It's always a good idea to...

Be sure your shoes match before going to work.

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Tonight we had a good laugh when our friend shared with us how her feet looked today...

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She had been trying to decide which pair of shoes to wear when she got distracted and forgot that she had two different shoes on her feet... and off to work she went!

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So nice to have the kind of friendship that shares these kinds of things!

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And because of that kind of friendship, we gathered around a cozy fire on a nice Minnesota evening to relax together.
No, we didn't really need a fire to stay warm but it sure was nice to have one.
Keeps the mosquitos away maybe....

We enjoyed good Minnesota coffee in winter mugs... reminding us that winter is really not that far away ... so we must enjoy the time outdoors while we can!

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Thank you, Denise, for a good laugh, a good cup of coffee and a good time!

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Hanging out with grandma...

Today is SP's day with Grandma. He was so patient waiting for his day; first it was his big sister's day, then it was his big brother's day and finally it is HIS day.

He was ready to go when I went to pick him up - and he is a happy little fella today with only grandma as his playmate.

I got out some of the micro-machines that his Daddy used to enjoy!
He loved them.

Cars and trucks and things that go....

Oh, yes, a little shy pose for the camera...

But he was only kidding.
He wasn't shy at all!

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And, NO, he doesn't think he needs a nap or a rest time at all!

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Hm...

Party time

It was party time today.

It was Tobias' two year birthday party.

The food was ready...

The backyard was ready....

The guests arrived...

The children played....

and the gifts were opened!

Inside this orange lunchbox were some little toys for Tobias...

and the orange lunchbox was pretty special...

it had a picture of transformers on it..

John could identify most or all of them...

because it used to be HIS lunchbox!!!

It's a classic!!!

(Aren't you glad I save things, John??)

Sara made a delicious cake and cupcakes for the birthday boy.

Everyone loved the cake. and the party.

and the birthday boy.

and he loved the icing....

smart boy.

Blue skies...

Blue skies and ....

blue eyes and....

a little boy at play..... (blue tractor!)

yellow school bus...

and a happy song!

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Knee high by the fourth of July...

You likely have heard the expression "knee high by the fourth of July" - if you haven't it is in reference to the corn crop planted in the spring. The farmers are hopeful that it will be at least as high as their knee by early July. This is the field we drive past every day - and we think this farmer must be very happy!

And NO, I was not kneeling. I was standing full height.

All 5 feet of me. :)

Our town has an amazing display of flags that are flown on major patriotic holidays, weather permitting. This picture is only a small sample of all the flags. Each one represents a veteran - and at present there are about 1200 of them set up and taken down on the designated holiday. It is quite a big enterprise for the faithful volunteers to do that, and to them, and to the veterans, we say thanks. Very much.

Happy 4th of July!

We had no specific plans for celebrating our nation's birthday. We decided to take a ride and we came upon this restaurant for lunch.
It was sort of out in no where.
It was good.

Next stop was a small town not far from our town that is known for the large pelican statue.

Of course, we had to stop and take a picture!

There are a good many large statues in towns out here in the midwest.

an Otter, a Prairie chicken , Paul Bunyon, a holstein cow..

I don't remember any statues like these in New Jersey.

Maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

Have a very happy fourth of July!!!

Happy Birthday Tobias Henry!!

Two years ago this precious boy was born!

Two sets of excited grandparents sat anxiously in the waiting room of the hospital waiting for the text message that simply said

"baby!"

we had been waiting and waiting for the news. (we knew it was a boy).

And then the proud dad appeared and announced the name:

Tobias Henry

After John and Sara's grandfathers.

Fabulous.

And now he is no longer a baby!

Tobias is the first born of our first born son, John Tobias,
who was also named after his grandfathers.

Happy Birthday to a special two year old!!

We love you.

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Don't let this town fool you...

We live in a small mid-western town, but the place we went to this evening was a teeny mid-western... hamlet? Not sure what to call it; there is a sign labeling the "town" which has a ...church and an old school house restaurant. Not much else.

Don't let that fool you.

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Inside this old schoolhouse is a cozy and casual restaurant - and the draw for us was that it was

TUESDAY NIGHT.

On Tuesday evenings this nondescript dwelling serves up a Norwegian staple called ...

kumpa, or kumla, or klub, depending on what part of Norway your ancestors came from...

also known, for those of us non-norwegians as "potato dumplings."

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This happy group was ready to dive right in...

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And here they are! Kumpa! Those large roundish things are the object of delight - potato dumplings... one grinds raw potatoes, forms them into balls (and maybe adds a little flour or something to help it "hold together") and boil them in a large kettle of water. Usually there is a small piece of salt pork or ham slipped into the middle of the "kumpa." In this case, there was a generous serving of ham along with some cole slaw. These kumpa were served with butter; some put honey or syrup (Roger's Golden Syrup for good Canadians) or else just salt and pepper.
AND... if you have some left over, you fry them the next morning.
Most say that is the best.
I can't understand why they just don't do that from the start....
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I have eaten kumpa.
I think you have to grow up with them.
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I had the other special of the evening.
:)

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Trefempen with Grandpa!

This evening we had the pleasure of hosting this sweet grandson and his momma at our

"Berge Bed and Breakfast"... they are traveling further tomorrow to see the other grandparents.

But for tonight, this grandpa did "trefempen" over and over....

YEAH!

Hot dog roast

This evening our new patio got to be the host for a hot dog roast!

Daniel and family brought some food, made a fire, and roasted their supper.

The kids thought they had gone camping!

They did a good job of roasting those hot dogs.

And an even better job of eating them!

And this little gal was sooo happy because she felt like such a big girl in this cute red car.

She loved sitting in it; being pushed around, and just acting like such a big girl!

Flower gardens...

A week ago I went on a day trip to some beautiful flower gardens in St. Cloud, Minnesota

This picture, above, is my favorite picture... it is looking straight up through the pattern of a gazebo.

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In that gazebo is this touching bronze statute of a husband and wife.

The husband made this flower garden for his wife, because she loved roses.

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It is now a garden in her memory.

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Come walk with me...

I recommend you visit here and also walk through the adjoining Munsinger Gardens, equally beautiful, lush and relaxing.

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