Allison - Flight Zone Toptracer Driving Range

Who’s Ready to Say, “I Do!”

Cooler temperatures mean that our grass is growing at a slower rate. We have been continuing to water in our grass because we planted almost 15 acres of seed and we want it to be well established in the spring. Our outside crew has less grass to mow, so they have some time available to knock off a few projects before the snow flies. In this post, I explained how they cut arches for the pergola that is going in on our new peninsula where our new ceremony site will be located. The peninsula is located near the practice green and is closer to the parking lot than our previous ceremony spot, so that will be more convenient for wedding guests. As we looked at the spot, we realized that it would also be a fun spot to have romantic getaway dinners. The scenery is so beautiful, so we decided to upgrade our arch to be a full sized pergola that is ten by ten foot square. Earlier in the week, the crew dug out holes and put in the posts. They had to secure these posts with cement because this is going to be a pretty heavy and large structure. Once they dumped in the concrete, they back filled with the dirt around the post. Of all of the things that I enjoy about the golf course, I think it is all of the friendships that have formed over the years that charm me most. Up until several years ago, none of these men even knew one another. Now, they play golf together every day and enjoy one another’s company. Once all of these posts were set, they waited several days before making big plans to build the top of the structure. They day before the scheduled building of the top of the pergola, the lunch conversations were buzzing. “Can you do this tomorrow?” “Nope. We’re putting the top on the pergola tomorrow.” “What time should we come in tomorrow?” “We’re building the pergola! We need an earlier start!” There was no denying it. The top of the pergola was going to get built! They had put in a lower set of boards to keep the structure square. They also served as a resting spot to get the top built. All of the cross arches were lined up and tacked into place, so they could easily install the the smaller boards that served as decoration and keep them all in place. It’s always fun to watch a small stack of lumber come to life! Our jacks of several trades were laughing and joking with one another. They had also peaked the interest of several of our golfers! What in the world did we have up our sleeves?? Once most of the 2×2 cross beams were installed, they tilted the entire top section to finish the last few cross beams. That’s a good picture to give you some perspective of the size of the pergola. It isn’t easy to work with something that is quite a bit taller than you are! Even if you do have big farmer hands! Doug’s hands remind me of my grandpa’s hands. They are very large and strong. Working their way down to the bottom of the structure, they continued to install their cross beams until they reached the bottom. They worked on getting the final pieces installed and were busily brainstorming ideas on just how they were going to get this to the top of the structure. Several curious golfers had to drive right up to them to see just what was going on and to offer advice and support. Once they hit the bottom portion and finished the top of the pergola, it was time for lunch. They had decided that they needed to give a little thought as to how they would be able to mount this to the top support bars. Steve conveniently arrived just as they were done with the project. He has impeccable timing! While eating, Dick had an epiphany! They were going to have themselves a good old fashioned barn raising! After securing one side to the top, they created a pulley system to raise the whole structure up! It reminded me of something my dad has always taught me. Leverage is king. It’s funny all of those little quirky things that you pick up on from your parents over the years. I can just picturing my dad showing me how to change a tire. I couldn’t get a bolt loose, so he grabbed a longer tool and told me that leverage was king. As an adult, I just smile sweetly at my husband and he takes care of it for me. Leverage is king! You can see a golfer’s cart there in the bottom corner. He had come come over to see just what we were up to! The clubhouse was filled with questioning golfers. What in the world are they building out there? The guys were all busy giving Dick some kudos for his wise thinking because it ended up being a fairly easy task to complete. They were clearly wondering about it up until lunch time. Never let them see you sweat! That’s the goal! When they removed the support beams and walked away from the project, they approached me before heading out to golf. “Get your camera! The pergola is complete!” Ain’t she a beaut? Let’s re-visit our to do list from this post: build pergola transplant trees along the cart path that leads across the pond pull weeds along the bank landscape around the newly planted trees bring in additional compost to fill in the low spots of the trenched areas install bigger irrigation head to get water farther across the peninsula bring in woodchips for landscaped area plant native grasses in pond banks finish connecting speaker system finish connecting to electricity We plan to paint the pergola white, but since this was created with treated lumber, we have to wait until

