Out and About This Summer.

Hello friends and family,

I hope you are well and thriving. We are. Yes, despite the many trials, we are well. God is good and we are loved. An eternal perspective changes everything doesn't it? 

I downloaded some pictures for you. It's not the same as seeing you all in person and giving ya'll a BIG HUGE hug but I suppose it will have to do for now.  Some of these pictures are out of order but I'm just going to leave them that way. It's kinda tricky to move pictures around on blogger and I'm not up for that tonight. But I think you will enjoy them anyhow. Lots of love to you!!

Camp Gray had to cancel their summer season but they set up a program where two families at a time could come and play. We met a dear family there to reconnect and explore the camp grounds. These boys are Luke's best friends, so he was on Cloud 9. 

In June we were in need of pilgrimage, so we headed north to the Green Bay area for some prayer, reflection, exploration, and play. It was just what the doctor ordered. Getting out of Dodge sure does help.

Max and Luke enjoyed tennis this summer. I didn't snag a great picture of Max but I guess you'll get the idea.

Oh Covid, how you have certainly changed things . . . at least we can laugh at the situation sometimes. 

Weeding for popsicles. Speaking of, I need to get back to the grocery store for more popsicles or supplies for them.

Living the dream . .. she could groom horses forever. 

The weekend of July 4th we headed over to Minnesota to see my sister and her family. Again, it was great to get out of Dodge.

On the way we stopped in Rochester where Doug and I met, were married, and spent the first few years of our marriage. We had our wedding pictures taken at Silver Lake Park. There are some beautiful bridges there that provided a nice background for our pictures. We had some family photos taken there a couple times and thought it might be fun to get a more recent shot of our family. We were disappointed to find that the park was quite unkempt and overgrown. We had a picture taken on this bench with a bridge in the background. You can't even see the bridge now. So sad. The other thing we realized was that these days you can't really ask a stranger to even take a picture of your family. Double sad. Well, another time I hope.

Lots of geese as always! They got quite friendly with us as we ate our picnic lunch.

One of the things we wanted to while in Minnesota was to visit my father's grave site. I hadn't been there in many years. Doug and the kids had never been there. Such a worthwhile visit. Doug was quite touched and I believe it was memorable for the kids as well. The grave stone was overgrown a bit, so everyone worked together to clean it up. 

I love this. Two son-in-laws working together to clean things up! Leading the family in important matters. 

My dad was a florist. He had Type 1 Diabetes and it advanced to the place where he was blind. My sister was telling me
how he would still arrange flowers and have my mom help him with the arrangements. He would have her hand him the color he wanted to place in the arrangement next. Yellow roses were his favorite. He and my mom had them for his wedding and they were placed in his coffin when he was buried. I loved the fact that Emily helped put this arrangement together. She, also, is quite artistic. 

Oh boy, it was HOT!!!  And bright. Max and Em really had a hard time smiling for a picture. 

Afterwards we went to a park for a picnic and a swim in the lake. It was so warm it felt like bathwater.

On the way home we made another pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine. Such a beautiful place! And peaceful. I am ready to go back already. 

Juan Diego

You walk from the visitor's center up to the church. If needed, golf carts are available. 

Why the blurry picture? Because I just had to quickly snap a picture of the very
place where Max took his first steps. 

The grounds are gorgeous. I'm thinking family pictures here would be amazing!! 

While waiting for the others in the gift shop, Em did my hair. 

Love her!! 

Sixteen years married! We went kayaking.

These pictures belong to the Fourth of July weekend pictures but my nephew just sent them to me, so I tagged them on here. Kevin, our brother-in-law (who was a shooting instructor), taught Gabe and Doug a good many things at the range. They had such a great time!!  I'm hoping we can get some hunters in the family; I'd like some local meat in the freezer!!