A Weekend Walk

The day is new, there is nothing pressing , it is unusually cool for July and all is peaceful. Dan and I started the day by going for a walk right behind our house. I just love that I can get "to the woods" on foot and it seems each time I go I discover something new. This walk did not disappoint.

I tied up my shoes and headed out the door, stopping at my own flower bed on the way out.

Cosmos

On down the hill to the wild flowers. These flowers are "Mexican Hat" flowers and it is easy to see why.

The neighbor behind us has a whole field of Black Eyed Susan's. This is a new field and we are enjoying their first year of producing.

The following pictures are a scan of one huge tree. We explored down a little trail we had never been before and came across this very huge tree. I believe it is as big as I have ever seen. It has seen a blizzard or two, many birds have enjoyed it's branches, and I wonder about the little boys that have played in and under it.

, A little patch of wild flowers that we found on the edge of the woods. Does anyone know what they are?

Back at home I had to take a shot of the coreopsis blooming in my back yard. What a delightful time we had.

Wa-Ga-Tha-Ka

What you say is that? Well, it is the name of the resort that we visited this past weekend at the invitation of my cousin, Sandy and her husband Jim. It is near Grand Rapids, MN. on beautiful Lake Wabana. We arrived on Sunday evening and stayed until Tuesday and had a wonderful visit with them.

Sandy and I grew up together and have been good friends our whole life.

Jeremy and Kara are the newlyweds that were visiting from Canada. Jeremy is Jim and Sandy's youngest. They are preparing for missionary service in the near future.

We enjoyed a beautiful day with lots of sun but as you can tell from the jackets and blankets that it was rather cool.

We enjoyed a game about beans (can't remember the name). It must have been beginners luck because I came in 2nd. Maybe they just helped out an ignorant bean farmer and that is why. When it comes to strategy, well let's just say it is not my strong suit.

There were lots of ducks on this lake as well as loons. We looked out and saw one mama duck with 20 little duckling following right behind here. We decided that this had to be a ducky daycare.

Just enjoying a relaxing day and then moving into a great evening.

            We ended up the day enjoying a wonderful sunset and a nice warm bon fire. I learned about a new snack roasted in the bon fire - bananas with marshmallows and chocolate all cooked together - Very yummy - thanks Jim and also enjoyed a russet potato cooked in the fire with a little butter and sea salt. Life is good.

Thank you Jim and Sandy for the invitation and guys don't forget we still haven't finished that Eucher game - something to look forward to.

Summer with Family

One of the fun things about summer time is being able to get together with family that lives far away.  We were able to enjoy a short visit with my brother Bob and niece Emily for a short time just recently. They had come back to MN and spent a few days at the cabin and then made a quick stop here in Rochester. It was really good to see them again. I am disappointed that Aaron could not be here too, we really did miss seeing him.  Maybe next time the whole family can come, what fun that would be.

Emily and one of her buys of the week.

Hanging out together!

Our time together consisted of having dinner together, going over to Tom and Denise's new place of residence, stopping at DQ for a Blizzard and then hanging out at home. It was a really fun evening and went way too fast.

Just a Few Cute Pictures

This past weekend we had more activity than usual around the house. Mikaela and Elise came to stay with us for a few days while Denise and Tom went to a conference in Philadelphia for Better Chance. Brian brought Isaac to Rochester for a few days as well so we had a busy household. Isaac is Nichole’s 2 year old son, Nichole is Brian’s girlfriend. You briefly met them in an earlier post.

The highlights of the weekend were the Rochesterfest parade, going to Valentino’s for lasagna, and mostly playing around home. Here is a glimpse of some of the fun we had.

This hat looks cuter on Elise than on Grandpa. Uh, who turned off the lights?

Waiting patiently for the parade to begin. We didn’t get there early enough to get curbside seating. People put blankets out to save spots as early as the day before. It is a little bizarre having blankets lining the streets well before the parade starts.Isaac with some of his loot. He did get hit on the nose with a piece of flying candy. That was our only mishap all evening. On the way home from the parade. It took forever to get out of the traffic jam, the kids were really patient and good. We stopped and got ice cream on the way home. This hat was the cat’s meow.

Brian took Isaac to a park and took this picture. I thought it was a cool tree. Playing ball in the back yard. The kids enjoyed many popsicles during the weekend. These rings from were a big hit. They are the identification rings from Target prescription bottles that I have saved over the years. I just knew they would come in handy someday. Love the twin dimples! Enjoying suckers from the parade. I have made a note to self regarding letting Elise walk around with a sucker – Not a good idea. Sticky sucker slobber was abundant, in her hair to a trail of everywhere she had been. My good helper Mikaela took a damp cloth and wiped up the traces. Thank you Mikaela!