at school. She is defacto leader of the key club (even though she isn't president) and treasurer of the Conservative Civics Club at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and Visual and performing Arts High School. She says the civics club is the smallest club on campus because they just don't have that many conservatives at that arts school. She will be involved in counting returns from our caucus this Saturday.
Well that about sums up the week.
