Cousin Camp 2026

What a busy few days we had in August with four cousins. This grandma was beyond thrilled that four grands decided to come and hang out. I used to get all 12 grandchildren to come but time passes and some are adults and are working for a living, one was on a mission trip, and one was studying abroad in London. Their worlds have certainly broadened farther than grandmas little circle. I was delighted that my four youngest grands could come. Even the two that are Junior’s in High School and have summer jobs chose to come. That was a real honor.

Grandma had made too many plans for the few days that we had and then Jake said, “You know grandma, I think it would be fun to go to Castle Rock.” So of course that was added to our schedule. Castle Rock is quite a rock formation found in our relatively flat area of Kansas. It is a great place to climb on rocks, look for fossils, and have a picnic! So that is what we did.

“My cousins are shareholders of my soul.” —Saswat Padhy

Grandpa had a woodworking project for the kids. They made wooden pencil holders for their desks and got to try their hand at grandpa’s wood lathe for a bit.

Grandma always tries to interest them in some sewing and craft projects. We took on some big projects this year and barely got them finished in time. It’s good that grandma has a stash of fabric. Jake wanted to make a flag pillow case, Luke made a flag pillow and Addie made a puppy appliqued pillow. They all did a precise job with their sewing. I remember when I used to have them sitting on my lap while we sewed together. There is no need of that anymore. We have a very talented crew.

Sophie missed some of the projects as she was able to come for an afternoon only. She also drove her car out to grandma and grandpas house. We had a good time while she was here playing some of their favorite board games and trekking to our annual ice cream soda fountain in town. There we try to see just how much delicious ice cream we can eat.

Grandma and Grandpa had a good time and we hope the cousins did too. Every morning we started the day with breakfast and devotions. It reminded this grandma of the cousin camps she attended with her cousins on the ranch in Oklahoma. My dear Granny would take us all to Vacation Bible School and then we would roam the ranch having all kinds of adventures!

“A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.” —Marion C. Garretty

County Fair

County Fairs

One of the most popular events is the Sheridan County Fair and Carnival held each July in Hoxie. The week begins with competitions for the 4-H club. Thrill-seekers can spend the end of the week at the carnival and rodeo. Thousands of people come from all over the area to enjoy the three day, home-owned carnival which has been volunteer-run for more than 40 years! It is a grand reunion for the town and county as many of the kids that grew up and attended school In Hoxie come home to see friends and family. Classmates are able to catch up with one another and enjoy a great visit and the festivities. All of their children can enjoy the fair in a safe environment.

“Life is like a Ferris wheel: sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, but the view is always great.”

Our daughter came home with three of her children and we had a great time at the fair. Grandma has never been very good with rides but now she just can’t even ride the Ferris Wheel. The last time she rode on it, it wasn’t good. That old motion sickness just kicks in. Grandpa rode the Ferris Wheel with the grandkids and enjoyed every minute.

It was sure a sweet treat to have three of the grandkids here for the weekend. It brought back all of the memories of previous county fairs when our children were involved in 4-H and they showed the lambs they had been raising, we worked in the food stand making pies and sloppy joes, and we worked on the booth to show the value of our 4H group. Then came the sale of the lambs they had raised and the tears. And then the cleaning of the stalls and the counting of the money they now had from the sale. After the fair was over there were some very tired parents and children. But, oh the things that 4H taught our children were immeasurable.

July 4th, 2026

Drag races! We woke up on the morning of July 4^th, the 250^th anniversary of the United States of America with no plans for the day. I told my Farmer husband that I was taking him to the drag races. We are in our 70’s and we hadn’t been to drag races since we were in our 20’s. You know what they say about that second childhood. The races were an hour and a half away but our son and some grandkids were there so I hoped we could do a quick lunch with them.

The Farmer was a little concerned about the heat but I assured him that it would be fine and we just needed to do something a little bit crazy. So off we went to the races. We were able to have a quick lunch with our son, daughter in law and their three kids who were home for the holidays. Even our granddaughter’s fiancé joined us for lunch. They weren’t engaged yet but soon would be.

Then we drove to the race track for the races. It was very LOUD and the Farmer did not need his hearing aids in so we put them in my purse. There were some really cool looking cars and some that were quite strange. Some of them went 200 mph! Yikes! Those were the loudest.

