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!

A Night at the Ball Park

We have been to the ball park twice this summer. First, we had a picnic supper with Pete, Anne, Genevieve, JP & Mark in St. Cloud before Pete's double hitter on June 12th. Then, last night, Marlys babysat in Maple Grove with Paul's family. She took the kids to Osseo for Skyler's Wednesday night game. Here are pictures of Skyler as a catcher (like Pete) with Rajah and Spencer playing in the adjoining park.

Looking Ahead to the Mayo Camp Out

Mayo Campout Reunion
Aug 18 & 19
at Shawn & Marry Sundquist’s home
(Manny’s river lot location)

Pot Luck Saturday at 2:00
Family Fear Factor on Sunday at 2:00

swim, rope swing, boat, canoe, fish, horse shoes, campfire, sandbox, eat, sleep, meet cousins, and visit, visit, visit…

lots of room for motor homes and tents
motel rooms for rent at Country Inn & Suites

The Buffalo Days Parade

Earlier this week I hosted an Usborne Book party. The presenter was Anne Wilson. Thanks to all who came and ordered books! It was also Larry's birthday so most of our family was there too. At the end of the book party we all had ice cream and cake and the grandkids sang "Happy Birthday."


We went to the Buffalo Days Parade yesterday. Pete, Anne and Genevieve came for dinner and also set up chairs along the trade route. We had a great spot near the end of the parade. Gen was very good for the two hours we sat there.

Vacation Bible School June 11-15

We asked our oldest grandsons to stay with us for the week so they could help out at Bible School. JP helped Marlys in the Bible memory room. We had fun learning the verse of the day. Marlys also did the mission time each day with the large group. Almost $700 will be sent toward the Covenant Mission Project, Sandals for Sudan!

Mark was a helper in the Mini VBS for the 3 year olds. He was excited to be a leader. He loves to work with small children.

Thursday night we went to their home church to see brothers, Matthew and Luke, in their Bible school program. Then our church finished up with a program at noon on Friday.

The boys did many projects with Larry while they were here. They slept in the camper and were up at 7 each day and ready to head to church at 8 a.m. The pictures show them fixing marshmalows over the fire. Mark also did a wood project and burned out a tree stump. JP made a gate for his tree house at home. We spent their last night playing Phase 10 and Rummy Cube.

Minnesota Square Dance Convention 2007

Dance on Down to Kato Town -

We drove our camper to Mankato stopping in St. Peter to visit cousins Donny and Mike. We camped at the County Fair Grounds in Garden City. We took the shuttle bus to Mankato each day. Dancing started at the Trail's In dance on Thursday evening and continued thru Sunday. The weather was windy as we drove the 125 miles south over back roads since we were only cruising at about 45 or 50 mph. The wind was over by Friday and the rest of the weekend was ideal - warm but nice for sleeping at night. Aches and pains took their toll. Larry got a stiff neck and Marlys was recovering from faling down our basement stairs. We paced ourself by sitting out a few of the tips but were still dancing at 10 p.m. on Saturday night! We headed to church Sunday morning. Surprisingly, our aches and pains were greatly reduced. I guess dancing is good for us!

Two Grandsons Visit

We had a great time with two of our grandsons. Luke learned to oil his trike and Matthew had his first experience with an electic drill. They stayed with us the whole weekend. They enjoyed roasting marshmallows over the fire. Saturday they went garage saling with Grandpa. Grandma played card games, checkers and chess with them. That was the first weekend in June.

Memorial Day Family Time

The Wilson Men gathered for a leisurely Memorial Day BBQ - and Granpa had an idea of using all that manpower to move Skyler & Spencer's Club House from one end of the house to the other. The results are shown here. It was a joint effort of all ages and a success!

Volunteering is fun

Larry spent three days at the local history center showing kids his homemade camera and explaining how the photos are developed.
Then he joined a Hobby Day at a local senior center. That day he shared many of his puzzles. He had a square dance video running at the same time.

From Ice to Pussy Willows

April Snow

The Wilson's have had a busy winter.
As square dance president, the year has gone fast. We have one more dance on our watch - May 4th. Five women graduated from classes and are now new members of our club. Two new couples have also joined the group. We are still taking lessons on Monday evening to get better at the next level of dancing called 'plus.'




Larry has joined a the Woodworker's Guild of MN and also the Monticello Photo club. Recently, the camera club had a photo contest, workshops and displays. Larry brought his home-made camera and developed pictures right on the spot. He also had a pinhole camera. Son, Pete, also came and presented a workshop on changing digital photos. Here is a link to the photo club: http://www.monticelloarts.org/photoshow.html




Marlys has been working on the Wilson/Rale family history book. There are lots of stories to put down from the research we have already done. She has also been sewing different projects. During April she is working mornings teaching in St. Cloud. Of course, church activities also fill her time. Today there is no AWANA because of Easter break, but we have been studying the Old Testament all year. It is really fun to bring the stories to life. We just made up Easter eggs at Sunday School to tell the story of Holy Week.

We are happy that spring is here. We enjoyed one day of summer in the 80's and now we are covered with a layer of snow!!! We are looking forward to celebrating Easter with our family at Pat and Anna's.

Happy Easter!!
Larry & Marlys

Happy New Year!