The Only Way to Seed

Project List

First of all. I need to apologize about this post on two levels. 1) It’s really late. I forgot I had these pictures on my camera. 2) I wasn’t the one who took these pictures. I forgot to tell my staff member to change the white balance, so these pictures are a little weird. As in, the world has an odd purple-ish haze to it. Ok. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get started with one of the coolest machines we have come across to date. This bad boy is called a Terra Spike. Not that I sound like a broken record (yeah, right), but we’ve been struggling with some adverse weather conditions. Namely, a drought. Just before the drought, it was some flooding. I guess we just can’t be happy with the weather. In the words of Taylor Swift. . .Like, ever. Needless to say, it has caused us many sleepless nights trying to get a few of our fairways to get some thick grass that will sustain even through adverse conditions. Having built the golf course forty years ago, there have been many advances in seed and we keep trying to introduce some of these new cultivores to our fairways and rough areas which have been made to stand up to tough conditions. The trouble is that we get it established, then it gets hit by the drought and boom. Knocks it out. Since we have put down about 20,000 pounds of seed in the last two years, we thought we’d try something new on the few fairways that were left struggling after this year’s drought. Because of the drought, we have been unable to aerate our fairways for a few years. They have simply been too dry. This machine is able to aerate and seed all at the same time. The best part about this machine is that the seed is planted deep under the surface, so there is a much better seed to soil contact which results in a higher germination rate. The seed gets placed in a large bin, then it is funneled down into the spikes that are both aerating and seeding at the same time. This bad boy is a pretty expensive machine. We decided to hire it done by Commercial Turf and Tractor which is a company that specializes in large pieces of equipment that golf courses use only a few times of year, so it doesn’t make sense to own one. They have them, then you can rent the machine and a staff member for the day to perform the work. It’s a win/win. Mike came out and seeded a little over ten acres of fairways for us. He went through about 3,000 pounds of seed. In our main problem spots, he tore it up pretty good, but it wasn’t but a few days later that we were seeing some germination! Here is Mike, hard at work! While the seeding was taking place, I got a text from Ron who told me that this was the only way to seed. I wasn’t around to get to see this machine in action. As I was glancing through the pictures, his thoughts behind it became perfectly clear. Here are Ron and my brother, Jason, supervising the seeding process. Yep. It’s definitely the only cough, cough way to seed. Did you get your lawn aerated this fall? It’s so important for healthy turf! You’ll have to trust me. I married a turf jedi.

Is That a Rope? No. A Frayed Knot.

Project List

The ropes that serve as the boundaries to our ponds up at the minigolf have definitely seen better days. They were fraying and looking pretty tough. Earlier this year, we had tried to repair them, but it wasn’t working. The rope just continued to get worse. We finally gave up on attempting to be McGuyver and purchased a massive spool of rope. If we were giants, this might look like a spindle of thread where we could sew our giant clothes. Unfortunately, we aren’t. This is just a massive spool of synthetic rope. I have never purchased rope before, so I almost fell out of my chair when I was told the price. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do. Given the price, it may as well be made from gold. We went with a synthetic rope because we have heard that it won’t fray and splinter like our previous rope had done. It’s over an inch in width, so Jason had to drill out the previous holes to make room for the new rope which was slightly bigger. He had wrapped the end of the rope with some electrical tape to make it easier to push through the holes and then tie at the end – wait for it – at the end of his rope. This was one of those projects that didn’t take much more than a morning to accomplish, but had a massive impact up at the minigolf. We were really happy with the results. It will be fun to see how long the bright white lasts because many little hands hold onto the rope. It’s kind of like a white couch in a home filled with small children. It doesn’t last long. We will have to wait and see! The difference is dramatic! We just wish we would have bit the bullet sooner and installed it about a month ago. Another check on our mile long to do list is complete. How about you? Have you been tying up any loose ends around your place getting ready for winter? See what I did there? Tying? I crack myself up.