If you’ve got everything under control, you are not moving fast enough. – Mario Andretti

The Farmer was right about one thing, it was HOT! Our black umbrella helped to shade us some. After a couple of hours our adventure was wearing a little thin. We got back in our air conditioned pickup and headed back to the ranch. We did stop on the way home and had some ice cream.

All in all we had fun and we did enjoy just doing something completely off of our radar for the day. It was a great way to celebrate the 250^th Anniversary of our nation.

The next day we drove an hour the other direction to see another son and family and went to church with them. Grandparent’s have vehicle and grandchildren and will travel.

“Courage is being scared to death-and saddling up anyway!” John Wayne

In March, my cousin, Terry called me to let me know he was battling cancer again. He knew better than not to tell me! Twelve years ago he gave me a call and told me he had cancer in his throat and he began the battle to beat the C word. And he did! His doctors had never seen anyone go through all he went through and still go to work nearly every day.

Terry was made from some hearty stock and is a real cowboy. He was a member of the World Champion Roping Team in 1991. He worked hard and he worked long. When we were children we roamed all over Pap-Paw’s ranch in Oklahoma. There was so much to do in that place and our imaginations ran wild. Terry was my Roy Rogers and I was Dale Evans. There was one problem with this picture: this Dale Evans was afraid of horses. Well I wasn’t afraid of Pap-Paw’s horse, Buck. (That was the wrong name for this gentle old horse.) But I was afraid of the heights it would take to get up on him. I definitely was not the best Dale Evans. But we fought our bad guys anyway along with our other cousins.

Cowboys are born, not made. Their stories are true, even when they’re not.”– Baxter Black

When Terry called in March, he said he was experiencing kidney cancer again and he just wanted to get on my prayer list. He was sure he was going to be able to beat this again and he was added to my prayer list. On May 10, 2026 I received a call from his little sister, Patti. She said that Terry was tired of the battle and he made the decision to go on hospice. I called him that evening and heard his weak and weary voice. I asked him if he had received Jesus as his Savior. He told me “Oh, yes! I took care of that years ago.” May 11 we headed to Oklahoma to get to see Terry one more time. As I was driving I was asking the Lord to show me how to pray for Terry and I heard on the radio the song “Wide Open” by North Point Worship. The words carried my answer on how to pray for him and it gave me a glimpse of what was ahead for Terry. Here are the words I heard.

No height, no depth, no laugh, or final breath

Could ever separate us from Your love

No failure, no mistake, no loneliness, or pain

Could ever separate us from Your love

On the other side of everything I’m afraid of

You are standing with Your arms wide open, wide open

Even in my deepest doubts and wonder

You are standing with your arms wide open, wide open

My heart was at peace and we had a wonderful visit with Terry. We headed back to the farm the next day and Terry went home to be with his Savior just about the time we got home. I think he’s enjoying roping in heaven in a brand new body.

Happy New Year! 2026 is Here!

Is There Room in Your Heart?

Conrad and I have had a good year this 2025. We are thankful every day for good health and for each other. Graduations filled up our May. Our sweet Anna graduated from KU and is teaching high school art in Great Bend. Willow graduated from Flower Mound High and is going to Boston University in a few weeks. Asa graduated from Rawlins County High and is now at KSU in computer science. We now have two grandsons at KSU with another planning to join them next fall.

A new knee was in store for grandpa in May. He tried physical therapy and decided to go ahead with a new knee. He has done very well with his new knee and was very faithful to do all of the physical therapy carefully. This did put a crimp in Pam’s plans this summer. Travel was curtailed for a bit and Pam had to mow and trim this whole place. Wouldn’t you know this would be the year it would rain and the grass would keep growing until frost! I love green grass and rain so no real complaints from this girl.

We were unable to go on a SOWER mission this year due to the knee replacement. This mission was missed very much by both of us. We are hopeful to return to this ministry soon. We miss our friends and the couples we have worked with.

