More Catching Up

Sorry for the gap in posts!  It's not that we've been very busy; just not a lot of excitement in our life.  Not that this is a bad thing! 

We've been spending time at the cabin with frequent visits to Duluth to check in on Paige's mom.  She continues to make progress and is mostly using a cane now.  Yesterday she took her car out for a drive without any problems so this will allow her more freedom now.  She's going to drive up to the cabin for visits now.

Mid-May we also spent a few days in Minneapolis.  We packed a lot into that trip:  dinner with Brett's family, celebration of Pam's birthday at Ty and Jen's with the opportunity to see Leah again (how she's grown!), visit to our church where we got to visit with our minister who is moving to a different church in early June, lunch with David prior to going to Valentina's dance recital.  Wow!  We sure appreciate staying at Pam's so we can do all these things!

When we got to Duluth in May, there was a deficit of rain.  Things sure have changed!  It's been raining for a week or so now and there is no more deficit!  Usually we have about 12 feet of beach from the grass to the water at the cabin.  Not so now!  The water is right up to the grass.  We also have what we call the "Riewe Reservoir" - a huge puddly, mucky area in the middle of the yard whick we need to walk around. 

Last week we rented a log splitter on Tuesday (the last dry day we've had coincidentally!) so that we could clean up all the logs laying around.  We ended up with a big pile of wood that needed to be piled.  With the kids all coming up Memorial Day weekend, we were banking on some people-power to do that work.

We had a great time with everyone in spite of the dreary, rainy weather.  We played games, watched movies, rode the golf cart, and ate a lot!  So good to see those granddaughters!

Today we're in Duluth getting a bunch of errands done.  The weather forecast indicates that the rain will be leaving and some sun will peak out now.  Hopefully the yard will dry out and we can get some of our projects done.

Back from Disney!

Paige’s mother, Joyce, was released from her rehab center on Sunday, April 22.  It was her first tine since early January to be home.  We helped out around the house in Duluth until mid-week before moving to her sister Pam’s place in the Twin Cities, while Pam took our place in Duluth for a few days – we waved to each other across the median as we met along the interstate. 

Our last posting was entered early that weekend, just before Paige took her 4 granddaughters to a live performance of “Mama Mia”. They had a great bonding time. 

Sunday the 29^th we spent most of the day at the University of Minnesota, site of the state-wide History Competition.  Valentina and 2 teammates put together an exhibit that won their Middle school-level, and the regional-level competition and were now competing at the state level.  They were very happy to have made it to Sunday’s opening rounds, and were happier yet to be finished.  Their parents and grandparents are proud of them all.

What has really kept us busy since then was our taking our youngest granddaughter, Olivia, to Disney World for a week. For those readers who are not aware of it, we have taken each of the granddaughters there at about 4 to 5 years old. The weather was hot and humid but Olivia had a great time – thank goodness for the swimming pool! Just look at these smiles:

 

We have been back in Duluth now for a couple of days. Mom is doing well on her recovery and can manage being at home alone now. We intend to stay close in May and June. Once our mail comes, maybe tomorrow, we will be headed north to the family cabin.

Where Did the Time Go?

It has been almost 2 weeks since our last post (seems like 2 days).  Spring still hadn’t come to Duluth by the time we left on Thursday, but it has come to the Minneapolis area.  The leaves are out and the flowering trees are looking great.  There is even a good looking crop of dandelions growing.

Paige’s mother is now back in her house, with therapy specialists providing home visits and 2 other daughters helping out while we get more granddaughter-time.  She’s doing very well and we’re looking forward to having her at the cabin in a month or so.

Later today Paige is taking all 4 granddaughters to a live performance of “Mamma Mia”, as one of their Christmas presents then out for a pizza supper.  Yesterday we went to an Art Show at the school where Brett’s girls go.  Sophie was in a vocal performance there.

Tomorrow we will attend an event at the University of Minnesota where Valentina is presenting a history project with 2 other students.  They have been in competition starting at their school then the region.  They have made it to the state level and awards will be presented tomorrow at the end of a 9 hour event.  We’re cheering for Valentina and her team!!

