Oh, the places we shall go-

Hello family:

For once, the Givan’s have actually gone places..

In September, I went to the State Fair.  Hey, it was somewhere.  It was a great 10 days spent with many people.  Jeni, best friend since Junior High, came for the 1^st weekend.  She really got into it and think it was good she left when she did as she was starting to be lured in by many products.  I introduced Theresa to more of the fair and think she could become a convert (Sorry, Chris).  My themed Christmas tree won third prize.  When I went to pick it up, the workers were apologizing that I didn’t get any prize money.  I assured them I was fine as long as I got my ribbon. 

My Sunflower Benny Tree.

K-State Booth with Jeni.

At the end of September, Kate and I flew to Chicago to visit her friend and see Dr. Beth (her therapist) present at the National Eating Disorder Conference.  Gus did great with all the public transportation.  Thanks to Andrew for all the help with planning the subway and etc.  We enjoyed a nice dinner with Andrew and Katie and in fact our hotel was within blocks of Katie’s work.   I, however, did not enjoy driving in Chicago.  The not knowing where I was or going kind of freaked me out. 

In October, Tim, Theresa and I went to the Buddy Walk in Wichita.  We really enjoyed it and it was a beautiful day.  Since it wasn’t miles and miles long, I didn’t have to do a lot of prep work to be able to make it.

Walking for Emmie Roo's Crew

We returned to Wichita a week later for Family Pictures.  It was a windy day, but with the help of a talented photographer we ended up looking pretty good.  Here’s a sample.   There’s 104 total so if  you’d like to see more, just let me know.

Bartlett, our van, made a trip to Missouri for a wedding with Chris and Theresa. The following weekend Bartlett headed to Colorado with Kate and Tyson for a dog show.  Coming up is Tim’s trip to Colorado to visit his mom. 

I think we are now back to our stay at home ways.  Looking forward to seeing many of you over the holidays.

Fall Fun Activities

The house is nearly complete now with the latest addition being a refinished front door.  The windows are on their way but wanted to share the door with you as it really looks nice if you remember the way it was!  Work is busy for both Randy and I.  I am still hanging in there at Faris although a lot has changed and I'm not too sure how I feel some days about it.  Oh, well, time is short so it will be alright.  Randy is traveling again.  We enjoyed him being home for several weeks and got the house back in a livable order but now have the hard parts to go as well as the time consuming parts of sorting.  Oh, my!  We have also been enjoying the grandchildren this fall in some fun ways.  Below is a picture journey of these activities.

Refinished front door.  Windows to come.

9-18-16 Aurora, Grandma, Grandpa at the park.

9-19-16 Grandpa carrying Aurora.

9-4-16 Helping Great-Grandma blow out her candle.

Emily , Grandpa, and Oliver

Snow cone machine for Great-Grandma's birthday.  They really liked it!

10-16-16 Celebrating Aunt Vicki and my birthday while opening presents.

Dr. Olivia bandaging Grandpa's head.

Our silver maple tree had some beautiful leaves this year!

  Every fall since Sarah was born the neighbor's tree has been this way.

10-22-16 Olivia discovered her mom's bike. 

Adelynn, Kinley and Ava enjoying playing outside.

Oliver, Cassi, Emily, and I enjoying watching them.

10-28-16  Pumpkin patch time.

Adelynn, Olivia, Ava, and Kinley

Emily and Oliver

Adelynn loved this big pedal car!

Ava, Olivia, Kinley, and Adelynn playing in the corn.

Cassi helping Oliver pound the drum.  He's on his way to drumming!

Grandpa, Olivia, Kinley, and Ava.  Olivia was driving  :)

Ready for a train ride with the field of pumpkins in the back.

10-29-16 Charles, Nate, and Randy carving their creations.

Charles' made the cat, Nate made the spider, and Randy the old fashioned one. 

I have been reading Niacin - the Real Story.  Samuel's therapist suggested it for him and it certainly sounds like it is something worth adding to ones nutrition.  Not only does it help schitzophrenia, also arthritis, altzheimers, and coronary disease.  The authors have also seen improvements in allergies and aging slowed.  The biggest side effect is a flush which can be reduced or eliminated by changing the dosage.

I also enjoy books by Ann Patchett, an occasional Nicholas Sparks, and my favorites are historical fiction in the Santa Fe trail time frame.   Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow is my all time favorite book.

Tim is currently reading An Angel Walks through the Stage.  It is by a Norwegian author, Jon Fosse. This is a good choice as they are short essays, so he can finish one before he falls asleep:)

For you folks that enjoy kids books - Have you read the Phantom Tollbooth?  It has lots of puns.

Hello all,

The plays the thing....where you'll catch Charles reading.

Not surprisingly, most of my reading nowadays is for my job and that is reading plays.

Currently on my list:
Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl
An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table who has had enough. And a dead man—with a lot of loose ends. So begins Dead Man's Cell Phone, a wildly imaginative new comedy by MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Sarah Ruhl, author of The Clean House and Eurydice. A work about how we memorialize the dead—and how that remembering changes us—it is the odyssey of a woman forced to confront her own assumptions about morality, redemption, and the need to connect in a technologically obsessed world.

Our Town by Thornton Wilder
In an important publishing event, Samuel French, in cooperation with the Thornton Wilder estate is pleased to release the playwright's definitive version of Our Town. This edition of the play differs only slightly from previous acting editions, yet it presents Our Town as Thornton Wilder wished it to be performed. Described by Edward Albee as "...the greatest American play ever written," the story follows the small town of Grover's Corners through three acts: "Daily Life," "Love and Marriage," and "Death and Eternity." Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually—in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre—die. Thornton Wilder's final word on how he wanted his play performed is an invaluable addition to the American stage and to the libraries of theatre lovers internationally.

The Odd Couple [Female Version] by Neil Simon
Unger and Madison are at it again! Florence Unger and Olive Madison, that is, in Neil Simon's hilarious contemporary comic classic: the female version of The Odd Couple. Instead of the poker party that begins the original version, Ms. Madison has invited the girls over for an evening of Trivial Pursuit. The Pidgeon sisters have been replaced by the two Constanzuela brothers. But the hilarity remains the same.

Almost, Maine by John Cariani
Welcome to Almost, Maine, a town that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States—it’s almost in Canada. And it almost doesn’t exist. Because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it’s just…Almost.
One cold, clear Friday night in the middle of winter, while the northern lights hover in the sky above, Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in the strangest ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. Love is lost, found, and confounded. And life for the people of Almost, Maine will never be the same.
ALMOST, MAINE: It’s love. But not quite.

So that's what I'm reading for the next couple of months.  Fun stuff.

Love to all.

Charles