The new dog, Harvey

We finally had a chance to see Stacy and meet the new dog, Harvey. Harvey is a two year old black lab/ rottweiler mix that the kids found at the Humane Society. He is the friendliest guy and is well loved in his new home.

Happy Birthday, Shayne!

August 12 was Shayne’s 34th birthday and Mitch cooked a birthday dinner of grilled rack of lamb with grilled red potatoes and grilled asparagus. We ended the meal with homemade coconut ice cream topped with Dulce de Leche con Ron (rum-flavored caramel sauce) and fresh pineapple. Bob and Jo, Bryan (Stacy had an evening meeting to attend), Shayne and Sarah, and we enjoyed the evening. We were so busy I never even thought to take a picture.

Before we cooked the meal, there was a little prep work. We took over Shayne and Sarah’s kitchen. In between times, Grampa had time to play with Addy who would say “one more” when Grampa would play “This Little Piggy” and would tickle her.

500 Card Club

It’s been two years since we played 500 with our card club. We have played cards at least once a month (and more when the kids grew up and we didn’t have kid activities to attend) for 30 years.

When you spend that much time with each other you never seem to get old because everyone ages together. It’s a great way to stay young!

Rick and Rose still had wedding stuff to do so they weren't able to play.

Steve and Diane's new house on the lake

Sunday we had some let’s hang out time and gave Diane and Steve a call. We hadn’t seen their new lake home, so made a trip to Sugar Lake. Diane and Steve prepared a wonderful Sunday dinner which we shared with Diane’s cousin and fellow teacher, Darlene.

Our old houses in Elk River

We were driving around Elk River and decided to check out the old houses. Boy have the trees grown in the old neighborhood. It was hard to see the house. We even ran into Linda, the old baby-sitter, and had a nice chat.














I guess the trees are pretty big in the new neighborhood, too!

Eric and Abigail's Wedding

We have been out of Internet connection and therefore the blog has been quiet. Not so our lives. There is always something going on to keep us busy.

We attended the wedding of Eric and Abigail last Saturday. Eric is a classmate of Shayne’s and the oldest son of our good friends, Rick and Rose.











The five Larson boys enjoyed all being together again.

Abby has just arrived in the United States from the Philippines within the last six weeks and Rose basically planned the wedding over the phone from Florida. Most of Abby’s family had not seen her until 48 hours before the wedding, including Abby’s mother who had not seen her in 13 years. Rick and Rose had flown Abby’s father from the Philippines to be a part of the wedding. It was a great family gathering.

Rose has been suffering from a gastrointestinal disease for the last three years. Although her condition is improving, it is a slow process and she still has more bad days than good days. She was a trooper to make it through two nights of partying with the groom’s dinner and the wedding. It was great to spend some time with her.

Friends at the wedding

The Grupas

Bob and Sue

Bob and Joyce














Nancy and Dave

JoAnn and Gary

Reg and Joanne were gracious enough to let us park the coach in their circle and then have cards at their house on an unconventional Sunday night!