Fun in Otown

What to do on a rainy Saturday in August... 

Larry/Dad/Gpappy and I were invited to play with Miles and Westy yesterday while  Annie and Tanner took a trip to Rochester to shop. Miles phoned me the night before to let me know he still wasn't feeling so well, but that he'd be better by the time we came to see him. He also had plans for us to go to the Otown library, since it was going to rain on Saturday.

Miles was feeling better when we arrived, and Westy was ready for anything (as usual!). Gpappy and Miles got busy making a Lego platform for Miles' mini monster trucks.

Westy took advantage of Gpappy lying on the floor to climb aboard for a ride.

After Westy dismounted his horsie, it was time for naps. A rainy day encourages sleeping, apparently, because Westy conked out immediately in his crib. Grandpappy dozed off in the living room, and I couldn't keep my eyes open after reading to Miles. It felt like we were in The Napping House, Owatonna version.

When everyone was alert enough to drive, we set off for the library. We asked Miles if he knew how to get there. "Sure. Just go down the hill, turn, and then turn again. It's right there. It's right behind the post office. The building with the brown roof." Sure enough, that's just how you get there!

On the way, I decided to attempt a mirror photo. Miles was skeptical. He said I'd probably only get a picture of myself taking a picture. He was partly right on that one. Westy was indifferent to the whole thing.

It was sprinkling gently as we pulled into the Otown library parking lot. Miles and Westy skipped their way to the door, singing "It's raining, it's pouring, rain rain, go away, come again some other day!" When we entered the children's library, the librarian greeted Westy and Miles by name. She happens to be a neighbor of M and W. Later, on our way home, Miles showed us where she lives. We had fun inside the library playing with computers, a giant wooden doll house, the cute carts kids can use to collect books they've selected, and a big stuffed horsie that Westy is in love with.

We left just before the library closed, took a tour of where Patty the librarian lives, and then had supper. There was more conversation than food consumption, since Miles had a lot of stories to tell, including one about a friend's glass patio table being lifted off the deck by a strong wind and crashing to smithereens in the grass below. True story, it turns out. And it gave Dad/Gpappy/Larry the opportunity to share a similar story about a glass table shattering in the swimming pool where he worked as a teenager. He and another lifeguard had to get the glass out of the pool by hand and with a pool vac. This on a salary of $1.25 an hour!

Annie and Tanner returned shortly after supper, we chatted a while, then headed for home. Nice day with two happy and playful boys.
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Two stories to tell about Miles...

As many of you know, Miles is going to be in Uncle Will and Anne's wedding next weekend. Here's what we learned from Miles about that whole thing:

(Miles #1) "I'm going to be the ring "bear" and I'm going wear a tuxedo. I have to lead Westy down the aisle so he knows where to go. I'll be carrying the rings so I can show them to the people when we walk down the aisle."

And for those of you who aren't aware of it, Anne is almost a member of the family. Only after she and Uncle Will are official can she be referred to as "Auntie Anne."

(Miles #2) The tv was on a news channel, and of course the story of the afternoon was the death of Neil Armstrong. Miles noticed the photos being flashed on screen and pointed out that "Those guys are astronauts." So we told him about Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, and that he died today. That opened up a flood of questions, and some very sweet comments. I think this one is worthy of a headline: "Neil Armstrong was our friend in space."

That comment was followed by, "Now he's in heaven. He went right through space to heaven. Did you know heaven is above space? He's with Putter and Grandpa Charlie in heaven."
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To report other family happenings, I had to pilfer these pictures so I'd have them on record. Thanks to Elisabeth and Angie for sending the photos--I hope you don't mind that I used them on my blog.

Congratulations to Hannah on her graduation from SFFA! We're so proud of you, and we can't wait to hear about KINDERGARTEN, which starts on Wednesday!! I'm sorry, Hannah, but it makes me cry whenever I think about you starting school. How can you be 5 already??

Thank goodness these two critters have a couple of years before going to kindergarten! Ethan and Owen looked perfectly comfortable sporting water safety gear while spending a few days at the lake with their mommy, Grandpa Dean, and Grandma Dar.

This morning Gpappy/Dad/Larry and I walked around the GAC campus with the mission of looking at the progress on the timeline walk near the chapel. Interesting idea, but the jury is still out on the tornado sculpture. I'll take pictures next time.

Marathon weekend, final episode

Annie, you said you want another marathon weekend installment. I have been waiting for even ONE blog entry from you, Charlie, or Angie with no results. I'll put up a few more photos from various aspects of the weekend, but be warned that this is NOT IN PLACE OF ONE OF THE OTHERS WRITING A REALLY GOOD BLOG ENTRY!!! Anyone have pictures of the trophies??