We are having a heat wave in Minnesota. We received about 8 inches of snow on Sunday so the ground is white, but the air temperature is in the 30's which is much above what we usually get in January. The snow caused concern since it was on New Year's Eve and we wondered if we should cancel our square dance. But it stopped snowing about 4 pm so the highways were plowed by the time dancers needed to come out. However, it was still snowing in Minneapolis and to the east. We only had three squares of dancers but those who came enjoyed a great evening.

We send our wishes for a very Happy and Healthy New Year!
the Wilson's

Christmas at the Wilson's

Baby Genevieve was our little Jesus in the nativity play. Rajah was a princess - wise woman. The other boys were shepherds and wisemen. We celebrated Matthew's 8th birthday too. Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Lights

Cousins' Christmas

The Wilson tree is a bit unusual this year. We read a "letter from God" which came on the Internet and took the opportunity to start a different tradition. Larry cut a grape vine from the marsh and had it hanging in the living room when Marlys returned from a girl's day out. We decided to decorate it. The shape reminds us of a big pumpkin. We figure there is a lot of room to pile presents under it. We don't lose any seating room either. Today Marlys' cousins came for dinner. Ronnie, Mary and Lyle and Kathy. Christmas is a great time to reconnect with family.

Snaps of Thanksgiving 2006 with the Wilson's

Thanksgiving was spent at Paul's house this year. Leslie was the chief cook and provided amply for our meal. We had turkey and all the trimmings. We surely were blessed with lots of food. Pete, Anne and baby Gen joined us with Paul's family and Leslie's mom and brother, Eric. Later Grandpa Tom came to play cards with the group and share in pies. Yum! Skyler learned a new magic trick which he performed for the grandpas and the rest of us perused the ads for sales on Friday.
The day after Thanksgiving is a big shopping day with lots of sales to entice people to shop. Marlys took advantage of those sales and even drove to St. Cloud alone to shop. Afterward she stopped to see Pat and family and took the photo of the family in front of their fireplace. Now she has fresh photos for her Christmas letter. Yes, Christmas is just around the corner. We are looking forward to the Advent season which starts Dec. 2 - Preparing for Christ's Birthday Celebration!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Wilsons!

After Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful meal with Paul, Lesie and family. There were twelve of us altogether. Pete, Anne and Genevieve were there too. We were very thankful for family, friends and health to name a few of our blessings.
Today, the traditional SHOPPING day, was a new experience. Leslie and her mom decided to go shopping at midnight instead of getting up early. Marlys had planned to get up early, but the stores changed their opening times from 6 AM to 5 AM! That was just too early for her, so she was going to meet Anna about 7:30. However, Anna decided to stay home, so Larry got up and they went into Buffalo to shop and bond. We didn't shop long but did go out for breakfast.
After dropping Larry off at home, Marlys continued by herself to St. Cloud and did manage to spend money and even got in on some of the specials. The important part is sending in the rebate info so that they are really bargains. Marlys stopped to visit with Pat and family on the way home.
The weather really cooperated. It was in the 50's today! Normally it is much colder. The sun made it a really enjoyable day.
May you be thankful in your circumstances too.
Marlys

What is Thanksgiving in Minnesota?

Here in the USA we're celebrating Thanksgiving. It brings back images of the first autumn in 1621 after the first year had passed after the pilgrims landed in Plymouth. That first year was rough with half of the pilgrims dying. They gave thanks to God for survival and a good harvest. The image we think of is of Indians and the pilgrims having a feast and some friendly competition. In our town of 16,000 the churches will have one large service with all the choirs forming one choir and all the bell players forming one bell choir. Most families will meet together and have a large meal that will probably include turkey, squash, cranberries and pumpkin pie. At our church there is an annual football game. Our high school students oppose the returning graduates. Some years there is a fair amount of snow on the ground on which to play football. This year it was a mild evening. The day after Thanksgiving is the start of the Christmas buying season with stores giving discount to the early shoppers. Marlys likes to enter the rush of shoppers just for the ‘fun of it.’

Happy Thanksgiving

Our trees give us shade and cooling in the summer and a bit of shelter from the winds and snow in the winter. In the spring they bring us that fresh green color and the excitement of summer. In the fall we get the brilliant colors and then the crisp dry leaves. We then look forward to the strong northern winds to blow off our entire front lawn leaving us with the rest of the leaves to rake and drag to the marsh where they will decompose. An early snow will result in heavy soggy leaves to take care of in the spring. This year we got them to the swamp while they were still fluffy.
We are thankful for our home, our family and our many friends.

Deer Hunting

Deer Hunting 2006

The photo shows where I stayed this weekend. It was a very comfortable tree stand and was very safe even when I dozed of once in a while. The field and forest in the other photo was what I concentrated on as I watched for deer. You should try it. Concentrate on the top photo and look for deer. Could you do it for 12 hours a day? Yes I did doze off and also I hiked and went back to the camper to eat and take a break. The boredom was worth it when I spotted a deer grazing out in the field. One shot and down it went.
Monday morning I drove home. Later in the day I skinned it. Then Marlys, Skyler and I butchered it and put it in the freezer.

Larry

Safe trip home from Oklahoma

We had a great time in Oklahoma and then headed home on Sunday, Oct. 29th. On the way home we visited two state capitals - Jefferson City, MO and Springfield, IL (with the statue of a young Abe Lincoln) so Marlys could take pictures of the capitols. Then we visited the Silly Sischo's in IL - friends from the 70's in Germany and then cousin Jerry & Joan Wilson in WI.
It was good to be home on Halloween night.
Larry has since gone hunting. We spent the evening butchering the deer he brought home today.