WV

WV

by | Oct 20, 2024 | Blog

We had a great week visiting with Lauren’s family in West Virginia. The weather was virtually perfect, we got to play a lot with the kiddos, and we enjoyed good food and good conversations.

Apart from the regular visits to their house to play in the woods and build with legos, we did a couple of outings. One day, we went to the library in Parkersburg to play with their fun toys and to check out a pile of books. The kids enjoyed the marble run, fish tank, and legos. Then we went to lunch at a great local place, Der Dog Haus. Another day, Lauren had some business to take care of in Columbus, so we rode along. In addition to the errands, we took time for the Legoland Discovery Center and the kids loved playing and building. Huck liked climbing in the play area and riding the amusement ride. Piper did not like the person dressed as a Lego minifigure.

We took a scenic drive on a Scenic Byway through the beautiful autumn colors and saw some covered bridges. Then, we were lucky to be around for the ward’s Fall Festival. The Primary Presidency was in charge, which is pretty much a pack of Bauserman ladies, so it was fun to help them get set up and then watch the fun commence. They had a bounce house, pony rides, and games for the kids. Everyone enjoyed hot dogs and the like for lunch. It was a real treat to visit the site of our niece Sarah’s future house, since they hosted the party in the field there.

Today also happened to be the final practice for the Primary children before their Sacrament Meeting Program next week, so we got the sneak preview. Huck knows pretty much all the words and did a great job on his part. There was a great little string ensemble consisting of kiddos (2 violins and 5 cellos) accompanying a song, so that was fun. Piper even got to sing for that one, too. So cute! Lauren and Bo cooked up a feast of bbq ribs for Sunday dinner and it was delish.

Now it’s back to St. Louis for a few weeks. We have our own place booked for a bit so that we are close to Alex’s family without being too disruptive to their regular groove. We are looking forward to seeing them! Have a great week!

Green

Green

by | Jun 22, 2025 |

We finished up our time in Switzerland and now we are in another very green, very beautiful country…Ireland! We were lucky enough to visit here in 2019 for several days and we’ve wanted to come back ever since.

We Are Family

We Are Family

by | Jun 15, 2025 |

If we were done with our travels, I would take the next two weeks to relate our adventures in Romania and Switzerland. But we have more things coming up, so this is going to be a longer post. I’ll give you the highlights first, and then you can read on if you want more details.

Slower, With a British Accent

Slower, With a British Accent

by | May 29, 2025 |

We’ve been in London since we left the cruise ship. This week was a bit slower and a welcome break from the last six weeks of constant movement. We’ve had some fun, eaten some good food, caught up on sleep, and made plans for the summer.

Almost Heaven

Almost Heaven

by | Oct 13, 2024 | Blog

We started the week in Utah, spent a few days regrouping in Missouri, and now we’re in West Virginia.

After an eventful two weeks in Utah with family, it was time to move on. It takes us two days to travel from Centerville to St. Louis. We have it down to a pretty good routine these days: tacos for lunch in Cheyenne, overnight in York, Nebraska, bbq for lunch in Kansas City. It works well for us. We listen to a lot of podcasts, music, and audiobooks. We started David McCullough massive biography of Truman, since we visited the Presidential library recently.

It was good to get back to Alex’s house and to see Hanna and the two little boys again, since they didn’t get to come for the funeral. Things are back to the new normal there, since mom is back in charge. That meant Nathan and I had more time to take care of our own projects. We were also able to start some planning for the rest of the season. Although we are missing him, Max’s death has taken some of the guesswork out of the coming months. We continue to take advantage of our “homeless” state, seeking out unique experiences, new adventures, and precious time with family.

One fun thing that we got to do this week (besides just hanging out with the boys) was that we went to the Ulysses S. Grant Historical Farm. There is a big commercial part run by the Busch Family, since they bought the farm and operated it for decades. They have different animals that you can see from a tram ride (Peter’s favorite part, since he’s a choo-choo guy). Then you can walk around and see other animals, including the Clydesdales, feed goats, etc. But then there is the actual museum and historical site for Grant. It was beautiful and peaceful, since everyone else was over at the other side getting their free beer samples :). 

We feel lucky to be able to visit the grandkids more often now. The weather is finally turning toward Autumn and cooler days are certainly welcome. We are spending the week with Lauren’s family in West Virginia, soaking up time with Huck and Piper and Hugh.

 

Green

Green

by | Jun 22, 2025 |

We finished up our time in Switzerland and now we are in another very green, very beautiful country…Ireland! We were lucky enough to visit here in 2019 for several days and we’ve wanted to come back ever since.

We Are Family

We Are Family

by | Jun 15, 2025 |

If we were done with our travels, I would take the next two weeks to relate our adventures in Romania and Switzerland. But we have more things coming up, so this is going to be a longer post. I’ll give you the highlights first, and then you can read on if you want more details.

Slower, With a British Accent

Slower, With a British Accent

by | May 29, 2025 |

We’ve been in London since we left the cruise ship. This week was a bit slower and a welcome break from the last six weeks of constant movement. We’ve had some fun, eaten some good food, caught up on sleep, and made plans for the summer.

