A Very Nice Visit

Stachelbeere came for a visit recently.  That's a big deal.  In October 2009 he left on a mission for the church and was gone for two years.  He came home in November 2011 and we had a big get-together with him and a lot of the kids.  That was a very good time.  Alas, he was only around until the next January when he left for Idaho to enter school at BYU-Idaho. He spent the semester in Idaho and then came home, being home in time to make an excellent nurse while I recovered from my knee replacement in April 2014, for which I was very grateful.  His help made my recovery so much easier and better.  He stayed with us for several months before moving to Chicago to live with his sister, Erdbeere, in January 2016.  He stayed with them and helped them during the time right after their second child, Moon, was born.  He's a good helper that way.  Then he left for Hawaii, intending to get into school, which he did.  And he pretty much has stayed in Hawaii from then on until we had the family reunion last June.  That's like over two years, longer than when he was on his mission.  Then, happy day, he was able to come to the reunion.

He flew into Minneapolis, Brombeere and I drove over to pick him up a few days before the reunion.  It was exciting to see him again, it had been so long!

Our house began to fill up with family in the lead up to the reunion.  Schwartzbeere and family came over to see everyone since they would not be able go to the reunion.  That was disappointing for them and everyone else but she was at the end of a high risk pregnancy and it just wasn't wise to be that far away from her doctors and medical care.  Not that there wasn't any doctors or hospitals out towards the northern tip of the Door County peninsula, but there wasn't the kind of care she might have needed had anything gone sideways with her delivery.  We all wanted that little baby to get here safely, for both the mother and child.

So while the reunion was officially the camping trip up in Door County, there was a lot of "reunioning" going on at the house just before.  And it was wonderful to have Stachelbeere there for it.  It had been too long.

As ever helpful as ever, Stachelbeere was a big help in the final preparations to get us up to the campground.  It was such a good time to have him around, to enjoy his quiet, subtle humor, and just enjoy his company, along with that of everyone else.

Whether meal times ...

... or having quiet time at the campfire after all the little kids had gone to bed, it was nice to be around him.

I think he enjoyed the change of scenery, too.  It was a very different climate from what he had lived with in Hawaii all the time there.  A little cooler, maybe, though not too much.  Right out in the forest and trees.  Part of the time in Hawaii he was in the Laie area, attending BYU-Hawaii.  But then he moved to the other side of the island to go to the University of Hawaii.  Very urban.

He was a good sport, putting up with nieces and nephews who all loved playing with him.

We all went out to Cana Lighthouse, Stachelbeere was right there in the midst of all the grandkids.

He hiked to the top of the lighthouse with us.  No small feat since the hike to the top included passing through a very tight doorway to arrive at the top.  Stchelbeere is the tallest of my kids and I had a tight squeeze getting through that doorway.  I know he must have, too.  Unfortunatly, I didn't get to watch that little show because our group was too big to all go up together - they limited the size of the groups that go up so that it took us three groups to all get up that wanted to go.  He and  I went up in different groups.

Whether at the restaurant or in camp, he was always willing to help out and help make it a good time.  I like that about all my kids, they're all good about that.

The sweet boy, hamming it up with his dad.  Such a kid.

Maulbeere and her husband and Stachelbeere spent a lot of time setting up and playing a round of dungeons and dragons.  They enjoyed that.

I thought the preparations for the game took as much or more time than the actual play.  And they seemed to enjoy all that preparation as much as playing the game, too.

Like several of the others, Stachelbeere had a hard time disconnecting, since there was sufficient phone signal in the campground to be able to use cell phones.  That wasn't a bad thing, though.  There were down times during the reunion when everyone was able to do what they wanted.  Chill and relax however they wanted.

When we were getting ready to make dinner on the second day I began working on getting the fire started and ready when my eagle scout Stachelbeere came to my rescue and took over.  He and his sister, Heidlebeere had chopped a bunch of wood for the fire.  Then Stachelbeere got things going.

There was a bunch of smoke at first but then after a few minutes of huffing, puffing, arranging, and rearranging, he had it going.  And he kept it going to the point that we had a very good fire for cooking the meal and then afterward for more marshmallows.  It was a good thing.

Stachelbeere and his niece in the yurt he shared with Brombeere and me.

When it was time to break camp and head out, Stachelbeere was a big help to Heidlebeere in taking down her camp and packing up to head out.  He also was very helpful in packing everything into our car, too, when it came time.

Back at the house we had a birthday party for Stachelbeere since he would be back in Hawaii when the actual day of his birthday rolled around.  We wanted to party with him.

So there was good food and games to celebrate, not only his birthday, but just having him around after so long.

We also slipped in time for a haircut while he was here.  All trimmed, nipped, and clipped, ready to send back.

All too soon, it was time to send him back.  He'd been with us a week but it seemed to zip by.

I drove him back to Minneapolis, to the airport and off he went, back to the island in the middle of the ocean.  So far away again.

The boy seems to have acquired a taste for the island life.  Not that its all beach, sun, and relaxation for him.  Stachelbeere works pretty hard to keep himself there and in school.  I'm proud of him for keeping himself there.  But it sure is a long ways away and that makes for too infrequent visits.  So its, oh so nice when he is able to come and we are able to talk in relaxed, easy conversation.  Something that just isn't quite as nice over the phone.  It was a good visit. We'll have to see if we can somehow make the next visit a little sooner than two and a half years.

