Weldon & Marshall waiting for takeoff in Charlotte on our way to MN, Friday morning, July 31, 2009
We've arrived in MSP. Anna & Weldon discussing ....?
My grandson Marshall (Anna's son) outside MSP Int'l Airport.
Marshall (10 years old) and Grandma (me!)
My daughter Katie and my mom Naomi having a beer on the White House steps (my Aunt Lois's house).
Katie and Ma, waiting to have a drink.
Katie & Ma, still drinking ....
Shawna Mickelson (Terry's wife) and Weldon (my hubby) resting in Lois's living room. She had a migraine and Weldon just had a lack of sleep.
Friday evening at a Mexican restaurant in Cloquet. My cousin Darla (Lois's daughter) is at center right, studying the menu, and I think that's her husband Jeff on the far right. You can meet the others in an upcoming photo.
Con Jr., my cousin Brian, and Shawna (my cousin Terry's wife)
Aunt Joan and Aunt Shirley (both from Oregon)
Aunt Shirley's husband George and Aunt Clara - still at the Mexican restaurant, can you tell?
Ma (my mommy), me, and hubby Weldon. Weldon only eats down-home cooking, so we'll see what he can find on the menu to try.
Well, here we are again. On the far left is Heather (cousin Connie's daughter), her friend Amanda, and the 2 girls are Kaitlyn and Kailyn? And Darla & Jeff whom you met at a previous picture.
Sipping his HUGE (first) margarita is cousin Terry (AZ), then cousin Tracy (OR), then cousin Connie (IA), and Aunt Lois (MN). If we had Darla in this picture, I could include TX.
Aunt Margie
The Lushes
Con Jr and Brian getting their margaritas. They're pretty, aren't they? I would have ordered a SMALL one, but I was the designated driver, so I had a Pepsi. I would have preferred a Coke, but such is life. Shawna is at the end of the table.
Brian and Con Jr, eying each other's drinks.
you've met these guys before ...
and here they are again. Can you tell I was enthralled by these BIG drinks?!
Earlier in the day, when I was telling my cousin Tracy about the heifer in the manure pit, she got so excited she spilled her wine on me. I thought perhaps I'd tie dye the shirt, so I asked her if she wanted to splash her margarita on me. But, no, not even a sip....
Weldon ordered pulled pork tacos with rice and beans. Hold the pico de gallo and NO CHEESE!!
Yup, he's eating it!
Another first for Weldon. YAY!!!
We were about done eating when the servers came out singing and put this sombrero on Aunt Joan's head and gave her this fabulous dessert.
and gave her the first spoonful. ooops
I think she enjoyed it, but I don't know what the occasion was. Aunt Margie is on the left, Aunt Shirley on the right.
Katie, Anna, & Marshall had skipped the Mexican meal and driven to Ma & Pa's cabin. After the Mexican restaurant, I drove Ma, Weldon, and myself to the cabin. This is Saturday morning, picking raspberries. Marshall in the background.
Weldon and Marshall had gone for a walk and Weldon came back with a surprise for me. "Hold out your hand and close your eyes." Wild raspberries. MMMMM
yummy!!!!
Ma & Pa in the raspberries.
Katie taking the obligatory self-portrait photo. She taught me how to do it, but I don't always get it right :-)
OH NO!! THE COWS ARE OUT!!! How did they find their way to Lake Waukenabo????
They're remaining strangely still...
Weldon was so glad to see them he had to give them a kiss.
But this one said, Kiss my ass!
And this one needed a little help in giving birth. That Weldon is so talented!!
Cone on girl, you can do it.
Just another pull or two should do it.
This is the cabin, viewed from the lake. My dad added the enclosed porch and "storm bedroom" to the trailer home.
Ma with her berry bucket tied around her neck.
Pa and Marshall getting the motor home ready for the trip to the big party outside of McGregor. The "boys" will ride in this and the "girls" will go in the car.
the cabin
the outhouse
Pa, filling up a big jug in the motor home with water.
Marshall and his aunt Katie
Kewpie - 100 Year Anniversary doll, a gift from Pa
She is even cuter in person :-) Ma named her Sweetie Pie.
So, this is Saturday morning and we're heading to Horseshoe Lake and the party. But we stopped in Palisade for breakfast. Talk about yummy caramel rolls!!!
Marshall had the lumberjack special ....
The girls' vehicle inexplicably stopped at a few yard sales along the way. This was the view from the last one we stopped at.
This old barn was at the same location, just to the right of the scenic view you just saw.
The tired barn. That's what Weldon's dad called barns that were leaning and about to fall in.
and the view ...
We're getting closer and obviously on the right road!
Marshall immediately hooked up with Cousin Shawn's daughter Andrea. They are both 10 years old and hadn't seen each other since they were a couple months old.
Marshall and Andrea playing bean bag toss.
ditto
I just wanted to make sure I got a good one.
and another
These ladies are from the Kettle River area. The 2 on the left had just inherited some dairy cows, which they decided to keep and milk. I simply hugged their necks and gave them my deepest sympathy.
Marshall went around having guests sign the guest book. Left to right: Steve Appleton & Susie (his wife, my cousin) and Terry & Brian (my cousins)
The first of the girls' cousins to arrive: Damon. They hadn't seen one another in MANY years (15?).
Katie, Anna, Damon, his wife Vijette, and their son Raiden. This was the first time for Anna & Katie to meet Vijette and the first time for all of us to meet Raiden.
Andrea making out name tags. Terry, Steve, Brian
We were laughing because Andrea kept making mistakes on the names. Some of the name tags got quite decorative :-)
We saw wild raspberries everywhere. These were on the edge of the field where the cars were parked.
wild raspberries
There was a really good turn out at the party, celebrating my dad's and my uncle's 80th birthdays and my parent's 60th wedding anniversary. It was kinda chilly and there were 3 or 4 brief showers during the day. No one complained, though.
