The race just got interesting!

RNC Convention-

I was hoping we could get some of you Twin City people to give us an update on the convention and how its it effecting you. What do you have to do different??
Hope you all have a easy convention! I'll be keeping tabs on the convention on TV!

God's Corn Recipe

It harvest time-and here is a good recipe for freezing some of summers sweet corn-

8 cups of corn
2-cups water
1-Tablespoon Salt
2-Table Sugar
pepper to taste (if desired)

Cook for about 5 minutes or untill hot
(NOTE from the Author) Corn shold not be cooked too long-it gets tough

Note Auther cooks three batches in a single pan to save time.

Cool-put in freezer bags and freeze.

Here is another very good Recipe from Joann Krause

16-20 cups of corn

1 pint half and half

1 lb of butter

Cover, bake @ 350 for one hour-cool and put into freezer bags.

Back to school for a retiree

Just because one is retired doesn't mean that one can't go back to school in the fall.

My friend, Diane, and I signed up the other day for a World Geography class at the University of
St. Thomas. Retirees are able to audit up to 3 regular classes for the grand total of $25 per semester--what a deal! The instructor is supposed to be really good and I'm looking forward to sitting in a classroom again--with no papers and no tests!

I just finished a 6-wk. class in Nordic walking--no classroom, though. I've been trying to go for a Nordic walk most mornings. Today I took a 5 minute drive to the Gateway Trail and found that I much preferred that to walking on the streets and sidewalks. By 9:00, as I headed back to my car, there were already 7 cars there just at my little portion of the trail. Lots of people out early on bikes, on foot and on horseback.

The other "schooling" I'm contemplating is taking some classes to sharpen my bridge playing. The only down side to that is that I'd probably have to do it in Minneapolis.

I spent my first year in retirement doing some R&R and trying to clean out the house. The house isn't finished yet, but I'm going to move on to my second year of trying new things. I think I've got a good start.

http://thelamons.blogspot.com/

I have added some names to be automatically e-mailed when someone posts on the family blog-(If you recieved this by e-mail, you are one of the people). I am hoping that you join us once in a while, post whats going on in your life etc-
To view the blog go to http://thelamons.blogspot.com/ . If you want to post but forgot how or what your password is-you can contact Pete, Nick, Anna or myself and wer can reinvite you.
Please join us!
Gary

Summer Vacations

It is a busy time of the year-kids out of school...some long weekends and of course the summer vacations. Summer vacations are quite new to Nancy and I. While we were in the Army (which already is 14 years ago) we normally did not go on summer vacations. We just took time off from work and did stuff we could get to pretty easily and inexpensive. Many times we were in some pretty nice areas (Europe, Hawaii, the south) so we didn't have to go far to see some unique places. A few of my memories are Volcano National Park( http://www.nps.gov/havo/ ) in Hawaii, the Keck Observatory( https://www.keckobservatory.org/about.php ), the Roman Ruins(Trier http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/trier.htm), Octoberfests-the Olimpic Village in Munich, Japan, Korea-the middle east tour-(Saudi, Kewait and Iraq) wow... were we every lucky! Nancy ever saw the touring King Tut exibition while we were in Washington.
Anyway I was hoping everyone would post some of their "best vacations" from these past few years-and share them with all of us...
This year we were lucky enough to go on a Ebel's houseboat trip in the Voyagers National Park- We had a great time...
Our road trip to Mount Rushmore and stands out very much in my mind ...but I think it was more about the journey (and who you are with) than the actually getting there.
The family reunion in 2001-was a great time as well (maybe we should do that again). I met people who I only had heard their names...
All the little festivals we attended while Nick and Randee were clogging... Branson, The Alamo, Dallas TX...and on and on!

Please let us know some of your best summer vacation memories...

A Tour, The Old Homestead, & the Cemetery

A Tour. Our tour began at Moose Lake Resort with a wonderful pontoon ride around the lake. This is the area that Mom was familiar with in her "growing up" years. The Old Homestead. This is the house that she grew up in however, it was moved to a new location, so this isn't the "actual" homestead, but it is the actual house. The Cemetery. After leaving Pennington, we decided to eat at Stony Point Resort on our way to the cemetery in Cass Lake...& you can see that we located the place that both Anna & Ingvald reside in today. We really looked to find these markers and Mom said that it was the first time that she hadn't just driven/walked right up to the spot. So, it was a good thing that Gary, Nancy, Dale & Lois (&, of course, Dad) were with, too. Gary & Dale took time to "map out" the actual spot. I think we all had a very nice day...

When we drove up to the homestead, I turned and looked at the road/avenue sign, and the name of the road, & I kid you not, was "Canvasback Dr." (Dad referred to Mom as "old canvasback," when we were kids because she liked naps!

Busy Weekend!

This was one busy weekend around the Bemidji Area-We had the Dragon Boat Races which had 60+ teams racing. This is a great view from the lake front near Paul and Babe-Both companies Nancy and I work for had a entry but they did not win. Lots of food boths and a good sized beer tent-You could but Sam Adams on tap for $3-a big glass too!

