Sunny Pathway

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

A Great Time

Did you read about our celebration? Our 50th Anniversary celebration? If not, and if you're interested in a family event, you can get the preview by reading my post of June 4. If not, my series will continue Monday.

The weather had been unusually cold and rainy the week before the event. Both Ken and I fretted a bit but comforted ourselves by the thought of no mosquitoes. Then, as a special blessing, the weather changed. Rain disappeared, the thermometer rose to the low 70s in the afternoons, and the mosquites hadn't had time to hatch. Perfect.

Our children with families arrived according to schedule. Ted and family—who came Friday, June 5—had some difficulty adjusting to the 9-hour time difference, but survived to thrive. The time alone with them gave us opportunity to get re-acquainted with almost 3-year-old Simon and 10-month-old Salome. They’ve changed since we last saw them in Ethiopia in October!

On Wednesday the 10th we all went to a lake resort in Minnesota for a few days. On Saturday we came back to West Fargo by way of Wahpeton, ND, where we lived for many years. This will be a straightforward account via pictures of a few highlights (almost all from the resort). When I bring up the idea of sharing pix on a blog, some members of our family are camera shy, so I've selected pictures that don't reveal identities.

First, because it was lovely (and spotless!), the resort. From our cabin we looked in two directions. On one side the lake. Here I focused on a birch with the lake as a backdrop. When I become a better photographer, I'll know how to make the white of the bark stand out the way it did in real life.



Through the front window we viewed a maple, an oak, a willow and a pine. The lodge is in the background.


There were wildflowers along the edge of the woods.



Our children rented a pontoon one day for fishing and touring. East Silent Lake is quiet and beautiful.

However, our children and grandchildren wanted activity, so the pontoon stood unused in the afternoon and evening in favor of kayaks and a canoe.



I thought I took pictures of the fun on the raft—but apparently didn't. Some used the kayaks to reach it while a few swam in the frigid waters. All converged to jump around and generally have a good time while the prudent (or the less daring?) laughed from shore.

There was fun on the beach, too. Here some of the teenagers and a parent get things started for the younger children. Later, Simon (center) with his 7 and 8-year-old cousins played together for almost two hours in the sand, each doing their own thing.



The baby and older brother went on excursions.
And played on the playground.


Ken and one of our son-in-laws caught fish from one of the private docks.




Here’s the beach in the quiet of the evening when everyone went to their respective cabins to rest up.



All family stuff—no great shakes for the rest of the world. But we had a great time. On our final night we had our only rain shower just as we were about to eat. Quickly moving everything inside the closest cabin, the girls arranged and served another wonderful meal. This time they surprised us with an anniversary cake—and I didn’t think to shoot a picture until we’d all had a piece. As we finished, Ken waxed eloquent about all being together under one roof.

And here's Ken on Saturday, looking at where the Ottertail River and Bois de Sioux River converge to form the Red River of the North between Wahpeton, ND, and Breckenridge, MN.


It wasn't all over, however. On Sunday we had a few extended family members stop by our condo to see the children and grandchildren. Fun to show them off.

Then the children left one by one. That helped the feelings of emptiness when all left. Although Monday, on the last full day of having someone with us, I was so tired that even the adrenalin was running low. Yet how I hated to see them go. I can't help but wonder when we'll all be together again.

P.S. I had Ken read this before posting and he laughed and laughed because I ended up with his backside after avoiding anything that revealed identities. If you got this far, I hope you were able to take it in stride the way he did.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

this looked like a lot of fun!!!

Solveig said...

Thanks, Cindy. It was. It's also great to hear from you again.

Monica said...

FIFTY years?! Wow! That is CERtainly GREAT cause for CELEBRATION! I rejoice with you! Woo-hoo!! I praise God!
Monica