Bread Making Tradition!

Jane, Jenna, Nady's sister "Uncle Cole",  Charlie, and Mabel came up to Waconia to make Grandma Linburg's famous Swedish raisin rye bread on the day after Thanksgiving. 

Charlie thought five raisins would be a good amount - but I made him throw in five double HANDFULS!  Then he dumped in the flour and counted to four (Nicole scooped - good thing). 

                                                

Mabel was a great helper - not a peep out of her all day!



                                    

 Play time!  Do you want to read this book with me?

 Nope - guess we'll take a nap.

 Nap time's over - wake up!

 BFF!

 Let's read The Big Green Monster!

 Add his big, yellow eyes!

                 Put on his long bluish greenish nose and big white teeth.  Don't forget his purple hair!

 Lunch time!  Is the bread ready to eat yet?  Nope - it has to rise in the pans for an hour.

 Let's go to the Mocha Monkey while the bread is rising.  Mabel can take a nap in the car on the way there.

                              Yep - puts her to sleep every time - an it's only a five minute drive!

 Back home, Charlie watches his favorite movie, UP, while the bread bakes.  It's ALMOST ready to eat!

 Mabel has fun with Goldy, and Charlie wants to join in on it. OK, you two .. ride 'em, cowboy!

                                                                      Hold on tight!

Finally, the bread is done!  Brush on some butter for a nice tasty crust, slide and eat!  One baby loaf disappeared just like ...that!

We each have a big loaf to take home for breakfasts, and Jane an I each got a baby loaf, too.  Poor Ted - he'll have to wait until Christmas for his treat!

Thanksgiving 2012

We're off to spend the day in Cannon Falls/Orono for TWO Thanksgiving dinners!

                         
                               It all began around 10 am down at Jane and Chuck's in Cannon Falls.

 The table was even all set when we arrived.  I guess that's what being retired will do for you!

 The appetizer table was cleaned out in no time - dinner is not until 1:30, so fill up!

What a beautiful day - the boys went outside to get out some energy.

Maddox first.

Then Griffin. 

 

 Come on, Matthew, you can do it!  Me, too, says Charlie, me too!

 Uncle Corey to the rescue.

 Yea!

 It was girls against the boys in Bocci.  Hmmm - the girls were red:)

 The yard was VERY bumpy, but that's what makes it fun.  Nice throw, Teddy!

 Grandma Jane Jane has the BEST toys!  A whole room full, just for the kids.  Who would want to go anywhere else?

                                                

Ride 'em, cowboy!

Time to settle down a bit - but gee, Jenna - is that book a bit to exciting?  Charlie seems to think so.

                            Mabel and Andy enjoying the football game - now THAT is relaxing.

 Jenna, Mabel, Andy, and sister Nicole - where's Charlie???  Probably roughhousing with the big boys!

 Kids eat first - lucky - and they get their own table!

 Remember Paulee - we have another dinner coming up in just four hours!

 Mmmm ... sweet potatoes, and I can eat them all by myself!

 Aha!  I KNEW the boys were having way too much fun!  Time for another break outside, I think!

 Whoa ... wait a minute ... we left Cannon Falls around 3:00, picked up Allison at 4:00 and got to Orono around 4:30, and WHAT has happened to the weather???

 No outside fun at Lake Minnetonka today!  Let's just huddle up around the fire and communicate on our ipads and phones!  Anna and Callen are having WAY too much fun here!

 Drew and Tibbs

 Playing haristylist?  Callen has a great new job, but she can always fall back on this.

                Alison has normal footwear on - and can WALK!  Hooray!  She is giving Drew some great tips.

 Paul gets the honors with the bird.  He decides to give some carving lessons to the boys.

 Drew takes up the challenge, and finishes off the bird!

 Beautiful table - adults only!

 Well ... adults plus Brenner.  There was only room for four at the cousins table in the music room.  Bob came for dessert a bit later.

 Gee, Brenner, you could have found a space with the cousins, since Drew provided dinner music and left his spot open!

 Cousins just hanging out .. where's Alison?  We missed Christie, Tyler, Tessa, Annie, Ryan, Scarlett, and Jackson!

Brenner giving the girls self-defense lessons - hmmm - who is winning this take down?

All in all, a great day ... and I only gained two pounds!  Since I've lost 33, those two won't be noticed at all, and I'll be back on target next week. 

 God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!

Waterbrooke Ladies Getaway and WOF

Way back in September, a group of Ladies from Waterbrooke went up north for a weekend getaway.

We stayed at The 4 T's Resort on Lake Stoney near Hackensack.

We ate very healthy meals , or course!  Thanks, Pat!

We watched a Women of Faith DVD on Friday night - helping to prep us for the coming Women of Faith event in October at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.

We did a bit of exploring on Saturday, since it was cool and very windy - no biking today!

  We found a cute antique store near Paul Bunyan, and his blue ox was right across the street.

                                                                    Hiya, Babe!

We took a drive down The Woodtick Trail - we could have hiked, but who would want to with a name like that?  It was getting cloudier and windier, too.

Wishing for a boat and a fishing line.  Then we headed up to Walked for dinner at a great Mexican restaurant and ended up back at the cabin for dominoes - all twelve rounds!

                                                             Time for a break!

                                                                        Yum!

        

 Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day for a bike ride!  We headed up past Walker to rent bikes and find the trail.  Karen and I hit the trail, and Pat, Rebecca and Connie tooled around the resort.

                                                  
We ate our bag lunches on the deck of this beautiful resort on the huge lake in Walker.

                                                  

 Back at the ranch, I built a memorial tower of rocks down at the beach just like the ones we saw in California last March.

Gene came to pick up Cannie, and we got a group photo before everyone left. It was a great time, relaxing, and the fellowship was sweet.

                     More fun with Waterbrooke Women - thanks, Kristin for organizing the group!
                                      Pat, Ancsa and Maureen - we participated with a group of people that Kristin knows so we got t-shirts, bags, and bus rides - sweet! 

                               In between speakers, we explored the Xcel Center - hey, Snoopy!

                                                       My roomie Pat, Linus, and me.

 Beautiful artist who painted to music - amazing!  Some lucky woman won the painting for her church!

              They had speakers, artists, musicians, and dancers, all celebrating our awesome God!

                                    
              We weren't QUITE in the nosebleed section, but close:)  We didn't care - it was great.

  Light your cell phones and lift your hands in worship.