Jun(e) fun(e)

On Monday, June 4th, Bob headed to Killdeer to help Jimmy.

On Monday night, this tree fell down in our yard.

On the 9th, Diane flew to Cleveland

to surprise Cousin Mary Anne for her birthday.

David and Susie met Diane at the airport and 

they went to Aladdin's to eat before heading

to Donna's new condo.

On Sunday, Diane surprised Mary Anne after church,

and that evening Leanne, Chris, Tim, Susie, David,

Mary Anne, and Diane went to Michael's for dinner.

We forgot to take pictures!!

 Cousins Leanne, Chuck, and Diane had lunch at Frank's on Monday.

Later, cousins Najwa, Chuck, and Robbie came 

to sort out some "stuff" that Uncle George and Aunt Mary

had saved for many years!

 Irene and Diane reminisced about St. Mary's 

over lunch at Donna's condo on Tuesday.

 Wednesday was lunch at Nate's with cousins 

Bev (on right), and friend Angie (on left) who bought

Mother's condo, Marcia, Chuck, and Fran. 

 Later, Angie took us to the condo to see some renovations.

 Leanne hosted a picnic on Wednesday evening

with Tim and Chris, Ellen, Kira and Mark, Mary Anne,

Katie, Madison, and Macie, Susie and David, and Diane.

 Mary Anne and Katie celebrated birthdays!

A lot of hot air :-)

 Sweetly cutting the sweet cake together :-)

 Opening gifts?

Maddie has her cake and eats it, too,

while Macie, and David play chess.

 The condo is on the 16th floor, 

so I took some pics.  This is one West view.

 Another view to the West--hoping to convert 

one of the tennis courts for pickle ball!

 Leanne on the balcony that faces East

Lake Erie :-)

David and Susie treated us to dinner

at Mahle's on Friday night.

After an ev-eat-ful week, 

Diane flew back to ND on Saturday, June 16th.

On Thursday, June 28th, 

Ana and the girls came to the farm. 

That night the lightning hit one of our trees,

and burned off a branch! 

Ana left on Friday morning so that she and Corey

could head to Spain. Later that

day, we took the girls to the Pierce County Fair.

The booster seats fit in the back of the pickup.

The first thing we saw at the fair was "Farmer" Claire,

two "dogs" (Cecelia and Lydia), 

and the "hired man" (Bob)! :-)

We saw these "cows" "moo-ving" around!

Can you guess who they are?

Cecelia, Claire, and Lydia (l to r) 

The girls enjoyed the 4-H livestock show

 and posed with another "kid" that they met :-)

 This lizard was part of a traveling zoo,

 and so was the T-Rex we saw later.

 The bracelets were a bargain...

 because the girls

 went on most of the rides at least

 three times! (before and after our steak supper).

 The "Frog" was Claire's favorite...

 Lydia liked the "Fun Slide" the best,

 they all loved the "Dragon,"

and Cecelia's favorite was the "Wacky Cowboy."

We could feed the animals at the "petting zoo,"

including the friendly Alpaca.

The "kids" loved the "kids"

and the food shared by the

other

kids.  The girls said the liked the bunnies the best.

 These "pirates" (Cecelia)

 tried (Claire)

(Lydia) to scare Gramma Diane. :-)

On Saturday, the 30th, we went 

to the kids' musical in Cando.

May Days

 Well, we "opened" the camper door,

but didn't really "open" the camper on May 6th. 

Raked some leaves because the leaf blower didn't work!

The sun was shining, but, as you can see,

Spring hasn't really "sprung."

Not even one bud on the trees! :-)
p.s. note the unpainted deck...


Well, if you can tell by the picture above which is "before"
I painted the deck, you will be able to see that this
one is "after".

 Amazing what two weeks and a half-inch of rain will do....

 Looks lopsided from this angle, but OK from the road!

The wind came with the rain and blew down our half-dead tree

Great use for old pallets :-)

Last week I painted the deck; this week, the bench.

April Fools?

March 30-April 2, 2018

Doug and Sara came to visit us in Texas

 March 30th arrival!

The kids threw coins into the fountain

at the Harlingen airport.

We showed them this "dumb" sign

down the street from our park.

 and bought grapefruit and oranges at Granny's Citrus.

 Sara found the "Wolford 1800 miles" sign

that Bob put on the pole

 and they checked out the orchard

 Anyone need a job--

You could drive for the Cane Sugar plant

If you're brave enough to unload the truck!

 R.J. and Julia loved feeding the turtles

at the La Feria Nature Park

 The turtles love popcorn...

and bread

We headed to the pool while Doug was working

He joined us later!

After supper on Friday, 
we celebrated Sara's birthday--a day late

Saturday morning we walked/ran in a local fundraiser.
The kids ran first:  R.J. (6) got 3rd in the 13 & under race.
Then we all walked the one mile:  R.J., Sara, Bob, and I got first
in our age categories.  Doug got 2nd in his, and Julia (3) got 3rd.
The kids each earned two medals; the adults got one apiece.
We all got a nice tee shirt! :-)

After the race and lunch on Saturday, we headed to Mexico

R.J. and Julia liked the roosters

R.J. and Julia in two countries at the same time..
Doug and Sara are a country apart  :-)
The Rio Grande River is in the background.

Native dancers in Nuevo Progreso

Alfonso has painted four TV "dishes" for us.

Now he is doing "spray art" for R.J. and Julia

The kids chose an "outer space" theme.

Alfonso uses spray paints, crumpled paper, toothpicks, etc...

The picture takes shape...

An amazing artist

Easter Vigil celebration at the
Basilica of San Juan
(a very long ceremony!)

 First stop on Easter Sunday 
was the lighthouse at Port Isabel

 Stairway to the top--almost 70 steps

"Hi" you all!

 Enjoying the view

R.J. views the Laguna Madre 
and the Causeway to South Padre Island

"Family Tree" :-)
Next, we headed to Pirate's Landing

for a pirate ship "experience"

 Friends at the bar on the dock

 The kids met this "mean" pirate

The pirates shot the cannon to announce their arrival.

 R.J. gets "shooting" instructions from a pirate.

We all got (squirt) guns for the "fight,"

 learned how to be pirates,

and even looked like pirates!

 Monday was a beach day

 We stayed at a hotel on South Padre Island

Sunday and Monday.

 Doug and R.J. were in the Gulf waves.

Julia and I were not so brave.

The Island is famous for its sand castles.  
These giant castles were partially destroyed 
by drunk kids during their Spring Break

 R.J. wanted to play in the sand, too.

On Tuesday, we visited the turtle rescue place,
learned about injured turtles and their life cycle,
and saw some of the rescued turtles.
We went back to our RV park before heading
to the airport for the ride home.

We flew back into cold country (Minneapolis) on April 5th.
The temp. was 18 (above zero), and it was windy.
The next morning we drive to Iowa
for Annika's First Communion.

 The kitchen table was the "gathering place."
Jimmy, Andrew, Kelly, Luke, and Ari

 Annika with her Godparents

 Fun photo for the kids....
Jimmy and Kelly with Jett, Matthew, Annika, Grace, and Ariana

 Annika with gramma and grampa

 Family photo after the ceremony.
Looks like Trina is getting shorter. :-)

 Tom, Bob, Josh, and Jimmy solving the world's problems

When we left Iowa, we spent a night in Buffalo.

Bison at the motel in Buffalo (duh!)
The girls came to swim at the motel,
and then we all feasted at the new A & W!