Favorite Pictures of 2014

Apostle Islands Ice Caves

Lani with a family friend

Amy in a ski race

Me and a friend at a scrapbook retreat

Rachel, Cailin, & Andrew

Photo by Emily Hedstrom

Lani

Kiah and Dayton

Cailin

The last of my son's 4 close friends from High School got married. 

(photos by Jake's wedding photographer)

Andrew was the first to get married, Jake was the last

 My son is the giant

He who finds a wife, finds a good thing

Four Generation Picture

My dad, my son, my granddaughter

Anna, Lani, and Amy

Lani on her 16th birthday

Look who turned 18

Erica flew home from Texas for the first weekend in December

And there you have it. 2014 is a wrap. 

Looking forward to what the next year has in store. 

Highlights of 2014

After a record low of only nine blog posts in 2014, I have resolved to be more consistent in blogging in 2015. My kids are all gone today so I am thoroughly enjoying peace and quiet and the time to reflect on our last year. 

1.  My mom's funeral

     Hard to say good-bye. Glad she's out of pain. Nice to see family.

(With my siblings and parents two years ago) 

2.  Keith's mom's funeral

Unexpected. Double whammy. Life well-lived. Very loved. Good to see all my kids.

3.  Apostle Island Ice Caves

     Amazing. Beautiful. Unexpected boon for our area - 138,000 visitors came to see them.

4.  Cassaundra's wedding

     My daughter, Kiah's, best friend got married. 

Fun that the girls got married six weeks apart

5.  My dad's visit

    First visit from him in 17 years. 

6.  30th Anniversary

     Thankful for 30 years. Lost in the wedding frenzy. 

Promised to celebrate later. Still haven't. 

7.  Granddaughter Cailin's 1st birthday

      Adults don't change much in a year. Babies change alot! Fun to see her grow.

8.  Kiah & Dayton's Wedding

     Fun. Exhausting. Beautiful. At times overwhelming. 

           Thankful for a good man to love my daughter.        

  

9.  Vacation in Ontonagon, MI

     Quiet, relaxing, refreshing week enjoying the beach, books, and each other.

10.  House projects

       Checked many things off the to-do list

11.  Whistlestop Race Weekend

        Christina and Anna did a half marathon. Dayton and Lani ran a 10K. 

Glad someone's getting exercise.

12.  Thanksgiving

Ate at Kiah and Dayton's. Yay, the kids can cook. 

Worked myself out of a job. 

Thankful for faith, family, and friends. 

We have been so blessed and continue 

to trust God for the upcoming year. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In Which I Arrive an Hour and a Half Late for My Daughter’s Wedding Reception

Not the actual wedding reception but a separate reception hosted by Dayton’s family last weekend. 

Two aunts on the left, Grandmother on the right

I have a reputation for being late but outdid myself this time. How does one nonchalantly walk into a room of mostly strangers, and hope it’s not obvious that I don’t have it all together? That I had  told Google Maps to find the shortest distance route not the shortest time? I hoped a lot of people would be standing around talking, and I could slip in the back unnoticed.

No such luck. This was a small reception. We walked in at the front of the room with everyone sitting down, all eyes on us, and Dayton’s aunt jumped up and said, “Oh, you made it.” Very embarrassing. Kindness all around. Nobody blunt enough to say, “You nincompoop. Who would be stupid enough to almost miss what you drove 350 miles for?”

I’d originally declined the invitation. Between a wedding, vacation, and house projects, we’ve had a busy summer. But I had to drive to LaCrosse so decided the extra 150 miles were worth it to get to know Dayton’s family better.

So how did I, someone who's been driving for 38 years, make a mistake of such epic proportions? For starters, not giving trip planning serious thought. I had to be in Aplington, Iowa, by 6:30 Friday night. I’d driven through Aplington 15 years ago so vaguely knew its location. Iowa is mostly laid out in a mile grid so if you know the general direction, you’ll get there sooner or later.

Later, as in my case. 

