Bartlett Arboretum Bluegrass Concert With The Claire Lynch Band

Sunday afternoon my husband took me and my very good friend Toni, to a close-by small town called Belle Plaine.  It is the home of the 100 yr. old Bartlett Arboretum.  I had wanted to go to the Tulip Time awhile back, but it was raining a lot during that time, so we couldn't go.  I was so disappointed, but I thought I could go next year, and I stopped thinking about it.  That is, until a local news lady, Sierra Scott, did a facebook post about the Arboretum, and she told of a wonderful fund-raising party she had just attended.  She posted many beautiful pictures and it whet my appetite!

Well, since that sparked my interest once again I went to the website and found out that the Arboretum was only open for special events, like the annual Tulip Time, school visits, weddings, receptions and concerts etc.  I was surprised to see that a bluegrass concert with "The Claire Lynch Band" was scheduled for Sunday, and so I asked the hubby if we could go, and he said yes!!!!  We invited my good friend Toni to go along with us too...and we all three enjoyed it sooo much.

Toni and I had gone to the Arboretum way back in the early 80's, and I hadn't been back since then.  Toni has since moved to Arizona, but with her being a native Kansas girl, I knew she would enjoy seeing it again since its improvements.  It was in the Bartlett family for many years, but they sold it in the 90's to Robin Macy (former Dixie Chick), who has been it's "steward" ever since.  She has been restoring it over the years with the help of a grant, donations and many volunteers.  It is such a worthwhile project.  There is a link at the bottom of this post that tells the story.  I think you will enjoy hearing a bit of the history. 


The grounds had so many huge trees, a lake, with a lovely bridge, a sweet gazebo, a tree swing, and many paths to follow, which were lined with pretty flowers and plants.  When we first arrived there was a young band welcoming us to the park, and we listened to them as we strolled along the path.

They let you bring lawn chairs, and blankets, and picnic coolers, so you can relax on the lawn and grassy areas by the stage.

 

It was pretty warm when we arrived, so we found a spot in the shade.  It was fun to sit there and gaze up at the tall trees as they swayed in the breeze, and that breeze cooled us down and made it really nice.

My husband had his straw hat to keep cool!  And in the picture below, you can see that several others donned their straw hats too!

Before the concert we strolled around some of the 15 acres to explore.  They had food venders, so there was a wonderful BBQ smell wafting in the air as we walked around.  We brought a little snack and some water, so we didn't buy any food...but it sure smelled good!

They have moved an old Depot onto the property and they will have art classes and displays inside of it.  I love old depots.  In near-by Mulvane they have turned their old depot into a museum, and I like to go inside and day dream of days of old when people traveled by train.  I could almost picture Anne (with an "e") sitting outside this one waiting on Matthew Cuthbert to pick her up and take her to Green Gables to meet Marilla.

We liked this sign!  I used to sing that to my grand-babies when they were little! "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray, you'll never know dear how much I love you...please don't take my sunshine away!"

I liked these birdhouses, and the flowers in that area.  It was just a lovely place!

The Claire Lynch Band was really good!  I like bluegrass, but don't really listen to it very much.  But after hearing this band I am wanting some of their cd's.  "Dear Sister" is their newest album title.

 

 Claire Lynch Site

And here's a link to the Arboretum with a video about it's history, that I found very interesting!

Link

Have a nice week ahead!  Oh, and if you are local, they are having a concert on Father's Day.  Tickets are 10.00 each at the gate!

A Month Since I Have Posted!!!

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Oh my...I don't really know why, but I haven't done a post on my blog for a month now!  I think this is the longest I have ever gone.  I seem to keep up with Facebook...but just haven't taken the time for blogging.  Do any of you ever go that long?

Our middle daughter Lynnette and her family moved three hours away, and we have gone up there twice to visit them.  And they were just here with us for a quick visit too.  :)

They have three children who have gone on to live with Jesus...so they made a visit to the local cemetery over the Memorial weekend.  And while they were here, we did family birthday celebrations that we had gotten behind on.

We did several from as far back as March, and through the first part of June.  So that was fun!  When we all get together we have lots of fun.

These two,...Brad and Lisa had birthdays...  They will celebrate 25 years of marriage this summer!

And so did Cecily!  She turned 17 in April!

And Abigail's is coming up in June on the 4th, so we did hers too.  This picture isn't really too current, and she is turning 20!!!!

We had a couple that didn't join us...but that happens sometime.

We had a good meal... and  then some delicious cakes that Lisa made...she also brought her homemade Bread and Butter Pickles!  YUMO!

One of the grandaughters...Julia... just graduated from the 8th grade...she's the one with the hat on, and Adelynn is her little sister, who will be going into the 8th grade in the fall.  Adelynn is playing softball again this year.  She enjoys it.  The grandkids are all growing up so quickly!  Julia made cheerleader for the 9th grade and she will soon be going off to cheer camp.

My little brother Dan just turned 60 this May.  We get to see him a week from today.  He doesn't let me take many pictures of him, so this one is nearly 5 years old.

Our oldest granddaughter, Bailey.... has just passed the one year mark of working at Kohl's.  She loves her job, and it's just down the street, so it is really an easy drive to work!  She does a good job, and is so warm and friendly to her customers as she checks them out at the register.  I am proud of her  :) 

Caleb is in the yellow, and his older brother Will is in the purple.  This is a few years back when we took them to Branson with us.  Grandma needs to take some current pictures!  Caleb works at Sonic as a cook, and since he had to work he didn't make it to the party.  Will has been out applying for jobs too and had an interview last week.  Grandma will be praying for just the right one to work out for him.  Grandma sure loves these boys  :)

This family from Arizona is here visiting right now.   Meet...Jason and Julie and their son Ethan!  We love them like family!  :)  Julie's mom, Toni is here too, and she is my very good friend.  (I don't have a picture handy of Toni Kay...but take my word for it...she is my VERY SPECIAL GIRLFRIEND!)  In fact she was the first friend I made when we moved to Kansas 34 years ago!

Oh, I found this picture of Julia when she cheered when she was in 7th grade.  She loves being a cheerleader!

Our youngest daughter Lonna got a new job!  She's a medical coding and billing specialist and supervisor.  We are proud of her and she will always be our baby girl!

But our grandson Harrison is really the baby in the family!  He will turn six in a couple of months.  Isn't he a cutie?  :)

I think I mentioned all of the grandkids except for Jonas and Silas...they are the two guys standing next to my husband John.  Both have had haircuts since this picture!  This picture was from last year.  They have grown a lot since then.

This last month I have been having allergy issues and doing a lot of sneezing and blowing my itchy nose like the girl in this picture!  And allergy headaches too, which have triggered some migraines.  Yikes!  But hopefully things will get better for me as it warms up this summer and the pollens die down a bit.  Today the wind is blowing like crazy!

Well that's some of what I have been up to since I have been absent from the blog world for a month.  What have all of you been doing?