Early to Rise Makes Two Men Wise

Project List

Dick and Doug are honing in their carpentry skills again now that fall is upon us. Up until a few weeks ago, they have been mowing and maintaining the grounds at the golf course. They claim they enjoy this break from the norm. I’m glad they do! I asked them what time they would be arriving in the morning. They answered 6:15. This is what the shop looked like when I arrived. The sun wasn’t even thinking about showing up yet. I was coming home from dropping my kid off at school. I didn’t think about the fact that I had showed up to take pictures in my pajama pants and slippers. I’m a classy boss. They told me that they felt very over-dressed. Doug put to use his geometry and created a template for an arch on our pergola that we will be installing at our new ceremony site. Then, he traced the template out on all of other boards, so he could cut them all the same size. Check out that perfectly aligned arch! They had a big stack of lumber delivered from Menards to prepare for this project. It’s the perfect thing to work on in the early mornings while they are waiting for the frost to thaw. After waking up early for the entire summer, the guys wake up without even thinking about it. Once all of the arches were cut, they decided they needed to make some pretty end caps. Doug came up with the design. He’s fancy. We are getting very excited to install this pergola at our new ceremony site. The pergola will be 10 ft x 10 ft square. The base of it will be flagstone which will be a nice flat surface. Our vision is to create a nice private dining area where people might want to celebrate with an anniversary dinner. Not to mention the fact that it will be a beautiful setting to get married under. Pretty nice design! How about you? Would you want to enjoy a candlelight dinner under our pergola? Score one for the Mrs. Romantic setting with no television distraction during a meal. Score two for the Mr. Golf course and food! It’s a win/win!

Honey, I Shrunk My Pants!

What's Cooking

Back in the spring, mom and I made our way up to Ankeny to check out Sysco’s new test kitchen. They had a show while we were there and even made us our very own sandwiches! Our main purpose this spring was to taste our way to the best burger we could find for our Tuesday Night Burger Nights that we hosted throughout the summer. I think we definitely succeeded as the burgers were a huge success! We were invited again this fall to a bigger show that they have put on at their facility. Sysco is located just up the street from Olive Garden in Ankeny. They are great to work with and we have found these tastings to be very beneficial. It’s truly amazing all of the supplies that they offer to restaurants throughout our area. In case you’re wondering, no, you can’t just go there and buy food. It’s strictly for food related businesses. Although, I wouldn’t blame you if you put on a chef’s coat and tried to sneak in the doors! It was a fabulous show! After telling the family about the spring show, my sister-in-law, Theresa, decided to come sample some product! Theresa is in charge of ordering apparel, golf supplies, and other chotskies for the Golf Shop. Her sales people never let her taste the shirts, so it just doesn’t have quite the same appeal as a trip to Sysco. When we arrived, we got a bunch of fun supplies and we were all entered into a drawing. Here’s mom excited to load up on all of her goodies! We were taken into the first room that was filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. The fresh fruit lady had a delicious fruit salsa that had jalapenos in it. Yummy! They also included recipes for all of the dishes they had on display. It’s a nice way for food service personnel to get some ideas on different food options. They made the whole room feel like a fresh food market place! Check out all of these mushrooms! I had to resist rolling around on them. I bet they’d make a nice pillow. Oh yes. That’s right. They’re food. We’re supposed to be using them for food. Silly me. Luckily, my mom still keeps me in line when we’re in public. We had our eyes open for some more items to sell at the snack bar. It’s always a juggling act to see what golfers want to eat. The first thing that caught our eye were these flatbread pizzas. Theresa got hung up at the desserts. I’m not sure we’ll ever have a cheesecake that you can purchase at the turn, but that didn’t stop us from giving it a try! She was willing to take one for the team! We made our way through the building. These snacks caught our eye. They were labeled as Hearty which I read to be Healthy. I know that the chocolate and peanut butter covering the mix should have been a dead giveaway. It’s probably why I can’t ever lose weight at the golf course. I’m always confusing the hefty helping of cookies to read healthy helping of cookies. They had lots of delicious meats on hand to sample. This was a fabulous turkey. It melted in your mouth. Plus some ham which was also tasty. After having our protein for the day, we headed over to the Pillsbury Dough Boy where we ate muffins and cakes. Pillsbury had recipes on hand for Sysco customers to try. We oooo-ed and ahhhh-ed over their selections. The theme for this food show was fall foods. There were many soups and heavy sauces to sample. All of the vendors were showing their products and how they could vary the recipe to make it versatile for many different options. Then, we ran into a coffee distributor. I hung back and didn’t talk to the vendors since I’m not a coffee connoisseur. As you know, the Brady girls have coffee every morning, so they lined up to try some coffee! I was standing back. Eying the ribeye from a distance when I heard them announce the winner of the hour from our entries that we filled out when we arrived. We have our winner! Theresa Brady. BAM! I practically knocked Theresa over when I shoved her and exclaimed, “You win EVERYTHING.” I should have taken a picture of her on the ground. (As a side note: she really does win everything. If there is a raffle to be won, it has Theresa’s name on it every time!) We both ran off to claim her prize and left mom with the coffee salesmen who thought I was a few screws loose. I guess my husband is right. He always ignores me when I’m with my sister or sister-in-law because I become really strange and apparently embarrassing to be around. After apologizing to the coffee reps, we moved on to the next food vendor. I really liked this company because even though it was salad dressing that they were sampling, they didn’t provide a salad to try it. Nope. They provided french fries. They are my people. It was about this time that my mom gave up on trying any more food. She’s an amateur. The vendors have fun booths with lots of ideas and item numbers of their products. We starred all of the things that we tasted and liked this day. The product numbers match up with the numbers on their website which is where mom goes to place her order, so the whole process works really well. There was another vendor who was sampling a different type of flat bread. We really liked their display which was just a piece of tile on top of glass blocks with a heat source underneath it. We thought that was really clever. They found me peculiar for liking their display even more than the food. I’m all about making a good impression. Having filled up

