Michigan Trip pt. 2

Some People I just HAD to see!

(From top to bottom... Left to right. Aunty Beeks and Uncle Wes; Aunty Florence; Aunt Sarah, Uncle Charlie, and their granddaughter Aureliana; Deb and me;Aunt Pauline and Uncle Cliff; Gail and me; Gracia and Mom)

I had such a short amount of time to visit apart from seeing the folks at the reunion and my siblings that were around. Mom and I zoomed up to Calumet to have coffee with Gracia and Gail. I got to meet Gails grandchildren in person which was a real treat. On the way back we stopped in to visit for a few minutes with my Aunty Florence. She is getting around pretty well. Still living in her own home with her sons and their families looking in on her. On Sunday I snatched Mom's car and went to Hancock to see my Aunty Beeks and Uncle Wes and cousin Deb. They have such an wonderful view from their place. It is similar to the view from my grandparents house where Deb and her husband Jim now live.

Ann with her flower garden and a photo of Michigan Tech from their place.

It was a very beautiful day to be visiting.

The Fourth!

I got to go with Kurt and Kel and meet up with some of his family to watch the Lake Linden 4th of July parade. Teresa and Mom walked over from where they were watching with some more of the family.

I have never seen so much candy thrown to the kids as in this parade. They go home with a sack full.

I happened to turn just as our friends, Dave and Marilyn, from years ago passed by. I called to her and I was able to say hello. Harlan was one of the first employees of the Best Western Kings Inn that they owned in Houghton.

Sightseeing on the 4th

We caravanned through the valley, up the Gay hill and through the town as they were preparing for their annual Gay 4th of July Parade.We continued on the eastern shore of the peninsula and stopped a couple of times to enjoy the lake, a waterfall and some beautiful flowers along the road.

Evening sky at Mom and Don's

It was a perfect evening out at Mom's. The sunset was really pretty. We had a bonfire and let the kids run with sparklers. Even set off a few fireworks that someone brought.

Hometown 4th celebrations are the best!

Silent auction Craft update

As I was making the quilts for the auction, I often wondered who would be going home with them. The two small ones were bought by my mom's cousin Martha as gifts. The one above was purchased by my cousin Becky's daughter Samantha. (with her own money) I wanted a picture of her with it and she happened to be using it while on the swing. I'm sure she will enjoy many hours curled up with a good book and her quilt.

I sneaked down to mom's coop and checked out her carpet loom and craft area. I loved how she has everything set up. I wish I would have gotten a photo of the carpets she made. She does such quality work. The weave is so tight that the carpets are going to be heirlooms before they wear out.

Family Reunion Cookbook!

Mother made these blueberry bars a couple of times while I was there. They are "excellent"! The recipe is one of the ones she submitted to the cookbook that was compiled by my sister Kelly. She used an online website and had them published and sent to Michigan.

It was such a big job but with Aunt Sarah and Kelly collaborating over the project it turned out just wonderful!

I bought one for each of my girls and Courtney has already used a couple recipes from it.

I hated to leave ;_(

Had to say goodbye to my family and those familiar things I miss when I'm away.

Until next time. Keep the sauna hot!

Michigan Reunion pt 1

Tervetuloa = Welcome!

Nothing more welcoming than your mother at the door to her home!

It was great to finally get there after a long day of travel the day before.

I love the variety of colors in this planter on mom's deck.

Reunion location

I had never been to Lahti Retreat Center. I married and was out of the Copper Country when it was being turned into "Camp Lahti".

I was surprised to find that one of the rock painting crafts that was left behind by the last campers happened to have my maiden name on it. And inside the main building was a framed collage of most of the men who worked out there labeled "Camp Lahti Carpenters". My dad's was among the photos!

It is a really beautiful location and facility.

Many hands make light work!

How many times have you heard that phrase... "many hands make light work". The evening before the reunion a group of us showed up ready to pitch in. Aunt Pauline worked on strawberries.

Mom and a bunch peeled potatoes. Aunt Sarah was the supervisor extraordinaire delegating tasks.

Cousin Eric and "Cousin" Piero were both involved in helping prepare a wonderful bean and meat dish.

Kelly chopping and Alexa slicing.

Teresa and I foraged for flowers. The vases of wildflowers and greenery were so pretty.

Reunion Day

Kelly has a great camera and eye for photography. I would love to see the photos that she took but for now you'll have to settle for the ones I did.

Aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and the grands... there were so many groups of people to visit with but there were also plenty of places for one on one catching up.

The scenery was beautiful. A perfect setting for a family reunion and a Bible Camp. Can't you just imagine sitting on this swing or bench at sunrise with your Bible in your lap having a quiet time?

Auction

The silent auction was so much fun. Everyone who bid on the items or donated handmade things helped differ the cost of the rental and the food for the day. This birdhouse was made by my Uncle Cliff and purchased by my Uncle Charlie.

Four Wheelin'

Dave had his 4-wheeler in the back of his trailer. He got permission to use it on the property. It saved lots of steps and was terrific fun. He also had it out at Mom and Don's the next couple of days.

Fire Pit

I thought this was the most awesome place on the property. Such a beautiful depiction of the circle that binds us together as family. We didn't get to have fire that night. Next time we all get together we need multiple days to accomplish the making of more memories!

Sailing and Bath-letisms

Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat,...

I referred to the silent auction that was going to be held at our Knuuttila family reunion in a previous post. I did manage to bid on and buy several items. These toy boats were made by my Aunt Marsha. There was a test boat available for sailing in Lake Superior and it worked great. I bought one for each of my oldest grandsons aka "best boys". Henry's is green, Rowan's blue and Wyatt's brown. Wyatt got to sail his this afternoon.

New splash pool

We have missed having someplace to get wet and cool off on our few really warm days since our big pool was shredded by raccoons. This one is just about perfect for the grandkids. I even waded in it today.

Wyatt's sailboat went on its maiden voyage.

Garrett is relegated to supervising from outside of the pool until we get him a baby float to wear.

Bathletisms

Wyatt and Danika wanted to "bath-letise" each other. I'm sure they've seen people be baptised since they were pretty good at doing it. None of them have any fear of the water, which is a great thing for future swim lessons.

Sailing away

These boats were a hit with adults and kids alike. I'm sure that they are going to provide hours of fun for each family that bought one.

I will get to blogging more about my trip but I have so many photos to go through and decide what I want to publish. It's turning into a bigger job than anticipated.

Hope it will be worth the wait.

I had a wonderful time with my family and friends. Hated to leave here initially and then hated to leave there to come back.

I think a few people are glad that I did come back though ;o)