July 1, 2012

I haven't updated my blog for over a month so I thought it would be good to fill in the missing pieces of July before they vanish from my mind for good. On Sunday Sharon and I went on a 12 mile bike ride that took us along the hiker/biker path. The Seward Library set up a "story walk" that could be read along the path. Very neat idea. The rest of the day was spent swimming and getting ready for the big bash on the fourth.

July 2, 2012

This evening was Annie's last day working at Cafe on The Square. She had worked there for 7 years, since she was 14!  Sharon and I met Jason and his friend there to eat our last meal that would be served by the best server the cafe has ever had - Annie! In the evening I built a set of Chinese horseshoes for the gang to play with on the 4th.

July 3, 2012

I had the day off and spent it finishing the horseshoe game and also making final preparations for the 4th celebration.  We picked up a cheap pop-up canopy to provide extra shade in the backyard. I made salsa, boiled potatoes for potato salad and formed all the burgers.

!!!!JULY 4TH 2012!!!!

This year was a very fun, typical fourth of July at the Kamprath house with one exception that Sharon wasn't feeling well and spent most of the day on the couch :(
Hannah, Derek, Annie and I went down and watched the anvil firing at 7:30.  Around 10:00 Sharon and i rode our bikes downtown and walked through the car show, antique booths and of course I had to get my gyro in food alley.  Ben and his friends showed up around noon and by 3:00 all the other kids' friends were there having fun in the backyard. Sharon felt good enough to spend a little time in the pool in the afternoon which was nice and also was able to ride with me to the park to see the fireworks. After the fireworks display all the kids lit off their fireworks in the street until after midnight. Another fun fourth of July in Seward!

 

 

 

July 5-7, 2012

The past few days were spent cleaning up from the 4th, swimming and going for a bike ride on the Oak Creek trail from Loma to Valporaiso. On the 7th we went with Annie & Jason to tour the Champions Club, where their wedding reception will be - fun fun! After visiting the club we then went to The Oven and enjoyed a nice Indian lunch.

 

 

 

July 15, 2012

My sister Susan & her husband Larry and I went to attend my Uncle Earl's 92nd birthday party in Dennison, IA.  Earl is slowing down and didn't quite remember us but still appreciated everyone who came to the party.  We got to see my cousins Dennis, Betty and Steven.  While there we went out to see the old Schmidt family farm near Schlesweig, IA. Quite a few of the buildings are gone but the family still owns just under 300 acres there. I hadn't been to the farm since 1973. It was a good time spent with my family.

 

 

 

LWS Field Day

The company hosted a product seminar, field demo and 18 hole scramble on one of the hottest days of the year, July 24, it was 105 degrees by tee time. The event was held at the Mahoney State Park with the golf scramble played at Quarry Oaks.  About 40 people attended the field demo from cities in Canada, North Dakota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas Iowa and Colorado. We had 28 golfers participate in the scramble and a good time was had by all.  The next day Sharon and I drove back out to pick up some things that were left behind so we went to the tower and took in the views of the dwindling Platte river.

Loser

On Saturday, July 28 I packed up all my clothes that don't fit anymore. So far I have lost 42 pounds and hope to make it to 45!  May I never fit into these again!

Trip to Atlanta - June 2-7, 2012

I left for the Omaha Airport at 4:30 am on Saturday morning for my non-stop flight to Atlanta to attend the 2012 WindPower show. Fortunately the flight was on time and thanks to a hefty tail wind, the 2hr 15min flight was reduced to 1hr 35min so I arrived in Atlanta before 11:00. Once I checked in to the Omni Hotel, I went to the convention center to set up my booth. When I arrived at my booth there was no carpet and several large crates that didn't belong in my booth. After a couple hour delay I was able to set up my booth by around 4:00.  Dinner that evening was at Max's Coal Fired Pizzaria - gooood stuff!  I was able to get my run in around Olympic Park across the street from the hotel. Four laps around the park was just over 3 miles. On Sunday I found out my boss, Doug, was not going to be able to join me due to some illness in his family so I handled most of the show alone.  Sunday night I ate dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse with the guys from PWP.  Monday evening I met my friend Ray and his associate Paul from LES and we ate at Legal Seafoods - very good fresh fish and seafood.  Tuesday evening I ate with Tim & John with PowerSales at STATS, a huge sports bar near the hotel. Very good barbecue there. My last night in Atlanta was spent dining alone back at Ruth's Chris where I had a salad and a plate of petit filets topped with grilled cajun shrimp. YUM.  After a slightly delayed flight out of Atlanta on Thursday, I finally ended up back home to Sharon around 1:30 - it was soooo nice to be back home after six days on the road.

