I have never gone to my grandma’s to decorate cookies. It was a tradition for the younger cousins (on my mom’s side) to go to Grandma Marge’s house and decorate cookies.

But I think the tradition started while was in college or while I was living/working in Greeley, so I’d never actually gone to Grandma’s to join my cousins in this activity.

(The group picture above…) From left: Carrie, Deanna (my sister), Grandma, Cousins Abby and Jeremiah, Julie, Jessica, Christina.

Later on, Adam and Laura (my brother and sister-in-law), their daughter Adalyse, and my cousin Matt all came to join the cookie decorating party. Grandma made us all a wonderful lunch.

I had a great time!

If you are looking for a fun activity to do with kids (or adultish people who act like kids), try cookie decorating. I think you’ll enjoy it. We did!

This guy lost his head, so I decorated appropriately.

Hope you are also enjoying your holiday season!

Carrie and I had gone to Venango, Nebraska (just east of Holyoke, Colorado) to spend time with Carrie’s mom and Larry, on Larry’s farm.

While we were there, we heard that there was going to be an eclipse. It was going to be early in the morning, but one of the nice things about this part of Colorado/Nebraska is that it is exceptionally flat, which means that you can see the sun and moon all the way to the horizon.

This makes for some incredible sunrises and sunsets, and also meant that we could see the eclipse of the moon, unimpeded.

Here are the pictures I took of the eclipse as the sun was coming up.

It got too bright (as the sun was coming up) to see the shadow of the earth on the moon.

It was also a very crisp morning (maybe 10 degrees Fahrenheit or -11 Celsius). I was very glad to have my heavy coat on to be outside taking these pictures. unlike cats, which come with their own built-in coats.

- Coming home to Touch Screen Everything -

3 years ago when I got my tablet PC (before we left on our travels), I was one of only two people I knew who had a tablet PC.

Coming home, we’ve found that everyone’s cell phones are touch screens, that everyone is talking about apps, iPads, and Android tablets, and some game called “Angry Birds”.

Carrie asked my aunt something at Thanksgiving.  A conversation happened, and she told Carrie she would just text it to her.  But Carrie doesn’t have a cell phone set up in the US yet.  It’s assumed that she would have a cell phone with a texting plan.  Further, everyone texting just touches their screens to type the message.

When we left America over 2 years ago, it was not this way.

Two years ago, people asked us for help for how to use their cell phones, because they didn’t know how to use them.

Two years ago, my tablet PC was a bit of a novelty.

It’s not that I feel slighted or like I need to have the latest and greatest devices.

It’s just that I am absolutely amazed at how rapidly touch screen technology has become the daily life of the vast majority of the people with whom we have spent time since returning to the US. 

I am also reminded (although it was this way when we left) at how ubiquitously accepted and expected it is that you will be carrying around an electronic appendage all the time (otherwise known as a cell phone).

I grew up in a beautiful place in a beautiful state.

I’ve known this since I was little, and it’s been nice to have so many reminders since coming back home.

It’s also amazing to return home with new photographic skills and a new interest in photography. 

It gives me a different eye for appreciating all I’m seeing around me.

Here are some photographic impressions of what I’ve been seeing since returning to Colorado.

Owl

Deer

Rabbit

Coyote (hiding behind a tree)

Squirrel
(Coming soon)

Sunrise
(Coming Soon)

Sunset

Eclipse (on a super-clear early morning)
(Coming Soon)

Snow-capped Mountains

My cousin Dustyn passed on from this life 6 days ago.

He was 33.

He died of a heart aneurysm, in his sleep.

I hadn’t made the time to spend much time with him in the past few years.

But when we were little kids, our parents made sure we got to spend some good times together.

One memory I have most vivid of Dustyn includes an evening when my brothers and I, and Dustyn and our cousin Landon, were all at my Oma’s apartment, while our parents went to see Phantom of the Opera at the Denver Center For The Performing Arts..

5 growing boys stayed with Grandma for 1 evening.

We not only ate the meal she prepared, but also everything else she had in her house.

Everything.

The TV dinners in the fridge, the crackers in the pantry, everything right down to the last piece of bread slathered with peanut butter and jelly.

Dustyn had a great sense of humor and a great work ethic.

I’m sorry that I didn’t make the time to spend more time with him and get to know him better as an adult.

Rest In Peace Dustyn. You will be missed.

——————————-

From The Grand Junction Sentinel on November 24, 2011:

Birth:  Aug. 27, 1978
Grand Junction
Mesa County
Colorado, USA

Death:  Nov. 21, 2011

Dustyn Kraft was born in Grand Junction on August 27, 1978 and passed away November 21, 2011 of natural causes.

Dustyn is sadly missed by all who knew him. He was the most remarkable father, a son who would make anyone proud, a best friend to his brother, a loving husband, and a friend many counted on in good times and bad.

