Spring 2026

As the kids continue to get older, they have their own schedules and we seem to do very little together as a full family. While that is sad, we are thrilled to watch them grow and "spread their wings". It makes our times together as a full family all the more special! I'm so thankful that they continue to include us in their accomplishments, so I can brag on them a lil bit. 😊

We try to set aside an evening for a Valentines Day dinner every year (usually doesn't work out on Valentine's Day). It's nothing fancy, typically heart shaped pizzas, a side and dessert. My parents were able to join us this year.

I don't remember the exact date - one morning we woke up and found that our house had been infiltrated with turtles! Will declared that day, "National Turtle Day". He had bought little plastic turtles online and placed them all over the house (we are still finding them...3 months later!). It made for a fun day of finding turtles (including his stuffed animals that he's collected over the years). Here are a few favorites.

April and May were very busy months for the family - Easter, family in town, graduations, vacation (Matt & I). We celebrated Easter with the Barman family in traditional style - lots of food, an Easter Bible story and the annual Barman Egg Hunt.

My sister, Teri, was in town that week as well, so we got the whole family together for March & April birthdays (there are a lot of them!).

Will just celebrated 5 years with Culver's. I love that they make those announcements on their marquee!

He and I drove to Chicago on April 23rd to take in a Cubs/Phillies game. An exciting extra inning win for us (number 9 straight win for us, number 9 straight loss for them)!

I drove out to Geneseo to watch the Black Hawk Band Concert - it was an enjoyable evening with great music. Will, Alex & Jacob all played. Jacob was given the honor of conducting one of the pieces.

In May, the band came together again to participate in Black Hawk's graduation ceremony (we celebrated Jacob's graduation). Jacob had the honor of giving the Student Speech to the graduates. He also graduated Summa Cum Laude (3.95+ GPA). We are so proud of him!

Only 2 remain . . . and the band 🤣🤣

A few weeks later, I was back at Vibrant Arena to celebrate our niece, Emma's, graduation. We enjoyed a family dinner afterwards as well.

Kaitee & Matt traveled to Kansas City in February to tour the Titanic Exhibit that was on display at Union Station. While in KC, they also visited Arrowhead Stadium, the KC Public Library and Harry Truman Library. They drove a bit south and visited Uranus Chocolate Factory before heading home (this included visiting St Robert Route 66 Neon Park in the evening).

Kaitee & Matt also attended the local Comic Con and got to meet John Ratzenberger, aka Cliff Clavin from Cheers. She also got to meet a few actors from the movie Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez & Diedrich Bader). Matt got to meet and chat with WWF Manager, Jimmy Hart; who allowed Matt to try on his WWE Hall of Fame Ring. [Matt stopped watching wrestling while it was still WWF; now WWE, it'll always be WWF to him]

She even got a selfie with Diedrich and then tried to "break the wrist and walk away".

She traveled to Milwaukee for a weekend with her friends and we celebrated her birthday (#24) in May.

She ran in to her cousin Kayla (and Kayla's significant other, Hunter) at a theater one evening - what a fun surprise!

In April, the Chick-fil-A Legacy team members (those who have been with Jeremy for 4+ years) enjoyed a nice dinner. It is always a nice evening together with friends - wonderful food, laughter and reminiscing.

Matt and I were on vacation in Arkansas/Louisianna/Texas in early May. While we were touring the Old Capital building in Baton Rouge, Matt got a call on his phone. It was Micah (Maddie's boyfriend). They had exciting news to share - they got engaged!! It was wonderful news (not a full surprise though as he had asked for our blessing before the trip)! After hearing all the details of the proposal, we said our congrats and goodbyes. It's looking like a Spring 2027 wedding, once Micah finishes his classes. We are so excited and happy for them!

This Spring, Maddie & Micah also did a day trip to Devil's Lake (Baraboo, WI) and went to Niabi Zoo. 

Matt & I finished out May with a few day trips - one to Cedar Rapids to climb Mt Trashmore (find a letterbox), explore the downtown area and hit some Goodwills. We ended our day in Wilton for burgers from Artie's (we also stopped to see the train depot and Freedom Rock in Wilton). We would highly recommend Artie's and seeing the depot!

The other day trip was spent at cemeteries for Memorial Day. The past few years (on Memorial Day), we've made our rounds to Viola (my maternal grandfather who was killed in the line of duty during WW2), Reynolds (my "step" grandfather on my maternal side, Grandad) and Clover Cemetery in Woodhull (my paternal grandfather and great grandfather). Matt is continuing to update Find A Grave for all of the Clover graves, so we took pictures of all the veteran markers with flags. It was a beautiful day to be out, giving our thanks to those who served and sacrificed.

Reynolds Cemetery just finished this monument to their vets. They did a great job and we were touched to see the Swartout names (Ray was my Grandad) listed on the stone.

Viola Cemetery added the Gold Star flags to the flag poles this year. The Gold Star represents a military member killed in the line of duty. This pole had Warren Huff's name and information on it (he was my maternal grandfather).

Clover Cemetery - Virgil Barman, my paternal grandfather.

While going through my dad's genealogy things, I came across these pictures of a home in Cambridge, IL, where my Great, Great Grandparents (JW & Mary Schumaker Slater) lived in their "retirement" years. My dad had a note on one of the pictures of the location (across from funeral home in town). I hit Google Maps and was able to find the same house (minus the wrap-around porch) still standing! 

My Great Grandmother, Mary Slater Barman (standing on far left) with her siblings and parents (Mary Schumaker Slater & James W Slater). The Cambridge home belonged to the seated couple.

We ended our Memorial Day in Cambridge - verifying that it was, indeed, the same house and took some pictures before heading home. I love knowing that my Great Great Grandparents lived in this house (from 1916 - 1933).

Spring has officially turned into summer since school is out and the days are long! It should be a fairly quiet summer with all of us working full time hours and no more vacation plans.