Skip to main content

Happy 90th Birthday!

Image
By Sarah
When I found out my children had a four day weekend at the same time my great aunt turned 90 years old we planned to be there for the celebration. We flew in on Thursday just in time to rent our brand new Pacifica, eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp for dinner and ride some amazing rides at Camp Nickelodeon before spending too much time in the Lego Store and heading to our hotel. I must say the AmericInn's great swimming pool in Shokopee was pretty hard to tear the children away from in the morning!  But Aunt Hope's home and 10 acres is a destination location all on its own. I'm so glad only the poplar trees had shed their leaves before we arrived. With forest and hay bales, the creek and Hope's papillon dog, Tiny, there was plenty to enjoy with the family being together.  On Saturday, K opted to stay home with my mom and Aunt Hope while Dan and I took the other children to tour Fairlawn Mansion and visit the Richard Bong center in Superior. Danny really absorbed the latter and is thinking about joining the Air Force instead of the Army after this trip. (Don't tell my dad.) I'm sure cousin Lee's model airplanes helped with that too.  Saturday night we were treated to having both Hope's sons and their wives and Clif's daughter Maddie joining us at the house and making us a delicious "dump" dinner using a turkey frier to boil enough water outside. It was so good to see them again and even better to have my cousin Nate and his fiancé Annie join us the next day at the party along with cousin Oliver. I hadn't seen Oliver for a really long time and it was great to talk to the soon-to-be high school graduate. The party was wonderful, with over 100 in attendance. Chris made gluten free cupcakes and the punch made of apple cider and cream soda was a big hit.
 Side note:  Hubby figured out a much easier way to deal with hauling a huge car seat around and skipping the stroller business.  Genius.
Monday was a sightseeing day to Glensheen Mansion, Betty's pies for lunch (sooooo good), and Split Rock Lighthouse.  Glensheen was new to all of us and I decided that if I had to live 100 years ago in Duluth, I was definitely want to work there. I am happy we could share Betty's Pies and Split Rock with my mother and K too since they had opted to stay at Hope's when we visited a couple years ago.  We highly recommend the raspberry peach and the 5 layer chocolate at Betty's and to take your pictures at Split Rock before the fog comes in!  Our last night we ate at Perkins with Hope and her friend Jean. They have known each other since before my mom was born!
It was time to pack up and say goodbye and begin the 3 hour drive to the airport before we knew it. The children didn't want to leave one bit. I don't blame them.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Precious Pumpkin

By Sarah
Our Halloween pictures finally made it to the computer. I won't state the name, but let's just say we know a certain 15-month-old who likes to hide things, especially if they are small & silver like a memory card reader. (: Oh look, here she is now, dressed up as a pumpkin fairy! And check out the super neat pumpkin Danny carved. We actually had neighbors make the effort to come compliment him before trick-or-treating began! I have never experienced a Halloween where families hang out on the porch to hand out candy the entire night! I just can't get over how wonderful the weather has been this fall. If there weren't long term consequences, I could really like global warming. Here's the cute little girl helping to hand out candy. She was a huge hit with the teenage trick-or-treaters. My favorite costume of the night was a guy dressed up as a kissing booth. When Dan asked him if that was working for him he replied, "I got a kiss from a 6-year-old ...
7 comments
Read more

Danny's 1st Year Video

By Sarah
Exactly one year ago today we got a call from our case worker. He told us there was a birth mother thinking of placing her son with us for adoption. Usually he didn't make such phone calls before an official decision was made, but he felt that this little boy was meant for us & we needed a little warning b/c the due date was June 12. Low & behold, 4 days later he called to say Dani had chosen us to be her baby's parents. 2 weeks later, we were bringing Danny home from the hospital. It is difficult to believe Danny's birthday is only 2.5 weeks away. When I look back I feel he & I were a little gipped with me getting pregnant so soon after he was born & becoming a big brother at only 9.5 months, but he is so healthy & happy. There is no way he could have been any better of a baby... I'm convinced he is the easiest/best little guy to have ever graced the planet. We are so blessed. He is truly a joy of a boy.
5 comments
Read more

No check up, but doing great!

By Sarah
The pediatrician thought Kaelah was doing well enough to skip her 15-month check up... but I can't resist a formal update before she turns 16-months-old tomorrow. Of course I'll put this first on the list: Kaelah said her first Chinese word last week! Bi zi for nose -- which she heard for the first time in Hawaii. Looks like I'll have to pick out word #2 soon! Kaelah is selective about the music we listen to now. She'll either say, "no" or begin dancing. We're thrilled she will now fold her arms while we pray over the food & by her crib at night. Kaelah will also say "yummmm" while eating & will give high 5's and knuckles. I think you'll pick up most of the rest from the video. (:
6 comments
Read more