A fun weekend 'up north' with Samantha...

It started out as an offer to take both our kids, one spouse (since the other spouse, Marty, is deployed with his National Guard unit), and the new in-laws, to Dubuque to ride on the boat on the Mississippi that we were scheduled for after Alex & Allison's wedding.

Schedules didn't mesh well, but Samantha was available, so John, Samantha and I headed north on Saturday and shopped. (Above is a boat that said it was a "Bed & Breakfast", too.)

Sunday morning was quite chilly, with a promise of sunshine later in the day, so we headed to Como Zoo for a couple of hours to admire the animals. (zoo pictures tomorrow)

There was a really different store for an outlet mall in Medford (Minnesota). It was called "The Bag Lady". Both the above and below pictures were taken in the store. I couldn't resist the bejeweled cat! (I didn't even look to see how much it cost...and didn't buy it....!)

Sunday and Monday views

This is just a bunch of icky starlings who had been munching on the ripening soybeans in the field, but against the sunset, it's really interesting.

When going to Des Moines Sunday, I was stopped by a train each way, both full coal trains heading east to give some town a warm winter.


On Sunday, it was nice, and my Uncle Charlie drove 'the good car'. It's a '71 Torino with 42,000 original miles on it. My grandma bought it when it had a few hundred miles on it in 1972. It's definitely a classic, and my mom's 4 grandsons have all wanted the car for their very own (fun).

Happy 50th Birthday, Shirley!

Izaac enjoying the party with a dirty face...

The ice cream birthday cake my mom crafted for Shirl's birthday. My mom also made hot beef sandwiches (yummy roast/mashed potatoes/gravy) and creamed peas, etc., etc.

The t-shirt I struggled to make the iron-on transfer for. It turned out okay, though! (on the back is a collage of pictures of Shirley when she was young...)

The threesome in the dining room, Shirley, Izaac and Michelle (Izaac's aunt).

Shirl ready to open her bounty of presents.

The threesome after opening cards.

The dining room in Des Moines at my mom's decorated for the BIG EVENT (Shirley's 50th birthday!!!).

Will try and put the remaining pictures of the party on flickr, and some short videos, too.