NEBRASKA TO KANSAS, AND BACK AGAIN---OR BUST!

What a busy last week for Go Girl #2! This Grandma is totally exhausted and worn out but we had a fun time and are now preparing for another jaunt to Cheyenne, Wyoming tomorrow with more family for a few days.

Day 1 towards Kansas last week: We drove to North Platte, Nebraska with plans to visit with Go Girl #1 for several hours. A wheel bearing went out on our travel trailer so my husband spent the afternoon while there repairing that, I on the other hand went with Go Girl 1 and we visited, caught up on some genealogy findings, had supper with family and dreamed about our next trip which will be to Sheridan, Wyoming on July 17-18 for the Family History Expo there.

Day 2, we arrived in Topeka, Kansas late in the day. Got hugs and kisses from all the family, which includes 8 grandchildren! We saw our newest Granddaughter, Penny, for only the second time. She has grown and is of course a beautiful baby. Rested and planned the rest of the stay.

Day 3, Topeka. Up at 5 am which was really 4 am our time--oh my! Our son and wife participate in a local farmers market on weekends so we went with them to do that on Sat. They bake wonderful homemade breads, rolls etc. It was really fun and a beautiful morning to get out together. There were great foods there, crafts, artisans, flowers and more--all handmade or homemade. At least 200 vendors to look at. Of course we sampled many great foods too.

Day 4, Topeka. We all packed up our camping gear and headed to the local lake for several days of family and fun. Temperature and humidity were rising! Kids went to the beach and the adults were miserable in the heat. Wild turkeys and deer and other critters were abundant! We were surprised by a "peeping Tom" one evening as a raccoon got on one of the lawn chairs and peeked in our camper window. I have pictures of his muddy paw prints for evidence.

Day 5, Topeka. The temp was already 97 and the humidity was 83 % and moving up! Boy, did that country make me long for "dry old Nebraska"! By noon it was 105, 87% humidity and 113 heat index. The only good thing is that I MIGHT have lost a few pounds from sweating so much, hope-hope. One of the youngest granddaughters lost two baby teeth and the oldest got a bad sunburn. A typical family, I think? By night fall, we had made alternate plans to the days of camping.

Day6, Topeka. Home to the city we went. "Air conditioning" was on our minds. We parked the camper in front of our son's house the rest of the week. We cooked out that evening and played games with the kids in the cool house. That was great. Grandma was trying to plan a trip to the library to do a little research but free time in a family of 10 is hard to come by.

Day 7, Topeka. Yea--Grandma and Grandpa go to the library. MORE AIR CONDITIONING! I actually got 1/2 hour of looking in the genealogy sections before we got called back for supper. Alas, some time is better than no time. My next strategy was to try and visit a small cemetery that I had seen on the way to the lake. Don't know what is wrong with all my family, they just don't see the draw of cemeteries. They look at fireworks stands and putt-putt golf land. I am not sure there is any hope for them!!!!

Day 8, Topeka. Cemetery here I come, Grandpa took me by and I got to take some great photos. It was again over 100 degrees so the hike through it will wait till Go Girl 1 and I can trek back that way again. It was dated 1875 and WE will scout out every inch of it! I got to go back to the Topeka library for another hour. Granddaughter, Abby, had her 4th birthday. Cake, ice cream and presents. It was a great time and of course we took lots of pics for posterity. Packing up to head home soon.

All week, we also managed to bake almost 50 loves of bread, more rolls and muffins so the kids would be ready for the farmers market again on Saturday past. Everything is only from "scratch". Busy, busy.......

The food was awesome while we visited. My son and his wife are both awesome cooks and being with family was fun as we only get to do it about 2 times a year now.

Day 9, homeward. It was 5 am and the kids headed to the farmers market while we started back for Nebraska. Three of the Granddaughters and their dog all came home with us! A twelve and a half hour trip back home, plus a flat tire on the trailer and a short stop to say hello again to Go girl #1 in North Platte, Nebraska. We had not heard so many songs and nursery rhymes in years. It was fun, we lunched in the car, played games and made frequent stops! Grandpa and Grandma have a few more gray hairs!!!!

Here we are today, at home, the rest of the family is due in soon and then we head to Wyoming bright and early in the morning.

You Go Girl #1 and myself, #2 will need the trip to Sheridan, Wyoming for the Family History Expo, just to get rested up! Join us there if you can, it should be great fun. We have won an award and will be there IN PERSON. Don't miss THAT once in a lifetime chance. He He!!!!!

Go Girl #2 (today, Go Grannie #2)

Genealogy Fireworks

Yikes ... the Family History Expo in Sheridan, Wyoming is only three weeks away.  Skip the 4th of July fireworks ... look to the sky in northern Wyoming.  There will be genealogists there having a great time.  If you haven't signed up for it, do it NOW.  