Tee-shirt, custom-designed by C.P.

Refrigerator, custom-filled by M.O.M.

Ethan and Owen, bibbed-up and ready to run

Miss Bibbles, bibbled-up and running

Third-time race partners, Grandpa Dave and Grandpappy

Tanner and Westy

Vivi and Elisabeth

 Proud race organizers, Angie and Charlie

Miles' favorite ride at the Nicollet County Fair

Hannah in her pj's

Craziness is a hallmark of the gathering of the cousins, 

especially the four bigger cousins.

Vivi is learning the tricks of the craziness trade, too.

Okay, that's it folks. Now it is someone else's turn to share pictures and stories from Marathon Weekend!

Marathon weekend, part 2

My plan for writing more about our family weekend was to wait until other members of the family who blog did their own entries. I'm changing my mind because they're all busy with kids and work, and I no longer have those responsibilities and want to create another blog entry before my advanced age contributes to my forgetfulness about the fun we had. So here goes.

Three of the cousins did a little lamp pole-spinning and flag-waving before the marathon began.

The church yard provided lots of running space for the kiddos, as they raced to Uncle Tanner.

The adult walkers and runners went off in various directions, in various combinations. For the third year in a row, Grandpappy and Grandpa Dave started out the action with their walk to Gustavus and back. When they appeared at the top of Church Street, the little guys ran to the end of the driveway to cheer their finish.

After all the runners and walkers returned and the miles were added up, the cousins received their certificates and trophies. No, it wasn't 90 degrees out... but you'd think so because of the shirtless attire of most of the cousins.

Some of us were especially proud of having participated in the marathon this year!

Charlie and his assistant Angie did a wonderful job of planning the marathon. Apparently they think so, too. Here they are congratulating each other...

It wasn't all marathon all weekend. Elisabeth and Evan partied at Elisabeth's 21st class reunion and the kids had fun at the Nicollet County Fair. These pictures are from the fair, not from the reunion. Ha ha!

 

We celebrated Annie and Tanner's 7th wedding anniversary,

and Evan's upcoming birthday(with a special tee-shirt).

Sunday morning was reserved for doughnuts at Charlie and Angie's house.

And of course, a Potts-Dellon-Grimmius gathering is never complete without a few cousins-on-the-couch pictures. Here are some samples from this year's photo-fest:

The weekend flew by as it always does when six cousins get together to entertain their parents and grandparents. Just a few months until it happens all over again. Hooray!!

Happy #7

Happy 7th Anniversary to Annie and Tanner!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a marathon!

It was a BEAUTIFUL Saturday morning... just right for a family marathon! I'll write more about the 3rd Annual St. Peter Marathon later, as will other family members, but for now I'll give a sneak peek, using the letter B:

Beautiful indeed was the day, and so was the BUNTING that decorated the registration table...

Gift BAGS for the junior runners, filled with great treats.

Vivi's BELLY was out for the occasion.

BUTTS... don't ask if you don't know why this picture is included!

 Lots of "BRAVOS" for the runners.

BYE-BYE for now...

Tuesday morning

Angie had a grade level meeting at school this morning, so E and O came over to visit for a couple of hours. We took advantage of the warm-but-not-miserable weather and played outside.

The kiddos filled up a plastic tub with water and floated some toy boats, toy boats, toy boats.

They noticed I had a couple of new inflatable beach balls, so while they sailed their boats, I filled the balls with hot air so E and O could play various imaginative games in the yard.

Soon it was time for a break. While the boys drank cool beverages and ate snacks, we talked about the impending gathering of all the cousins. Here's a wave from E and O to H, M, v, and w. See you soon!

After snack time, Ethan decided to have an Olympic boat race. He reminded Owen and me that we needed to cheer for the boats as their occupants rowed across the lake.

While Ethan raced boats, Owen submerged his daddy's "old" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a nearby pond for an underwater swimming contest. Donatello took an early lead, and finished first.

Soon it was time to get out the ring toss game. Owen claimed a score of 60, and Ethan said he had 64. I haven't learned their scoring system yet, so I can't verify if this is true. All I know is that they had more fun putting the thing together and taking it apart than actually playing the game!

Then we headed inside to read and to color. During their coloring session, E and O noticed a little container holding mini M & M's. Coloring is always more fun with a tiny treat to enjoy.

A little later we added up the number of cousins who will be here on Friday (6) and the number of adults (8), and agreed that 14 is a LOT of people!  They're looking forward to the craziness as much as I am!