Well, it's that time of year again. The end of July seems to roll around faster and faster! It seems like I was just celebrating the big 6-0, and now it's already 6-2 . YIKES! How does that happen? I started this year's activities with our usual "birthday lunch." Jo, Linda and I all have birthdays within 2 weeks of each other, so we've been celebrating together for years. This year we ended up at MOA for shopping and lunch at Crave, after checking out Jo and Roger's new house in South Minneapolis (they move in the end of August), Corey's apartment in the old Sears tower, and the Midtown Global Market. It was a very busy day!
Since Sandy's birthday is in January, she treated the birthday girls to a bottle of wine with our lunch, and we all shared a delicious piece of cake.
Our family dinner was at Corey's roof-top party room where we grilled brats and hamburgers. We've decided it's much more relaxing to get the whole group together at a home instead of a restaurant, especially with the little guys who don't have much patience for "slow food." Maddox thought we should have my birthday dinner at McDonald's, but I wasn't too impressed with that idea.
Angela, Andy's mom, was here from Pittsburgh so it was fun to have her join us. After dinner, we went back to Corey's apartment for cake and presents . The kids went together and got me a Kindle - I love it, especially for reading in the car when we're traveling. I'm also looking forward to this fall when I can download free books from the library. The cake (see first picture) turned out great! I'll have to admit, though, that I made it myself - fudge strawberry cream torte - YUM! There wasn't much left over, but Corey ate Jenna's unfinished piece the next morning, and he said it was still awesome after sitting out all night!
The kids worked off the calories with a little dancing after eating that rich cake.
I'm not sure what Maddox is doing here - break dancing, maybe?
My birthday surprise from Chuck this year was a North Shore weekend trip to attend a Log Cabin Concert at the home of Michael Monroe, a folk/contemporary jazz artist who we have followed for years. He performs all over the state, and also welcomes people into his home near Grand Marais for receptions/concerts several times a year. It was awesome!
We set off Friday morning, and took our time driving up to Duluth. We stopped for margaritas and chips at Little Angie's in Canal Park, and then picked up subs and ate them along the lake. It was great until we started getting eaten alive by the flies! We spent Friday night in Two Harbors at Chuck's mom's home before heading up the shore on Saturday morning.
Hiking on the Superior Hiking Trail between Beaver Bay and Silver Bay was on our list of things to do on Saturday, and we had a beautiful day for it!
There was a 10K race going on that morning, in the opposite direction from the way we were going, so we kept having to step aside off the trail to let the runners/walkers get by. One guy was even running barefoot!
I decided I needed a picture of us along the trail, and I finally found a fallen log at just the right height for my camera. I set the timer, ran to get in the picture, and -- oops! -- forgot to check for leaves in the way.
Ah, that's better.
Here's our "buddy," Michael Monroe, with one of his many guitars.
There were about 18 people attending the concert, and wine and appetizers were served during the social hour before and at the break. We had front row seats on the love seat. This is the first time I've been serenaded with a reggae version of "Happy Birthday."
Chuck got to tour Michael's studio, and we both posed for a picture after the concert was over - very cool!
We woke up the next morning to another beautiful day, and after going down to the lake with our early morning coffee, we decided to be the first hikers at Gooseberry Falls, and then clean up for the trip home.
Early morning at Grand Superior Lodge - we stayed in the unit in the upper right hand side. It was beautiful, and we even had a bird's eye view of a wedding along the shore on Saturday afternoon!
Gooseberry Falls was deserted at 8:00 Sunday morning!
We hiked most of the way to the lake,
and then decided to just hang out, relax on a bench, and soak up all that early-morning peace and quiet. I should have been playing the prelude at the 8:30 service at church in CF when this picture was taken, but Chuck even arranged for a sub for me - what a guy (and thanks, Anne)!
It was a wonderful weekend!
Sandy makes a great mojito! Here's to turning 62! 
The dinner was fantastic, as usual!
