A Visit From the Wisemen... and Ladies

Just a quick note to say how blessed we're feeling after spending our family Christmas this afternoon/evening. All three wise guys were home at the same time! Hallelujah! 

We also had dad-in-law here along with Jim's sister and her family. Fully house with lots of great company and some good food if I do say so myself. After how many years, I finally got Jim's mom's dressing recipe right!! Now I just have to remember everything I did for the next time! (With perfect timing, Colin and Amy got us a dish towel with that recipe on it in Donna Mae's handwriting. Very touching!)

Had to be sure to get a cousins picture with all the C's: Clay, Casey, Carter, and Colin!

Opened presents later. The must have been very good for Santa to bring cans of PBR Beer Cheese Soup in their stockings!

Finally got to give the newest Mrs. Austin the sweatshirt I had a friend pick up for me in Austin, Texas. I have a matching one that I've been waiting to wear! What are Austin "vibes"? It's an Austin thing – you'd have to be one to understand.

And I'm so grateful I am.

We had a good amount of laughs reminiscing about a lot of childhood thing to make both Emily and Mamie feel even more connected to the family. It's what Christmas is all about. 

Let the merriment continue. Well at least through breakfast on Saturday. 😁💗

Pre-Merry Christmas

We had sort of an unconventional Christmas Day – for us anyway. Since the boys (and rest of the in-laws) are coming to celebrate tomorrow, today it was just us old folks. 

I decided right away that even though Santa had stockings filled for everyone, we shouldn't have to wait until tomorrow. It's officially Christmas after all! I was thrilled Jim got us a couple's membership to our golf course again. And a gift certificate to one of my favorite locally owned businesses. If I can adhere to some New Year's resolutions, I see some wardrobe changes courtesy of Rustic Redefined. 💗

In addition to missing the boys, but grateful we're just a day away from seeing them, we missed our angels – my mom and dad...

And Jim's mom. But these ornaments always remind us they are close in our thoughts and hearts. We did have dinner at Jim's dad's this evening, so that was nice!

Otherwise, today was also just busy – getting the house ready for company, some food prep, doing a family photo shoot (for hire) and now that I have those two trifle bowls, make them tonight for a customer.

Andes Mint Chocolate Avalanche Trifle (Does Culvers have that trademarked?).

And Peanut Butter and Chocolate Trifle – with both Nutty Buddy bars and various Reese's PB cups. I think she'll be pleased.

And Santa also brought us a Vikings victory today. Yes, we're well aware this win over the Lions helps the Packers, but we're just happy to have this one small Christmas gift with our third- maybe fourth-string QB this season! Pretty sure we'll still be in a good place for the draft! 💜💛

Be Christmas nice and let us have our joy! 😁

Hope all of you had one or many Christmas blessings go celebrate today!!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you dads and father figures out there! Loved this banner hanging in church today – every good and perfect gift is from the Father. So true!

While I was missing my dad in heaven, I was fortunate to spend time with my father-in-law and the father of our three brown-eyed blessings.

Jim's sister hosted lunch so got to share a meal with Grandpa, Sherry and her clan (including our cutie-pie great-niece and great-nephew), plus Clay, Carter and Mamie. 

When the kids hit the road, we headed to couple's golf league. We were fortunate the close U.S. Open had a rain delay while were golfing, so when we got home we got to see the exciting conclusion.

Today's lesson: No matter how many bogeys you have on the front 9, don't give up! JJ Spaun ended pulling of heck of win at -1. Now I want to go outside and golf some more!

Just kidding. It's almost bedtime for this old lady. That was a fast weekend!

Hope all you dads got spoiled like you deserve! 💖

Memorial Day Weekend "Weeds"

My mission every Memorial Day Weekend is that I'll buy hanging flower baskets and try my darndest not to turn them into weeds by the end of the summer. Says me and my 2 black thumbs!

With so many people talking about their spring planting, I thought I was one of the few who actually wait until Memorial Day Weekend to purchase their flowers. I was so wrong. 

By mid-morning, the parking lot was pretty much full. And by the time I picked out just 5 hanging baskets that could handle full sun exposure to survive, I was 10th in line!

Then out of the blue, an angel appeared. A friend of ours I didn't know worked there in her post-retirement years. She whispered, "Robyn, there's no line at Customer Service." I'm sure that literally saved me a good half hour.

