Annual Tea Party and trip to Green Belt

The Annual Tea Party then a trip to the Green Belt

John and Kara were taking Kammi and Cora to see the matinee performance of the Phantom of the Opera. The girls both went to school in the morning and the came to our house and got all dressed up to go. Caedmon and Cosette were going to spend the afternoon with grandpa and grandma so to have something special for them as well grandma set the stage for the annual Tea Party. Robyn has been doing this every since Kammi was about 2 years old so we have pictures taken every year. Most years she packs the kids and all the props to the local photo shop and they spend hours getting just the right pictures. This year was going to be a little different because we wanted to lower the stress on the kids and also try out a new camera. The Canon power shot was set up and we started taking pictures then came the hats and coats and a walk through the green belt. First was the hike from the back of the house (top center) holding hands and then a stop at the old fire pit. They started gathering sticks for the next stop by a big pine tree where Caedmon was rubbing sticks to start a fire (which didn't happen but he tried) . Then Cosette and grandma has a game of hide and seek and Caedmon climbed trees. Then it was off to the swing where CJ kept loosing his hat but it was time to head for the bridge across the creek where they look like jail birds looking through the fence on the bridge. (lower far right) Yes this is just a sample because we took over 140 pixs and grandma had a slide show for John, Kara, Kammi & Cora done before they got back from the opera. For lunch they had baked mac and cheese with bacon bits on top and after the opera we had ham, peas and sweet potatoes and finished with chocolate chip granola cookies with lots of nuts and good stuff in them.

P.S. grandma served Dr Pepper in the teapot and boy were the little ones wired for the rest of the day.

Valentine Dinner

The old gang was together for

a Valentine dinner.

Ray & Sherry, Kieth & Barb, Jerry & Nancy, Larry & Sandy and of course Gary & Robyn.

Lots of food and even more talking and a review of wedding pictures. Except Jerry deleted the e-mail and did not bring their pictures (so we hear)

Enjoy your day.

Family History

The past several months have been busy ones researching the family history.
When meeting with Dorothy May Card and Dick Beem, who are descendents of the Stepp family, a photo copy of a page from a Colorado history book given to me that someone had copies many years ago. The subject was William L. Stepp. The page numbers skipped one page so wondered what was on that missing page the search was on.

After several attempts to find the book and not having any luck and I deciding to let it cool for a while. So off on another direction …..based on a reference from page 796 about the Leyden Coal Company [located 2.5 miles west of Indiana St. in Arvada, Jefferson County, Colorado]. (about 15 miles north west of Littleton, CO.) a search was started to try to find the connection.

Quite by accident in seeking information about the Coal mine a quote popped up about “one hundred sixty acres of land on which the coal mine was located” that looked like something I had read in the photo copy on William L. Stepp. Thus in re-reading it several more times it was discovered that it was the same. A Google Book Search was done and the book was found that had pages 796, 797 and 798 . They came from a History of Colorado published in 1918 by Wilbur Fiske Stone. The missing page of 797 was a picture of William L and Missouri A.E. Stepp.

Here is that picture.

This is the only picture we have ever seen of my great great grand parents.
Here is the family line.

William L. Stepp and Missouri were married 18 April 1858 they had 14 children.
Number nine was Olive Stepp born 27 November 1869 and Married Benjamin T. Parks 12 Dec 1886. They had 4 children Harvy, Thomas Benjamin Parks , Lora and Susie.
Thomas B. Parks married Beatrice Miller they had 2 children Thomas I Parks and Irma Margaret Parks who married Raymond Howard Baxter in 1939 and they had two sons
Raymond Eugene Baxter and Gary Dean Baxter

So now you know how we tie back to the Stepp family.

That is why I have not been posting to the blog.