Shocking news from Kansas!

Brace yourselves, cousins, before you look at the photo below ... Cousin Chatsie Miller Northrup has grown a beard! We haven't seen her in a while, so when we got this photo we were speechless! What a shocker! She was so glamorous! What happened????? The story behind the story: It was recently Scottish Heritage Days again at First Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kan., where Chatsie is senior pastor. During the children's portion of a special service, she donned the fake beard to appear as John Calvin, then asked the children who they thought she was. Says Chats: "They said God and Abraham Lincoln! But eventually we got to Calvin." We would have said a member of ZZ Top. But seriously, we're very proud of Chatsie, who your scrapbook editor will be visiting in about three weeks. Below, more very nice photos from that special service:

A very fine tennis player

Congrats to cousin Katie Sprick, left, and her Eau Claire North High tennis doubles partner Sammie Swanson! They didn't win the state championship, but they came close. Here's a link to an Eau Claire Leader-Telegram story. And another.

Watch out, world! It was a Miller family weekend

The Millers got together this past weekend for a little outing to, where else, Lake City, Minn. Some scenes:

In this photo of a large, delicious cake, you may also notice a Miller. Yes, Elizabeth is 6! We celebrated (not for the first time). It seems like Elizabeth was just 2, and now all of a sudden she's 6, but that's how time races along, eh? In this photo of large, delicious pumpkins, you may also notice a Miller. That's Elizabeth again, pretending to be a pumpkin. Hannah gave this cleverly designed pumpkin a thumbs-up. (This was the day before the Vikings got beaten by the Steelers.) The Millers also enthusiastically trooped over to the Lake City nursing home from Pam's Lake City pad, creating quite a scene there with multiple strollers competing for hall space with walkers and wheelchairs. Not finding Anna in her room, they marched into the activities room, where she was making Halloween cards with other demure seniors, and noisily kidnapped her. Anna didn't seem to mind, partly because she got to meet the newest member of our extended family, Avamarie, age 1. Former teacher Anna was also very impressed with all that Elizabeth is learning this year in all-day kindergarten. Anna liked Avamarie so much she gave her (and proud dad Chris) an official blessing ... ... not to be outdone, Ava then blessed Anna. The oldest and youngest members of our extended family posed nicely for this snapshot.

Postscript: Another recent visitor to Anna was German cousin Britta Augustin and friend Larry.

Dancing with the stars -- er, Millers

The Miller girls dance like they mean it. A few snapshots: Elizabeth learned to do the splits from her flexible Auntie Pam. Wait -- what? Dancers Hannah and Elizabeth with proud sister Moriah and cousin Chantell Eischen. The dancin' girls strike a pose with a posie.

Another really nice lake

Your scrapblog editor treated herself to a trek to the greatest lake (Superior) next to Lake Pepin last week. Spent three days walking, writing, resting as the lake displayed its many moods. October and November bring the fiercest winds on the lake, which make for some breathtaking, roaring wave action. A few snapshots:

Making history in Hopkins

Cousin Dan Broberg won a big prize last weekend -- no, not the Burnt Wienie, but almost as good. His home in Hopkins won the Hopkins Historic Home of the Year Award from the Hopkins Historical Society. It was built in 1895 by Winslow Holasek, a Czechoslovakian-Bohemian immigrant. For more info and pictures, go here.

Major birthday alert!

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, is Aunt Anna Sprick Smith's 89th birthday. Happy Birthday, dear Anna! Anna is comfy in her room-with-a-view at the Lake City Nursing Home, 500 W. Grant St., Lake City, MN 55041.

Hi everybody!

The newest cousin, Avamarie Felicity Xin Little-Poopie Miller, says hello to you-all. Her adjustment from orphanage to Millerhood has been smooth and happy.

An October walk

Went for a very long and very lovely walk in Frontenac State Park Sunday with my good hiking and birdwatching pal Heather M., who took these photos: Everywhere, the sumac was brilliant.

By Pleasant Lake (that little lake near New Frontenac), we encountered this puzzling sign, which originally said something about "wildlife something-or-other."

We climbed the big hill. Whew! Took a little rest at Eagle Point, 2/3 of the way up. Didn't see any eagles, but saw lots of other interesting and beautiful things, as always in the park.

Many a lightning-blasted tree stood charred on the south side of the big bluff. Some fierce storms must descend on that hill now and then.

The sun sets and the deer come forth. Here two does flipped their tails at Heather as she took photos.

The last days of summer

Snow is on the ground already and the blue days of summer seem far away, even though they just passed. Relive 'em a little in these photos of our super uncle and aunt, Joe and Mavis, in summer attire on a summer day. (Uncle Joe, an old sailor, gives the veracity to "Old Navy" shirts.)

Happy Birthday to TBro!

Happy Birthday to cousin Tyler B., who turned 17 on Sunday! Here he is with his proud dad, cousin Sammy.

Aunties lineup

Courtesy of Uncle Joe, another photo of our aunties, all lined up, from 1961. They're Florence, Alverna, Marion, Emma, Adelaide, Katie, Grandma Sprick, Annette and Anna.

October arrives, bringing two family birthdays

Happy Birthday to two of our own today! Uncle Charles John CJ Kirkwood, shown here a few years ago with handsome sons Joe and Tuck.

And cousin Patty Pepin, shown here in a recent photo with Aunt Anna Sprick Smith.

A couple birthdays to mark...

Happy Birthday to ... Maria Cook, shyly posing here with mom Tanya on her last day of preschool. Maria is 6 today. Christine Pepin, shown here in a delightful 1994 photo. She turned xx on Sept. xx.

Tomato bonanza

In May, I planted several expensive red-tomato plants in Robbinsdale. Finally got a few measly fruits like the red ones above out of them. The same week in May, I planted two spindly 25-cent, 5-inch yellow-tomato plants in Lake City, mostly out of pity and a mad-scientist curiosity; they grew into HUGE plants, each of which has yielded more than 50 sweet, large, perfect golden tomatoes. Country soil is just better.

Another lovely vacation day in Lake City and Old Frontenac

Those of you cousins who live 24/7, 365, in Lake City, Minn., may think your scrapblog editor is a little nutty to enjoy my vacations there so much, but it really is a lovely and special place. Snapshots from today in our hometown... Heading out from Hok-Si-La in Elmer's boat in search of white bass. We followed the gulls. Looking from the boat toward Wisconsin. I caught a few decent ones, lost a couple REALLY BIG ONES! just when I was about to land 'em due to my newbie technique. "Practice makes perfect," says Aunt Mavis. Elmer-Joe caught lots, and landed all of them expertly. Looking over the catch in Joe's garage. In the evening, I took a walk to Sand Point, part of Frontenac State Park, where I saw no humans and several deer, and found a few agates on the beach. The trail to Sand Point. Up the hill on the restored prairie hike, the sumac is rapidly turning scarlet. Saw a fox racing through the sumac. Was enjoying my twilight walk so much that I forgot the sun sets at 7:15 p.m. now, and it was pitch dark by the time I got back to my car. Luckily, I've got this broad, circular trail memorized. A little video taken on Joe's boat; click it to take a little boat ride with us. Thanks, Joe, for the fishing trips!

The future of journalism!?

Cousin CMill and other zany madcap Strib celebrities, including Michael Rand, were caught making some kinda video outside the Strib building in downtown Minneapolis this week. Wow, man, can't wait to see that one! [Postscript: Turns out Chris and the others were playing parts in a humorous James Lileks video about influenza. You can find it at www.startribune.com; at the end you'll see Chris and the others chasing Lileks.]