I weed-whacked around the front bricks when I got home then hung our fading Reds and Twins flags and our hanging flower baskets. We should be set for the summer. Except for a few other spots I think could use some color. 

After that, it was graduation party time and more.

While hubby went to church in Rudolph, I went to a grad party for the son of a co-worker who also spent a lot of time in the hockey "media" platform the last few years. From there, I met Jim and the 2 oldest boys and Becca for a pizza dinner at B's Tap.

Casey and our grand-dog Rey are in town for the weekend. I hope Rey lives to be 50 because she's the best pup ever!

After dinner, we went our separate ways and Jim and I headed to the Grand Rapids Lions Club where there was a combined graduation party for 6 of the Royals graduates. Quite the special group of girls. And of course we saw a bajillion people we know. Fun evening!

Now I just hope the weather dudes are correct in that it's just going to be in the low 40s – not some freezing temperatures. I want my flowers to survive.

But, of course, selfishly I won't no judgment I turned on my electric mattress pad. Again.

Happy Father's Day

I'm so grateful that even though I can't see my dad on Father's Day, I can at least hug some of the important fathers in my life.

We left the house around 8 a.m. to meet Carter and his girlfriend southwest of Madison. We picked up Carter so he could come home and get his car – and spend Father's Day with Dad and Grandpa. I loved that the DOT sign people made a special Dad message!

Had a delicious lunch at Sherry's house. It was a small crowd. Just my father-in-law, Sherry, Baird, Jim, Clay, Carter and me. Plenty of trifle left over! A gorgeous day to get some pictures of the only one I have called "Dad" for 11 years – and his "kiddos."

While Casey is still out in Portland for a few months, I was so glad 2 out of 3 brown-eyed bandits could be there with Jim on Father's Day. So appreciated!

We finished off Father's Day with golf, of course. Well it was couple's league at TriCity so he was also stuck with me as his partner. Ha. Thankfully the earlier forecast for rain was wrong! In fact it was 85 with a feel of 91 as we teed off in the late afternoon, so we actually took a cart instead of walking.

I'm still adjusting to my new clubs but I'm still loving them. I even hit a nice shot out of the sand tonight! I was proud of myself until I saw how the U.S. Open ended. Of course, I can also take comfort that I don't have a million people watching me miss a short putt, either!

Hope you had a wonderful day with your dad or any father figure in your life. Hug them hard while they're here! 💖 

What Happens at The Lake...

I survived Wild Women's Weekend XXIV – that's 24 years for those of you who prefer Arabic numerals! Our top secret location this year was... on a lake Up North.

Well, more specifically a gorgeous VRBO on the west side of Long Lake just east of Sarona and Shell Lake. This one was called the Loon Lodge and it was 100 percent appropriate for us loony sisters!

Not everyone is cut out for roughing it like we are. But we managed alright. Thanks for your concern.

A few inside views...

Main floor had one master bedroom and upstairs had two bedrooms.

The well-appointed basement also had two bedrooms plus this living area and a kitchenette that we never used. Perfect if you are looking for a getaway with multiple families!! Or a longer stay than our 3 nights/4 days combo.

The weather turned out to be simply gorgeous so we could enjoy a little time on the large screened-in porch.

Or out on the deck with the nice views of the water. Most of the color was past peak or off the trees, but we still saw plenty of beauty around us.

And my beautiful sisters, too! We had to get a picture in between talking and laughing and playing games and talking and crying and talking and laughing some more! It's so freeing to feel all the feels – especially so much laughter (like red-faced can't breathe or make a sound laughter) squeezed into one weekend!

My twin and I doing our own photo shoot!

Oh we'll never grow up! Which could be said of all of us. Thank God! 

This morning's sunrise was beautiful but also a sad sign our weekend was coming to an end. Time goes too quickly. We packed up and had our group hug outside while singing happy 95th birthday to Dad in heaven. Pretty sure he heard us. Along with the other loons on the lake!

I did have a brief visit with Dad on the way up to the cabin on Thursday.

And I had lunch with Mom, too! So it was great to see 90 percent of my family over this extended weekend. 

Got home this afternoon while hubby was at the golf course. Then we met for dinner at Portesi's to catch up over pizza. Jim and the boys had an amazing time at The Who concert in Portland and just hanging out together. 

We're both just feeling blessed right now. There are a lot of amazing people out there. And they're ours. 

