Myrna CG Mibus - Idyllwild

This morning we flew our Piper Pacer to a fly-in breakfast in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. We like attending these fly-in events but haven't been to many in the last few years. Breakfasts are typically on a Saturday or Sunday morning and our weekends have gotten busier and busier as the kids have gotten older. But flying to Shell Lake is an annual tradition for us - and this morning the weather was absolutely perfect - so off we went. This morning, much of the ground below us was covered in fog making for some magical views of the world below.

My younger brother, Joel, and I bought a 1947 Dodge Club Coupe on August 17, 2013. What? Why?Huh? I didn't know you liked cars, Myrna!   I can't exactly answer articulate WHY we bought the Dodge. But it has a lot to do with family. This old Dodge has been in the family for 64 years, since it was almost new. Our Great Uncle Elmer bought the Dodge in 1949. Our Grandpa Howard bought the Dodge from Uncle Elmer when the car was about 10 years old. Not long after our Grandpa passed away, our Uncle Marvin got the Dodge. Marvin owned it for about 19 years. The time came where he wanted to sell it.  And, well, Joel and I just couldn’t bear to see the car leave the family. And I think we both envisioned cruising around town together in an old Dodge and maybe going to some car shows together.  In addition to the family connection, yes, I actually do like cars. I'm not exactly a car lover, I guess, but I like them for sure and do enjoy mechanical things (I'm a ...

Yesterday I went on a one day road trip to Hackensack, MN, with my daughter, Rose, my mom, Char, and my son, Ryan.  Why so much driving in one day? Because we dropped off Rose at Lago del Bosco - Concordia Language Villages Italian Language Camp - where she will spend two weeks immersed in Italian language and cultural activities. Rose attended Italian camp for one week last summer and had a great experience. Last year was Rose's first ever summer camp experience - and I was a bit worried about her. I wrote about my worries and Rose's experience in my blog last year (Concordia Language Villages even posted the blog on the Lago del Bosco Village Pages !) You can read that blog if you click  HERE : This year, dropping Rose off at camp was a much less worrisome experience because she had such a great time last year and we knew what to expect. Things that were overwhelming last year were much easier to deal with. We knew where to park and unload Rose's gear. We u...

Less than a week ago I dropped my daughter, Rose, off at Lago del Bosco, an Italian immersion camp offered through Concordia Language Villages . Rose has been wanting to go to Italian camp for well over a year. She wanted to go so badly that she saved $400 over the last year to help defray the cost. But as we got closer and closer to the time for her to leave for camp Rose got more and more nervous about what her experience would be like, worried that she wouldn't make any friends. And, as a mother who has never sent a daughter off to camp all by herself before, I got more nervous and worried, too. Despite our nerves and worries we drove Rose up to camp last Monday. Everyone was friendly - and everyone was speaking Italian! (language immersion is part of the camp experience). It was a bit overwhelming for all of us yet the counselors are great at sign language and we managed to figure out where to go and what to do. Rose had to check in, go through "customs", pick an ...

Yesterday my son, Ryan, had a birthday. Ryan's been on this planet, a part of my world, for ten years now. And my life is so much better because he is here. With his kindness, intuition and frequent reminders to unplug and relax, Ryan reminds that life is good. That time spent with family and friends is far more important than time spent checking Facebook on my iPhone. That life is about people, positive connections, reading books and talking about dreams way more than it's about things. I fail at unplugging, at living in the moment, on a daily basis. I get stressed easily. I try to check email during dinner. I am easily distracted and discouraged. But I'm making progress. And a lot of my progress in this department is because of a little guy who is not so little anymore - My son. Ryan. One one hand he's a boy so grown up that he takes my phone out of my hands and covers me up with a quilt and tells me to take a nap. And on the other hand he's sti...

I celebrated my 45th birthday on the 25th of March. We're pretty low-key about birthdays in my family but always have a fun time. My family - that is my family of origin -  makes a point of going out to eat together to celebrate birthdays. Our dining experience is more about family time than fine food - our favorite Birthday dinner spots are Perkins and Q. Cumbers - and if we give gifts they tend to be somewhat silly or practical. This year on the day before my Birthday I, Owen and the kids met my parents, my two brothers and my two-year-old nephew at Q. Cumbers for a fun birthday dinner. It may sound silly but while I was up loading my plate at the salad bar buffet I had this overwhelming feeling of being loved - not because of the salad bar offerings (which were wonderful) but because my family members all took time to have dinner with me. In our busy world, spending time with people is one of the best gifts of all! Then we walked around Centennial Lakes Park and talked while...

We had a wonderful Christmas with family and are now enjoying some time off from work and school. We're all kicking back and reading, playing games, eating too much and, since we're having unseasonably warm weather, have been on a few long walks with Rocket the Dog. Today we plan to do some work in the hangar finishing up our shop and I hope to finish a photo book that I started ages ago. But more than anything I'd like to curl up with a good book (Rose got me The Last Wife of Henry VII for Christmas from Northfield Middle School's wonderful Tattered Pages shop ) or take a nap. It is vacation, after all, so reading and naps are a must! Another must during our winter vacation is our annual (usually post-Christmas) trip to downtown Minneapolis via the light-rail train. In the last few years we've made it a tradition to eat at Brit's Pub - a British Pub & Eating Establishment that features, you guessed it, British fare like Bangers and Mash, Cornish Pasty,...