MN Magic

Having been unable to attend the wedding of Jeremy & Jodi Scholz (our very close family friend) this past March in Jamaica, I decided to take advantage of my employment status (or lack thereof) and take a trip to MN to join the in the celebration of their marriage.

My niece Sheena was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and drive me to the home of Steve & Kathy Scholz while on her lunch break. (Isn't it nice to not have to drive over an hour to an airport)! After a nice BBQ dinner, Kathy & I went for a 2 1/2 mile walk around their neighborhood. It was so nice seeing green and actually having people chat with you along the way.

On Thursday, my Aunt Ardy came to pick me up and we went back into Inver Grove Heights and had lunch with my cousins Sandy & Linda. Since it isn't often the 4 of us can get together, we took full advantage of the time....so much in fact, I think the waitress was ready to charge us rent we were there so long.

That evening, Jeremy & Jodi and their 2 dogs Bella (a yellow lab) & Zamboni (a Belgiun Malamut) arrived from Connecticut. What a house full since Steve & Kathy have Murphy, their dog. Poor Jodi, she was trying to study for her boards for vetrinary school with all the commotion going on.

Friday morning Kathy asked me if I would like to earn some money and help her while she did her second job of cleaning a mansion up on Summit Ave. in St. Paul. Thinking this would give us some good quality catch up time, I took her up on her offer. What a house! I was very nervous moving some of the artifacts to dust. After we completed the job, we went for lunch and a little shopping on Grand Ave. What a unique area of St. Paul. (This is where we stayed last year while in MN for Jackie's wedding)

In the evening, my niece Sheena, her husband Jake, and son Dylan picked me up and drove me out to my brother Mike's home for a BBQ. We were joined by my sister-in-laws parents, and her brother and sister-in-law. What a shock when I arrived and Mike and even gone to get a bottle of wine for me and borrowed a cork screw. Maybe there is hope for him yet!

The celebration festivities started on Saturday at a dinner hosted by Steve & Kathy for both of their families and Jodi's mom. It was so much fun getting to hear the stories from Kathy's sisters and their husbands about a week long trip they took into the boundry waters. This brought back many old memories of our days of portaging through their. I was also able to catch up with Steve's mom Laura, sister Mary, and Mary's husband Randy (who has been a friend from junior high days).

Sunday brought the actual celebration at Prior Lake. The weather could not have been nicer! After helping Kathy and Jodi's mom Sam put out decorations (and for those of you who know all of us, Steve says I don't have enough hot air)! There were so many of our old friends that I never get to see that I had such a great time just catching up with what has been happening.

Lonna, Steve, Me, Gus, Mary, Joe and Peggy

Jeremy and Kathleen dancing to an Irish dance

New adventures in Gold Country!

A special thank you to Matt, Rana, & Adrina (his girlfriend & her daughter) for a fabulous weekend in Gold country!

After looking at Matt's work schedule and realizing he didn't have a lot of free weekends, they decided to plan a camping trip and invited us along. It was a great opportunity to get to know Rana's family as well.

Jan (Rana's mom)

Step-dad Tom & Grandpa Chuck

Yes, I know it is scary having a Chuck & a Charlie together for any extended period of time. It must be the name as they both were full of comments that kept everyone laughing!

The campground Rana found was Coloma Resort which is along the banks of the American River not too far out of Placerville. What a wonderful campground! We could have done anything from white water rafting to hot air balloon rides. Our choice...walk the short distance to Sutter's Mill and take in a little bit of that California history.

Besides relaxing by the campfire, we were able to play a little bit of lawn bocce ball and played cards. Charlie & I taught Rana how to play cribbage. We must be good teachers since Matt & Rana kicked our butts!

The highlight of the trip came yesterday while fixing breakfast, we watched the people camping next to us in their new BIG BEAUTIFUL RV pull out while their electric cord was still plugged in. Matt ran after them yelling to stop, which they did....a little to late. Lucky for them the cord pulled out in tact. Can't say as much for the power box. Don't request site 10. It will be out of commission for a little while!

Next time we do this trip, we would like to bring the girls and their families along. It would be nice to have the campsites right on the river however, after careful consideration this Grammy decided as much as she loves Drew, she didn't want to go for a swim playing chase the ball (his favorite game camping)!

Kissing Cousins

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit with my cousins Jodi, Lauren, and Lauren's friend Bridget who were all visiting from WI. My Aunt Connie & Uncle Doug had us all over for a delicious BBQ. Lisa & Jimmy had to work, so they enjoyed an early visit with Jodi and left Kady for GrampC & Grammy to take home for a sleep over at their house.

This gave Drew & Kady a chance to visit and play together for a little while. This lasted through Drew giving Kady bumps. Then she spotted his full head of hair which she so enjoys pulling. At this point Drew found it more fun to have the older girls chase him around the house and keep him occupied outside.

As Brenda, Dave & Drew were getting ready to go home, Drew had to make his rounds giving goodbye hugs & kisses and surprised us all by even giving "Cousin Kady" a kiss goodbye. (Sorry for the grainy picture, GrampC used his cell phone to capture the moment).

On Sunday after church, my Aunt Connie, Jodi, & I took the girls out to Hannah Nicole's to do a little wine tasting. Since Matt also had to work on Sat. and was unable to attend the BBQ, he and Rana (his girlfriend) joined us at Hannah Nicole's. It was such a beautiful day sitting outside relaxing and sipping wine. What a way to end a weekend and!