Presto! We Have Trees!

Project List

We have been very busy this fall tying up a bunch of loose ends. Our main focus has been to get our ceremony site completed. Our first ceremony for next year is in May and we want to have the space fully functional by then. As I mentioned here, we are pleased to announce that we finally have grass. It’s time to get our landscape on! Step one in our landscaping was to provide a nice barrier from the cart path that leads over the dam on number ten. It will make for a nice wind break as well as a beautiful area for outside pictures. Photographers love shade, so we wanted to make sure to provide them with plenty of it! Dad decided that he wouldn’t plant just one tree. He’d plant fourteen! He marked them all out. My dad is our handy dandy tree man. He (and a few of his squirrel friends) have planted basically every tree on our course using either his hands or his tree spade. This tree spade is older than I am. I can actually remember helping my dad transplant trees when I was a small child. I rode on his lap on this very same tractor. I think we have had this trusty John Deere so long that it is nearly an antique! There’s a reason for the saying, “Runs Like a Deere.” Dad is what you’d call a resourceful welder, so over the years this tree spade has seen its fair share of interesting items used when welding it back together. Not the least of which was a few wrenches here or there. The small engine wasn’t cooperating, so dad had to do a little fixing before he could start it up! He played around with it for about ten minutes. Tightening a belt here. Tapping the motor there. Then, he was ready to give it a go to see if his best friend would start up! She lit right up and purred. Dad has probably spent more time with his tree spade than he has his own children. He has been known to drive all the way into the city of Pleasant Hill to plant trees at my sister’s house. That’s lots of time on the road! When I went out to take pictures of my dad putting in these trees, I was reminded that this is a pretty cool machine. First step is to begin inserting one of the blades into the ground. This begins the process of digging a hole where a tree will be placed. In this photo, three of the blades have gone into the ground half way and the fourth one is getting inserted into the ground. Once they have been inserted into the ground, he goes back through each blade and pushes the blades into the ground a little deeper. Until all four blades are all the way into the ground and touching one another underneath the surface. He pulls up the plug of soil. The machine tilts the plug back ready for transport. Here is one of the many reasons that I don’t do this job. Dad has to get very close to the edge of the drop off in order to fit the tractor into this tight spot. I’d probably end up tipped over the edge of the ravine and stuck in the pond that is on the drop off about ten feet below. Then it is time for him to go place this plug in one of the holes that he has ready just for this purpose around our property. Dad disappeared for about 30 minutes and returned with our very first tree! He carefully backed it into place. After planting trees for nearly forty years, he has this down to a science and had the tree centered in his open hole on the first try. The tree spade lowered the tree into place. After the tree is in its place and is lined up straight and not at an odd angle, Tom removed the bar, so that the tree spade can pull away from the tree. There you have it! Our first tree! After it was in place, dad started the whole process over until he had two lines of trees. We are very excited that this stage is complete. These trees are about fifteen years old and dad planted them when they were mere sticks of about 10 inches in height! We think they make a beautiful backdrop to our ceremony site! How about you? Been doing any tree planting in your neck of the woods? It’s the best time of the year to get it done!