Since another daughter had our GPS, I googled directions on my iPad. Google maps estimated a six and a half hour travel time. Lani and I left Northern Wisconsin at 10 a.m., thinking we had wiggle room.

We headed south, relaxed and looking forward to shopping and eating our way down to Aplington. We were taking our old dishwasher to Kiah and Dayton, which unfortunately filled up the back of my small Pontiac Vibe and almost completely blocked my rear view. When  I needed to back up, Lani had to get out of the car to give me back up signals.

Lani had stayed up to 3 a.m. the night before so planned to sleep in the car. However, I needed a navigator and being the only passenger, she was it. She sighed, picked up the iPad, and told me where to turn.

Beautiful day, good company, pretty scenery. After stopping at a bakery and thrift store, I noticed the time and realized we had used up our margin and shouldn’t make further unnecessary stops.

Google Maps listed two options: Duluth, then south on I-35 most of the way. (Boring and monotonous) or US-63 diagonally through Western Wisconsin (very pretty). Being my father's daughter, I chose the scenic route.

Three hours into the trip, Lani accidentally lost the iPad directions. Without internet, I couldn’t get them back. We found a McDonalds and sat in their parking lot to use their free Wi-fi to pull up the map again. 

We continued south and I suggested Lani screenshot the directions in case she accidentally lost the screen again, we’d still have them. Lani looked over with a sheepish grin and said, “Too late.” Seriously? She had lost the directions twice in twenty minutes. Sigh.

Tired of listening umpteen times to Lani's Viva la Vida CD by Coldplay, I found an oldies radio station while driving through Lake City, Minnesota. I was transported back to high school when I was young and didn't have the responsibility or pressure of timing road trips.

I generously provided Lani with useful bits of information. "These are the Beach Boys. They're an American classic. It's important to know who they are. This is Journey, the same group that sings "Don't Stop Believing." The Eagles song, "Best of My Love" always made me sad. Yes, I know this sounds like a woman singing, but the Bee Gees are three brothers. After an hour, Lani was tired of music history lessons and popped the Coldplay CD back in.

We kept driving and hoped to see another McDonalds. Unfortunately after US-63 crosses 
I-94, there’s not another obvious McDonalds until 80 miles later in Rochester. I started mentally kicking myself. I should have brought a Wisconsin map. Or an atlas. Or a child who knew how to navigate. In self-defense, Lani reminded me that she’s the youngest and had never had to navigate before. She usually sleeps or reads on road trips.

A car search found maps of Michigan (useless for this trip) and Minnesota which was useful for the 80 miles we were in Minnesota. We could either find a McDonalds in busy Rochester, or call Keith who would use that tone to give directions.

Thankfully a third option presented itself. Dayton called and gave us directions from Rochester. I promptly somehow turned east on I-90 instead of west.

After turning round five miles later, we were on the way again. We exited I-90 at Dexter, Minnesota, and drove south through Iowa corn and soybean fields and an occasional small town. I turned left when I should have turned right. We missed turns and got turned around. So much for being easy to find places in Iowa. 

Dayton called at 6:22 to check our progress and said we still had an hour and a half. What? Nothing sucks the fun out of a road trip more than knowing short of a life flight helicopter or a Star Trek Transporter, we had no chance of arriving on time. We bought a small bag of Doritos at the nearest convenience store to console ourselves.

While buying Doritos, I saw a wonderful, easy to understand, compact, laminated Iowa map but balked at the eight dollar price tag. I refused to spend that much when I had three Iowa maps at home. 

Lani entertained herself that last stretch with a few "This is taking forever!" selfies. 

I normally drive the speed limit or a few miles over, but under the circumstances, drove as fast as I safely could and hoped if pulled over, the officer would have pity on my plight and not issue a ticket. Thankfully we didn’t see any policemen.  

We finally arrived in Aplington and drove through town hoping to see the church somewhere. We didn't. Had to swallow my pride again and call Dayton. He directed us to turn just past the bank and Stinky’s Bar and Grill (love that name) and head north a few miles.

