The Steamboat Arabia and a lovely visit with Grampa John & Gramma Sherry

this pane of glass was perfectly preserved in the sunken treasure of the Arabia.

beads, buttons and other wonderful treasures were preserved also.

This isn't actually in Kansas...it's in Kansas City, MO, which is pretty darn close to Kansas. ha ha. anyways, we visited here the Saturday that we were in Emporia...it was quite extraordinary...

This was the only casualty from the sinking....a mule named Lawrence.

get it?

I'd like to get into details here about the story surrounding the Arabia but I'll let you Google it...

this was the day that Mel and Levi stayed back in Emporia with Grampa John & Gramma Sherry.

David and tiny Gramma Sherry...she is one awesome woman!

I dunno...do you see a family resemblance? Grampa John is David's Mom's older brother.

We were so blessed to spend 4 nights with these amazing folks....such hospitality, patience, and love! We love you guys!

Sherry is my buddy!!

Grampa John was so nice to Levi and Molly. They liked hanging out with him, cooking on the grill, and feeding the 1/2 wolf dog, Major...

This is Bryan...He is one cool cat too. He is John and Sherry's son. He is currently battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy...Get well, Bryan. We are praying for you! He is boatloads of fun...and we introduced him to the joy that is Starbucks.

Emporia, KS is where the first Veteran's Day was held so every year on Nov 11, there are big festivities. In fact, the week leading up to it is action-packed! This is at the park commemorating this fact.

Grampa John with Major...one blue eye, one brown...Molly loved this dog. from a distance.

Making pumpkin cupcakes with Gram Sherry...Our favorite Sherry line, that we like to use now..."How would that be??" We LOVE you, lady. You are a GEM!

Gramma Sherry hung out with sleepy Molly so we could check out the bridge.

Levi, doing his best jazz hands impression....

Our time in Kansas was so very memorable. Although I've known Grampa John & Gramma Sherry (formerly known as Uncle John & Aunt Sherry) for many, many years, this was our first time to really spend time with them, getting to know them and love them more than we could have imagined.

Although our kids have two awesome sets of grandparents, we figured one more set couldn't be a bad thing!! :) so we adopted them.

Thank you for the time you spent, the room you gave up, the water you let me use to do laundry, the food we ate...oh boy did we eat....and the love that you gave so freely! We look forward to many more visits with these loved ones!!