Dustyn and Shayla Cox were married on June 26, 2011 and welcomed their beautiful daughter, Kaylee on January 11, 2006. Shayla and Kaylee survive Dustyn. Dustyn is also survived by his brother, Landon Kraft; mother, Lorri Wesson; father, Guy Kraft; grandmother, Shirley Wesson; grandfather, Gene Kraft; numerous nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and his beloved dog Rugby.

He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Charles Wesson and grandmother, Hilda Smith.

Dustyn lived in the Grand Junction area his entire life. He graduated from Fruita Monument High School and attended Mesa State College. His chosen work was as a General Contractor and he founded and owned Kraftsman Construction.

Dustyn loved to fish, hunt, golf, and camp. After a brief period as a Raider fan he became a dedicated Denver Bronco fan.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Western Rockies Federal Credit Union in C/O Kaylee Kraft.

At some point about 120 years ago, there was a man with two sons.
(Yes, there were many…)

One of those sons stayed in Germany near a town called Bad Zwischenahn.

The other son came to America.

The son who came to America was Carrie’s great-great-great-grandfather.

The families stayed in touch over the past 100+ years, and today, Carrie and I are about the same ages as Joern and Sabine.

Joern is Carrie’s 16th cousin-twice-removed (or something like that).

Joern and Sabine now run the family Baumschule in Northern Germany.

Baumschule = Nursery (for plants)

Baum = Tree
Schule = School

I like the idea that the word for nursery (in German) is the place where trees go to school. I think that’s fun.

But I digress…

We came to Bad Zwischenahn while on our honeymoon 4 years ago.

While driving from the Baumschule in Bad Zwischenahn to the cemetery in Twistringen where my Great-Great grandparents are buried (about 1 1/2 hour drive away), we realized that it’s quite likely that hundreds or maybe thousands of years ago, Carrie’s ancestors and my German ancestors were trading partners, or maybe warring tribes.

Returning to this part of the world is returning to our roots – which (coincidentally or not) are not that far away from each other.

We stayed with Elsbeth in her beautiful new home. It didn’t exist when we were here 4 years ago, but it’s beautiful, and is the first home we’ve stayed in which uses a geothermal coil for heating and cooling the house. Really neat to see how that works.

Her house was built on the land at the Baumschule (which is on about 75 acres).

We had a wonderful time enjoying the good company of Elsbeth and Haarold, Joern and Sabine, and their son Kevin. We even got to play Monopoly City (a whole new way to play Monopoly) with Kevin.

The high speed Internet allowed us to get a lot done, and the peaceful quiet all around us gave a place to rejuvenate.

I really like that returning to Carrie’s roots can happen in nearly the same place where I return to my roots too.

Carrie’s Mom responded with these notes:

1) Christian Bernard Oltjenbruns–born in Edewecht, Jeddeloh Germany 27 Feb 1843-died 02 August 1926 Osmond or (Plainview? ) Nebraska buried in Plainview
2) Son- Gerhard Hinrich Oltjenbruns –born in Edewecht, Jeddeloh Germany -18 December 1867- died 08 January 1926 – Amherst Colorado ( buried in Plainview Nebraska )
3) Son- Harry Frank Oltjenbruns – born 12-May 1894 York, Nebraska- died 26 April 1988 in Sterling, Colorado ( buried in Amherst, Colorado )
4) Son – Elton Gerald Oltjenbruns – Born 23 August 1920- Holyoke, Colorado=
5) daughter- Susan Eileen Oltjenbruns- born 19 January 1949 Holyoke, Colorado=
6) daughter Carrie Lynn Roll – born Holyoke, Colorado 13 June 1981=

Happy Mother’s Day Mom! I’m sorry not to be there to celebrate with you. So, I wrote this for you instead.

Top 10 things I learned from my mom

1. Drive
I mean this literally and figuratively. You taught me how to drive when I was…young, really young. I’ll always remember the first time I drove alone and the sheriff followed me home. I was 13.

You have a huge sense of drive in all that you do. You set your mind to something and doesn’t stop until you have it.

2. Reading
Every night when growing up, you would read to Jamie and me. You told us that you read to us to put us to sleep, but I know better. You read to put yourself to sleep. And you know, I do that now too.

3. Taste
From blue cheese to olives to sauerkraut, some of your favorites are some of mine too.

4. Strength
You taught me what being strong is all about. You are the definition of a strong, independent woman, and you taught that by example.

5. Hard work
No one I know works harder than you. You are always doing something, and never idle.

6. Character
It’s your character that is most important. Not your looks, not your clothes, but how you treat others when they aren’t looking.

7. Independence
You want me to be independent and experience the things I want to experience. You always encouraged me to go out and do what I wanted to do, even if it was / is against the “normal” flow.

8. Grammar
My obsession with English grammar probably started with you. I remember you correcting my dangling participle before I even knew what that meant.