Mueller Family Recipes

Mueller Family Recipes

by | Oct 2, 2024 | Blog

We had a wonderful, if difficult, couple of weeks planning and holding the funeral for Nathan’s dad, Max. It was a precious time with our family and we feel so blessed to have been in Utah with so many dear ones.

For the family luncheon after the funeral, I made three different family favorite treats. I have linked the recipes below and I’ve also shared some photos of Max in the kitchen. Food was a prominent way for him to share the Swiss culture with those he loved. He absolutely loved good food and was delighted to share it. For these recipes, procuring some of the ingredients is the trickiest part of the endeavor. Once you have things gathered, the actual mixing and baking process is pretty straightforward if you have a bit of baking experience. Enjoy!

Click Here for Swiss Carrot Cake
Click Here for Chocolate Chippers
Click Here for Basler Läckerli
Green

Green

by | Jun 22, 2025 |

We finished up our time in Switzerland and now we are in another very green, very beautiful country…Ireland! We were lucky enough to visit here in 2019 for several days and we’ve wanted to come back ever since.

We Are Family

We Are Family

by | Jun 15, 2025 |

If we were done with our travels, I would take the next two weeks to relate our adventures in Romania and Switzerland. But we have more things coming up, so this is going to be a longer post. I’ll give you the highlights first, and then you can read on if you want more details.

Slower, With a British Accent

Slower, With a British Accent

by | May 29, 2025 |

We’ve been in London since we left the cruise ship. This week was a bit slower and a welcome break from the last six weeks of constant movement. We’ve had some fun, eaten some good food, caught up on sleep, and made plans for the summer.

Sad News

Sad News

by | Sep 21, 2024 | Blog

This will be a short post this week. I am sad to report that Nathan’s dad, Max, passed away last night. We are going to miss his zest for life and his forceful personality. He has been in cognitive decline for a couple of years and having him fade away has been really hard on everyone, especially him. This last year has been especially hard on his sweet wife, Margaret, and the rest of the family as it became more difficult to care for him. It is a great relief that he is out of pain and misery.

We will be traveling back to Utah this week and the funeral will most likely be on Monday, September 30. As such, I will probably not be posting on the blog for a while until we are back into a more regular rhythm (whatever that is!).

We love you, Max!

Green

Green

by | Jun 22, 2025 |

We finished up our time in Switzerland and now we are in another very green, very beautiful country…Ireland! We were lucky enough to visit here in 2019 for several days and we’ve wanted to come back ever since.

We Are Family

We Are Family

by | Jun 15, 2025 |

If we were done with our travels, I would take the next two weeks to relate our adventures in Romania and Switzerland. But we have more things coming up, so this is going to be a longer post. I’ll give you the highlights first, and then you can read on if you want more details.

Slower, With a British Accent

Slower, With a British Accent

by | May 29, 2025 |

We’ve been in London since we left the cruise ship. This week was a bit slower and a welcome break from the last six weeks of constant movement. We’ve had some fun, eaten some good food, caught up on sleep, and made plans for the summer.

Slowing Down

Slowing Down

by | Sep 8, 2024 | Blog

I’m sorry I missed posting last week. After a full month on the road, I was just worn out!

When I wrote last, we were still in Portland. We finished out our time there with a visit to the beautiful Grotto. It’s a Catholic church next to a forested cliff area. They have created an outdoor chapel under the redwoods and it is absolutely beautiful. We set El and Adia up with a big haul of groceries. They made us a yummy dinner and we played a board game. Then we bid them farewell–hopefully to see them again in a few months.

Our drive from Oregon to Utah was uneventful (hooray!). We spent a few more days with family–we worked on a renovation project at Nathan’s sister’s place, took Margaret on a walk around Silver Lake and lunch at the Silver Fork Lodge, and spent more time with Max. Since he had a few serious spills, things were a bit rough while we were there this time. We tried to introduce a little joy into his difficult days with a visit from his violin and also joining in the care center’s Chocolate Party one evening. He loved the mint chocolate chip ice cream! I also snuck in one more dinner with my sister Jana. Again, we hope to see all those dear ones in a few months.

We continued our move eastward. Five years ago, I couldn’t imagine driving across the country. Then COVID hit, and we have criss-crossed the U.S. multiple times over, visiting family, seeing national parks, and doing all kinds of touring. We even have a pretty good routine for driving from Utah to St. Louis (there’s a really good Mexican restaurant in Cheyenne, a solid motel that we stop at in York, Nebraska, and Kansas City always serves up a delicious lunch!). We arrived at Alex’s place, excited to meet our newest family member, baby Arthur. He’s a sweetheart!

On September 1st, we got to celebrate our daughter-in-law’s birthday. It’s fun to spoil Hanna a bit, since she works so hard to take care of her brood of boys. I spent the day in the kitchen, whipping up french toast and peach cobbler and cooking up a curry storm with Alex. It’s been a long time since I spent so much time cooking and it was exhausting and delightful. The weather in Missouri has tempered a bit and there have been some lovely cool mornings to counter the warm afternoons. 