A Bike Excursion

Heidlebeere came up for a visit a while back and brought her bike and trailer so of course we had to go for a ride.  The community we live in has a pretty good set of trails that I get out on when I can.  So we did a bit of a tour, kind of showing off the place.

So we loaded up the little kids in the trailer and off we went.  I had to admire Heidlebeere.  She did some calculations and figured that the trailer and kids all came to about 100 pounds. That can be a lot of weight after a while.  All along the way we kept checking with her to see how she was doing and she was keeping right up and doing just fine. Even holding back occasionally for us old folks.

She and Brombeere were very tolerant of me.  I like to stop for pictures wherever I find them when out on my bike.

We saw some cool scenery, got to some places I haven't been for a while.  It was a good time.

Some times the trails go through some pretty nice areas, very pretty.

A boardwalk through a wetlands area.  I think boardwalks are fun.  They make a fun sound as you ride over them.

Sometimes, along the way, there were scenic lookouts.  Places to stop and enjoy the view.  If you stop and keep still its not unusual to see some wildlife.  However, this trip we didn't see anything big.  Just birds.

Part way through the trip we stopped for a rest in the shade.  Cool shade and cold water.  A good combination on the trail.

The kids rode quite nicely in the trailer.  They seemed to enjoy it, though they did get a little impatient for the ice cream stop we were planning. Still, the ice cream stop was near the end of the ride and they were very patient.

Sometimes we were on the streets.  But usually on quiet streets with little traffic. A fun part of the ride, especially when it was downhill.

A little later we stopped again for a water break.

We offered the kids a drink but they were holding out for ice cream.

This is where we saw the ducks.  We were passing through a park and the duck were used to being fed  When we stopped they came over, hoping for a handout.  But we hadn't brought anything.

Still, they came right up to you.  Reminded me of the old movie "The Birds" when they all began coming over.

Finally we made it to the ice cream stop.

The kids' patience finally paid off.  They were quite happy with the stop.

Having a little fun playing on the bike rack.

Then it was back in the trailer for the trip home.  Only four more miles to go.

And then we were home!   The total ride came to 18.33 miles in two hours.  An average speed of just under 9 miles an hour.  It was a good ride.  One little incident where a bike chain came off while heading up a steep hill but that was easy enough to put back on and be on our way.  We were all tired but it was a very nice day for a bike ride and a very nice ride.  We may have to do this again!

A Fun Picnic

We  had been planning a bike ride and picnic with Blaubeere and her kids for quite some time.  Actually, we had done this last summer and decided back then it was fun enough that we would have to do it again.  But then Heidlebeere told us she was coming up so we decided to do it the weekend she was here with her kids.  So the date was set.  Unfortunately, as the date approached and got close enough to be in the long range forecast, it was not looking very promising.  One day it would predict rain all day, the next it would be cloudy.  Then it would be rain again.  Back and forth, rain all day, rain in the afternoon, rain in the morning, just cloudy.  We began to think we might not be able to get this ride in after all.  Then, at the last minute, almost literally, things really went sideways.  Schwartzbeere's baby, which had been scheduled for delivery two days after our ride, decided to make her appearance early. Of course, we all wanted to go see the new baby.  But we also still wanted to get the bike ride and picnic in.  And the weather, as the day dawned, also was looking it might actually work for us.

We decided to chance it.  And, in order to see the new baby girl and still get the picnic in, we decided to move the ride and picnic to the city where the baby was.  That was easy enough to do.  A few minutes with the map picking out a new route and park and we were all set!

So we threw the bikes on the racks and headed out.

This ride would start in a little park.  The ride was about the same length that we had been planning in Blaubeere's city, and was ending at a park with what looked like a nice playground. 

So we parked the cars, unloaded the bikes and all, and saddled up for the ride.

This was a nice trail, paved pretty much the whole way.

It was a good ride except for one spill that resulted in a skinned knee.  But after a little doctoring we were back on the road.

Most of the ride was on trails we didn't have to share with cars, though we did have a couple of street crossings.  But the traffic was light and everybody made it across with no trouble.

Pretty soon we arrived at the park and began setting out the picnic. 

While the food was getting prepared, the kids hit the play equipment, having a great time.

It was a good time.  The play equipment was set up to resemble a castle and one little princess was in heaven!  She ran back and forth, tell us all about the castle. 

Pretty soon the food was ready and everyone came and sat down.  Yummy stuff.

Sandwiches, grapes, yogurt, juice boxes, and all the trimmings. It was really good.

Then the kids went back to the playground while we cleaned up and put stuff away.

This turned out to be a really nice little park, a wide variety of stuff to play with.  The kids were really happy and had a lot of fun.

Then it was time to head back.  It was beginning to get dark and nobody had any lights for their bikes.  So we headed back.  The ride back was without incident, no further injury, and it was a great way to end a fun day.  And the weather cooperated with us for the whole time!

There was talk of still trying to get in the ride we had originally planned, although its getting a bit late in an already full season.  But hey, if it doesn't work out this year yet there's always next summer!