And you still correct our blog posts. Thank you!

9. Faith
Faith in God, other people, and ourselves.

10. Fearlessness
You have this. I’m still learning it, and I look to you as an example.

Be A Good Listener
Listening is a skill. It’s something you can practice and get good at.
I learned a lot of my listening skills from my mom, who was always willing to listen to whatever I had to say, no matter how trivial or insignificant some of the topics must have seemed.

Dusting
During the school year, we had a cleaning service that would come to clean the house 1 time every two weeks. We did all the other cleaning in-between “deep” cleanings.
However, during the summer, in order to earn money for school clothes, my brothers and I became the cleaning service. Mom held the money she would have spent on professional house cleaning to pay us instead. Each of us got a job. Adam got bathrooms, Brian got floors (all of the vacuuming and mopping), and I got dusting.
I’m sure it was difficult at first for Mom to have to go back through and teach us about all the things we missed or needed to clean.
I DREADED that after I got done dusting, Mom would find something I had missed, because I didn’t want to be corrected, and because I didn’t want to disappoint Mom.
But because she took the time to point out the things I had missed, I learned to be thorough and to pay attention to details.

Always Be Everywhere All the Time
I don’t know how, but one or both of my parents was always at every soccer game, football game, lacrosse game, baseball game, awards banquet, OM Competition, theatrical performance, choir concert, etc. Knowing they were there watching, encouraging and loving, made all the difference in my life.
Thank-you Mom for always being there.

Laundry
Sometime around the time I turned 13, Mom decided it was time for me to do my own laundry. Where I might have initially had some fear about messing up my clothes (mixing reds with whites, etc.), Mom showed me how to separate my clothes, how much detergent to use, and whether to choose hot or cold water.
This skill was not difficult, but it was much better to learn how to do my own laundry at 13 rather than waiting until going to college.
I witnessed my roommates doing their laundry for the first time when they were 19. It was not pretty.
From doing my own laundry, I learned to take responsibility and to take care of my own things.

Plant A Seed
31 years ago, When my parents bought the property where they live now, there was one tree on the property.
Today, there are thousands of trees, and every year Mom plants new flowers.
There are plum trees, apple trees, and some years there are even a couple of pears.
Almost every year, we would also plant a vegetable garden.
Growing up, using produce from the backyard, we made choke cherry jelly, plum jam, zucchini bread (from giant zucchini), and ate snap peas direct from the garden.
I HATED weeding the gardens (flower and vegetable), and probably complained profusely about having to do it.
But I learned that if you put something in the ground and care for it through watering and removing the weeds, that the harvest which comes back to you is often greater than the work you’ve put in to get the harvest.

Be Enthusiastic
I remember when my mom got her first new car. I was 24. It’s the strongest example of my mom’s enthusiasm that I can think of.
Carrie and I were at my parent’s house watching a movie with my sister Deanna. Mom came into the house almost jumping with excitement and exclaiming “Well??? “ … “Well!!!”
“Aren’t you going to come and see!!!”
We had no idea what we were going to see. But her enthusiasm moved us to stop what we were doing to go and see.
Mom’s enthusiasm moved us to action. Mom’s enthusiasm has moved me to action a lot throughout my life.

Practice, Practice, Practice
To my 6-13 year old brain, learning piano was too hard.
Of course it wasn’t. I just needed to spend more time with it. The more time you spend working to perfect a skill, the better you will get at it.
Over 7 years, my mom must have cajoled me to practice piano thousands of times.
Eventually I stopped playing piano, but because of practicing piano, I learned to read notes (very helpful for all the singing I did in high school and college), hear music for it’s various parts and rhythms, and I also learned persistence.
It is this persistence that helped me learn the skills I needed, in order to build an Internet Marketing business.
At some point soon, I will pick up piano again, and because of the experience I had growing up, I will know that in order to get good at something, what I need to do is practice, practice, practice.

Be a Little Thinker
I used to have these tapes that I would play in my Fisher-Price battery-powered hand-held cassette player. (My older brother later dissected the still-working player for scrap electronics. I cried. But I digress…)
The tapes were called “Little Thinker” tapes, and they would take the listener on an adventure through a jungle or into space or under the ocean. Halfway through the cassette there would be this sound that would let you know it was time to turn off the tape and draw what you saw.
I loved being a little thinker. Mom encouraged me to think and dream, and to use my brain to dream of possibilities.

