June continued as May ended, means summertime in Minnesota.  With Clara and Chase in school, we took advantage of watching them play hockey and running in track meets, and special moments like this, strolling around Como Lake in St. Paul with them.  June also included a one-week vacation to New Mexico with Carmen, Mike, Dakota, Toby and Hunter exploring a couple of national parks.

Glorine and Denise traded off making dinners that we got to share with the kids.  This evening Denise treated us.	Hard to believe we have a grandson taller than Grandpa Larry.  Chase will be 14 in September and starting the eighth grade.
We had a chance to catch up with Ajijic friends, Kay and Gary, whom we met nearly 15 years ago.  And nearly every summer, we get together.  Here we are finishing dessert and coffee at their home on Lake Minnetonka.  Always nice catching up.	Clara runs for the varsity track team at Prior Lake High School. Here she is doing her final run at a regional track tournament, where she took 7th in the 100  meter hurdles and eighth in the 300 meter hurdles.  Not bad for her second year running and being  a sophomore.
While Chase is getting bigger, he has gotten much more completive at hockey. Here he is playing a scrimmage with a group of kids older than him. He loved the challenge and was fun to watch.	When not skating, skateboarding or running, he enjoys gaming with friends. He has this awesome gaming computer that pushes him into learning coding to create his own games.
We hiked around this small six acre lake in Edina called Centennial Lake. The day we were there they had a display of miniature remote boats.	In mid-June, we flew to Phoenix to meet up with Carmen and family.  On our drive to New Mexico, we met up with friend Nancy (far right), near her home in Benson.
Carmen rented a couple of cool AirBnBs, this one with a pool and hot tub in Las Cruises. Early mornings and late evenings were the only time we could use them.	With the weather being so HOT, we took the dogs for early morning walks. The mountains around Las Cruises were stunning.
One of our destinations was the White Sands National Park, 275 square miles of white sand, making it the largest gypsum dune field in the world. It took us a while to figure out how, but when  we did it was fun  sledding.	Carmen's high school friend, Voni, drove up from El Paso to spend time to catch up. They were nearly inseparable back then and enjoyed the awesome day.
The dunes attract lots of people and the park provides wind shelters throughout the parking lot.	The smoke from nearby wildfires made the sunset extra beautiful.
The full moon in June is also known as the strawberry moon, when strawberries begin to bloom.  Awesome!	Our next destination was Carlsbad Caverns in southwest New Mexico.
The park service puts on a presentation about the nearly 1/2 million bats that fly out at night, feast on nearby insects and return in the early morning.	The next day we took a picture just as we started to  descend nearly 750 feet down into the cavern.  This is the only entrance and where we could smell bat feces.
Carlsbad Cavern consists of 119 caves stretching nearly 30 miles below the Chihuahua desert, only three miles are open to the public.  The stalactites were everywhere.	Throughout the cave are tons of stalagmites and stalactites, many of which are named. They call this Dolls Theater for soda straws and small columns.
The Chinese Theater has stalactites and stalagmites whose columns appear to take on a Chinese architecture  theme.	Six days flew by way too fast. The parks were great.  We flew on this puddle jumper from Carlsbad to Houston, then on to MN.
We made it back just in time to take in the Eden Prairie Players "Cinderella."  Even though the kids are bigger, it was a great performance.	One last outing before heading to North Dakota.  Clara's birthday so Craig's mom joined us for an outdoor dinner with music in the background provided by  the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
In January, we lost Dennis, one of Larry's cousins and best friend, just shy of his 80th birthday. He died doing what he like doing the most, feeding the birds.	Most of his ashes were buried at the North Dakota Veteran Cemetery south of Mandan and a thimble full on the farm he grew up on and also some where he died in AZ.
Glorine read the following poem at Dennis's Celebration of life: They Are Gone by Anonymous You can shed tears that they are gone, or you can smile because they have lived. You can close your eyes and pray that they will come back, or you can open your eyes and see all they have left. Your heart can be empty because you can't see them, or you can be full of the love you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember them and only that they are gone, or you can cherish their memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back, or you can do what they would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.	Dennis's oldest sibling, Ray,  played his harmonica which delighted all who were able to attend.  Nancy, had a second celebration of life at their ranchette near Pomerene, seven miles north of Benson.
Our great friends Dennis and Betty from Bismarck put on quite the feast. This along with a few beers, some wine and several rounds of cards, although no one kept score it was a wonderful evening.	North Dakota has a large population of Germans who immigrated from Russia in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Brother Jacob donated money in honor of our parents who were first generation Germans from Russian.