Some of the crowd, enjoying the warmth of the wood fire.
I don't know any of these people. I kept remembering various movies where complete strangers would show up at parties and everyone thinks that someone else must surely know who they are :-)
Heather Jay and the girls Kaitlyn and Kailyn. Heather is the daughter of my cousin Connie. Kaitlyn may be her daughter and perhaps Kailyn is Darla's daughter. Can you tell I'm guessing??!!
Seated on the left is Shawna and her dog. Her hubby Terry is standing behind Tracy (red hair). Next is Con Jr and my cousin Shawn (Don & Lil's son). With her back to us is Cousin Connie and Amanda?? and Darla's husband Jeff on the right.
My nephew Damon, his wife Vijette and son Raiden. They live in AZ. I don't know who the blond is. Stay tuned ....
friends and relatives
more friends and relatives
This pretty view was over by the wild raspberry bushes.
My youngest brother Randy, his wife Jane, and their granddaughter Lilly
Let the eating begin!!
Ma and her great granddaughter Lilly
Ma and her great granddaughter Lilly. Too cute!
Lilly with her parents: my cousin Amanda and her husband Luke.
Amanda, Luke, Lilly. If there's only supposed to be one "L" in her name, please forgive me. Well, actually, I know there are at least 2 "L"s ... maybe 3! Anyway, I'm not going to go back and make corrections.)
My nephew Nick and his son Caleb. Nick is the son of Randy and Jane.
Nick's wife Alicia and their daughter Lucy.
My dad Wesley and my uncle Don - the birthday boys
Pa and Don (my mom's brother)
Happy Birthday to you!!!
And here's the happy couple - still speaking to each other after 60 years of wedded bliss.
and even having a good time!
The cakes were yummy. Actually, I only tasted the one on the left. Can you believe, they both were finished off in no time flat!
Ma giving Cousin Joy pointers on cutting the cake. Or maybe she was just asking for the first piece.
Sharing their cake.
Poor picture, and I didn't get one of their kiss :-(
Katie, Cousin Nick, his daughter Lucy, and Anna
Katie, Nick, Lucy, Anna, and Nick's wife Alicia. They also have a son, Caleb, but he didn't get in this picture.
They kept this firing burning all day long. It felt good when the sun went behind the clouds and after the brief rain showers.
Katie and Marshall getting warm.
Anna taking Lucy for a walk.
Pa and his great granddaughter Lilly.
Lilly and great grandpa
Katie & Anna and their cousins Jordan & Aaron. Cousin Jake couldn't make it. That's my brother Randy in the background.
Jordan and Aaron belong to my middle brother Rick.
Wow! I think I know everyone in this picture. Left to right: Jeff, Lois, Shawna, Darla, Don, Connie, oops don't know, and Tracy.
Caleb giving great grandma a thank you hug for the quilt she made. In the background: Nick, Kathy, and Alicia.
Nick with the quilt that Ma made for him.
Nick & son Caleb with his new quilt.
This is as close as we got to a family photo and MANY are missing. L to R: Vijette, David, Damon, Raiden, Kathy, Anna, Rick, Cindy, Nick, Naomi, Randy, Luke, Lilly, Amanda
Rick and Pa
Kathy and Rick. Everyone was getting ready to head out, so we were busy snapping a few more pics.
Marshall and Andrea walking (somebody's) dogs.
My oldest brother Dave and his wife Judy
Ma brought birthday presents for Rick & Kathy. Here is Kathy with her bluebird house.
Rick with a birdhouse Ma made for him. I got one too, cuz I'm special :-)
After a number of rain delays, Shawn took a group of people out on his boat.
coming in ....
At the front: the dog, Kaitlyn, Marshall, Andrea. At the back: Shawn, Con Jr., Darla, ??, Brian
Almost to the dock. This was on Horseshoe Lake, by the way.
terra firma, almost
You can see how wet the dock is. They had planned to go out and then had to wait for a passing shower to pass.
After the party, we headed back to the cabin but Pa stayed at the lake site in the motor home. This is Sunday morning, having a little coffee and toast. And cookies. Don't forget the cookies.
Marshall and his Great Grandma Saari
They're so cute.
Ma and her great-grandson
Katie is trying to look innocent after trying to deflate Anna's boobs with a toothpick. It obviously didn't work.
I told them to get serious.
My sweet mommy and my sweet girls.
and my sweet grandson
don't forget sweet ME
Ma, Katie, me, Anna
I wanted us to line up in order of age, but Katie went limp on us during the lining up process.
Yes, this is what I was looking for, except the picture is a little blurry.
Out of focus, but that may simply be a reflection of our lives in general.
Grandma with granddaughters and great grandson
We love Mammy!
Cindy, Naomi, Weldon
We have left the cabin and are heading to North Branch. We have been driving Grandma Esther's car to save the price of a rental. What a blessing!
Here we are at Esther's and getting ready to have some lunch.
Esther, Katie, Marshall
Weldon relaxed with a magazine while we got lunch on the table.
Esther and Anna
Esther with her Granddaughters Katie & Anna
Esther still enjoys strawberry shortcake at the age of 94!!
She wanted us to check out the squirrel's "apartment building" in the tree in her front yard.
Huge old tree in Esther's front yard.
Marshall with his great grandma Esther on her porch swing.
This is the first of 2 little videos Weldon took. Hope you can hear and see it okay.
Another video, telling a little about her first teaching job.
Before we got on this airplane to head home, we stopped in Forest Lake to visit with the Winberg family. They are dairy farmers who live near my youngest brother. Weldon has a picture or two, so maybe I can post them later. A quick but memorable vacation! Love & hugs to all ....
