The Bower's Express

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~ Eric Hendrickson ~ (my husband)

On July 12th, we went back to Olpe for the Olpe Downhome Days.  One event at the Downhome Days is the parade.  This year, as I did a few years ago, I drove the "Bower's Express" in the parade.  The "Bower's Express" is a train built by my grandfather, George Bowers, back when I was in highschool.  My grandpa, George, was a good machinist and carpenter.  This train was custom built around an old wheelhorse mower and is really an impressive design and machine.

As we did a few years ago, the girls rode in the train cars, which you can see are converted 55 gallon barrels, and my grandma, Dorothy, and my wife along with Silas rode in the caboose together.  Silas was in mommy's tummy the last time we had the train out and drove it in the Downhome Days parade (two years ago).

The girls had their water bottles in their train cars with them because it was hot. 

The train rode great this year.  There is a funny story from two years ago.  The train used to have trouble starting.  Not thinking, I turned the motor off when we arrived at the parade and got in line.  Once the parade started and it was our turn to go, the train would not start.  I tried and tried for several minutes to start it.  My grandmother was in the caboose, obviously upset with me.  I knew that if I did not get the train started, my grandma would be extremely embarrassed and would never let me forget it.  I decided to pray and give it full gas knowing it would either flood it or start it.  Finally, it started and we were in the parade line, not near the start where we were supposed to go, but not at the very end either.  God gave me a lesson in patience.

You would never know my grandma is in her 80s.  She stays very active and is in great shape.  The girls love their great grandma.

Maybe in a few years we will let you drive it Sarah.

Maybe in a few years you will be ready to ride by yourself Silas.

Grandpa George passed a few years after I graduated  from high school.  I still remember him driving the train in parades and while driving in parades he would always drive in a big circle in the main intersection of downtown Olpe.  As I did that big circle this year, I thought of my grandpa and how much I miss him.  We miss you Grandpa.  Thank you "Bower's Express" for the great memory of my dearly loved grandpa.

Brothers Don't Shake Hands, Brothers Gotta Hug

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 ~ Eric Hendrickson ~ (my husband)

I grew up in the big town of Olpe, KS. 

 On June14th, my family and I went to the big town of Iola, KS to see my buddy, BJ, marry Natasha. 

Pictured above are the newlyweds with us at the end of the night.  I am very happy for my good friend.  We wish you a wonderful and blessed marriage.  BJ, love you man.

It was great to see a lot of my long time buddies from Olpe.

Cory looking good.  Cory and I have always been super competitive, especially against each other.  I love that about him.  He has been the fantasy football dominator the past few years.  That all ends this year.  And Yes, I could still take him.  Love you man. 

Jeffrey the commish and advisor.  Like me, Jeff can be intense.  Jeff and I like to speak our minds and have deep discussions.  Love you man.

Joe is happy, happy, happy.  Joe is a fun loving, crazy dude that comes up with some of the craziest antics.  Joe was one of the first friends I made when we moved to Olpe and remains one of the best.  Love you man.

As the years pass by, the stories of our past never die and possibly become grander and grander each time they are told. If you didn't already know, Olpe's graduating class of 1996 was the best class both athletically and academically to ever roam the halls of Olpe High School (Yes, Jeff, 1998 is a close second). Now, we look forward to and talk about our kids (future kids) accomplishing more than we ever dreamed we could.

I cherish the memories I have had with these guys and I look forward to future ones and many, many Fantasy Football Championships.  God Bless you guys.

River Fishing

**GUEST BLOGGER**

 ~ Eric Hendrickson ~ (my husband)

Now that it is August, it is about time for me to write about the June fishing trip with my buddy Damian.

In case we didn't catch enough bait fish that day, which we did not, Damian went to Cabela's and bought some goldfish. Good thinkin buddy.  Sarah and Phoebe liked holding them.

(Pictured above) Sarah wrote an adorable letter for us.  Sarah, calls Damian the "Beard Guy". 

We are setting trot/limb lines on the Arkansas river on the land of a pastor friend of mine.  We originally were going to fish the Ninnescah, but that fell through.  We were thankful to get permission on the Arkansas at the last minute.  Thanks Rodney.

You can read in Sarah's letter above she told us to not get into flooding water. We had a lot of rain the days leading up to the trip so the river was rising. We set up at the highest point on this sand bank. The water rose almost 2' overnight and got all the way up to the tent that next morning.  The Lord blessed us because we did not get wet.

Damian is King of the new island.

We ended up catching 5 Channel Cat that averaged 4lbs a piece.  Not a great catch, but we had a great time.  I hope to have another fishing trip this month.  Stay tuned.

Petting The Animals

A few weeks ago while visiting my parents we took a short trip to Holton, Kansas to visit some of our family friends, Gary and Connie.  They own a petting zoo and have many animals.  They welcomed us into their home and gave us the first class, up close and personal, introduction to all of their sweet animals.  We all had such a fun day on their farm.

First up we got to meet some of the larger animals... donkeys, older calves, and adult goats.

Silas was not scared of any of the animals.  He approached all of them easily and pet most of them without hesitation.

Sarah really enjoys frogs and turtles, so she especially liked this tortoise.  It even let the kids pet it on it's head!

This little baby, Brutus, pictured below was only ten days old the day we visited.  What a cutie!

Phoebe and Sarah loved feeding these baby goats, petting them, loving on them, and carrying them around.

Two very active babies were the two pictured below... A donkey and a calf, each about one month old.

These two share a pen and love being together.  The girls liked leading them around by their ropes and chasing after them all around the yard.

Toward the end of our visit it was time for Brutus to eat, so the girls had their first opportunity to help feed a calf.

The tortoise had a nice time while we were there too.  She got to eat lots of grass and get several pets on the head and shell.

Thank you Gary and Connie for letting us come to visit you and for sharing your animals and your day with us!

If you are interested in finding our more about G and C Petting Zoo and where you might be able to meet Gary and Connie and their animals you can find them and more information about them on facebook.

   Click HERE for G and C PETTING ZOO.