Have a good week, everyone!

National Son's Day

I kept hearing about National Daughter's Day last week and now there's National Son's Day? I looked it up and found that National Son's Day is actually March 4 but we also observe it on September 28. So they get double consideration.

When I was young and asked my mom when she got Mother's Day and we didn't get Kid's Day, she said that was the other 364 days a year. I tend to agree.

But of course I'll share a picture of our dimpled brown-eyed bandits. From a dozen years ago and now... usually with their wonderful ladies...

Raise your hand if you're blessed with a son! Me, that's me. We're blessed times 3!

Hug your loved ones today – even if the calendar of made-up holidays doesn't tell you to!

Our Sunday Best

Today's Sunday best had nothing to do with the clothes we were wearing or the fact I had a nice walk around the lake or the fact my out-of-town BFF stopped for a visit or the fact that we saw a ton of friends at graduation parties – that we haven't been able to hug in a year.

Nope, the best part was a morning call from son number one in Washington state who proposed to his number one girl on her birthday yesterday and, of course, she said yes!

So the best Sunday news: Casey and Emily are engaged! We're so excited! And you can see from the photo here that our grandpup Rey is ecstatic her human daddy and mommy are getting married and providing her a happily ever after home.

We can't stop smiling about it. They are the best of friends and make each other happy, so that makes us happy!

The rest of the day was pretty good, too, but you can't beat having a fellow Mrs. Austin in our future. Can't wait to officially welcome you to the family!

No Foolin'

No jacket required today. Nor the next few days. But I'd suggest you don't pack away all your winter clothes just yet. Pretty sure in the Midwest right now we're in Fool's Spring mode. Or perhaps, optimistically, the Spring of Deception.

Either way, don't put your snowblower in the shed just yet. Keep it handy. For sure we know April knows how to dish up surprises for us fools.

I say, let's enjoy it while it lasts! Look at the temp this afternoon! I mean it was windy so could have "felt" warmer, but I will overlook that in a heartbeat if I can get 10,000 steps two days in a row and not freeze.

My excitement today was online church, a walk, a run (drive, really) to Shippy Shoes in Stevens Point to get new running (or fast walking, most likely) shoes, then another walk, phone call with my momma, and golf (I watched on TV and hubby was off golfing on his friend's simulator). 

Somewhere in there we wished boy No. 1 a happy 30th birthday. We can no longer say all our boys are in their 20s. I'm not getting old. They are. 

Hard to believe we were out there in gorgeous Washington a year ago this weekend, celebrating his 29th. Thanks to the lovely pandemic, that seems more like 3 or 4 years ago. Crazy. 

Cherish the moments and the memories while you can. That includes loving on Mother Nature over this first or second – but not final – spring in Wisconsin. Thanks, lady! Let's have a good week!

C Your Blessings

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter C, which means I share some of the blessings I C in my life

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible

3 C's: It's fitting the letter C up above is lit up – illustrating how our 3 boys – Casey, Clayton, and Carter – light up our life! I feel like it was just yesterday they we're playing Offense-Defense in the yard and somebody always ended up crying. Now they're all in their 20s with very special young ladies in their lives. They'll always be our three little boys to us: Knothead, Knucklehead, and Chucklehead.

Church: I'm so thankful for my church family. I have gotten to make so many lifelong friends between my involvement with Sunday School years ago, various committees, choir, and now Church Council. It's been such a strange year not setting foot in the building due to the virus we shall not name, but my faith and our congregation's faith has never been stronger. So blessed!

Creativity: I am super grateful my mom passed on so many creativity genes to us kids – whether it's writing, crafty projects, or clever plays on words. I've also had plenty of enablers, I mean awesome friends, along the way who have inspired me and taught me a thing or two – from ceramics in the 1990s (Thanks, Cindy) to crochet in 2020 (Thanks, Jules) and lots of short-term and long-term hobbies along the way.

Camera: Of course! Grateful that I have an eye for an angle. That I have time to shoot pictures of sports so parents can just enjoy the game. That I have decent luck while kayaking to catch (at least on camera) an eagle or some other gift from Mother Nature. I'm not great but I love the challenge of continuously learning and improving. And in the year of social distancing, it's a fun hobby I can still enjoy from 6 feet away. Maybe when I get to Z I'll acknowledge the blessing of a Zoom Lens!

Take CARE!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet