Spring Break 2009

We had a fantastic week long adventure in Arizona and New Mexico with our friends, Joan and Tim. Joan is the speech therapist at my school, and her husband Tim is the art teacher at the high school. We go way back to 1978 when I arrived at St. Michael-Albertville a year after they did!. We have enjoyed many trips to their cabin up north, and now hit the road to the south.


Here is our condo - not much to look at, what? Just kidding - we had a beautiful place in the White Mountains with tall Ponderosa pines all around us. This picture was taken on the way to the Petrified Forest on Sunday, March 22. We had to take a road trip to get to any destination worth seeing (and taking pictures of).
The day was incredibly windy - gusts to 70 mph. In fact, we broke the car door on the rental car when the wind blew the door right out of Tim's hand. Once we got it closed, we couldn't open it any more. It was the front passenger side, and it was a real chore for six foot tall Tim to climb over the steering wheel to get in after every photo op! (Did I mention the Tim is an incredible photographer? He teaches a class and does weddings, graduation pictures, and prom stuff, too!)
Some people call this area of Arizona the Badlands, just like in North Dakota!
On the way back to our condo, we saw the sunset through all the sand blowing. It was something else!
The next morning I took this picture through the trees right off our deck. It was a little chilly to sit out there for breakfast. We didn't pick a hot spot for our spring break, but it sure was beautiful!
On Monday we drove to Flagstaff to trade in the car, and stopped at the Riordan Mansion for a tour. It was built for two brothers in the early 1900's who ran a lumbering business - and they connected two houses that were mirror images of each other for their families. There was the original, gorgeous grand piano and the tour guide asked if anyone played. Of course, I offered Paul's services and he wowed the crowd!
We drove south from Flagstaff down the Oak Creek Canyon to see the Red Rocks of Sedona. Eveyone said we should drive up to the airport (on the top of a mesa overlooking the town) to see the sunset, so we did. There were probably 50-75 other people with the same idea, all with camera in hand. It was well worth it!
We stayed overnight in Sedona, and got up the next morning to visit a few rock formations recommended by our waitress from the night before. Below you see Cathedral Rock. The path goes all the way up, but we only had time to hike partway because we had a list of other places to go. We'll just have to come back, I guess.
Bell Rock was the next stop, and again, we just hiked partway for some cool pictures.
We drove about 20 miles south of Sedona to see Montezuma's Castle, a pueblo built in the 12th-13th century. The Sinagua Indians had to carry all their building supplies on their backs up ladders 46 feet above the level of the creek! One of the guides we talked to said he gets to spend one hour a year actually up in the dwelling.
Next stop - the Grand Canyon, AFTER a detour to the Flagstaff Hospital for Tim to get a stitch in his tongue! He bit it while eating a burger and it wouldn't stop bleeding because of some medication he is on. Ouch! We got to the canyon in time for more sunset pictures. Words and pictures CANNOT describe the amazing grandeur of God's creation.
We got up at 5:15 to go on a sunrise tour from our resort. It was an incredible 17 degrees above zero! Did I mention we didn't chose a hot spot to go on spring break? But it was well worth it! Our tour took us to six or seven great vistas, and our guide had great stories to tell.
The colors at sunrise are so different from sunset. I'm glad we got up to see it.
This is the Hopi House, one of the early tourist buildings built by the railroad back in the early 1900s when the Grand Canyon became a vacation destination. It still is - 6-7 MILLION people come every year. Luckily, we were there in the off season, and it was still pelnty busy. This building is a Native American Arts and Crafts store now.
The same architect, Mary Coulter, designed this tower at the east end of the South Rim Drive. We stopped there on our way out. It is called the Watchtower and is a recreation of prehistoric towers built by the ancient peoples of the canyon.
A well known Hopi artist, Fred Kabotie, painted the inside of the tower walls and ceiling with characters from legends.
On Thursday, the plan was to go golfing. However, it was VERY windy again, so we took another roadtrip to see a local ski area, and Apache Forst, and ended up going down the Salt River Canyon to see Roosevelt Lake and Dam. We noticed some dark clouds over the hills to the east, but only commented on them because they made such beautiful pictures.
Every see cactus growing in water?
I love the colors in the one!
When we got back to Pinetop, our home in the mountains, there was 4-6 inches of snow! Did I mention how HOT it was on our spring break away from COLD Minnesota?
On Friday we drove to Albuquerque to stay over night because our flight back to Minnesota left pretty early on Saturday. It was a 5 hour drive from Pinetop. We had heard from many friends that we had to go see Santa Fe, so we hopped in the car to drive about an hour north on I25. There were some very old churches, missions and chapels to see, a town square that dates back to the Spanish conquistadores, and a WONDERFUL Mexican restaurant!
Above is the oldest church in New Mexico, and below is a shot from inside St. Francis Basilica.
I almost hopped on the train at the Santa Fe station to recreate my childhood trip to California in 1957! This station was right across the parking lot from our restaurant. The sofapillas were marvelous - I think I'd go back just for another taste.
Albuquerque is known for their Hot Air Balloon Festival every October. Some of the ballooners were out at 8:30 on a Saturday morning as we were taking off to head home. It was a bit hazy, but I can imagine the sky full of hundreds of balloons against a clear blue backdrop. You can see forever.
Well, that's it. Hopefully, you read all the way to the end. This is just a sample of the pictures I took - multiply this by about 20! We had a wonderful time, and want to go back again someday ... maybe retirement??? Who knows!

