Sioux Falls Jazz Fest

Saturday we headed to Sioux Falls. We set up camp at Yogi Bear near Brandon. The corn was really high and provided a good visual barrior to the nearby interstate but it did nothing to keep out the noise. Later we learned that there was also a state recreation area with camping which we would try next time.


We spent the afternoon at Jazz Fest. The weather was great. We found some shade on the edge of the grounds where we could lay down on our blanket or sit in our chairs and do soduko puzzles and watch people come and go. The wind was very strong and we were tired when we got back to camp. We had also visited Crazy Days in downtown Sioux Falls. We were impressed by the sculptures along the avenue. Sunday morning we attended Living Springs Covenant Church in Brandon. Marlys had been there in April for the annual women's meeting. Their guest musicians were a band called Breat of Stone from Sioux City, IA. We headed out after church to return home. But, on the way, we stopped in New Ulm for brats and found Bavarian Fest - German music and lots of German food! What a nice treat. We stopped to see Curt & Mary Wilson in Norwood and arrived home in the late afternoon. It is always fun to get home again.

Weekend Vacation "Song of Hiawatha"

Larry always teases that retirement is really difficult. There are no vacations.
Well, we took a mini-vacation last weekend and headed to southwestern MN to Pipestone and the Song of Hiawatha Pageant. We camped across the street from the pageant grounds so we could walk home to our tent after the program. We had a beautiful night. The moon was almost a quarter moon and the sky was very clear. The temps were in the 60's so a jacket and blanket felt good. The pageant stage is across a small pond, so they canoed on the water and threw an Indian off a cliff for a dramatic effect. I'll write about the rest of the weekend tomorrow.

Summer Family Fun

We took Mark and two brothers out to Old Country Buffet for his 13th birthday meal. Mom and Dad (Anna & Pat) were traveling to South Dakota to pick JP up from Deaf Leadership camp. Spencer also had a birthday this month too. We don't have a picture of him at McDonald's playing the video games for an hour after eating his meal. We have missed their birthdays for the past three summers so enjoyed spending time with both birthday boys this year.

Pete and Paul called up one weekend and we joined them and their families for a picnic at Sturges Park in Buffalo. Skyler did really well in his wheelchair and Rajah and Spencer spent most of the time on the play equipment. Genevieve showed off how she can walk by herself on uneven ground! It is such a pleasure to enjoy the family and the wonderful summer weather.

Happy July 4th!

We've been busy these last few weeks. Life does not go smoothly all the time. Pete was over last weekend to do some car work and woodworking. Anne's car stopped working. But...some time later and with lots of effort, it is fixed!


At Paul's house, Skyler fell out of a tree. They discovered on Monday that he had fractured his femur. He spent Monday and Tuesday in the hospital getting two screws in his bone. He is home with a walker and wheelchair. He'll be off the leg for 4-6 weeks. He has a good attitude and manages to hop around quite well.




At Patrick's house, a wind storm came through and a big branch landed on the boys' pole house in the back yard. Well, Pat decided to use the Suburban to pull the branch down and wound up pulling the tree house down with it!!! Ufta!


We all managed to have a great Fourth of July. Larry and I joined the family at Bob Golie's and had a wonderful cookout with his family and friends. There were five cousins there - Linda, Marlys, Bobbi, Mary and Tom. We don't get together very often so it was a special occasion.



Finally, here's a story of perseverance and triumph - Pat's youngest son, Luke, is 6 and has had training wheels on his two wheeler. Well, Friday, he wanted me to remove the training wheels so his brother could teach him to ride the two wheeler. We found a different bike without training wheels and put air in the tires. He took off riding without the 'training' from his brother. He surprised himself and his grandma. We are very proud of his accomplishment!!



HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!