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Here's the long lost Mom, especially to you, Julie. At least I saw Michele, Melissa and David today. Our last 2 weeks have been busy, so I'll try to fill you in....

We left for Minnesota on Wednesday July 30th. We were a bit nervous and disoriented for the first day or two, but the rebuilt transmission and the new torque converter performed well and we eventually relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Friday was probably the most fun. We visited several of the state parks along the eastbound shore of Lake Superior and did some hiking to some pretty unique waterfalls. We stopped and turned around at the Canadian border, and then headed back toward Duluth. We got there at dinnertime and stopped to see some tall ships that were there for a special waterfront festival. We walked a lot around the harbor, had some dinner, walked some more, and then they entertained us with a fireworks display. We spent the night in the PW in the convention center parking lot, and then on Saturday morning we headed for Milaca. It was Pop's first ever visit to the Harris ranch. We spent a couple of hours there with Bob, Mary Ann and Julie, and then we drove to Zimmerman to see Mike, Megan, Anthony and Henry. We also met Mary's husband Joseph, who was there helping Mike finish the sheet rock in his garage. From there we drove to Elk River, and the Purtle's new home, which is more of a "ranch" than the Harris ranch. Pretty nice place. We visited their horses, a few other horses that are boarded there, and Jack's pony. They had a cookout for us, and Rob's family, Mike's family, and Kathy's family were all there. We spent the night in their driveway, and then on Sunday we drove to see Kathy and Jake's town home in Ramsey, and then to Rob and Lisa's new house in Blaine. We spent the rest of Sunday there, and went to watch Rob play softball. Theresa came with her 3 kids, and we also saw Margaret and Jeyson there. All in all, we saw a everyone except James and Ana Purtle, who were elsewhere because they thought we weren't coming. We spent Sunday night in the PW in front of Rob's house, then left on Monday morning. We took 2 days to come home because we took the slow roads along the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers. Monday night we were in Iowa at Pike's Peak State Park, high on a bluff where the Wisconsin River joins the Mississippi. We missed the storms that came raging through the Chicago area Monday night, but we saw some of the damage caused by trees and power lines being blown over. I understand that The North Aurora folks lost power that night, but Michele didn't mind because the kids went to bed out of sheer boredom. The Devonshire also lost power, but they have a supplemental generator that keeps the basics going, like a few lights and the elevators. We got home late Tuesday afternoon to a very hot house. Wednesday was devoted to unpacking, laundry, Gram, and general catch-up and garden stuff. I worked all day Thursday and all day Friday. Saturday I shopped for Gram, and then went to Dawn Hach Lawler's baby shower. I even stopped to visit Aunt Ginny and Wally on the way home. Today I worked 5-10:30 and then we picked up Gram and Linda and went to Sami's very fun "Dora the Explorer" party. Poor Michele had the whole job to do by herself, because D.J. was in Las Vegas where he's been hanging out since last Sunday. He was due back home later this evening, and we were all sorry to have missed seeing him today. I believe that the party clean up detail will be awaiting him. All the food was delicious, and I know 4 people who will be eating a lot of sandwiches this week. Melissa and Dave, I'm glad you could make it to the party. Melissa, you're looking a whole lot more pregnant than you did only 2 weeks ago. I hope the next month goes very smoothly for you. Gram and Linda also attended Sami's party and had a fine time. It was Gram's first outing in a long time, with the exception of going to the doctor or the dentist.

Pop continues to work on his new landscape, transplanting perennials from here and there and purchasing a few other plants and shrubs.

The Bailey Road bridge is finally open again. I have yet to drive over it, but Pop has tested it.

Julie, I tried to return your call on Saturday, but you must have been out of range. I hope you had a fun weekend in the Uintas. We continue to devour Gavin's blog, and I even showed Wally how to access it. He has a very old, very slow computer, and no speakers, but he and Aunt Ginny enjoyed watching Gavin do the "Worm."

Pop has accused me of writing a book, so I'll end this before it gets so long that nobody wants to read it. I'm going to watch the Cubs alternatety with the Olympics and no doubt fall asleep on the loveseat. Hugs and kisses to you all!

Mom (Nana)