My Summer Vacation

We've had a fun and busy summer.
Here's what we've done so far.

Katie had a birthday in May, so we had a party. Here's the traditional family photo by the cake.

Katie likes pirates. Hence, the pirate cake.

Daniel and Katie (not our Katie, the other Katie!) got married. The Marines gave him 3 days off. So, they got married and we had another family party! The bride and groom danced.

Beth and Amy danced.

Terry and Tim went up to Camp Ripley for Boy Scouts, so the girls and I had a party. We went to the Mall of America and had supper at the Twin Cities Grill and then went to Build a Bear Workshop.

Here are the bears we made.

In early June we went up north to Uncle Dick's and Auntie Priscilla's lake home. Tim and Uncle Dick played pool. I don't know who won.

A couple days later we went up to near Crosslake to the lake home of some people we don't know at all, but they had offered their lake home for 3 nights to Terry's sister Diane and her family. Diane and fam didn't really know these people either. We highly recommend going to the lake homes of people you don't know. We had a great time! So, if there is someone that you don't know very well who wants to offer you their lake home, I say, "Go, enjoy!" Here's the gang on the dock.

Mindy decided to roast a marshmallow. It was slow going, so she read a book while it roasted.

This is why it was slow going. It's sort of reminiscent of Parker Posey roasting the chicken wing in Waiting for Guffman.

We did a girl's shopping trip to Crosslake and enjoyed chilled coffee beverages as we checked out the hotel where Erin and David will be having their wedding reception.

Suddenly, making a sand castle was the thing to do.

We played "Mafia". I took this photo from the loft where we slept.

The sand castle was still standing the next morning.

After trip to the lake we came home and a few days later there was a lovely hibiscus flower on my hibiscus plant that I had managed to not kill over the winter. I put it in Beth's hair and took a photo.

Chris had a birthday. We gave him a bistro table for his porch. Katie couldn't resist the box.

Everyone posed by the box before Chris opened it.

We also gave Chris a George Foreman grill. Everyone should have a George Foreman grill. In fact, I believe that statistically everyone does have a GF grill.

We had a family party for Chris. Mark put on Katie's pirate hat.

Aaron came. It's not been a good year for left wrists, fingers, and arms in this family.

Daughters, nieces, and friends. I'm thankful for them all.

I took this picture because my geranium was in full bloom. It was one I had saved over the winter and it looked pretty pathetic by April. But, some sunshine and a little Miracle grow and it was gorgeous.

Let's see. Two great nephews, a daughter, and a niece!

Here it is. The family photo by the cake.

Terry turned into the "Ice Cream Nazi" when he didn't like the way Mindy asked for ice cream. "NO ICE CREAM FOR YOU!"

It was the Fourth of July, so we had a party. The usual, fajitas and homemade ice cream. Here is Beth taking her turn.

We played volleyball in the backyard with a very large beach ball.

Then, it was off to Excelsior for the fireworks. We secured our usual position on the peninsula, settled in, and opened up the Kettle Corn. YUM!

We swam, then the kids played Pit.

When it got dark, we got out the glow necklaces and bracelets. Gotta love the dollar store. You can get a lot of glow items there really cheap.

Terry and I celebrated our 30th anniversary this summer, so the kids had a party for us. Lots of people, yummy food, and lots of fun. Here's the photo.

We wanted a photo of the kids at the anniversary party, so they posed for a nice picture.

Nikki kept getting more pregnant. So, Ann, Amy, and Diana had a shower for her. She got lots of cute things for little "Regis", including monkey booties.

Erin and David got engaged over Memorial weekend, so we had a shower for her. Nikki, Katie and Beth made these fruit pizzas.

Sue gave a talk. We laughed. We cried. And, we were all touched deeply.

Jodi turned 30, so Diane and Steve had a party for her. When I put the ketchup on my hamburger, it came out in a splurt in the exact shape of a heart without my trying. It was truly magical.

Mindy works at Starbucks and gets to see that poster of Paul McCartney every day. Here she is doing her impression of Paul.

Here is Jodi's butterfly cake.

The kids enjoyed looking at John Daker on Jeremy's laptop.

Jodi posed with the hubby, the mommy, and the daddy.

I had a birthday. My mommy took us out to eat and then we had ice cream cake on the back porch like we always do. YUM.

When I was in grade school, I loved Haley Mills. I also have always loved Greece, Crete, that whole Mediterranean thing. My favorite movie was The Moonspinners. Nikki and Mark gave it to me. Doesn't Mom look great. She's 86! I really need a hair cut.

Terry and the kids gave me some comfy clothes.

And that's all the photos I have downloaded so far. Plus, the summer is not over so be watching for: Nikki's family baby shower, the State Fair, and Erin and David's wedding and the arrival of little Regis, the boy-king.