Kneed Repair……(martha)

At the beginning of November, I hurt my knee. On Monday, December 20th,
I went in for a tune-up (surgery to repair the torn meniscus).



Now we're headed to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Friday, December 24th, to celebrate Christmas with our families. We'll be talking to you in 2011.

Happy New Year!

Snow........Hmm, what is that? (martha)

Paris is getting snow! Today, the Minneapolis Star/Tribune (newspaper )weather headline is this: "1" Snow/Ice Today (3-6" possible Saturday). Subzero Sunday?"

How about Tucson? NOPE. Come on down and escape the winter. Can you take 78 degrees? Our forecast for the weekend is 80! (she laughs) We don't miss it...at all. Like Jeff says, "We don't have to shovel sunshine."

NEW great-nephew is born!!....(martha)

A Thanksgiving baby...and as Jeff says, "He's fresh out of the box!"

Nolan Jon Lantz was born today, November 25, 2010 at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. Parents, Jon and Amy (Papenfuss) Lantz.

Proud grandparents (on Jeff's side of the family,) Gary and Lynne (Kraus) Papenfuss. Congratulations on the newest twig to the family tree.

The baptism of Annabelle Jane Wright...(martha)

On Sunday, October 17, Annabelle Jane Wright was baptized at All Saints Church in Durham, NC. We were privileged to participate in that special service. These are some of the photos from that happy weekend.

Julie Plaxico Wright with Annabelle before the service began.
Julie Plaxico Wright, Annabelle Jane and Mike Wright before the service started.

We present Annabelle Jane Wright to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
L-R Bob & Nancy Plaxico, Julie Plaxico Wright, Annabelle Jane, Mike, Paula & Rusty Wright

L-R Jeff Kraus, Mike, Julie, & Annabelle Wright, Martha Berg (parents & godparents)

This was a BIG weekend. "Isn't it nap time yet?" wondered Annabelle.

We loved meeting Annabelle. She is adorable and content to snuggle, smile and gaze intently. Her parents are equally terrific.

It's a DRY heat.....(martha)

After 8,053 miles we rolled into the driveway Tuesday night safe and sound...... Or was it?

Jeff immediately cranked down the thermostat (15 degrees) to cool off the house while we unloaded the car. We worked up a sweat toting four suitcases, two storage bins, one set of golf clubs, several book bags and one garment bag from the SUV. Hmm, the house still felt very warm.

Oh, Oh. We discovered that our air-conditioning system was DEAD. Sometime during our journey to the north, it passed away. Just when we thought we were done with workman....





Jesus, Moses and Delbert helped us chill out!

Tuesday night was toasty. Wednesday night was coooooooooooool. Thursday they came back to finish installing everything. The house is done.

Now, where have I heard that before?! (she smiles)

Well, hope springs eternal.

My hero....(martha)

Jeff saved me last night. He killed a scorpion INSIDE the house. Yikes!


"Why are you calling me?" he asked.

"Well," I hurriedly replied, "you have bigger shoes! Besides, I have open-toed sandals. What if I miss (trying to step on him?) He might sting me!"

Naturally Jeff stepped up to the plate (pun intended). He squished it. Then Jeff cleaned up the critter. (He always cleans up his messes.) What a guy!

The surprise for us is that this happened in Texas. We had been expecting our first 'up close and personal encounter' to take place in Arizona. Of course, our hosts had warned us about the nightlife in Texas. Not sure we imagined this.

As I said, Jeff is my hero.

3 out of 3 babies have arrived!.........(martha)

We welcomed with joy another sprout on the family tree!

It is my pleasure to announce the birth of Eli Joseph Stangl born on Wednesday, August 25th at 1:08 pm, 7 lbs. 8 oz.. He is 24 hours old below.

Proud parents are Morgan and Matt Stangl holding Eli Joseph.
Great-uncle Jeff Kraus (are we old or what?!) is holding Eli Joseph. Eli's grandparents are Jeanine (Jeff's sister,) and husband, Al Stangl. They have been our hosts for our Minnesota haj.

The new family is doing well....just short on sleep.

Up Nort!, etc - Jeff

Well, this visit to MN has been a time to get reacquainted with the whole cabin-type experience. Our most recent foray saw us at Rick (brother) and Laurel's (his wife) lake home on Pelican Lake, in the Brainerd Lakes Region, for the weekend. They have a lovely place on a beautiful lake in a quiet setting.

We had great weather, though Martha and I are not big water fans (neither one of us swim very well) so we spent time relaxing in the cabin, reading and chatting. Rick and Laurel did their best to get us in or on the water, but just being near it is fine with us.