Ski Retreat 2009

What a great weekend for skiing! 39 Waterbrookers headed out at 4:30 in a caravan on Friday, Feb. 20 amidst freshly falling snow to head to Trollhaugen and the Skonewood Retreat Center in Cushing, Wisconsin. Of course, it took double the time to get there since the new snow caused lots of traffic backups. We arrived around 8:30 p.m after stopping in Forest Lake for supper. It was too dark for a picture the building we hung out in, so I had to take it the next morning. Can you imagine all 39 of use staying in this small building? Well, we did - boys downstairs on the concrete floor and girls upstairs!

Here's the whole group - it looks lots bigger once you are inside!Luckily, they provide nice cushy foam for the kids to sleep on. A couple of the younger boys couldn't stay awake during the late night movie (Transformers - how could they sleep during the constant, repetitious fighting???) so they ended up sleeping upstairs most of the night.Here is my idea of a great bed! Actually, it wasn't so bad.
We had great food - Gina, the Italian mama, is a fantastic cook! This is breakfast on Saturday - a great start to rev you up for a day on the slopes.This is a view of me and one of the girls who had never skied before. Trollhaugen gave our group free lessons for any kids who needed them - and after the lessons, I went up with the kids to make sure they were all right on their own. Alyssa needed a bit more confidence so I skied with her until she finally was ready to fly! Paul even went off on his own this year and did great. The fresh snow made for fantastic skiing.
A few of the girls felt it was a bit cold, so after lunch they became chalet bunnies.

The older boys, however, spent all their time on the boarding jumps seeing who could get the most air.

Back at Skonewood, we continued the Marshmallow Marathon on Saturday night. We had 4 teams competing in marshmallow games. Which team can build the tallest structure out of marshmallows, spaghetti, and toothpicks?Who can slurp up a marshmallow on a string the fastest?...and my personal favorite ... Chubby Bunny! Who can stuff the most marshmallows in their mouth and still be able to say "chubby bunny?" Emery gets the crown this year with 13 of the large marshmallows - however, he couldn't manage the all important phrase, so the Waterbrooke record is 12! That beats last year's record of 9 by a whole bunch!On Sunday morning we slept in, cleaned up, and had a closing prayer time and thought we were ready to jump in the cars when Alex realized he had locked his keys in his car!

The Skonewood caretaker came up with the winning strategy after at least 30 minutes of hangars - hooray!

We had a great time, and the kids were super! Can't wait until next year! Maybe my shins will have recovered by then - can't believe how sore they got from those boots!

