California Visitors

We opened the Bracken B&B last weekend, as we had overnight company both Friday and Saturday nights. Chuck had his poker buddies down on Friday night, and since Andy played with the guys, he and Jenna decided to check out the queen-size bed in her old room, and then Sue and Lee were here from California on Saturday night. They came for a family wedding in Northfield, so they rambled over to CF for a visit after the dinner and dance. Sue was maid of honor in our wedding (almost 35 years ago - yikes!), and they are Kyle's godparents. We've been friends since first grade, so we always have LOTS to talk about when we get together.

They stayed for brunch on Sunday, and then we just relaxed and got caught up on everything all afternoon.

Sunday night, Sue and I went up to Minneapolis to meet Linda, a college friend, for dinner and more chatting. The three of us were skiing buddies in college, and we took lots of trips to northern Minnesota, Upper Michigan, and Colorado with the Augsburg Ski Club - those were the days!

Corey brought Maddox down to meet and entertain the California visitors. He was pretty shy at first, but that didn't last too long.

He showed off his bike-riding skills. His legs just need to grow a few inches more and he'll be able to handle those pedals.

Pushing the stroller was much easier!

What a busy weekend. I felt like I needed to go back to school on Monday to rest up.

Montana

Well, once again we went on a ski trip and I didn't get any ski pictures. We headed off to Red Lodge, Montana, for some Spring Break skiing, and it snowed most of the time we were there. Fortunately, we had dry roads for the trip out and back.

This is the start of the Beartooth Highway, heading up to the pass at over 10,000 feet, before descending on the other side to the northeast entrance to Yellowstone. The road is only open in the winter for a few miles outside of Red Lodge - it's closed from October to Memorial Day - so we didn't get too far!

These are the kind of clouds we saw everyday. We were able to ski on Tuesday and Wednesday, but by the time we got to the ski area on Thursday, we were in the middle of a white-out blizzard, and we decided we really needed to see to ski. We opted for the local museum and art gallery instead!

There were deer everywhere! This group had been feeding in a field by the local golf course in the afternoon, and when we drove by them on our way to dinner, they were all bedded down for the night, something the great white hunter in our group (that would be Chuck) had never seen before.

There are actually 3 deer cuddled up here. Chuck was wishing it was deer season!

On Thursday night, we headed through the foothills to Roscoe, a very small town about 20 miles northwest of Red Lodge, for a steak dinner at Grizzly's Bar. The road winds along the base of the mountains, and it's beautiful at dusk!

Dinner was great!

Of course, Friday morning dawned clear and crisp, and we had to leave. You can just barely see the ski area in the background. My plan was to ski with the camera on our last day, but it just didn't happen. Maybe next year! It was great to get away, relax, and spend time with good friends!

Spring Snowstorm, and a Visit from the Easter....???

It doesn't look much like spring around here! We have had lots of wet sticky snow this week, and it looks more like Christmas than Easter. We had a snow day from school on Tuesday since the plows didn't go out in the morning. Most of that snow was gone by noon, but then we got blasted again on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully, it's done soon because we leave early Monday morning for some skiing in Red Lodge, Montana, and we want dry roads so we can make the trip in one day. The way it looks right now, we could stay home and ski right here at good old Welch Village.

Happy Easter!

When Chuck came home from work on Tuesday night, he surprised this ugly critter in our garage. We've decided there must be way too much snow for the Easter bunny, so this possum is filling in. We had to roll him out the garage door with a rake. I tried to get a picture of the process, but I was laughing way too hard as Chuck did the dirty work with a garden rake and my friend Kathy backed him up with a hoe.
Chuck wanted to shoot the thing, but he probably would have ended up shooting himself from ricocheting bullets! Guess we have to keep the garage door closed during the day.

March Rainbow - Where's the gold??

I was driving home from Target the other night at about 6:30 pm when the weather suddenly turned so stange. A very strong wind came up, it started to rain, and my Explorer was blowing all over the road. The rain almost looked like snow as it blew across my path. I could see the sun shining in the west, but dark clouds were overhead. I looked to the east and there was the most beautiful double rainbow! I couldn't resist pulling over to the side and snapping a quick picture.

Of course, the picture doesn't do justice to the real thing, but it's still pretty neat! The end of the rainbow should be about where downtown CF is - anybody inherit some gold lately??

Dinner at Don Pablos

We all got together last night at Don Pablos to celebrate Jenna's birthday, but somehow I only got pictures of the most important guests - the birthday girl, Andy, and Maddox, but mostly Maddox. Funny how a 1-year old steals the show!

These two look like a couple of teenagers!

Ooooh, those chips are good!

"Let's see, do I want milk or a smoothie?" Heidi came prepared with lots of extras for Maddox.

Maddox was all dressed up in his new "dude clothes."

He actually said "Happy Birthday" to Jenna - he had been practicing all day!

Good food, good company, and a good time!

No birthday cake or candles, though. Guess that will have to wait until Saturday.

A Quarter of a Century!

Jenna's favorite holiday has always been her birthday, and this year she celebrates #25 on March 15th. Wow, how time flies. As usual, she has multiple celebrations planned. The first one will be a family celebration on Tuesday at Don Pablos, her favorite restaurant. Stay tuned for more photos next week!

March, 1983 - 1 day old - 8# 14 oz. and 21" long

Look at all that hair!
Fall, 2007, almost 25

I guess I'll leave out the height and weight.

Happy Birthday, Jenna!

60 Years Young!

Ted and Pat (my brother and sister-in-law) both turned 60 in the last few months, so we had a celebration dinner at Joyce and Paul's in Waconia on Saturday night. We were going to go to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, but it was sold out for the few dates we all had available. We decided it would be more fun to just get together for some good food and conversation, and we were right. Dinner was great, and so was the company.

Here they are - not bad for 60, huh?

Here's the whole crew - Teddy, Janie, and Joycie and spouses. I spent some time with the direction booklet for my camera on Saturday afternoon so I could figure out how to use the timer and take a picture of all 6 of us - yeah, it worked!

Buggies

We are still blessed with box elder bugs and Asian beetles at our house, and Maddox is fascinated with the little critters. Every time he comes over, he starts looking for "buggies." Unfortunately, he doesn't have to look very hard.

Chuck loves taking him on "buggy hunts."

Look! There's one! See the little black spot on the ceiling?
Another successful visit to Grandma and Grandpa's!