Enjoying Fall

Golf Course

It occurred to me that I’m living up to the common misconception that once the busy summer months pass us by, we sit around and eat bon bons because we don’t have anything else better to do. Theresa usually plays the role of Peggy Bundy’s personal trainer and tries to get me to exercise, while I sit on the couch like Peggy Bundy and shout, “Bon Bon!” until she gives in and we don’t do anything. Not really. Ironically, the fall is actually one of our busier times of the year. Most of our staff is no longer present which means Theresa works more hours in the clubhouse and I’m her trusty side kick. I think I’d rather be Wonder Woman than Peggy. Between three kids and the golf course, I find myself coming and going and before I knew it, I went nearly two weeks without providing a golf course update! Sorry about that! I have lots of fun projects to share with you, but let’s get started with some of the beauty of the season. I wish I was a better photographer, so I could capture the scene on the golf course better. We have over 300 varieties of trees, so that makes for an absolutely breathtaking view of colors. My favorite drive is coming over the hill when you are driving south on NE 80th Street. You reach the top of the hill and then the valley is filled with trees as far as the eye can see. I’ve never been a huge fan of the driving range. When I played high school golf, I didn’t enjoy hitting balls on the range. I wanted to get out there and play some “real” golf. It probably had more to do with the fact that it was girls golf which meant we had to play in the spring and there aren’t many things I hate more than being cold. Spring golf is often cold golf. My favorite golf team experience occurred while playing golf in the rain. One of my opponents from Urbandale decided she’d go after her ball that she had hit out of bounds to the left of number four. She jumped the fence, but her foot got stuck in the barbed wire and she was stuck hanging upside down from the fence. The rest of us had to walk all the way in to the clubhouse for help because our coaches were nice and cozy warm inside the clubhouse staying out of the rain. I don’t think I have ever laughed that much playing golf. I wish cell phones had been invented because you can bet that there would be a picture of an upside down golfer to go along with this story! This time of the year, the driving range calls me. I can remember planting all of those trees when they were seedlings when I was in high school. There were over 5,000 of them planted. Maybe if I had this view, I would have enjoyed the range more in high school. While I was out taking pictures, I ran across Dick who was putting on the final application of fertilizer on our greens. Just one of the many steps that we take to button up the golf course for winter. He got tired after fifteen holes and required my brother, Jason, to come finish for him. I guess we need to have an exercise regimen for our staff! How about you? Where are your favorite places to go in the fall to see beautiful colors?

Quick Trip to Charleston

Family Matters

Last week, I spent a few days in Charleston, SC for the National Golf Course Owner Association (NGCOA)’s board meeting. My first meeting was in the spring after being nominated to be on the board last February. The board is made up of golf course owners from many walks of life. There are a few who are small mom and pop operators like me, then there are some resort golf course operators as well as multi-course operators who run two hundred or more golf courses. It’s a nice mix of people. I enjoy these meetings as I am able to visit with fellow owners on a personal level about different ideas and pick their brain on their successes and how they overcome difficulties. I learn something new every single time. Our NGCOA headquarters is located in Charleston, so it is a fun experience just to check out this historic city. I have often wondered how people travel for a living. It’s exhausting. I flew in and had to be at my meeting an hour and a half later. Our meeting took place in a historic hotel called Mills House. If you ever go to Charleston, I highly recommend this hotel. It was absolutely beautiful and is located within walking distance to tons of shops, restaurants and beautiful scenery. Many of the board members played golf earlier in the day. At this point in my life, I haven’t been able to play golf with the board members because my children are involved in so many activities that my schedule just doesn’t allow for it. I did get there with enough time to pull out my camera for a few shots of the hotel. Apparently airlines don’t even provide peanuts anymore, so I was pretty excited that they had a cheese tray. I had to take a picture for my mom. We’re big fans of nicely displayed food. The good news is that it tasted even better than it looked. The hotel also had a really pretty courtyard area where the regional executive directors from around the country and the national NGCOA board had a gathering the night before. I wasn’t able to attend. I did attend my middle son’s cross country meet and my oldest son’s choir concert. They didn’t take place in a pretty courtyard, though. Having gotten up at three in the morning to catch my flight, I did require a triple espresso as well as my old stand by, Mountain Dew. The best part about being a newbie on the board is that I can sit back and observe. It was interesting to me because the people who clearly attend more board meetings that I do, knew exactly how to cut to the chase and move the meeting along. Our family board meetings usually consist of the phrase, “Please pass the mashed potatoes and gravy.” We’re a pretty informal group. After our meeting, which lasted about an hour less than it was slated on the itinerary, we headed over to a restaurant just off the ocean called Carolinas. On our walk to the restaurant, we ran across many cool museums as well as people dressed in old fashioned attire. It was nestled among some amazingly beautiful homes that had secret doorway entrances that were lit by simulated burning candle lanterns. We were invited to choose our seat, so I picked this swanky booth table. In case you’re wondering, I’m the only weirdo golf course owner who takes pictures of everything. I can’t help myself. I’m a big cheese fan, but I apparently don’t eat at this level of fancy restaurant in Des Moines. They actually had a cheese tray for dessert. I wasn’t sure if that was a fancy restaurant thing or regional thing. One of my favorite board members is Mike Hatch who is the owner and General Manager of two golf courses in Richmond, Virginia. They are semi-private clubs, so if you’re in the area, you need to stop by and play his courses: Brandermill Country Club / Birkdale Golf Club. He is originally from England, so his accent makes even the most boring story about his golf course sound cool. Seriously. He could explain to me how he plunged the toilet in the ladies restroom and it’d sound like a fascinating job. He ordered the cheese tray and posed for a picture because he’s cool. In the morning, we had — you guessed it– more meetings! They were followed up by lunch in the tea room. And dessert. I arrived back to the golf course late in the evening, so I could be ready for work in the morning. The NGCOA is a really great organization that helps golf courses throughout the United States. They are also the creators of some of the campaigns to help grow the game of golf. I don’t know why they asked me to be on their board, but I’m glad they did. How about you? Any jet setters out there? What’s your secret to adjusting to time zones? Espresso, Mountain Dew, faking it?