Girl #2 is still visiting family in Kansas and heading back to Nebraska tomorrow.  We both have a lot to do between now and the Expo.  That's half the fun in getting there.  She's the one who buys jellybeans (a big task!).  

In the meantime I have been spending cooler days inside instead of outside in Nebraska 100 degree weather.  These cooler days have afforded me time to clean up files and also do some studious research on one of my lineages.  

Let the Wyoming fireworks begin!!  

Ruby -- You Go Genealogy Girl #1

How Sweet It Is

It is so sweet ... in four weeks (slightly less) Girl #2 will join me as we go to the Family History Expo in Sheridan, Wyoming.  We will be blogging while there, plus joining other genealogists in sharing and learning research techniques.  We'll also share with our reading audience.  

The Family History Expo has some great sponsors and there will be many vendors.  Along with the scheduled lectures, there will be many events.  Be sure to go to their web page and read about the expo.  

Don't contemplate much longer.  Get your reservations in for the Family History Expo.  If you are there, be sure to look for the YOU GO GENEALOGY GIRLS.  We will be the ones with jellybeans.  Ask us why jellybeans are our trade mark!  

Hope to see you in Sheridan!  

Ruby --- You Go Genealogy Girl #1 

The Traveling 2

You Go Girl #2 really spilled the jellybeans in her last blog.  But, we are still together, with our LOVE of genealogy (and each other), plus our various problems of reaching that post-menopausal stage of life.  That includes finding the rest room before you unpack your notes and computer in the library.  It also includes locating rest areas along the routes we take, before we even pull out of the driveway.  

The #2 girl is due here in North Platte in a few hours.  This time she's traveling with her husband (and my brother-in-law, Geoff!) to Topeka, Kansas to see their son, his wife and eight children.  I'm going to put Geoff to work fixing my dining room table this evening ... he's so good and those things, particularly when the girls are off traveling.  Naturally, #2 and I will chat non-stop and fast about genealogy.

The next trip?  We will be leaving in less than a month for the Family History Expo in Sheridan, Wyoming.  That's right ... Lil' Red is taking us there to have some fun, meet new and old friends and learn a lot about GENEALOGY.  You'll want to read our blog on a regular basis ... as we prepare for another great genealogy trip!  

Ruby -- You Go Genealogy Girl #1 

A FUNNY THOUGHT!--and some more Shameless Advertising

Well, this one's been building up for quite some time. A post today by YGGG #1 on her blog, Genealogy Lines, my reply to her, and her follow up back to me- has brought this to a head, finally!

You must check out her latest blog here, it is excellent and informative. But back to the point of this posting....

I sent her a message that I really liked her blog, thought she did such good research and I am jealous. Her reply to me was "Guess it comes natural...the research. Like pe_ing so much!"

You see, these two Grannies have spent many hours on our famous research jaunts just looking for nice "restroom" stops, planning our searching missions around available facilities, having to take precious time off from more important discoveries, and yes, speeding up a little faster just to make the next stop. YGGG #1's Li'l Red car can really fly when necessary! We eat too many jellybeans and drink too much pop and water which all contribute to our troubles. Then we get a sugar high and start laughing over the silliest of things...and then you know what that leads to with 2 silly old Grannies. She (YGGG#1 makes fun of me for packing extra clothes), but she who laughs loudest --, well you get the point!

May we always have "dry" matches..........or whatever!


Visit us often here (hopefully) or on one of our other blogs: Nebraska Roots and Ramblings, Growing Up Genealogy, Those Old Memories, and Genealogy Lines. They are all great in their own special ways. Besides, you may need new reading after today because WE may not speaking anymore and The You Go Genealogy Girls may be no more!!!



You Go Genealogy girl #2, Why am I always #2?

Where in the World are the GIRLS?

We are both here in Nebraska.  After arriving back home after our excursion to Utah, we have spent a lot of time going through our multitude of photocopies, computer files and notes.  I don't know about Girl #2, but I have completely gone through my stack which was well over a foot high.  I entered information, made notes about where to look next and more things I can do the next time I am in Salt Lake City.  I have also ordered microfilm and microfiche at my local Family History Center.  

Basically we are both keeping busy.  Girl #2 and her husband will stop by here next week on their way to Topeka, Kansas to visit their son and family (eight beautiful children!).  We are starting to plan a trip together ... just the Girls ... in July when we'll return to Cheyenne, Wyoming to do research in the archives and library.  Then we'll jaunt up eastern Wyoming to the Black Hills in South Dakota where we'll do more research in courthouses and libraries.  This will afford me time to decorate my father and sister's graves.  

What fun it would be to go cemetery hunting.  Nebraska weather has been unseasonably cold for June and we have had rain every day.  I am sure there will be dry, warm days ahead when I can find a few cemeteries to explore.  