Rick and Laurel did a great job preparing meals, from burgers and pasta salad to pancakes and bacon, and "cheesey eggs" with fruit salad, not to mention fixins for turkey sandwiches & chips. And of course Kraus Haus Kookies and peanut butter cookies were a big hit.

On Saturday we made a book run into Cross Lake, Nisswa, and Brainerd searching for our favorite authors. On an earlier trip up nort', in the Rainy Days Book Store in Nisswa, I found a new author: William Kent Krueger. He writes mysteries set in Aurora, MN, near Virginia, MN and "the range." His first book is "Iron Lake" which both Martha and I devoured. Now Martha has finished his second called "Boundary Waters". Check him out!

After the book run, we had dinner at Poncho and Lefty's (Mexican) in Brainerd. Martha and I enjoyed one of our Mexican favorites - chile rellenos. They were pretty good. Later that night we thoroughly enjoyed Chris Olson, an outstanding Elvis impersonator. He gave a free performance at Breezy Point Resort. I hope he comes to Tucson.

But the big event of the weekend was Rick and Laurel teaching us how to play "Settlers of Catan". All I can say is that I am completely hooked. The first game was Friday night after dinner and a quick run to the Chocolate OX for great ice cream, and old style candy like Bonamo Turkish Taffy. Martha won the first game. I knew a rematch was needed. So, after Elvis on Saturday night, we played again. This time Laurel won. OK. I needed one more try, so we played again Sunday afternoon, and in fact I did win. Sorry Rick! But I have it on good intel that Rick never wins at Catan. I see another rematch in Tucson in the near future.

All in all it was a great weekend. Very relaxing for Martha and me. Rick even did all the driving, which was another gift to us.

2 out of 3 Babies are here!.............(martha)

Our great niece (on Jeff's side) was born on June 24, 2010.
Evie Marie Stangl 6 lbs. 7 oz.

Our great nephew (on Martha's side) was born August 9, 2010.

Hawkin Laurens Berg. 5 lbs. 14 oz.


(L-R) Lea, David and Hawkin Berg


Cute, lovable and snuggly!

Up North in Hackensack, MN........(martha)

Jeff and Martha's excellent adventure... in Hackensack, Minnesota.


Highlights included a boat ride around Ten Mile Lake, seeing many, many loons on the lake, fresh baked bread (daily), grilled beer-butt chicken (delicious,) trip to Walker with a stop at Dairy Queen, golf (for Jeff) and a visit with my sister, Linnea at Mann Lake.

Lovely home of Terry and Char Bergstrom on Ten Mile Lake.

Below, Jeff and our hostess, Char Bergstrom.

Leaving Ten Mile Lake.

Below, Mann Lake, Hackensack, MN where the "Berg" cabin is located.
Ahh, visiting with my sister, Linnea, from Pasadena, CA.

Great lunch and Diet AW Root Beer!

When can we go back?

The wedding.....

The wedding of our niece, Amy and Jon Lantz.
The Florian Gardens, Eau Claire, Wisconsin


Our niece, Amy and her new husband, Jon Lantz

My Dad and Lynne

(sister and mother of the bride, Amy)

My Dad and siblings...(L-R) Lisa, Julie, Mary, Dad, me (Jeff,) Jeanine (our hostess for our time in Minnesota,) Rick and Lynne (mother of the bride)

(L-R) Gina, Macie, Natalie and Brian Stangl, my godson and nephew with two of their three girls. Newborn Evie Marie took the night off! Gina looked great (she gave birth to Evie on 6/24)

Jeff and Martha

Good times, great food and lots of laughs

Stops along the way.....

Break time?!

Oh, look, an oasis!

I think we can, I think we can...make it.



Ahhh, this is the life!

On the road again......................(martha)

"All our bags are packed, we're ready to go."

What were we thinking? We forgot to pack the kitchen sink!

Everything else is in the back end of the SUV (Nissan Murano). Two suitcases (each), guitar, golf clubs, boxes, trunk(s) and 1 case of wine. Some of the items are from friends/family. They asked us to bring them back since we're driving and they flew. Whew, we avoided the weight restrictions and we don't have to pay for extra baggage. Yippee.


Yes, we begin our haj to Mecca (the promised land) today. Stay tuned.

We might send updates from the road. First stop Santa Fe, NM.

House beautiful?...........(martha)

Whew, the dust has settled and the floors were mopped.

I am over the moon that I can walk around the house sans clothes (NOT!) because no more workman are here. Guess it is time for a photo shoot?

We then added an Arizona Door (see below) which acts as a screen door.

And.....thanks to our photographer, Jeff.