Just then, I heard the distinctive clanging of a railroad crossing. Ironic. To be so close and have to spend five minutes watching a LONG westbound train take its sweet time going by.

We found the church and debated how to handle our late arrival. I figured it is what it is. Everyone already knows I’m late and obviously has issues.

Lani complained to her sympathetic sisters, “Mom kept stopping to use the bathroom.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I said, “Lani, you hypocrite. You went every time I did.”

We had a great time and Dayton’s family made sure I knew how to get to La Crosse the next day. I had a map, written directions, Google directions on the iPad, and a screenshot. Happy to report, I made it without any glitches.

Other than arriving 15 minutes late and making my son Andrew late for work. But as we all know, it could have been worse.

I’m asking for an 8 x 10 travel atlas for my birthday next month.

World's Most Complicated Wedding Invitation

I have a talent for making things harder than they need to be. 

Kiah first wanted postcards wedding invitations. I thought that was too easy and wouldn't use up enough of my time, so with a short 3 1/2 months between Kiah getting engaged and getting married, the most efficient thing to do was to pick the hardest and most time-consuming option.

Mistake #1 - Thinking homemade invitations would be fast and easy.

My friend, Laura, and I attended a scrapbook retreat in April. We saw two sisters making wedding invitations for friends. The sisters cranked out 325 hand made invitations and made it look easy.

Mistake #2 - Choosing a complicated project

The one sister said she'd seen the cutest wedding invitation in a Scrapbook store.  

She showed me a picture and speculated that it would be easy to make. Said they'd be willing to come help.

After browsing Pinterest options, Kiah chose the invitation I'd seen at the retreat. Then she returned home to LaCrosse while I worked on this "easy" invitation.

Mistake #2 - Not asking my retreat friends to help

They live three hours away. They're both busy and I didn't want to bother them. Thought that between my daughters and friends, we could get it done. The invitation ended up taking two months to finish, much to my husband's chagrin. 
 
Mistake #3 - Not buying a necessary tool

When I bought the metal die, the clerk asked if I wanted the metal shim. The metal what??? She said the shim helps the metal die to cut cleaner. Nah. My husband is great at improvising. He could make something that would work. 

Mistake #4 - Not admitting I'd made a mistake

I gleefully cut paper and shot it through the Cuddlebug. Nothing. No easy, amazing, beautiful die cut.  Turns out I needed a "C" plate for the machine. Who knew? Of course could not be purchased in Ashland. Or any other nearby town. We found it seventy miles away at Hobby Lobby in Duluth. 

Mistake #5 - Not cutting my losses

Round 2. The Cuddlebug shuddered, creaked, and sounded like it would break any second. The crank was hard to turn. The paper was only cut halfway through. Ah! So that's why the metal shim was necessary. The metal die won't cut all the way otherwise. Drats! The scrapbook store clerk should have insisted I buy the metal shim! At this point I didn't want to spend any more money so used an improvised shim Keith had made.

Mistake #6 - Enlisting Laura's help

Everyone said the invitations were too much work and that I should do something simpler. Laura thought they were really pretty and offered to help. Laura spent many hours helping me assemble the invitations. If she hadn't helped, I might have listened to the 20 other people who I was crazy.

Cranking paper through the Cuddlebug was hard so we took turns. Every crank sounded like it would be the last. The paper had to be gently coaxed from the die. All the cut out pieces of paper were still firmly stuck in the die. 

Fortunately the die had holes in back to push the paper out. Unfortunately, there were over a hundred holes. 

We had to poke the paper out with a needle or toothpick before the die could be used again. EVERY STUPID TIME. No fast mass production here. I conscripted my girls to push the little pieces of paper out, cut paper, turn a few cranks, color letters, and cook dinner while I worked.

We originally planned to make 100 bases in one color and 100 tops in another. We planned to cut letters off the top layer and glue them to the bottom layer. After making 100 bases, it became quickly apparent that our wrists couldn't handle 100 more cranks and Kiah would be celebrating her tenth anniversary before we finished. 

