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!

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.