Times I Love

What a week. Much of what I enjoyed about my time in Minnesota can be summed up in photos below. I am going to let them do the talking, along with some captions here and there.
Owen (3), my nephew, has a terrific imagination. He can entertain himself for lengthy periods of time with his "men." Last night before he headed to bed, he sat patiently as I read a book about "Star Wars" to him.

Alex (with Owen in background) just turned four and is sporting the new guayabera shirt that Josh and I bought for him. He loves pockets and was pretty happy about the set of four on this shirt.

Avery is one and a half, and is so. much. fun.

We headed into town on the 4th of July for the annual Moose Lake parade

My grandparents, Alexander and my dad

Owen waiting for the parade to begin

I was happy I actually caught one of the jets that flew overhead during the parade...

Kim and her kiddos down by the lake

Grandpa Ollie and Casey preparing to head out fishing, with Jovi the retriever hoping to join them.

Grandpa Ollie and Casey in a checkers match

Grandma Ollie and Natalie join Bruno for cards

Claus conversing with my grandpa, and Casey and the bonfire pit

Owen crashed on my sister Kim

Firework show on Sand Lake

Sand Lake

I left the family for a spell to see my old friend Shua. He and his dad are pictured above.

My mom and Avery having breakfast in the sun porch

Natalie

Last night we took a ride in the boat on Sand Lake. It was beautiful.

And before bed, the kids made desserts with frosting... and somehow managed to go to bed on sugar highs
I am now on my way back to México, and look forward to my return to Minnesota again at summer's end.

Some Parting Notes

I am sure that some of you are wondering if I am ever going to return to México? These are my last few days in Minnesota. It has been a wonderful extended stay and I have been constantly reminded of why I love this state and the people who live here. Above is a photo of my great friend Angie, who is a few weeks away from delivering a baby girl. She went to the neighboring school to Moose Lake (Willow River) and we were joined in sports. She and I played basketball and volleyball together, and what is even more memorable are our junior and senior year summers with our coherts Grady and Shua.

My parents and I took a trip up to Itasca State Park, where the headwaters of the Mississippi River are. Minnesota has got to be one of the best kept secrets with regard to acres and acres of wilderness, lakes, wetlands, and stretching farms. This park was no exception. In spite of the near zero degree temp, it was sunny and the snow was perfect. And once we strapped on our skis and got moving we soon worked up a sweat.






Afterward we stopped at my grandparent's home in Wadena where they treated us to wild rice soup, chicken and coleslaw, and fresh baked bread. Much of the food they eat has been canned from their enormous garden that they tend in the summer.

And now it is time for a Minnesotan oddity. The above photo is Sand Lake, covered by a foot and a half or so of ice, as well as a foot of snow. Fisherman plow out "roads" on the ice in order to access their fishhouses (see image below).

There are little "communities" situated on the lake, where the fishing is good and fisherman trust that the ice will hold.

I dug into some old family photos from the Warp side of the family and feel like I have a better grasp of who my late great grandparents were... it was also fun to see images of my dad as a kid. Above are Lucinda, John, and Diana. The three Warp kids sitting nicely for a photo.

John E. and Frances Warp.

AJ and Florence Froelke.

Today I surprised my niece and nephew at school. Though my niece knew that I was coming, Casey (7) was quite surprised. His face turned red and all of his little friends were asking him who I was. He and Natalie both went through the motions (you don't have to get mashed potatoes if you don't want to; make sure you only take one cookie. The fork comes out of the plastic fork dispenser. Never take your food out of the cafeteria- a rule that I broke). It will be a long 7 months before I see them again, but time moves fast. And Josh is expecting me back in Guadalajara.