We had a special night with Tessa and the Casey connections on August 15 to remember Paul's sister Julie. Tessa was a great hostess! Dryfry, the cat, even enjoyed the get-together!
It was a tad chilly out on the deck, but Roger and Elaine hung in there with the rest.
Paul and I had fun up at the lake with my friends from school. Joan and Tim have a cabin with all the trimmings - a pontoon, jetski, and floats. We ended up halfway down the lake and had to be rescued and towed back with the jetski.
An early morning breakfast pontoon ride always lets us have a chance to visit with the loons.
We went out to eat at a great Mexican restaurant, and passed Paul Bunyan on the way. Ice cream cones on the way back to the cabin topped off a great evening. 
The last week of August saw us head for the Twins game, and I forgot my camera! That's a first. The skyline of Minneapolis is a beautiful sight from the stadium. We went with Joan and Tim, and the Twins won - hurrah!
I had Friday off from workshops, and we headed to the State Fair. I collect all the free bags and handouts at the Education Building, and visit the Augsburg booth every year.
It was a cool day, but improved as the afternoon wore on. There was quite a crowd by late afternoon.
We were there from 10:00 until about 8:00p.m. and enjoyed our favorite foods, the parade, food, brand new baby animals, food, people watching, and ... did I mention food? We always share each item, so feel like we are conserving calories:)
The second weekend in September, I organized a hiking trip on the Superior National Hiking Trail for the Women of Waterbrooke - W.O.W. Eleven of us were brave enough to give it a try.
Saturday was misty and had rained all night, so we were challenged with a bit of mud!
The new hiking boots got a good workout.
There was a marathon going on - some people going 26 miles, some 50, and some 100!!!!! They passed us up without even breathing hard. We did 6 miles and thought that was plenty! This guy did a marathon ... barefoot!
Lots of fun nature to look at on the trail.
Finally, a place to sit down!
The mushrooms were amazing - more varieties than I have ever seen before, and many different colors.
Yep - these are my new boots!
What a difference a day makes! We headed for the Temperence River Trail, and found it rocky and dry - hurrah!
It was an absolutely gorgeous day.
We hiked over Carlton Peak and had a great view from the top during our rest break:)
On the way home Alice, Sherry and I stopped at the cliffs at Palisade. They had never been up along the lake before, so it was an eye-opening experience. All in all, we we renewed by the glorious world God created, and the fellowship of Christian friends along the way. We encouraged each other through the difficult stretches of the hike, and will continue to do the same though life!