Next was the Beltrami County Fair-Its been going on since Wednsday-the midway, the fair food, the animals-

The Birchmont Golf Tournament was also a big draw this weekend-

Lots of fun was had by all!

Because there was so much going on we decided to have a garage sale-you know lots of people running around, new people in town etc-We thought it would be a good day for a sale. So we had a garage sale-Now normally we would have been nearly sold out by noon the first day-but by noon we had ony had three customers and made 25 cents-we closed up and we'll try again when its not such a busy time-

Oh did I mention that Crazy Days was also going on...

Ebels Houseboats

Some of you may have heard the Carol and Scott, Lois and Dale and Nancy and I went on a short (too short) houseboat trip into the Voyagers National Park. Voyagers is vey unique because you can only travel by boat into the interior of the park. Its very nice and we all had a great time! Ebels does a very nice job of taking good care of us and the boats.










The Guys on the trip-On the top side of the houseboat.















The gals on the trip-relaxing on the beach!













This is my favorite-Scott looks like he is sitting around naked! But he really has his swimsuit on.

HAppy 4th!

Lounge About

As usual, I didn't take any pictures-so please anyone who took pictures, please post a few! We had a nice time but we missed the folks that were not there-
I was happy that Bonnie brought Hildur and Bryce down. I think they enjoy the gathering. Thanks Bonnie!
Tom and Laura and their family camped his year and that was nice to have new faces camping-I hope more new families will join us next year! Its really nice to have kids around.

Camping time

Its finally here...the Lamon Lounge About! We are looking forward to the relaxing around the fire and the family feast on Saturday.
We chose to try something a little different this year...We are going to camp light-We are going to get to the camp around 10 am Saturday Morning-work toward camp set up and the meal-then relax. No big kettles for coffee-only a single cooler-and only the food and snacks for Saturday. We will wing it on Sunday-Maybe buy something to cook or-maybe just go out for breakfast...we'll see!
See you all Saturday!

Gary Cooks

led

I made some Strawberry Rhubarb jam today as well as bottled some dark "corona" style beer. Tonight burgers on the grill, pasta salad and steamed veggies.

Happy Fathers Day!

Good 'Ole BHS

Almost Gone...Never Forgotten

Hugo

Part of the storm that hit Minnesota was in Hugo and I believe that is just a few miles (6)North of Carol and Scotts house-Did they hit at all?

"Baby's" First Game

May 13, 2008 marks a "moment in time" for a young Minnesota boy. It was his first Twins game experience. It was a game met with many memories....or some things Ryan would just like to forget. We kicked off his first game in true "high" style accommodating the 3rd row of section 213 aka "the cheap seats". Kane was in complete ahh of the "balloon" building, green grass and all of the balls being thrown around. This utter excitement lasted about....um... 4 minutes, then his true love of food came a calling. Peanuts we by far the biggest hit, but it was a labor camp for Ryan and I. Our peanut shucking factory wasn't quick enough to keep up with the consumption demand of a two year old. About the 5th inning Kane and I decided to talk a walk around the concession / souvenir stands....a trip Ryan only wishes he attended. Well Ryan expected us to return with a momentous treasure to mark this occasion, he didn't exactly expect that to be a cute little flower wearing a twins hat. We spent the remanding 6th and 7th innings practicing the "take me out to the ball game" song to insure complete and proper participation from Kane. He was rallying the crowds "READY TO SING EVERYBODY" and was very excited when they finally listened. Singing marked the end of a successful game for Kane....what else is there really to look forward to. So we packed him, his flower and the left over peanuts up to head back home. Ryan, being a fairly big Twins fan has always had a bit of bad luck attending games. This game proved to be no different. Heading W on 94 reaching the western edge of Minneapolis we were finishing our first family game listening to it live on the radio. That is when it happened. "A hit, it's going way back...way way back....this ball made it to the far right side of the upper deck" the Twins commentator spoke. That's when all I heard was "you got to be sh*tt**g me! Yep, you guessed it Jason Kubel hit a home run that ended up bouncing off the seat Ryan was sitting in 15 minutes earlier (this was confirmed by the twenty or so painful replays we watched on-line once we arrived at home). Needless to say it was a fun time had by all.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the day to remember those who have paid the price for our freedom by laying down their life for their country!

Below is a brief history of Memorial Day!

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

Our Favorite Season

Never Argue With an Intelligent Woman

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.

Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.

She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.

Along comes a game warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')

"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.

"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."

"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."

"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.

"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.

"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."

"Have a nice day, ma'ma," and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

The New $5 bill and the Old Gas Pumps

Gary's post about the new $5 bill reminded me of a story I read yesterday. It seems that some of the old gas stations are living in fear of $4.00 per gallon gas. The reason is that lots of the old, pre-digital gas pumps can't handle anything more than $3.99 per gallon on their pricing mechanisms. I imagine that way back when they were building these things and gas was twenty cents per gallon, buying gas for $2.99 seemed like a flight of fancy. And yes, I said $2.99 not $3.99. Many of these pumps have already been upgraded once.

