| June marked the first anniversary of our retirement and what a year it has been. We continue to travel a lot. June was filled with wonderful moments with our kids, grand kids, and family in MN, CA, MN, CA, MN and ND.
Drop us a note to let us know what you are up to. Click here to email us. Larry and Glorine. | |||||
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| With Clara nearing two years old, some of our time was spent getting ready for the big celebration. Here Clara is sending out e-invitations (just kidding). | Evenings are a two-hour ritual of play time, bath time, reading time, and bed time. She enjoys it all. Click to enlarge. | ||||
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| It is Saturday, which means time at the Farmers Market in Prior Lake. Here are three generations strolling from the boat ramp to the market. | Market is not just food. There were games and events for some Grandma/Clara bonding. | ||||
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| (Clickable) Retirement is not all play--it can be "hard, hard work!" Craig and Larry spent about four days assembling this gargantuan playhouse for Clara. It came in five boxes and every board needed to be assembled one at a time. | But it was all worth it. Clara can't seem to get enough of it. She loves to swing and slide, but also spends time playing on every square inch of her new play house. | ||||
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| We took some time out for the Minnesota Zoo. We must have taken hundreds of pictures and can share them with you on our next visit. We bought a season pass, which can get us into over 100 zoos throughout the USA. What a great way to enjoy nature up close and personal. | It's YOGA time. Grandpa and Clara are spending some time stretching out their muscles to get ready for another day of fun and relaxation. | ||||
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| The Twin Cities is also home to several of our nieces and nephews. Larry's niece Patty and her husband Paul hosted us for fun and great food. | They have "WEE" a video game where you get into the action--whether it is bowling, golf, tennis, etc. Here Glorine is going for the knockout punch against Craig. He went down for the count. | ||||
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| (Clickable) On to California to help Carmen and Mike move into their new home. Glorine focused on helping Carmen settle in to the real home, yes Larry spent time assembling another playhouse. This one was much smaller and most came preassembled, except for the floor--there was none. So Larry designed and built one from scratch with materials that were left in the garage. | Carmen, Sierra and Dakota checked out the inside, while their friend Kathy did the exterior inspection. It passed!! It was "hard, hard work" but once again well worth the effort. | ||||
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| We took a break from the chores of moving and enjoyed some time with Kathy and Steve, friends of Carmen and Mike. Glorine and Sierra got to relax in the hot tub. | Dakota loved the water slide and jumping into 7' deep water, where Mike was positioned to catch her. Click to enlarge. | ||||
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| Carmen and Mike are not just "hoola hooping," they are exercising!! Yes, these hoops have weights in them, which make them a new way to keep fit and trim. The problem is that it leaves a few bruises on your hips. Click to enlarge. | Dakota Rose turned into a play doll for Steve and Kathy's kids, Victoria and Stephanie. First they dressed her up in a hoola outfit, then (as you will see in the next picture) into a little princess. She just loves to dress up! | ||||
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| Grandpa Larry got a chance to pose with Dakota and Sierra, although they didn't smile on "cheeeeeese." | Even though she is not yet three years old, Dakota attends pre-school. And while not in school she loves to learn through playing. Here she is with Nanny Felicia in "art class." This picture was taken on the patio of their new home. | ||||
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| We made it back to MN to join in on Clara's birthday celebration. On the first day of Summer, Clara turned two years old and celebrated the special event with lots of her little friends. The party theme was "Dora the Explorer." | Grandma Glorine said, "So Clara, how did you enjoy your party?" She replied, "I loved it, especially this beautiful dress you brought back from your trip to Mexico. Dora would have loved it too!" | ||||
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| Clara kicks back after a great party on one of her gifts, a Dora Lounge Chair! | We got a chance to catch up with friends in the Twin Cities. Jane and Jerry Schmidt attended graduate school with Glorine. Since then, they married and had twins, Peter and Margaret, who are now in junior high. | ||||
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| Yes, Larry can still get up on skis. After four attempts at wake boarding, he gave up and said "give me the skis!" | And not to be out done, Glorine tried and got up on the first try. Yep, it is like riding a bike--once you've learned, you can do it at any age. | ||||
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| After a month with the kids, we returned to Bismarck/Mandan to spend more time with brothers, sisters and friends. On the way back, we spent the night with one of Larry's God sons, Brent and his family, Barb, Conner and Camden. It happened to be Barb's 40th birthday, which we rang into the wee hours of the night. Poor Brent had to work the next day. | Cousin Kenny and his wife Rosalie celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Great food, drinks, dancing and great times catching up with other cousins and neighbors we have not seen in decades. It was a very special event. | ||||
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| We were fortunate to rent a slip on the Missouri River for a couple of weeks. It was easy to invite friends and family to join us for a cruise up and down the river. Here are friends Bob and Diane Schlosser. Bob and Larry attended 4-H together during their grade school years and Glorine and Diane attended high school together. | We took a day trip to Hazen with Larry's brother Jack and sister Lillian to visit Lil's daughter Ray Ann. We left at 9:00 a.m. and got back to Bismarck about 9:00 p.m. It was fun riding bikes with Ray Ann and her husband George. Hazen, which is in the heart of the coal country, maybe small but is very nice with lots of fun things to do. Here is a picture of Lillian, Ray Ann and George. | ||||
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| Glorine had a treat visiting her next door neighbor where she grew up in Mandan. Mrs. Woodwick is still living there and taking care of the place. Her daughter Peggy and son Jim were back for the 4th of July celebrations. They were playmates in the "good old days." | Cruis'n the river with Larry's cousin Dennis and his wife Nancy. Here we are at the mouth of the Heart River near Fort Lincoln State Park. It happened to be where Dennis and Nancy were married over 25 years ago. | ||||
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| After two days of retirement, Wayne and Ellen Boekes joined us for a pontoon ride. Wayne was with Bismarck State College since 1981, during which time Larry and him worked on several projects together. In addition to retiring, they had just sold their home and bought a condo. Who says retirement is easy??? | Larry's brother Jack and his wife, MaryAnn, turned their place into a campground allowing us to park the RV there from the middle of May to the middle of June. This was like no other campground we ever stayed at. It came with lots of home cooked meals, lots of card playing, fireworks displays, and joining in on lots of family activities. Thank you Jack and MaryAnn for your generosity and hospitality. | ||||
June's web page includes June 1 through June 30, 2008.