I-70 has been a well-traveled road for us this fall. With two grandsons in Manhattan and four grandchildren in Olathe, we have seen a lot of this road. We also made it to St. Paul, Minnesota to watch Josh play football there with UNW. Our grandchildren are growing up quickly now and the realization has hit that they are on their own pursuits all over the USA right now and it will be more so in the future. I wonder if we will make it to Boston University?

Conrad and I are enjoying retirement. We are not retired we are refired! We’ve been really enjoying our church and we have had many opportunities to teach Bible studies in the last few years. We rejoice in our Savior and His goodness to us.

Will we make room for God to write His story in our lives?

God bless you all dear friends! HAPPY 2026 Conrad and Pam Popp

It’s a Wrap – Cousin Camp 2025

Well, it’s a wrap. Cousin camp 2025 is in the books. I have 12 grandchildren and I had three that were able to come this year. Some of them are growing up and have jobs and are having to be adults now. That’s so sad for grandma . Some are involved in all kinds of activities and have jobs too for the summer.

I am so thankful for the three that were able to come. We were able to meet up with one other grandson for an evening meal as he was home from college for a couple of weeks. Grandpa and Grandma are very blessed to be able to spend this time with these precious kids as we see our grandchildren are growing up.

” Some family trees bear an enormous crop of nuts!” -Wayne Huizenga

We had a great time and Grandpa helped them in the woodshop to make some beautiful bookends and Grandma kept them busy with all kinds of crafts. We painted with our toes (this was a special request from a couple of years ago) and got some masterpieces! They did a turtle, penguin and a star fish. They did better with their toes than this Grammy can do with her fingers! We did some beading pictures with beads and double stick tape. This was an idea from my niece and was a real hit! This group is a talented bunch. I was amazed at their creativity as they came up with some really neat projects.

Time with a few additional cousins.

We played some games, went swimming at the pool and enjoyed the waterslides at the pool here in Quinter. We also went to a trampoline park in Salina and we played putt putt golf in Hays so all in all, it was a successful time. I think the kids and grandpa and grandma were tired at the end of the time together, but it was a blessing to be able to have these cousins here.

We shared some great devotions in the morning and some prayer times. Nothing no nothing could make us richer than be able to spend this time with these kids and our Lord. We’re going to keep declaring Isaiah 59:21. “The Lord says that my spirit is upon you and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants or from the mouth of your descendants, descendants Says the Lord forevermore.”

“Family. A snug kind of word.” Fannie Hurst

What a precious friend we have in Jesus. And what a precious time with this group. Just this last weekend we were blessed to spend time with six of our grandkids. We ate lunch for Grandparents Day at Addie’s school. She is the only grandchild we have still in elementary school. We got to watch her brother’s run in Cross Country. Luke took first in the fifth grade boys’ race. Judah and Jake ran very well in their races also. Then we drove to Kansas State University to have lunch with two grandsons majoring in Computer Science. It was a delightful lunch just hearing them talk about their classes and their time there on campus.

Have Crafts Will Travel

“The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do without thought of fame.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Grammie did you bring any crafts?” This is what I used to hear each time I visited a grandchild. I love to treat my grandchildren to a new craft or an idea to create something. We are all created in the image of God and since He is the creator we also are creative. I didn’t use to think that I was creative but I do have some creative genes in my system.

When my own children were young we were involved in 4-H and I do not know how this came about but I became the craft leader for the Saline Valley 4H club. I think it was because I couldn’t really fill any of the other leadership positions. As a young mother, I had tried my hand at a few things. I quilted a pillow top, made some ceramics, made some macramé flower pot hangers, and a few other things. Now that I was in leadership though I had to up my skills to lead a whole 4H group to success for the County Fair.

This experience led me to be the Grammie that always had crafts in her sack. I didn’t dare show up without an idea and a project. I also would have cousin camp every summer where the grands would make some great projects including tie dye, wood projects with grandpa and science experiments.

Now my grandchildren are in high school or college and Grammie’s stash of crafts are sitting idle. I have found a new avenue for my hidden talent (it’s really hidden!) and that is now I am teaching Kid Zone at church and I have a whole new group of children excited about my crafts. I think I will adopt some of them as grandchildren. Yes, I think that is my new plan.

“Crafting is the art of turning ordinary objects into extraordinary things.” Unknown

HAVE CRAFTS, WILL TRAVEL!