Too busy for words!

I will be back to fill in the stories!!!!

Back!!!  I love the annual Bloomington Fete held July 3 and Lucy calls it July 4 Eve "like Christmas Eve, Grammy, right?"  We always get decked out in our patriotic finery, say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing patriotic songs.  All this a mile from our house.

Daughter Jenny and granddaughter Rooke from California were here July 6-16.  They left this morning and on the way to the airport Rooke asked me when she would be coming back and I asked her when she wanted to return:  "When there is snow, Grammy".  Her first experience with a sled was a year or so ago at our house.
We were busy every day and a block from our house I was able to tell them the story of the Bloomington native who helped divert United Flight 93 away from the Pentagon most likely saving lives but losing his own.  Lucy was very thoughtful.

What's a visit to Minneapolis without seeing Minnehaha Falls.  We took our kids there when they were little but this year is the most water I have seen.

Another day, another event:  After a rainfall it's frog hunting time and they caught about 25 tiny frogs and gave them a temporary home with water, grass and rocks in big buckets.  By the next morning they had all jumped out.

Ross giving Rooke a little lesson on the grand organ - she was pretty interested!

Bush Lake Beach - 3 times - one of my favorite places and all my life I have loved the beach.  I doubt I will ever outgrow the love of it and also of making sand castles and moats and "rivers".

Valley Fair - loved it and there were 10 of us -5 kids and 5 adults - so it was a pretty even match for counting heads.  Amy's Dad, Paul, Scott, Amy, Jenny and I were the "so-called" adults.

When I look for pictures by photo number on my camera card old ones with the same number pop up.  This is Alex at less than 1 year old discovering that it is fun to pull kleenex out of a box!!!

Scott after being hit by a "wave".  I think he looks like a Blues Brother singing his heart out!

SuperStructs make a great ferris wheel and Alex has patience and follows the diagrams exactly.  I think we might have a budding engineer in the family.

Raspberry picking - my friend Barb was out of town and offered her raspberry bushes for free picking and boy were they good.

Family dinner one night - this is what happens when the kids finish their meals first - life gets a little crazy but fun.  They get along so well and it's such fun to have cousins.

After watching Alex play hockey we went out to dinner.  This is what happens when you go out and the kids finish their meal first:).

Back to Valley Fair.  Scott paid the $5 for the "family dryer" and it was quite warm and breezy but since I rode The Wave twice and was hit both back and front I never did dry out but with 80+ temperatures it actually felt good.

Mini golf in Bloomington:  Rooke had a lot of new experiences in Minnesota.  Alex was a very good golf teacher as he has had lessons and knows where to put his feet and how to hold the club.  It started raining by the last 3 of 18 holes so we played pretty fast then.

Last night for the little cousins and they always get a little sad when it comes time to say goodbye.  I think this is the cutest picture of all.

3 days from today I will be hosting my 50 year high school class reunion and it should be a fun time.  So of course the next pictures will be of the "never old" folks.