Pool Time!!

This was a GLORIOUS Minnesota summer which meant that it was very necessary to find swimming opportunities as much as possible. We ended up joining the St. Cloud Country Club at the end of June so that we could use the wonderful outdoor pool as often as we wanted. We definitely got our money's worth spending most of July over there and lots of August since our return from Oregon. Fortunately for us, many of our friends also joined the club in order to use the pool, so most every time we bopped over there the boys had friends to play with and I (Mary) had friends to visit with.

The pictures posted here show Gunnar and Hans playing with Andrew and Matthew - two very good friends. They loved going down the slide and just playing any sort of game that came along while they were at the pool. Of course, the Snack Shack was also a hit and pretty much a regular request of guess who...Hans! :)

Steve and Claudia's Wedding Reception!

Steve (my brother) and Claudia were married in Hawaii on July 22nd of this year. Seeing as most of us were unable to attend the glorious event, they had a Minneapolis reception at the Lafayette Club on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. What a fabulous evening for this very fun event. The weather could not have been more perfect. Gunnar's Godmother Lisa watched the boys for us so that Orn and I could have a night out on our own. We went to the reception with John (another brother) and his wife Deb. As we pulled up the the Lafayette Club there was a stretch limo in front of us. We were all joking around saying that it was probably Steve and crew. Sure enough, he emerged seconds later!

The reception itself was loads of fun...at least for those of us used to being around so many Meldahls in one setting. For others it may have induced a post traumatic stress episode. We all learned that if Mark (yet another brother) is allowed to drink top shelf whiskey all night long, that one does not want to get stuck in the corner with him later in the evening. Poor Kyler summed it up well after Lou dragged Mark home, "That was the LONGEST story ever!" Oh yeah, a Meldahl with a long story? Shocking! It was a truly glorious evening - a great way to celebrate the start of Steve and Claudia's life together!

Gunnar turns 8!!

We got home from Oregon just in time to celebrate Gunnar's 8th birthday! The boys are very much back into Star Wars, so Hans became Darth Vadar for Gunnar's birthday (see photo). Gunnar's big present this year was a set of golf clubs complete with a spiffy bag, some practice whiffle balls, and some real Sponge Bob balls (who knew you could find Sponge Bob golf balls?!).

Gunnar had decided that he wanted to have his party at the Skatin Place here in St. Cloud, so that is what we did. He had 4 friends join him for this party, along with Hans, which made for equal teams for LASER TAG! So, while Orn and I, along with Andrea (good friend, mother of 2 of the boys) roller bladed and chatted the night away, the six boys enjoyed their time playing laser tag and roller blading. Gunnar very much enjoyed his night and is already making plans for his next birthday party!

A night at Swannie and Ted's

As many of you know, my Aunt Swannie and Uncle Ted orchestrated Orn and I meeting exactly 10 years ago this August! Whenever we are in Oregon we make it a point to spend a night with them so that we can all get caught up on each other's comings and goings. Ted invariably puts together a BBQ feast to which Swannie produces nice salads, fruit, bread, etc. This year was no different! We had a wonderful visit out on the back patio on a gorgeous Corvallis evening. The next morning we enjoyed yet another feast on the back patio - this time, Ted's homemade pancakes along with sausage and bacon. After another great visit we had to hit the road as our plan was to drive from Corvallis, Oregon to Reno, Nevada in one day (which we did, rather easily)!

The last day at Gleneden Beach

We had a very nice relaxing week at Gleneden Beach this year, although as we drove over to the coast the brilliant sunshine we had been experiencing dissipated and was replaced with a dull cloud cover. Unfortunately, that remained the case until the day before we had to leave the coast! However, it was not windy all week, so our time at the beach, while grey, was very pleasant and fun filled. The pictures here (taken the last day) are the type that illustrate just how spectacular the Oregon coast can be!! The first one of the boys walking down the street is the view from our house over to the state park where we access the ocean. The rest are self-explanatory. Even though the water is downright FREEZING the boys do enjoy running and jumping in the shallow areas.

The Cartel Boys turn 50!

While we were in Oregon Tom's parents hosted a 50th Birthday Party to celebrate all the guys (and gals) turning 50 this past year. It was a great event! We all appreciated Sally and Allen's hospitality and cringed as things were broken (it's not a party until something gets broken, right?), but they soldiered on! Tom had made a video with pictures from Corvallis back in 1958, the grade school, junior high and high school along with loads of pictures from then and now! He found a picture of Orn from 1st grade - the resemblance to Hans's kindergarten picture is downright amazing. Everyone enjoyed reflecting back on what a great place it was to grow up in Corvallis, Oregon!

Party at Rick's!!

We drove into Portland for the big 50th birthday celebration on August 8th. We spent that night at Rick's condo in downtown Portland. As has typically been the case, various Cartel members (and my friend Jessica from the Peace Corps along with her son) showed up to welcome us 'home.' Since it was Friday, we did our regular Beer and Pizza routine, although this time we were hoping to do it by the pool. Unfortunately the Nazi Security guy was on patrol, so he quickly informed Rick that he could only have 2 guests out by the pool at any given time! As you can see by the pictures, we did have more before we were caught. :)

Exploring Otter Rock

While we were at Gleneden Beach (OR) the boys and I spent one morning exploring Otter Rock (about 5 miles south of our house) with Tom and his kids. Gunnar was in heaven exploring all the tide pools. Hans, on the other hand, was being a typical younger brother and following his older brother around even though searching through tide pools for obscure sea creatures does not appear to be his thing. We did see some neat things (they even impressed Hans) such as star fish, live crabs, and seals lounging on the rocks, not too far away! Sammy (Tom's daughter) did her best to keep up with Gunnar and Hans, while Allen (Tom's son) entertained himself with some rocks (they became cars in his world) on the beach. It was a fun (and educational, according to Gunnar) morning!

The largest Sea Lion Cave in the World!

As we drove from Klamath Falls over to the coast to head up to our house in Gleneden Beach, we made some stops along the way. The first was at a winery in the Umpqua Valley where Orn and I sampled some wonderful Pinot Noirs (and ordered half a case). After that it was only fitting that we do something that the boys could get into -visit the largest Sea Lion cave in the world. The coast was in prime form in the afternoon so we had some glorious sites. All of us enjoyed looking down at the Sea Lions who were basking in the sun along the rocks. After that we took an elevator down 100's of feet into a viewing area where the sea lion cave is in the cliffs next to the water. It was downright comical as we stepped out of the elevator...both boys immediately covered their noses and exclaimed, "what smells?" You know when you're up close and personal with nature! Unfortunately I was not able to figure out how to disable the flash on my camera (flash pictures were not allowed), so I didn't get a chance to attempt any pictures in the cave. I can just report that it was a site to see, and once the boys noses got used to the smell they were more than willing to check out the various displays set up to educate us humans on the life of a sea lion. What a fun way to start our week at the coast!

Crater Lake (Oregon)

This year as we began our trek west to Oregon we started off by flying in to Reno, Nevada (via Houston...go figure). After driving up through northern California we landed in Klamath Falls, Oregon for two nights. We spent one day exploring Crater Lake. What an amazing place. I must have taken about 50 pictures (at least) as we hiked around various trails around the lake. It was truly an amazing site to see! The boys even got to throw snowballs in August! That's something that every Minnesota kid should experience in their lifetime!!