Catch Up on the Caseys!

WOW - I am very behind in blogging for 2009. I know you're all dying to hear what we've been up to. Not much!

The biggest news is that I'm NOT on jury duty! God answered my prayer about that one. I was on call for the months of January and February - I tried to get them to postpone it until summer, but they wouldn't. So, I just waited to be called. The letter arrived and I had to go down to the Federal Court House in Minneapolis to spend the day last Wednesday assigned to a panel. It took me 5 hours to write the plans for two different substitutes. I couldn't find one who would be available for 3 days in a row. I had to be ready for 3 days just in case I was picked for the case. There were about 50 of us, and 36 were chosen for the initial questioning. I was one of the 36.

I spoke to the judge one-on-one to try again to be excused because of many school related issues that a substitute can't do in my position of Coordinator of Enrichment for 700 students, but he wasn't interested. So I had to sweat it out. At 4:45 they finished the questioning, and we had to wait in the hall for 30 minutes while the federal prosecutor, the judge, and the defense lawyers decided on the 12 jurors. Not me - hurrah! The case was going to go on over a three week period - that would have been disaster for my school programs!

What else is new, you ask?

Check out Jane's blog for a description of a nice dinner out with Jane and Chuck, and Ted and Pat on Valentine's Day.

Paul and I had another fun night out on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Old Log Theatre. Christie gave us a gift certificate for Christmas, and we enjoyed a great dinner and a show! Paul had prime rib and I had walleye. The play was called Unnecessary Farce, and the show was very funny. We especially enjoyed being there after reading a book about Clellan Card (Axel and His Dog) - remember the TV show from the 50's and 60's? The man who started the Old Log playing Axel's dog and cat (puppets)! He still introduces every show, but his son runs the theatre.

Coming soon - pictures from the Waterbrooke Youth Ski Retreat that is in the planning stages for this weekend - Feb. 20-22. Stay tuned for more from the Caseys!

Chronicles of Christmas, 2008

It all began way back in October when Karen re-wrote the play for our Waterbrooke Christmas program - Bethlehem Treasure. I've been singing and practicing for months with the kids and finally on Dec. 14 we were ready to tell EVERYONE that JESUS is the treasure! The kids did a marvelous job, and the truth of Christmas was marvelously displayed in Karen's script.
We had the twelve oldest elementary kids as the main characters, and the eighteen 3-8 year olds as the nativity players (they only had to be on stage for their song and the finale). There were also six teenagers who had walk-on "adult" roles when the cast went Christmas caroling around Victoria to invite people to come hear the message of Christmas.
The kings, shepherds and angels were a big hit. Rehearsals every Sunday were a bit of a scheduling nightmare - the angels were so busy watching the shepherds they would forget their part and the kings couldn't sit still until it was time for their song. The Sunday School teachers were great to let me shuffle the kids in and out during the lesson time so I could rehearse with the little ones one group at a time!
We had lots of help with the costumes and staging. And ... we can use them over and over again.This is our littlest angel - I think she'll get to reprise her role again next year. She wasn't one bit afraid to go one stage. Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace to men of good will.


The very next weekend, we started the family Christmas gatherings. The Casey Christmas was scheduled for Sat., Dec. 20 for dinner and a white elephant gift exchange that Tessa organized at her parent's house in Excelsior. The senior members of the clan relax while the rest of us get things ready in the kitchen. The youngest members of the family enjoy the pets - but does Dryfry enjoy cuddling? Only with Drew!Anna won the coveted white elephant cow this year - I hope she is feeding it regularly. It will accept all types of coins - and I'm sure Anna will accept donations!

The Three Amigos - Tessa, Brenner, and Jon! Tessa won the mustache collection - I wonder if she can wear them to work at the St. Paul Hotel???
I really can't wait to hear the reaction at the next Bingo night when Roger wears his Viking/Jester hat!

