Izaac's first Iowa Cubs game

Sunday we traveled to the I-Cubs game and as we got into the stadium, "Cubbie Bear" was greeting people. He put out his hand to Izaac, who gave him the 'low five' and Cubbie Bear hugged Izaac and then picked him up (when he was sure Izaac was okay with it). Cubbie then motioned (he doesn't speak) to ask where our seats were located. I told him, and he headed for the section and carried Izaac clear to row 12 to his seat! I think John and I thought it was cool, and Izaac just appreciated the ride!

It was a chilly afternoon (forecast said sunny and 73, but the sun never full came out from behind the clouds and the wind was quite chilly with a high of 62) but the game went pretty quickly, and I-Cubs won over the Oklahoma Redhawks 2-0.

First Day at "Parkview College"....

It's really not a college, it's a care center where John's mom is recuperating. We visited her Saturday while John's sister, Kathy, was in Sac City visiting also.

This is John, Grandma Jean and Izaac, waiting to get into the supper line. Izaac thought the wheelchair was cool. He was a delight to many residents, but set off the door alarm (accidentally) a couple of times.

One nephew here, another one famous!

Ben got his name in our state-wide newspaper yesterday! He plays football for Hoover High School in Des Moines (IA) and he's the 'player to watch' this fall and will be the starting quarterback this Friday evening. He's just a junior, too!
To see the original article, click here and he's down the column under the heading "Hoover Huskies". (I don't see Ben that often, so this picture is from last Christmas. Sorry, Ben.)

Izaac in the house this week and talking up a storm (and most of it I can understand!). I'll try and get a picture if he ever slows down long enough for the camera to catch him.

I drove it 'till the wheels fell off'!

I started to mow our 3 acres on Saturday afternoon while Oliver was safely in another part of the yard (but could see me and get his water and into the shade if he wanted), and had only gone an hour or so (it normally takes about 3+ hours, but it was really long so I was going over some of it twice) when I turned a corner and the wheel fell off the dumb mower!

It's a Sears model from about 6 years ago when we replaced the really ancient Cub Cadet. I could not stand to watch my teenage son start it with a screwdriver stuck somewhere near the top of the motor and doing something else (maybe the two-step, but I can't remember...) to start it. It didn't seem safe to me any longer, so we bought this one. With a wedding to plan and student loans to pay, I think I'm going to have to drive this one till ALL the wheels fall off!

This is a video from Sunday afternoon when the visiting Marshall (retriever) and Oliver (Alex & Allison's yellow lab) were tired of slobbering on each other and were taking a break.

"Babysitting" Oliver

Oliver, Alex & Allison's dog, came to Camp Stanhope Friday evening so Alex & Allison could attend a wedding in Indianola on Saturday and go to the Iowa State Fair on Sunday before driving back to Waseca (MN). (Oliver is only 5-6 months old.)

In the picture below, Oliver is trying to intimidate his play-date, Marshall, our pastor's dog, who came to visit Sunday afternoon. Marshall is a little over a year and training to become a 'therapy' dog, who visits nursing homes and hospitals.

This is Oliver trying to be a 'lap dog' with John. He spent Saturday evening laying on the couch with me while I watched a DVD. (The cats did not appreciate him, especially after having only a day of rest between his visit and Izaac going back to Des Moines!)

I was thankful the weather was so beautiful both Saturday and Sunday here, that Oliver and I just sat around and enjoyed it (in-between our walks down the road to visit the cows and the pheasants).

It's a Crop-dusting morning in Iowa!

This is a 14-second video of the plane going over the soybean field across from us this morning. Izaac thought it was wonderful to see the plane 'up close and personal'!

After Izaac goes back to Des Moines it's pretty quiet in the house (the first few hours after he's gone especially), except for the cats thundering through to show their delight! (that he didn't come home with me...)

This is the 17=second video that precluded the other one I put on the blog on 8/6/09. Usually as soon as he gets in the cat cubes he complains he's stuck, but he was chewing a Mentos mint, so I couldn't get him to say it in the first few tries.

In honor of "World Cat Day" (Saturday)

Patrick nap-cuddling with Ron and you can see Lucy (behind/above them in the picture) outside lounging by Izaac's blow-up pool on the patio....

This is Minnesota cousin, Red, and I think I should have entered him in the "Full Monty" contest (at Monty Q's site)

Red discovered I had the camera pointed in his direction and gave me a 'look'.....

This is Gracey doing a full-Monty. Maybe I'll enter them both! (Monty Q extended the admission deadline to 8/15)

Any Joe Mauer fans out there?

This is Joe Mauer huddling with the 'enemy' while his 'home run' was under review. (It hit the top of the centerfield wall but they ruled it a double.)

This is the first-base coach telling star Joe Mauer how far to lead off. He was picked off after a couple more pitches!!

Even though we were in the upper seats, they were fabulous views of home plate. This, of course, is Joe Mauer catching, for all those fans who think he's a 'hunk'...

Help, I stuck....

Izaac at Camp this week, and I finally got the phrase "Help, I stuck" on camera! He's been getting stuck in these cat cubes for quite some time now, and he still says the same thing. But he says it so CUTE!!

He's also chewing on a "Mentos" mint during this 10-second video.

Reunion and scenery pics

This is the crowd that went to the Twins game on Sunday afternoon. All except the lady in the peach jacket (in this group of 8 of smiling faces) are blood-related. Do you think any of them look alike?

A nice view of Lake Nokomis with the skyline in the background on another nice day in Minnesota.

(Below) Aunt Mary, Uncle Tom, Sandy (Tom's wife), Ann, Kathy & Maria enjoying the fire Saturday evening.

More pictures from our weekend in Minneapolis

(Below:) Part of the group toasting the newly-engaged couple, Samantha & Marty! (Above, from left:) John (in hat), Allison at the table, and the happy couple.

This is the fabulous dinner we had Saturday evening. John had smoked the pork loin roasts and some sirloin steaks at home in Iowa before we left. We had potato salad, greens, and corn on the cob. My contribution was two 28-quart bins full of cookies I had baked in late May and June. There weren't too many left Monday morning.

We're Home!!

This is the picture of the clan who made it to this year's "Montag Reunion". It's more of a gathering than a real reunion, but it's really fun to see everybody and get a chance to catch up on each other's news.

Sitting on the ground in front are: Samantha & Marty, Claire and Oliver. The second row are the Ed & Alice siblings (except for one brother, who was still moving into a new house). They are: (from left) Jean, Mary, Paul, Tom and Pat. Standing: (from left) are: Maria, Don & Ann, Mick, Delores, Kathy, Will (with Sandy bending over in front of Will), Rachel Y., me (bending over because I thought my hubby was behind me!), Colleen, John, Carol, Allison & Alex.

Wow. This is a pretty good picture with everybody smiling pretty much!!! Amazing!