Frosties, Ice-Cream Cones, and Licorice
On long car trips, Dad knew how to keep three boys quiet if Mom was sleeping.
At even the slightest hint of raised voices, a large hand would mysteriously come from the front seat, grab whatever limb it could get hold of, and squeeze hard enough to say “I mean business.”
Mom didn’t have that mysterious hand.
But at some point, mom decided to use licorice as a bribe. For every 15 minutes we could be quiet on a car trip (so Dad could sleep), we would each get 2 pieces of red licorice.
It worked like a charm.
Also, some of my favorite time with my Mom comes from the summer before we went to Rome with the John Paul 2 Youth Chorale (Summer 1993).
On the way home from rehearsals, sometimes we would stop by Wendy’s or McDonald’s and get an ice cream cone or a frosty.
Every once in a while, a sweet treat is just the thing to ease tension, or create a nice memory, or to make the rest of the world melt away.

Family Is Always First
No matter what Mom was doing, no matter where we were, if family had something fun going on, or family was in trouble or needed help, Mom was there. Always, and without exception.

Thank-you for always being there for me Mom.

Happy Mother’s Day!

My brother Adam has really been making some incredible videos over the past few years.

Adam, with another friend of ours named Patrick Shaw, just launched the first in a series of three full-length videos.

You can access them at Bridge The Gap

These videos will ultimately promote a system for accomplishing everything you want in life.

But for a short time, they’re freely available online.

The system is one that Carrie and I first learned from Mr. Shaw over 6 years ago.

In the past 4 years, we’ve
- Traveled to 6 continents
- Lived on 5 continents
- Built a successful business
- Deepened our relationship with eachother… and
- Maintained great personal and business relationships around the world.

Our massive sinkhole of debt now looks like a gopher hole…

(The gopher has moved out, and we’re happily planting seeds for fruit trees.)

In short, this system works.

You CAN get everything you want from your life.

It takes time and effort, but less time than you might imagine.

5 years passes quickly.

As a result, I’m giving these videos and this system my highest recommendation.

If there’s a “secret” to how we do what we do, this system is a big part of it.

Open disclosure: Patrick’s a friend, and a valuable mentor.

Even if you decide not to get the system they are ultimately going to talk to you about, make sure you watch the free videos while they are available.

(They will be taken down at some point in the not too distant future.)

The production quality on the videos is Hollywood quality, and you’ll learn a lot about what it takes to get the life you want to live.

Bridge The Gap

Here are some of the family’s collected memories of the man they knew as their dad and grandpa.

J.T. Rooney (Cousin)
After Grandpa Gordon passed away [...] the family gathered to talk about his life.

I learned more that night about him than I ever had before, and the new information has allowed me to look back on previous memories more fondly.

Finding out he played string bass was amazing and led me to play bass later on, which in turn affected all of my musical choices and experiences afterwards.

Abby Kelleher (Cousin)
My favorite memory of Grandpa Gordon is playing “slap hands” while waiting for a table at a restaurant on my 5th or 6th birthday.

He always told me that you could learn everything you needed to know about someone by looking them straight in the eyes.

Adam Kraft (My brother – One of the Cousins)
My favorite memory of Grandpa Gordon is playing chess with him. Grandpa is who taught me to play chess. I’m pretty sure he let me win sometimes…but not all the time…

Dana (Nuttall) Kelleher
My dad always was very wise in many ways. I have used this quote many times with my own children, “You choose your friends, don’t let your friends choose you.”

My favorite memories of my dad are when we would go dancing. As a child, I remember standing on top of his feet to learn steps, as an adult we went out dancing for the pure pleasure of dancing.

Gail (Nuttall) Sindelar
Grandpa Gordon loved Christmas.  It was always so much fun to put up the tree — and hope it stayed up.  The year we got Hilda she barked all night long.  Mom and Dad had put her in a big box right next to the tree.  We all knew what was the big present that year — even without getting out of our rooms and snooping.  The year Gordy got his train set, we all got sent to bed earlier than usual for Christmas Eve.  Dad (and his brothers) were so tired Christmas Day, but they played with the train set all day!

Another great memory of Dad was when he invited the “Fogcutters” to dinner.  Lisa and I were in the band’s “Fan Club”.  I think Lisa was an officer! 

Dad said he invented a drink called the Fogcutter:  pineapple juice, orange juice, and vodka.  We were in junior high school.

Lisa (Nuttall) Kraft
I have lots of wonderful memories with my Dad, but being the oldest of six, I truly relished the moments we had together, just the two of us.

I’d stumble all over myself trying to keep up with him on the dance-floor or to play the organ while he banged around on his bass.

I’d rush out the door when I’d hear him coming home just so I could have a couple seconds with him before everybody else would crowd around.

I’d feel so guilty when I’d disappoint him by doing something wrong and sometimes I’d do something wrong just so I could get his undivided attention.

He was a man that got everyone’s attention through his amazing smile, his visions for a fancy remodel or brand new home, his gift of conversation, his genuine interest in everyone around him, and his amazing talent for everything he tried to do.

Dad lived life to the fullest and in the end left a legacy through the family that he and Mom created which lives on in being teachers and musicians and entrepeneurs.

The Nuttall tradition lives on!