Family Time

Emma and new rabbit "Q"

Joelle and her scrunched up grin

Another busy weekend has come to a close, but not without some great travels across central Minnesota.  Friday was all about organization and getting all preparations done to allow for a departure time of 6:30 AM on Saturday morning.  Yes, that's right... 6:30 AM everyone in the car and on the road.  This would put us in Hutchinson by 8:00 AM to register for the We Be Rabbit ARBA Show.  And we made it!!!  Joelle went from her crib to the car in her jammies, both dogs we loaded in and 2 rabbits!  And yes, crazy to not only go to a Rabbit show but to also go with the dogs.  Now our plans to do this were based on the fact that it was supposed to rain on Saturday, so might as well go to a rabbit show.  As the day progressed, it proved to be beautiful... The dogs behaved, so did the rabbits.  Emma learned more and so did I!  And JoJo, well she just had a blast seeing all of the bunnies and having her puppies in the car with her.

This was a 2 day event with 3 shows each day.  After the 2nd show and seeing that our boys still had some growing to do to compete, and satisfied with the input on them, we loaded everything back up and headed to Annandale, MN.  This is where Bob's grandparents, Helen and Carl Folkerts, are buried.  While on the road we heard the radio announcement that there was a strong/severe thunderstorm headed towards Hutchinson... glad we left when we did!  After some search, the grave sites were found and the girls each put a flag up in their memory.

Of course we are now only roughly 20 minutes from St. Cloud, so we did what any other good country family would do... we headed to Fleet Farm.  Having dogs and rabbits in the car makes for a much too quick of a trip though, but we had enough time to pick up some necessities for the grill and some much needed chocolate.

Heading home along Hwy 23 we had a thought of checking out Bug Bee Hive Resort, a Hedlund family favorite, but decided we should just find a place to eat and keep heading for home.  After a long day on the road, we finally pulled in at 9 PM Saturday night... what a day.

Sunday found us planting most of our pots and planters with the flowers Bob picked out.  They look fabulous!  Only one or two to finish up.  Bob then brought home some items from the store and after looking at them for awhile I made the declaration that the little blue and yellow metal flowers that spin were deemed "Swedish" and belong at Grandma and Grandpa Lundell's grave site.  Bob suggested that we bring three out, that way afterwards one will come to our house, one to my parents and one to Katy to keep the memory alive.  After a few phone calls it was determined we would all meet out at the cemetery at the end of the Twins game (which they were so close but couldn't pull out a win).  Great memories shared and a walk about the cemetery reminded us of people who have passed.  Bob still thinks it's freaky to see tombstones for people who are alive and kicking and not yet a resident of the "silent city".

Next was supper at the farm with Katy, her friend Linda and Great-Grandma Hedlund.  A great meal was shared and Joelle provided great entertainment and she increased the number of steps she would take before falling to the ground.  What a stinker.

Today was a day of recovery and cleaning for me and the determination by Bob and I that we must do something with the driveway so it stops running into his garage whenever it rains.  The list never ends...

Hope everyone had a memorable Memorial Day weekend and took a little time out to remember those who have served and those who are currently serving and their families.  Thank you Grandpa Lundell and Grandpa Hedlund for serving our country and being amazing men.  Thank you to Tony for serving and for Emily and the kids for keeping home base "home".  Miss you all!