We nixed cutting the second set of 100 die cuts. We colored the letters on some with gel pens. For others, we cut letters with Laura's Cricut, put them through a Xyron sticker machine, and attached them to the base. Couldn't decide which color combination we liked best so few people got the same invitation.

We mostly made white bases with either gold, silver, or royal blue letters. Anna asked for a pink base.

The machine broke and sort of exploded on the 101rst crank. The crank unwound really fast and hard and banged my wrist. Thankfully Keith fixed it.  

Mistake #7 - Not listening to my husband

My husband sighed when he walked through the dining room. I avoided eye contact. Ignored him when he said that nobody keeps wedding invitations. That they get thrown away after the wedding. I didn't care. I wanted the invitations to be unique and beautiful. 

Mistake #8 - Using beads

We attached eight small white pearl beads to the invitation fronts. Hobby Lobby's self-adhesive beads for some reason did not stick.  Keith said to forget the beads, but I thought they looked better with. Laura figured out that the beads could be stuck on with a glue pen. 

I ordered pictures from Shutterfly when they had a free 101 prints offer. 

Kiah and Dayton didn't have many pictures to choose from since most of their dating had been long distance.

I expected making the invitation insides would be easy since I'd made lots of computer cards before. Unbeknownst to me, when we upgraded the computer, my trusty card making program had been deleted. Microsoft Publishing 2013 is not near as easy or intuitive as the Microsoft 2000 program I'd used for years. Took me awhile to figure out how to make it work. Lots of wedding invitation rejects landed in our scratch paper pile. 

Same thing with the mailing labels. Needed to learn all over again with Microsoft Word 2013. Printed a set of address labels before Amy noticed our return address was wrong. Sigh!

After I finished printing, Kiah informed me that she'd changed her phone number so her R.S.V.P contact number wasn't correct. Instead of reprinting, I wrote the new number with black pen. 

FINALLY - the invitations were done. The pretty beads meant the invitations had to be hand cancelled in the post office and required an additional .21 cents postage.  Double sigh!

Then there were bloopers. Dayton's grandmother received a blank invitation. A friend received two of the same pictures. The invitation beads made indents in Kiah and Dayton's picture. Two weeks before the wedding, Kiah's friend mentioned that she hadn't received her wedding invitation yet. A search turned up eight invitations still in the envelope box. 

I don't regret making them but wish they hadn't been so time consuming. Before all was said and done, eight people had helped me. The invitations cost .60 each, but if all the woman hours were tallied, they'd be very expensive. 

Last week we received a postcard wedding invitation. I marveled at it's simplicity. When the next daughter gets married - we're doing a Facebook invite.   

Canadian Road Trip - Day #2

I started this story a few weeks ago before all this new grandbaby business started. If you missed the first installment, or it's been so long you can't remember what I wrote, you can read about Day 1 of our excursion by clicking here. 

For the reader's digest version, one fifty-something short mother, her two twenty-something equally short daughters, and a thirty-year-old long-legged engineer friend from church headed north to Ontario, Canada in an aging, used to be nice but still very comfy, green Grand Marquis for a weekend trip to see a good friend get married.  On Day 1, we drove from Ashland, Wisconsin to Thunder Bay Ontario.

Day 2 

When the alarm went off at 6:00 a.m., Kiah remembered that Thunder Bay was in eastern time zone and Sioux Lookout was in central. We slept for another hour. Sweet. 

I'd forgotten my slip and nylons so headed to Wal-Mart. I asked the ditzy young clerk with a pink stud in her tongue where to find slips. 

She said, "What are slips?" 

I told her, "Something you wear underneath a dress so people can't see through it." (Don't young ladies wear slips anymore?)

I almost had a heart attack buying gas in Canada. Ouch! Muy expensive! It's sold by the liter and I don't know how that translates to gallons, but buying half a tank of gas cost at least $25 more than it does in America. 

Christina drove for awhile and our rule is the driver gets to choose what to listen to. Christina really likes an Irish group called Gaelic Storm. They are good musicians but sing a lot of drinking songs and Christina burnt us out on this particular album three years back when she listened to it over and over.