We had to replay the Casey gathering - since Alison's plane was delayed two days in a row and she missed the Saturday night affair. Phil and Leslee threw together a delicious turkey dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 23 and we gathered again - this time to eat and play games.

Roger and Elaine took on the girls at Dominos while the brothers (Paul, Phil, and Mark) and their wives played a fun card game downstairs. Brenner and Christie wandered between the two, just hanging out.
My camera got stuck on a weird setting and all my pictures turned out green and dark. I thought I was going to need to get a new camera, but discovered the correct setting in the menu on Wednesday. Isn't technology awesome?

Callen is enjoying her first year of college, while Alison and Tessa are hard working college graduates. Alison missed their annual cousin sleepover, but just being together was a treat.
Of course, we had presents at our house after the Christmas Eve service at Waterbrooke and a yummy cranberry glazed roast pork dinner!
Oh boy, can we play games now? Well, we did - Apples to Apples - and had a blast. Thanks for the game, Alison.Finally, the last family gathering - Christmas Day at Jane and Chuck's. We are wearing the new Gopher gear that Santa brought us. We will wear it next fall when we use our 1/4 of the season tickets to the new Gopher football stadium . The Casey boys all chipped in to buy two season tickets, so we'll get to go to two games next year!

We had lots of fun with the younger generation of Catlin/Brackens. Phebe wasn't too thrilled with two two year old boys to play with, so I filled in admirably as we played games and "Pet Shop" all day long!
The boys didn't mind that Phebe ignored them for most of the day - there were plenty of other people willing to entertain them!
We really missed Tom, Kim, Katie and Griffin. Ted and Pat left around 2:00 to head to Illinois to spend some time with them. But next year ...we'll enjoy ANOTHER baby Catlin to add to the clan. I'm hoping for a nice birthday present in May - perhaps a girl Catlin???
Maddox and Matthew played beautiful duets together. I wonder if any of the younger generation have inherited any musical inclinations?
Andy and Jenna FINALLY went out to play with Phebe in the snow after the little boys went home to take naps. Too bad I didn't bring my snow pants - heh heh! The day was too soon over, and Paul and I headed home to collapse on the couch. Christmas is over for another year, but I pray the true meaning of God's gift will permeate our lives every day of the new year.

November Fun

We began the month experiencing Gopher mania for the final season in the dome. This was actually the beginning of three loses in a row after having such a fine run of wins. We must have been bad luck! Next year we will get to go to two games in the new stadium, since we went in on a pair of season tickets with Paul's brothers.
We really enjoy the marching band. It was Homecoming the week we were there, and they had a big group of alumni march with them at one point. The Saturday before Thanksgiving I went down to Cannon Falls and spent the day with Phebe. Jane and some friends were having a "Girl's Day Out" while the guys were up hunting, so I filled in babysitting while Jane played all day. I'm really the one who got to play all day! We played hide and seek, Barbies, Shake-a Doodle ( a game Phebe got for her birthday) and Sand Castle (an indoor sand box activity kit) plus computer games, and a craft I brought, and our own personal Valley Fair carnival rides on Joyce that I used to do with Jenna when she was that age. I was exhausted from being so inventive!
I can't wait until Christmas vacation to do it all over again up at my house - just like the olden days when Tom, Ted, Kyle, Corey and Jenna got to stay over night with me - NOT all at the same time.


Thanksgiving arrived early this year. We all showed up at Jane and Chuck's around 10:00 a.m. for breakfast treats and then had our turkey dinner around 1:00 p.m. I had to make sure no foods touched each other on my plate (a good technique for dieters) because I was headed for Orono by 3:30 for another meal at 5:00!

Phebe and Maddox have lots of fun hamming it up for the camera - no shy bones here!

Yum - look at that beautiful bird at Mark and Karena's! Drew helped his mom prepare some of the food this year. What a guy! Elaine's pecan pie was out of this world. We were really blessed with two wonderful meals and thank God for all of our family. We missed having the girls and Ted and Pat's boys, but we'll have an extra special Christmas in just a few weeks!