More Moments from MN

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."

Here are a few more glimpses of our time in MN in August:

We went as a family (Chris was back here in Huron working for a few days) to the fire hall and returned Dad's gear. A pretty heavy task, as you can imagine, but thank goodness for all of the kids. The firefighters working that day let us climb all over the trucks (as they do every time we are there) and take all sorts of pictures. One of them even pulled me aside and told me to bring my kids back anytime we're in town, which of course made me cry a little. Alex and Maguire never went to the fire station with Papa, unless you count this trip back in November 2007 (see belly):

The four-wheeler provided some good stress relief for everyone:

Nate & Lissa

Ben & Ryan (and Laney!)

Chris & Ellie

We spent lots of time being eaten alive by mosquitoes in the backyard, playing on lots of fun toys thoughtfully provided by friends.

Uncle Nate & his Mini-Me

Grammie & her girls




Ellie & Lorna got along so, so well and had lots of fun dressing up in their matchy-match dress-up clothes.





Alex, lovin' the kid-sized dump truck



And we would be remiss to not mention Nate & Alissa's dog, Doug, who also joined us at the Eiesland compound for our time there. This dog has the patience of a saint. Any dog who goes from living alone (well, with two adults) to a house with 7 adults and 4 children for nearly 3 weeks and hardly bats an eye is a winner in my book -- and that is saying a lot, because I am NOT a dog person. Doug worked hard to earn his keep as chief floor-cleaner, scapegoat, dress-up mannequin, grief counselor, and general life of the party.