Wisconsin Dells

It's vacation time! On Wed. the 18 I went with my mother-in-law to St. Cloud to go shopping. By the way I was wanting to spend money, I could tell it was time for another shopping trip. Rustin met us there after work, and we headed down to the cities to stay at his Dad's work apartment. Thurs. morning we went to IKEA and some other little shops and then we met my family in the Dells. It had been awhile since I'd seen everyone so it was good to see them again. We stayed at the Tamarack resort, which I would recommend. It is a couple miles from the main drag, but it is very scenic and the traffic is much calmer. Besides, you have to drive practically everywhere on the main drag anyway. We crashed and bought a few groceries. We ate supper at Moosejaw Lodge. Good food. We tried their infamous mozz. sticks wrapped in egg rolls. Excellent! On Friday we mini-golfed and went to Riverworld Waterpark. Because of the baby I tried to tame down a little. Saturday we ate at Paul Bunyan's restaurant. After lunch we went to the Tommy Bartlett Show and played Bocce ball. In the evening Dad, Mom, Rustin, and I went to the Wisconsin Opry. We were among the youngest people there. After CD church on Sunday we went and rode the Original Wisconsin Ducks. They maneuver on land and water. Mom and I agreed this was our favorite part of the vacation. Check out these chicks!

We played more mini-golf that afternoon. On Monday Rustin, Bob, Susan, and Matt went to Mt. Olympus to enjoy water and themepark rides. Dad, Mom, and I decided we wouldn't get our money's worth, so we opted out. Mom and I went shopping instead and found some bargains. That evening we packed up to leave the next morning, bright and early. On the way home, Rustin and I stopped in Rochester to visit his uncle who had open heart surgery. He wasn't in Mayo clinic, but the nearby St. Mary's Hospital. After a short work week, it's hard to believe the weekend is already here. We are going with Rustin's family up to a cabin on Detroit Lakes for an extended weekend. It's too bad we can't vacation all summer!

Itasca State Park

First of all, here is our baby waving hi to you! July 4th seems like a while ago. Rustin was up at the firehall for a pancake and sausage breakfast at 6:00. I went up to eat with him at 8:30. Then we went back at noon for lunch and at 12:30 we set up barricades for the parade. Rustin drove a big 4 wheel drive tractor with an applicator and anhydrous tank pulling behind. I pulled the classic "Hancock drum" with the city pick-up. My father-in-law says that it was in the parade when he was a kid. It was fun, but I hardly knew anyone on the sidelines. Vern, my boss, rode with me, and his grandsons threw candy from the back. We went to Rustin's aunt and uncles for supper and then went to the Community sing. (we watched) In the evening Rustin helped light the fire works. It was a nice 80 some degrees but this is what he looked like.

I sat at the car and craned my neck to see the fireworks. Overall they were nice and loud. Since it is after the 4th my hours have been cut back to 7-12. Seems like my afternoons get filled with landscaping, garden stuff or other house chores. This past Friday and Saturday, Rustin and I took his parent's camper up to Itasca State Park and camped. This is where the Missisippi Headwaters are. It was very pretty. We also took our bikes and started down a 17 mile bike trail. 3 miles down we decided we had done enough hills so we headed back to our camp site. 6 miles was perfect for us.

On Sunday afternoon we went to Starbuck Beach for a picnic. Ginny Wulf and some girls from Gridley were up, as well as Curt and Norma Witzig and family. It was enjoyable to drive Brent's boat and to watch people freeze as they swam. This week is flying by, but as promised here is some pictures of our new landscape. To get the full picture, you'll have to come visit!

July 1, 2007

It seems like a long time since I have seen this computer. Same old thing. More painting of curbs, garbage cans and park benches - which I've been told isn't the best thing to do when pregnant. Hopefully after the 4th this will come to an end. Tomorrow and Tuesday will be long hours because of more setting up and sprucing up. After the 4th I have a feeling that things will slow down drastically. Last Friday I pulled a sweeper behind the town's pick-up. It took me 6 hours but was pretty enjoyable. More landscaping (trimming) has been done in the evenings so Rustin and I have been busy. We finally have our landscaping almost done. It looks much better to have the weeds covered and plants planted. Pictures will follow.

Last weekend Greg and Mary came up to visit. We spent the day in Alexandria shopping and mini-golfing. In the evening we had friends and relatives over for a weiner roast. We invited our friends Greg and Sheila Reuter, but they had their little baby boy on Friday night. So instead we went and visited them at the hospital. His name is Emerson Jerry Reuter. Last night we took them supper and mother and baby are doing pretty well. They say you don't know what lack of sleep is until you have kids. Sheila can attest to this. We are excited that our kids will be close to the same age and hopefully will atleast get along.

Hope you have a great 4th!!!