Birthday Party Central

Events

Over the weekend, our staff completed their 200th minigolf birthday party of the season. I didn’t want to figure it out for fear of depressing my mom, Freddi the Kitchen Guru, but that also means that she made her 500th pizza of the season. She has gotten quite good at making her homemade crust and single topping pizza. When we built the minigolf nine years ago, we had a vision of what we could offer the community. At the time, my children were small. In fact, my daughter was born the day before our grand opening of the miniature golf. My middle son, Carson, was only three and he played the miniature golf about 125 times a day and got so good at it that he would average 10 or more holes in one per round! Given that we are nestled among 400 acres of farmland, we have an unusual landscape for a business that is located only 15 minutes from downtown Des Moines. An oasis of sorts. You can hear birds singing and the star filled night sky is something to admire. All of our miniature golf birthday parties add such a fun dynamic to the golf course. It used to be that our weekends were filled with loud boistrous golfers, but now we hear little voices among our crowd. Begging for a lollipop or exclaiming their favorite color while grabbing a golf ball for the miniature golf. It has been so fun to see all of our dreams from nine years ago become a reality this year. Two hundred birthday parties celebrating all the future golfers. We couldn’t ask for anything better. How about you? Did you celebrate someone’s birthday at the golf course this year?

The Perfect Blend

Family Matters

To truly get in on all the inner workings of Toad Valley, you need to make a stop out to the clubhouse any week day at 8:00 a.m. when the Brady girls have their ritual coffee break. It all started back in 1973 when we opened our doors as a means for the ladies of the family to check in with one another. Even when I was a young girl, I can remember coming over for the 8:00 a.m. coffee break with a container filled with scrambled eggs that I would eat with my grandpa while the girls visited about their day. That ritual has continued for almost 40 years. My mom and Aunt Nancy would put me and my cousins on the bus for school and head over to the golf course to start their day promptly at 8:00 a.m. It has helped to form a strong family bond turning sisters-in-law to best friends. My grandma, Audrey Brady, will turn 98 next month and she attributes her good health to the morning coffee break. She always says, “It gives her a reason to get out of bed.” I caught up with the Brady girls one morning. Mom, Grandma and Aunt Nancy have been sipping coffee for years. Grandma no longer drinks coffee, so she just comes to hear what her grandkids, great-grandkids and great-great grandkids are up to these days. Once my sister-in-law, Theresa, came on the scene nine years ago, she has become a staple to the morning coffee club. These ladies can be heard laughing and sharing stories about their days for about thirty minutes every morning. Running a family business requires a strong foundation. At the end of the day, we always know that we’re family and that always comes first. Coffee breaks help to form that strong foundation. If you want to know this lady’s secret to living nearly 98 years, she’ll tell you that it takes the good Lord, family coffee breaks and water aerobics, in that order. I’ll throw in a cheery attitude as my grandma is one of the happiest people you will ever meet! Once the coffee break comes to an end, my Aunt Nancy takes Grandma to water aerobics and everyone’s day begins. It’s definitely going to be a good day with a morning full of love from your family and often times, a few friends stop in to join the Brady girls. How about you? Do you think you’ll be going to water aerobics when you’re 98 years old?

Services

Quick Links

Join Our Birthday Club