September: fun and busy!

Many times this summer we have
looked out on the lake to see a ship
carrying windmill blades-the huge ones.

                 

On Sunday mornings when we arrive at church we often see Brother Martindale sitting at the piano.  Brother Martindale dosn't know how to play the piano but he does know how to punch in the numbers for the automatic hymn player.  He is always smiling about this good trick he plays on us every week.

 This is an in-service meeting in Pine City.  Look how good they are listening!

On September 6,7,8 we held a senior couples' conference in Duluth. There are 9 couples serving in the Minneapolis, Minnesota Mission and they all came!   We had a potluck first thing and,as usual, the food was delicious. Thompsons, Graffs, Arringtons, Forbes, Becks, Marlos, Higbees, Morrisons, Sawyers, Strattons. I don't know first names, we just call them Elder and Sister.

We were lucky enough to see a big ship come through the ship canal.

Biking on the lakewalk

 We took them to all the scenic spots around here: Enger Tower, Canal Park, Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse, Glensheen Mansion,Betty's Pie Shop and the Church for "Hungry Hippos-senior style" and some other games. It really surprised me that ALL the seniors had a turn on the roller boards.

This is President Forbes, the mission president.

                                      

And we invited the Sisters Christensen and Pointer.

They slept in the Villas at Spirit Mountain.
We slept at home. (I knew you would wonder)

 We made some very fun memories while they were here.  Overheard comment, "I am going to go back to my mission and rest up from this."

And then it was time for our next visitors!  It was so good to see Barry and Beth. You may be starting to recognize this view from Enger Tower.

 One thing we hadn't done yet in Minnesota was go and tour the Soudan Mine.  We were over 2,000 feet underground and I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous.  We saw how they mined iron ore.

This is the photo they took to send to their mom.

Ron and Barry on the very loud and crowded elevator.

We cooked us some brats!

Mountain biking!

We dropped in at a resort in northern Minnesota on Moose Lake which the Halls (that we know from church) own and run.  People come here to get outfitted to go into the Boundary Waters on a canoe/camping trip. It was a beautiful setting and when Blayne asked if we wanted to go on a boat ride, we agreed.  We saw several eagles nests and eagles.  The lake was smooth and beautiful and then we stopped on an island and Blaine told we were in Canada.

Yesterday Ron gave a workshop at youth conference on "Scripture Study". We actually know the kids from visiting their seminary classes and going to Nauvoo with them.

             

Just reading the scriptures is like a bucket of sand.
You have to sift through to find the gems!

Elder Stratton and some cute girls.  It's the selfie stick once again.

This is a LOOOOONG one!

At the Food Bank the Sisters (Christensen and Pointer) got their pictures taken because they were the fastest labelers.

Becky and Scott fled from the high temperatures in Arizona and came to nice, cool Duluth for a few days. We tried to get Becky to relax but...

These are the kinds of things we did with them: a flat bike ride and then a mountain bike ride-

just Scott and Ron.  A hike down Chester Creek to the lake. A trip to Gooseberry Falls and the lighthouse. Not to mention a stop at the candy store and Rustic Inn for pie. There was also a short trip to the quilt store and one baby blanket project.


Plus, Scott managed to work quite a bit.  We left him alone in the office and he still found plenty of people to talk to in there.

On the day that Scott and Ron rode mountain bikes, we dropped them off and then we drove to Lester Park to wait for them.  On the way we stopped at a garage sale and bought an Upwards game.  So Becky and I sat at a picnic table in the park and played Upwards.  It was a pretty much perfect morning.

So we have been having a sort of contest for the best pies in Two Harbors, MN.  It is between Betty's Pies and the Rustic Inn.  We are leaning toward Rustic Inn because they have a couple of cream pies that have merange for the crust.  It is yummy!  Plus Ron likes the wild rice meatloaf.  (FYI if you're ever on the Northshore.)  We are continuing our research.

This is the long stairway (177 steps!) that goes from the lake shore up to the parking lot level.   You should be able to make up a "moral of the story" for this, right?

We went to St. Paul for a zone conference all day Thursday (8/20).  And then we went to the temple and spent a night at the mission home. 

This morning we met the Krepps for breakfast. They have sold their home in the east part of Duluth.  They now have a camper (big) and truck (big) to pull it.  (And a couple of storage units).   They are ready to submit their mission papers. They hope to be called to a Family History (genealogy) mission in a warm state.  They will bring their camper and live in it.   I am so excited for them! (except for the big dog and 2 cats!) --

Visit to the Rose Garden in Lief Erickson Park

 The Middletons came to visit-George and Mary Ellen from Naperville!  Of course, the librarian would love to see the neighborhood libraries.  Ron took them on a hike along Chester Creek.  They were having a nice stroll until Mary Ellen happened to ask about "wildlife".  When Ron mentioned bears and the stroll turned into a jog.  Then he mentioned ticks and hoooeeeee!

"Before"

"After"

Yes, we did take them to Split Rock Lighthouse and Goosberry Falls and the Rustic Inn.   Mary Ellen definitely got into the spirit of pie test/tasting!

Our favorite thing we did with them was take a train ride in the dining car from Duluth to the Lester River.  The Salmon was divine!  Also the scenery and the company!  Perfect evening!

We have also been busy with getting ready for the new seminary year:  Meeting with teachers for orientation and training, in-service meetings, set up classes, speaking in Church and so forth.  Good service.

Last Sunday we spoke in the Grand Rapids, MN Branch; afterwards we went to the home of Jerry and Gail McLane.  We had known them when we lived in Naperville and they lived in Bolingbrook. The wives had to remind us husbands that we knew each other.  Anyway, we had a great overnight visit with them in this beautiful isolated home on a lake in the North Woods.  The kayaking on the lake in the morning was a special experience.

View from the deck

McLane's home