Baltimore

Baltimore was great. We were commenting that we would never have picked it as a vacation destination but it turns out Baltimore is a really cool city. The Inner Harbor has a lot going on, the Aquarium, museums, great restaurants etc. Within walking distance are many more great places to shop, tour and dine. If you love boats and other nautical type things, the Baltimore Harbor would be for you.

The reason we were there was for a work conference. The reading program the Bering Strait School District uses is called Success For All (SFA) and is used by various schools nation wide. This conference was for new leaders in the SFA program. Both my brother John and I help facilitate the program at our school so we both had the opportunity to attend. Here, John and Harold are listening to some tunes on the flight to Baltimore.

C.O. and Harold got to walk around all day and explore while I worked. I was a bit jealous that they got to see and do more than I did but I was able to do my share of exploring too.

I think the internet, social networks etc. are great. I mentioned on facebook that I was in Baltimore and my friend, Jenn Martin, happened to notice, e-mailed me and said she was only two hours away. Being the great person she is, she and her husband worked it out on the spur of the moment to drive out and see us. It was a really nice visit. Our husbands and kids got to meet each other, we had a picnic on Federal Hill and walked around the harbor. I hadn't seen her in more than 10 years so it was great to catch up.

--AnnMarie

Enduro Races

Harold LOVED the Enduro car races at the Hibbing Speedway. He yelled, clapped and "wowed" as the cars went round and round.

Work Day

Our family got together for one day and helped my grandma, Aiti, with some outdoor chores. It was surprising how much seven people could get done in a few hours.

Harold "helped" Uncle Brian with the painting of the garage door.



C.O. and Aiti continuing work on the garage.



John and C.O. painting the attic.



Harold going to the dump with grandma and grandpa.

--AnnMarie

10 Year Reunion

It's been 10 years since I graduated from High School so it was time for a reunion. We had a picnic in the afternoon at Carey Lake then a dinner and dance in the evening. The turn out was pretty good and C.O. and I enjoyed (meeting or) catching up with everyone.

Amanda______Mary and her daughter

Jesse & Tammy ____ Cyndi, Me & Mark



Colin & Bethany______ Harold and one of the Gillis Girls

--AnnMarie

Summer Time

We're back in the great North Woods of Minnesota. I was really looking forward to the warm weather of summer, which we don't exactly have at this point with temps in the 50s and 60s but we're making the most of it.
Since we have three people to haul around now, we need a family vehicle. So, we purchased a good old '92 Oldsmobile. We really happy with it, it has been well taken care of, was a good price and is serving us well. Harold was sure to break in the new car.

It didn't take Harold long to get in the groove of summer. He has scrapes, bug bites, dirty clothes and many opportunities to stay up way past his bedtime.

Here's Harold making friends with Colby.

Summer allows us to eat outside, enjoy the sunshine as well as put up with mosquitoes.

Ahhh summer, it feels so good after a long cold winter.

--AnnMarie

Wasilla, Alaska

On Sunday we drove straight from Soldotna to Wasilla to see Mollie, Trevor and Ryer Harings. Three out of the four people we stayed with on the Alaskan Tour live on the water. The Harings were one of those people, they live on a nice little lake outside of Wasilla. Ryer and Harold are only one month apart in age. Harold is a real lover and willingly hands out hugs and kisses, even when they're not very welcomed. He was sure to go after Ryer and give him lots of lovin'. Ryer wasn't too excited about it and turned the other way when he saw Harold coming. It was hilarious to watch. Here's Trevor corralling the two boys for a quick photo.

Side Note: Monday was C.O.’s birthday. He can now officially say he's in his mid-thirties, not early thirties. I think his getting older is harder on me than on him.

We drove up to Hatcher’s Pass with Mollie and Trevor in the afternoon and took in the sights. It was a beautiful drive along a stream and up into the mountains. We stopped at a rest area and let the boys run around a little. They could have cared less about the scenery, but the rocks in the parking lot were awesome.

On Tuesday we said goodbye to the Harings and prepared for our red-eye flight to Minnesota. We're on to phase two of summer vacation. We had a great time touring our new home state and are reminded of all the great people we know. We are blessed to have so many interesting and wonderful friends in our lives. Every time we’d get in the car C.O. would say two things. “What a great trip you planned,” and “What nice people so and so are, we have such great friends.” It’s really so true. Thank you to each of you who put us up, fed us, were great company and showed us a great time.

--AnnMarie