Bragg Family South

Sorry for the lag in posting, y'all, but between recovering from a nasty little bug I came down with as we returned from Wisconsin, and having to work on a funding proposal, I haven't had much time for anything else... Let's see, I left off as we arrived in Rhinelander. We had a good series of visits with friends and family, even though it snowed every day we were up there, and didn't get above freezing until the day we left to return to Monticello. The highlight for the kids was probably getting to spend time with cousins Michael and Emma, and to get spoiled by Aunt Lisa, Rick "Bumpa" Pruden, and Ann "Nahma" Pruden, who joined us for Easter weekend. In the picture above, Kenny, Emma, and Michael are making sure Uncle Bob doesn't get too comfortable... Coloring Easter eggs was also a big hit for the kids--notice how Mom provided plenty of newspaper to be sure her new kitchen and table didn't get too messy!! Ann Pruden was quite the troo...

So far, we've been on quite the Easter trip. Our first day, Saturday, we made good time to Memphis, had a fun visit to the fabulous zoo there, and visited our dear friend Mike Shelton and his ailing mother. We ducked in and out just before heavy rain and lightning moved into the area. But, as the picture above shows, the weather was warm, and Kenny, Beth, and Uncle Mike had a grand ol' time... After this brief visit, we continued on through the wind, rain, lightning, and rainbows to the St. Louis area, where I was scheduled to give a talk on Monday to students and faculty at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. We got there a day early, and used this time to visit a couple other neat spots. First was Cahokia, site of perhaps the largest prehistoric Native American settlement in the US. Cahokia is famous for the wealth of artifacts uncovered here, as well as the impressive earthen mounds built over many decades. This picture of Kenny shows him probably about 1/3 of the...