I am also laying out plans for a genealogy seminar to be held in October.  That will be here before we know it, so I'd best enjoy these summer days and make genealogy memories.  

MY SHAMELESS ADVERTISING

This is what I call my "Shameless Hussy Advertising"--self promotion!

I have just finished Part 3 of my " RESEARCHING MY SWEDISH GENEALOGY" over on my THOSE OLD MEMORIES blog. This is a 3 part story on how I prepared for doing my Swedish research while on my recent trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Parts 1 and 2 are also on the blog for your reading pleasure. Please detour over there and check it out. Go Girl #2 , me, is proud of what I found especially since it was my first trip to the world famous library, and I am fairly new at genealogical research!

You Go Girl #2, Cheri

TYING UP LOOSE ENDS !

The trip to Salt Lake City was in a word, awesome! One picture is of us in the Tabernacle and the other is of the Mormon Temple taken from a restaurant we ate in one evening that had a beautiful view. Both of us Grannies are ready to go back, just trying to figure out how soon and how to fit it all in our busy lives. The drive to the Family History Library in Salt Lake was not bad at all, in fact it did not seem as long as it really was. We stopped often which really helped, if but for a few minutes to stretch. The trip going took 8 hours from my son's home in Cheyenne, Wyo as we had a long lunch break that day and a short stop to buy Claritin at a Wal-Mart. The beautiful Wyoming sagebrush caused nothing but havoc with Go Girl #1 on the trip going. Sneeze and blow, all the way across Wyoming and into Utah! The trip back to Cheyenne was 7 hours even with a lunch stop etc. We were lucky in that we had a place to stay and set out from in Cheyenne. The first and last leg of our trip was from Alliance, Nebraska to Cheyenne, Wyoming. This 3 hour drive was made in an additional day with a stay over at my son's house for one night. My first trip to the Family History Library definately goes down as a success!

Go Girl mentioned several things we did not have along and several things we took which we did not need to have. Next time we will be fully prepared--maybe. I needed a couple fewer pair of shoes and could have taken some less fewer groceries. ( We took things for lunching in the room.) When one is so engrossed in research, there is not much time to think of eating and at days end when we figured popcorn would be great, we were just too darn tired to even do that. That is pretty bad for us both when jelly beans and popcorn go by the wayside. Bad for our reputation at least but probably good for our waistlines!

One thing that I did beforehand was to print a lot of information and family group sheets for quick reference but those just filled up my library notebook and added weight. I ended up using the laptop for most of my quick references. Next time I will leave all the extra paper clutter at home. There just isn't room for notebooks and computers working with the film area. Yes, I did have to use one of my small pull about suitcases as a library bag. My computer bag just did not hold what was needed. I was doing alot of Swedish research so I had to carry a couple big notebooks and language reference book along with me, just in case I needed to use them. I will definately have a different wheeled bag before my next research trip, one that expands to hold alot when necessary. The wheels are certainly a wonderful invention on those cases. When did we ever just carry our bags? It seems like centuries ago. The one other important thing I would suggest is to take some blank pedigree sheets. I had to scavange to find one since I did not have the use of a printer to make one. When working on someone who may fit in the family it is nice to see it written out to study. That will be one big addition to my list next time. If I could figure out how to carry a printer, Id' have one of those too--just for good measure. If the Go Girls were both rich, we'd just buy a room or better yet a penthouse suite, outfit that and move in for several weeks stay at a time ......!

As Go Girl 1 mentioned she did not need her sticky notes, I did use mine some. I took several digital pics of documents on the surface of the microfilm readers and they were handy to just stick there with an arrow on it to show the" line of interest" on the document. I also used bright flourescent sticky notes with my initials on them to stick on the drawers I removed microfilm from. They just helped in quick re-filing of the films in drawers when I was done. The rows and rows of films can take some time to locate and the bright notes just made it alittle faster. My next trip--I will have matching "frig" magnets of some kind to use on the drawers of film. I plan to just make my own that will be unique and easy to spot from a distance. A file card with film numbers AND the magnets will make the process of re-filing move along some what quicker. Even an additonal 10 mintues a day is one more film that can be studied and the added possibility of finding another treasure.

We worked in several short sight seeing voyages also. Along with evening supper breaks, they helped to break up the day and renew us for the evening research sessions. We saw some beautiful Salt Lake City sights that were near the Library, checked out a couple book stores and rode the Trak to a mall just ot eat someplace different one evening. In total, we never took more than about 1 1/2 or sometimes 2 hours off each day. Our main focus was on research from 8 am until almost 9 pm each day. Makes me tired to even think about it, the exhausting days, but I have my second wind now so WHEN DO WE GO BACK ????