After an hour of Gaelic Storm, Kiah and I rebelled. When Christina and Brendon got out of the car to buy donuts, I changed the album. Kiah thought we should hide Brendon's Zune (kind of like an iPod). She suggested hiding it in their stuff as they probably wouldn't think to look there.  Kiah hid the Zune in Christina's backpack. When they returned, Brendon asked if anything needed to go in the trunk. Kiah handed him Christina's backpack.

Kiah and I giggled like thirteen-year-olds while we waited for them to realize they were Gaelic Stormless. When they finally noticed, we passed this ransom note to the front seat.

They refused to capitulate to our demands so i played the two songs I have on my ipad and then Kiah and I sang enduring classics like, "Oh Where is My Hairbrush?" and "Home on the Range." 

Kiah, who has a nice singing voice, wanted to make it clear that she was just goofing around, and said she was singing as off-key as possible on purpose.  I don't sing well and couldn't lie. I said I was just singing normal. 

After a four hour drive from Thunder Bay, we arrived in Sioux Lookout with an hour to spare. In the absence of Taco Bell we ate at the Canadian fast food chain called "Tim Hortons." (I asked a clerk who Tim Horton was and she didn't know.) We finished getting ready in the restaurant's bathroom, then high-tailed it to the wedding.

It was an outdoor lakeside wedding. Very pretty and sweet and worth driving 408.68 miles for.

They are a neat couple and we're excited for them. It was a God-honoring ceremony and we enjoyed every minute.  Both families heartily approve so it was a truly joyous ocassion. After the bridesmaids walked down the aisle, two junior bridesmaids carried a sign that said, "Uncle Nathan, Here comes your girl." 

They wrote their own vows. Nathan went first and did a nice job. Alisha's vows were eloquent and well thought out. When she finished, Nathan joked, "I'm glad I went first."

On the way back to the car, I rolled my foot and fell on the grass. I hope the only people who saw me fall were my travel companions. One minute, I was there, and the next I wasn't. Thankfully, I wasn't hurt. I didn't know nylons could get grass stained. Very embarrassing. 

We enjoyed the reception. Much food, all good, though we were surprised and disappointed there wasn't gravy. They had an amazing dessert bar instead of wedding cake. I don't use the word "amazing" lightly because the word gets watered down when it's used all the time, but this was truly amazing. About twenty different desserts and they all looked good. That alone made the trip worth it. 

Christina amused herself at the reception by playing with the melting candles at our table. Whoever cleared the table probably wondered why someone had filled five large plastic clear glasses with melted candle wax. That's my girl!

The Canadians we visited with, when they heard where we were from, often said some variation of, "Oh, you're from down south." When you live in the northernmost tip of Wisconsin, you're not used to be referenced to as from down south. 

The bugs were awful. Even with bug spray they still got through. Christina reacted to a bug bite and her left arm swelled and started hurting.

Our family calls Brendon my second son. We feed him and in return, he helps move furniture and reach  things on high shelves. I'm holding dipped Oreo cookie favors that I snitched off places that people didn't sit at to bring home to my four daughters back home who couldn't go. I'm aware the purple jacket doesn't go with the outfit, but cold people cannot be choosy. 

Congratulating Nathan

  

We had a 90 minute drive south to our hotel.  We kept seeing signs like "Moose Crossing, Moose on the Loose, and Moose Danger" but thought it was false advertising because we had yet to see a moose. Kiah and Brendon finally saw one on the ride to the motel.  Since it was just the bare outline before it lumbered in the woods, I didn't think that counted as an official moose sighting. 

We arrived at Driden, Ontario's Best Western Hotel to discover that our small room only had one queen bed. Made our sketchy two bed motel room the night before not seem so bad. Brendon slept on the floor by the door and Christina slept on the floor by the bed and Kiah and I enjoyed a good night's sleep on the bed.

One day in Canada so far - a big, beautiful, watery, northern place. Still hoping to see a moose before we head south to Northern Wisconsin tomorrow.