On Tuesday we’re leaving for Disney World with Olivia.  This is our fourth and last trip with the granddaughters.  We always enjoy their excitement!  We will post an update on this trip when we return home in a week or so.

Where is Spring?

It is now Sunday evening and things are quieting down.  We brought 3 granddaughters with us to Duluth on Friday evening.  David and Valentina met us here a little later, so we had all of our granddaughters with us for the weekend.  Physical rehabilitation for Paige’s mother has been going very well, and she might be able to go home later this week.  She has been able to get out and about by calling for a special van but yesterday was her first ride in a car since mid-January.  We came for the weekend, and brought all the girls, so they could attend a Tea Party with their Great Grandmother.  Here is the whole gang (less the guys):

Last year at this time we were just starting to head back here from eastern Tennessee and had spring-like weather most of the way.  This year we beat Spring here.  Although the snow is gone, and the grass is greening up, the leaves have not yet come out.  Yesterday was quite pleasant, but today is cold, wet, and windy.  There is some snow in the forecast for tonight (hopefully not much).

At least we don't have the storms seen in OK, KS and NE (where we were last week).

We will be spending the next week and a half here in Duluth, getting her house ready for Joyce’s return home.  We will keep busy doing whatever needs to be done.

Back in Minnesota

It was a long day of driving on Monday, but we arrived at Brett and Jen’s place a little after 4 PM.  The driving was also quite tiring due to a 20 mph head- and side-wind. 

We will have a couple of days here before taking the granddaughters to Duluth to spend some time with their Great Grandmother over the weekend.  We will be touching bases with friends and family while here and taking care of some paperwork issues.

Still Rolling

It is now Monday morning, and we are still traveling.  With any luck, we should arrive at Brett’s place later today and stop moving for awhile.  We had planned to get there before Easter, but our adventures in Flagstaff delayed us too much.  Instead, we arrived at Mary and Bill’s farm in Nebraska on Saturday night and shared a home cooked dinner with them.  We all went to Easter services at their local church, followed by a southern-style brunch at our place. 

We were packed up by mid-day and rolled into Iowa where we stopped for the night about ½ hour across the border.  Our Easter dinner was at a truck stop along I-80, just a short walk from an RVpark

We’re looking forward to seeing all the granddaughters and family!!

Finally out of Flagstaff

Here it is, Thursday already, and we have finally made it out of Flagstaff.  When we had last posted, the big tow truck had dropped us off at the Freightliner service center for the weekend.  We found a very nice church in town for Palm Sunday services.  It was very pleasant to be a part of a larger congregation, especially with lots of children.  Both factors have been missing from our experiences for quite awhile.

The Scenic Mountains in Flagstaff

Monday was “Hurry Up and Wait” for inspection and diagnostics.  Tuesday was more of the same.  Our confidence in the service department faded as we became more aware of their lack of customer service.  Late Tuesday afternoon we found a CATERPILLAR service shop nearby and mentioned our plight to the owner, who gave us a much better feeling of confidence.  Wednesday morning we paid Freightliner too much for their limited diagnostics and had the big tow truck move us 3 miles before 9:00 AM.  By 5:15 PM we were rolling once again…..Whew!

Waiting for the Motorhome to be fixed

An old saying is “It’s not so much what happens to you, it’s how you react that’s important.”  Let’s say the past 4 days was a memorable experience, and let it go at that.  We are very happy to be rolling once again, just a little later than we had originally planned.

On a brighter note, this situation allowed us to connect with John and Ginny from the San Diego area, who were also captives at Camp Freightliner.  We shared a couple of meals with them and found we had quite a few things in common.  Connecting with new people is one way to “make lemonade, when you’re handed some lemons.” (Brett's advice to us!) 

We’re now on our trek back to Minnesota.  We won’t make it for Easter which is a disappointment.  We just hope that the trip goes without any further delays!

Paige’s mom saw her surgeon on Monday and the good news is that she is now able to put pressure on her left leg.  Therapy has started and she is working hard to walk again.  We have no doubt that she will be getting out soon.