Memorial Day Weekend 2012

The weekend was great weather for all the local memorial day festivities.  Sharon and I went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning and had a wonderful time as usual.  On Sunday morning we went for a long bike ride and rode through the cemeteries in town - it is always inspirational to see all the flags flying in honor of the heroic citizens who have served in our armed forces.  On Memorial day we went on another long bike ride then drove to Garland to see Sharon's family plots (the Kettenburg graves). We then jumped back on our bikes and rode to the Seward Cemetery to attend the memorial service.  The Firehouse Five band played with one of the VFW commanders giving the address and Mel Bolte playing taps at the end. It was a good service.  Ben and his friend Kevin came out in the afternoon to swim.  My Aunt Ruby  and cousin Joleen from Colorado stopped by for supper on their way back from Iowa.  We all ate burgers and beans - yum! Hannah returned from her 3 weekk trip to Germany on Memorial day so she, Annie and Derek stopped by on Tuesday since I had the day off. Hannah and Annie modeled some of the new shirts I have designed, the "Nebraska Black Skirts" which are for female Husker fans.

May 2012

Historic Weigh-In  May 3, 2012

After four months of exercise and diet adjustments, I finally saw less than 200lbs on the scale!!  First time in 7 years!!  Nine more pounds to achieve my goal of losing 45lbs.  Good news is that Dr. Ketner cut my blood pressure meds by half and says I may be able to go off of them after I hit 190!

Mother's Day  May 13, 2012

Sharon got to choose what we did on Mother's day and she chose to have a simple, quiet, relaxing day doing whatever we wanted.  The day started with a 10 mile bike ride that ended riding out to the country club.  Seeing the green grass and beautiful morning, she then decided that we should golf!  My league partner Cory was kind enough to let us borrow his cart and we pretty much had the course to ourselves.  After golf we set the patio table with an alfresco lunch comprised of all the wonderful things we had purchased at the farmer's market the day before. Fresh baguettes, goat cheese spread, radishes, salsa & chips!  Later in the afternoon Ben joined us for steaks and grilled artichokes. It was a great day.

Orlando  May 8-10, 2012

I attended the IEEE show in Orlando again this year.  It is the biggest trade show for the electric utility industry with over 800 exhibitors and 12,000 plus attendees.  Had fun golfing on Monday with some business associates from Canada, Luke and Stephan.  The show was a success and I took one of our young engineers, Brian, out to dinner at Emeril's on the City Walk at Universal.  I had his awesome gumbo and then his over the top pan-seared scallops. Yum yum.

Wedding Anniversary in Omaha - On the Job 

A last minute marketing opportunity required my participation in Omaha over our 28th Wedding anniversary weekend.  Fortunately I was able to take Sharon with me or I really would have been mad. We were able to stay at the Omaha Hilton so that was nice.  We had dinner at the 801 Chophouse on our anniversary with one of the founders of our company, Bob, and he was kind enough to buy :).  Sunday I golfed in a fundraising tournament at Quarry Oaks golf course which is nestled among the hills and banks of the Platte river - very beautiful.  Our foursome won!  Monday Sharon and I were able to spend some time walking around the Old Market area where we saw the Pioneer sculptures.  Incredible artistry and very moving experience. After that we went for a 10 mile bike ride over into Iowa along and over the Missouri river.  It was very enjoyable. On our way home we stopped by Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma and bought some cool stuff.