Ah, here's the story: link

So if this summer you stop at a little station with manual pumps and the price is either covered up or you think you're getting a great deal, think again. Gas is over $4 but the machinery can't handle it.

New Five Dollar Bill

added a working link....

The website for the previous post is:

www.greatamericanroadtrip.us

Great American Road Trip

Looks like a fun trip for these guys.

I'm a little jealous, but if I did something like that, I'd like to take some time to stop and check out the sights.

New blog

Somehow the link section I added went missing, so I added it back in. I'm going by memory here, so if I missed a link that used to be there let me know and I'll add it. The reason I was updating is because there is another family member with a blog out there. This time it's Aaron. He's got some pretty cool pictures up already from places he's traveled to. Go take a look, and update your feed reader.


The Key of See

Pete

Look's More Like Fun!

Here is a pic of Aaron at work...they are in Ft Myers during spring training. Looks like fun, huh?

Think Green!

April 27,2008 Snowman

We had about 12-15" of snow Friday to Saturday-So we made a snowman!

More Snow

April 26, 2008
Bemidji, Minnesota
Overnight there must be at least 8 inches of new snow. Right now, snow is still falling at a good clip. I know the Robins are a little mixed up-Nancy and I had already did most of the yard work and I was hoping to start tilling the garden this weekend-Not any more!

Vacation

Well, I officially went on my first vacation as a grown up by myself. I was a little bit nervous about the whole navigating through airports by myself, but I did pretty good, I didn't miss any flights and I made it home safe and sound with my luggage and everything. I went on a vacation to North Carolina for about 5 days to visit one of my friends from nursing school who moved out there. It was fun and relaxing. I had never really been out to the East Coast, so it was nice being out there. We spent a couple days on the beach and then spent the rest of the time sight seeing and just relaxing. I definitely needed to relax because I moved to a new apartment a couple days before I left on vacation. So, when I got home from vacation, I had to clean my old apartment from top to bottom and unpack all of my stuff at my new apartment. I finally finished cleaning my old apartment today and I'm slowly unpacking at my new place. My goal is to have the majority of my stuff unpacked and put away before I go back to work on Monday night. I took 36 hours of PTO and I had a total of 12 days off in a row. It's been wonderful and it will probably be hard to go back to work. But, I just thought I'd put up a lil update on my life and a couple pictures from vacation. Hope everyone is doing well. I don't know if anyone is planning on making a trip down to Rochester for Grandpa's recovery, but I'm planning on going to Rochester next Friday and staying the weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to see some of you!!

Wild Vermilion, Who Knew?

Wild Vermilion, Who Knew

In the March/April issue of Volunteer magazine, the article "Vision for Vermilion," caught me by surprise. They (DNR) are proposing a new state park on land currently owned by US Steel. The funding for the 3,000 acres is being debated in the current session of the Minnesota Legislature and time is running out because the DNR has until sometime in July to reach an agreement. The other alternative is for this shoreline to be a subdivision with approximately 150 homes.

What an opportunity for us and future outdoor enthusiastists! Log on to

www.mndnr.gov/volunteer to view the slideshow and learn more about this wonderful proposal.

I'm Back (again)

As some of you may know our computer took a dive again-but we're back in business again. When we go it backed and checked e-mail, there was a laptop on Tiger direct for $399-our repair was $250?????
Anyway it was a nice break but I am happy to be back on line.

Art Show

Morgan had her first art showing last Saturday afternoon. She made a storyteller statue in her art class with her student teacher, Mrs. Edwards. Mrs. Edwards is a student at St. Catherine's, where both Carol and Nancy S. went to school.

The storyteller is just that, a sculpture of a person telling a story.

Here's Morgan with her storyteller:

Morgan chose to mold her storyteller after her Nana. The orange and yellow areas on the sculpture are Nana's cats.



Of course, Nana and Papa Tom had to attend the opening, and we all had a great time. After the show, we went to Snuffy's Malt Shop to celebrate. Here are some of the other students' artwork we saw as well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Star Wars

I think my favorite part of this entire video, which is great for so many reasons, is the fact that they sang the theme song through the entire thing. Great continuity!

Brooke Social Experment

Nancy was looking to buy Broke a nice little gift. I suggested we try something a bit different. I think we should open a Roth IRA (or something similar) in her name and we could all send her $$$ into this account instead of cute little outfits. Pete do you have any suggestions? How can we make her a millionaire?

How to use masking tape when you are drunk

Hoppy Easter!

Matt & I are adjusting well to parenthood and enjoying every second of it! It's hard to believe Brooke is already over 2 weeks old! We had our newborn pictures taken yesterday and she was a queen! She was wide awake and didn't even wimper once until the last picture. We can't wait to get the pictures and share them with you. We hope to make a visit to Bemidji sometime in April for you all to meet her. Hope you are all doing well! Take care,

Matt & Mandy