This weekend we...

Pittsburg State University

Congratulations Graduate!!

Drove to Pittsburg for my brother Jon's graduation ceremony.  Both Nate and I also graduated with our bachelor's degrees from Pitt State so we were able to see some friends at church and were invited to have dinner at the family that had always hosted lunches for the single adults when we went to school there.  They are obviously still taking care of the many people who travel in and out pretty regularly.  

Lars, Mom, Jon, me, Nate with Elise and Max in front.

We also took the kids to see Big Brutus, a gigantic shovel...well, this is what the web-page says: It's the "largest electric shovel in the world; 16 stories tall (160 feet); weight 11 million pounds.  It's pretty amazing that it could even move! When I went to school in Pittsburg, you could walk all the way to the top of the boom.  I was sooo disappointed to find that some crazy insurance company closed it down in 2004.  I never got to do it while I was there and was sad that I missed the opportunity.  But anyway, the weather was just about perfect, and we had a nice time being together as a family at an unusual attraction.    

This is a big shovel!

But this is THE big shovel (dipper capacity 90 cubic yards - but if that means absolutely nothing to you, like it meant nothing to me, it can lift about 150 heaping tons — enough to fill three railroad cars.)

You may be able to make out Elise and Max standing by the caterpillar wheel - things.