We have spent the last week in full grandparent mode. Unfortunately, Nathan and I ( and Alex) all came down with a cold a few days after we arrived, so we have had to keep our distance from mama and baby. But we’ve been playing with the older two boys inside (legos, trains, puzzles, and books) and outside (swings, slide, and stomp rockets). It’s been a real blessing to be settled in for a few weeks and to recover from a whirlwind August. We love our traveling life, but we have to pace ourselves! Even though hanging out with Teddy and Peter is a challenge sometimes, it’s a joy. We feel very grateful that we can spend so much time with our grandchildren.

We wish you a wonderful week and hope that you are starting to feel a bit of autumn where you are. Much love!

 

Green

Green

by | Jun 22, 2025 |

We finished up our time in Switzerland and now we are in another very green, very beautiful country…Ireland! We were lucky enough to visit here in 2019 for several days and we’ve wanted to come back ever since.

We Are Family

We Are Family

by | Jun 15, 2025 |

If we were done with our travels, I would take the next two weeks to relate our adventures in Romania and Switzerland. But we have more things coming up, so this is going to be a longer post. I’ll give you the highlights first, and then you can read on if you want more details.

Slower, With a British Accent

Slower, With a British Accent

by | May 29, 2025 |

We’ve been in London since we left the cruise ship. This week was a bit slower and a welcome break from the last six weeks of constant movement. We’ve had some fun, eaten some good food, caught up on sleep, and made plans for the summer.

Rollercoaster

Rollercoaster

by | Aug 25, 2024 | Blog

We had some wide mood swings this week. The ups were welcoming our sixth grandchild and reuniting with loved ones. We were in the dumps with an August snowstorm, sitting in traffic, and a pricey piece of vandalism.

First, the best news! After a rocky pregnancy, being overdue, and a very long labor, Alex and Hanna welcomed son Arthur to their little family of boys. Hanna was an absolute rock star for sticking it out and we couldn’t be happier for them! We will be back to their place in less than a week and we are super excited to meet our new grandson, Archie.

We were in Santa Cruz until Thursday and enjoying all that a stay with Ron and Martha includes: good company, good food, and beautiful California weather and scenery. Nathan and Ron did a couple of great bike rides along the coast and into the hills. We went on a lovely kayak trip in the Elkhorn Slough Marine Area. We saw harbor seals, sea otters, pelicans and other sea birds, and even a jelly! It was so fun to spend time with Ron and Martha, as usual.

We had a nice drive through Northern California and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery around Mt. Shasta. We spent the night in Medford, Oregon so that we could get up on Friday and detour to Crater Lake on our way to Portland. Well, Friday did not have a great start. We expect to have rain and clouds in the Pacific Northwest…that’s just part of its charm. However, by the time we got to the visitor center at Crater Lake, we were in an August blizzard! We did drive part of the rim road and the storm and clouds cleared enough for us to get a small glimpse of the lake. 

Due to the park having road closures due to construction and wildfires, we took the scenic route to return to I-5 and continue north. Well, we got stuck in the canyon behind an accident that had our lane of traffic at a complete stand-still for about an hour. We expected to be in the car for about six hours, but that turned into more like eight or nine hours. It was a bummer, but not the worst. However, the end of the day was great because we got to see our youngest, El, and their partner, Adia, for the first time in over a year! They moved to Portland this spring and it was so fun to see their new home and spend some time catching up.

Saturday started off great with breakfast at Fuller’s Coffee Shop and a nice walk around the Pearl district, the Saturday Market, and Powell’s Bookstore. We met up with El and Adia and went to grab the car to drive to the science museum only to find out that someone had slashed one of our tires. Nathan threw on the spare, dropped the three of us off at the museum, and went to find somewhere to replace the tire. He really had to work for it, since he had to find the exact match to the other three tires, but after great effort and some great luck, he was able to find a dealership that had just one of that very tire. Vandalism sucks!

Meanwhile, we toured the very fun Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for a couple hours without Nathan. They had a fun exhibit about Tyrannosaurus Rex and we loved trying to solve the puzzles in the Turbine Hall. After Nathan was able to rejoin us, we watched Laser Beatles at the Planetarium and then played with light and color. We ended the evening with dinner at an Iraqi restaurant.

I hope you all have a great week and we will report next week after our return to Missouri!

 

Green

Green

by | Jun 22, 2025 |

We finished up our time in Switzerland and now we are in another very green, very beautiful country…Ireland! We were lucky enough to visit here in 2019 for several days and we’ve wanted to come back ever since.

We Are Family

We Are Family

by | Jun 15, 2025 |

If we were done with our travels, I would take the next two weeks to relate our adventures in Romania and Switzerland. But we have more things coming up, so this is going to be a longer post. I’ll give you the highlights first, and then you can read on if you want more details.

Slower, With a British Accent

Slower, With a British Accent

by | May 29, 2025 |

We’ve been in London since we left the cruise ship. This week was a bit slower and a welcome break from the last six weeks of constant movement. We’ve had some fun, eaten some good food, caught up on sleep, and made plans for the summer.