Day 25, July 24, 2011

This morning we had an early breakfast then headed over to the First United Methodist Church of Longmont, where Nancy attended as a child and a youth.  The kids went to Sunday School while Corita and Nancy met people and explored the building.  Here is Nancy with Corita in front of a stained glass window, preserved from the old building.  

Disappointingly, no one remembered Nancy or her father Ray Ashbaugh.  Guess it’s just been too long!  Nonetheless, the kids hit it off instantly with their teachers and the other kids.  In fact, Raquel was invited to the middle-schoolers’ group that same evening.

The service was the start of a series about who Jesus was.  This one focused on Jesus as a teacher.  How did he teach?  Yes, he used stories, but he also taught by example, demonstrating   acceptance, forgiveness, and love.  The pastor team (husband and wife) gave a nice service, but Nancy especially enjoyed watching the organist.   This was the church where Nancy got her start as an organist, occasionally playing for worship services and for many weddings. 

Following church, we drove to Nancy’s cousin Melvin Bickling’s lovely home east of Loveland.  As you can see, their backyard is an oasis from the blistering summer heat.

The event was a Krebill family reunion, Nancy’s mother’s relatives.  Nancy’s brother Alan and his wife Mary joined us again, along with several cousins with their spouses.  Laura brought some old pictures and everyone had a good time reminiscing about Grandpa Dan, Grandma Elsa, and many other people.   We even learned of a family scandal… ooh la la!

Since for most of the afternoon there were no other kids in attendance, Raquel kept busy hanging out with Aunt Sue (Melvin’s wife).  Joel, on the other hand, hung out with the rest of the adults and provided periodic “comic breaks” to liven up our serious adult discussion.

Uncle Mel was trying to make raspberry ice cream, but apparently the ice was “too warm” (run that by me one more time), so we had raspberry smoothie instead.  Joel picked many fresh raspberries from Uncle Mel’s garden to be used as a topping, which everyone enjoyed.  But when we started in on the strawberry pie, Uncle Mel had another topping in mind… canned whipped cream!

Raquel had a middle school church group meeting planned, so we came back to Longmont.  Turns out they were picking pie cherries.

She came home to pit them, as she is planning to make a dessert tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Joel made friends with three neighbor boys who were teaching him how to skateboard.

We capped off the evening laying out on some mattresses in the backyard to enjoy the stars.  So many of our evenings are cloudy in La Esperanza that we rarely get any good star gazing in, so Grandma Nancy planned this as one of our special events, complete with a star book as a guide.  We were attacked by mosquitoes and blinded by the neighbors’ backyard light, so maybe we’ll try again another night…with repellent!