Gramps House Is Gone

This is the view we had this morning looking through where Gramp's house used to sit.

Mom shed a tear.  It hasn't hit me yet.

The horses were curious about what was happening.

It was slow going and I was standing outside in my bathrobe.  Ruth saw them out of the upstairs window so we ran out as fast as we could, not being sure how long it would take them.

It was only about 20 degrees. OK for a quick photo op, but not for standing outside for a half hour.

They just sat there for a while making sure everything was secure, I suppose.

Finally, they crept quietly away.

It was 10 below when they started the process, so I'm sure this was a welcome change for the movers.

They stored one of the halves in the yard for a few days.

After they separated them and wrapped the open walls in plastic, they slid the halves over to the driveway on metal beams.

Farewell to Gramps.

Nothing in order. Cutting the cake and the processional below:

Maid of Honor, Heidi

Bro & Sis Dan & Rachel Seaberg

Andy Mohn & Emily Halverson

Friend Nate Glasgow & Katie Halverson

Candle lighters Andrew Ingvalson & Isaac Jenson

Steve talking to Lori Vasquez, Groom's aunt

Cousins, Emily & Katie Halverson

Emily & Heidi H.

Rachel Seaberg, Andrew Ingvalson, Katie & Nate Glasgow

Caleb H, best man Luke & Sarah Thompson (from Maine) Sam Halverson & Becca

Luke & Sarah Thompson

Giving out the gifts

Caleb Halverson

Sam Halverson & Becca

Katie & Nate

Emily & Andy

Darrell & Varian, Becky & Billy talking to Terry Seaberg

Terry contemplating the whole process.  He was supposed to give the message, but he figured he'd get too emotional so I got elected. 

The two moms

Talking to the sound man

Bridesmaids Katie Halverson, Emily Halverson, Rachel Seaberg, Heidi Halverson

Groomsmen Luke Thompson, Dan Seaberg, Andy Mohn, Nate Glasgow

Practice lasted only about 45 minutes.  I don't like going over an hour.

Sound man Jason Aho. It's at the Apostolic Lutheran Church of Wolf Lake, made up largely of Aho's. 

Listening to the singers

Mike and Luke Thompson and wives singing

I think the song was called "I'll be there," but don't quote me.

Closed circuit to the dining hall

It was not only closed circuit, but on a live web cast on the church's website

Table settings

They worked a long time to get these oreos covered in white chocolate and wrapped up

Becky Seaberg talking to Becky (soon to be) Seaberg

Dan & Rachel

Will Halverson

Aaron & Mandy Fagerness were there with baby Maria

Janna Brainard, Barb & Jim Latterell, Enrique Vasquez

Vanessa (or Jolanda) Vasquez (who can tell), Glori G, Katie H, Ruth G, Enrique V Jr, Isaiah Mohn

Laura Brainard, Emma Ingvalson, Vanessa or Jolanda, Glori & Ruth

Grace Latterell

Glori, Katie, Heidi, the 3 Vasquez's, Emma, Laura

Glori, Heidi, Laura, Vanessa?, Emma

Isaac Jenson, Caleb Halverson, Isaiah Mohn

Katie, Emily, Heidi H

Sam H & Becca

Leaving for St. Cloud for the night

Had to do a little clean up to get in

Natasha & Janna Brainard

Signing the license

Hazel Heikinen (recently out of the hospital with a stroke)

On their way out

Bethany & Grace Latterell

Grace telling Joyce about "Grace's Fashion Boutique"

Joyce with Jim & Eva Latterell

Ruth, Heidi, Glori (Ruth & Glori were servers)

Becky's friend Missy was the coordinator

Caleb, Heidi, Katie, Darrell

Cutting the cake

A dining room to seat 300 guests

Becca, Sam, Isaac, Caleb, Andrew, Will

My camera doesn't take well with back light, but kind of a nice effect

Heidi, Isaac, Caleb, Luke, Sarah

Andy and a 9 month pregnant Kaylee Mohn

My Summer Vacation by Steve Goranson...

 It's hard to believe I've been to Memphis twice in the last month.  The first trip was mostly for work and to leave Ruth there so John & Kari could focus better on getting caught up after William's accident. (Don't forget to look for a sealer for those cracks, Kari.)

It was over 100 degrees in the shade that day.  I had to keep the tools covered or they would get too hot to pick up.  The kids stayed cool in the back yard with Ruth.

By the time I got there, William didn't seem to be slowed down much by his trache.

Anna Kathryn was used to being in charge of the backyard before Ruth got there. 

When I got back to MN I got a surprise visit from my brothers. That was nice. 

As we enjoyed the pre-mosquito evening air, Joel got a call from his son, Jeff, announcing that he (Jeff) was a grandfather.  That obviously makes my brother, who you can tell looks younger than me, a great grandfather.  Life comes at you fast.  (This is, in fact, a photo of the call.)  I think I'm texting someone while Nathan is trying to keep from falling over in a broken chair.  Hey, you don't always have to talk to enjoy someone's company. 

On the next trip to Memphis I got there just in time for Kari's 35th birthday.  Talk about coming at you fast...

This was a shorter trip to pick up Ruth who had been there for a month, so we mostly played.  First excursion was to the Fireman's Museum:

We got to hear a talking horse and play with real fire engines.

One of the most impressive displays was the fire room where you watch the rapid progression of a fire in a living room complete with realistic sounds, smoke (behind the glass) and heat.  It was a little too realistic for the boys. 

Ruthie showed the boys how to slide down the fire pole. 

Next stop was the water fountains in downtown Memphis.  They took the pool out because too many were going in swimming.  Now it's designed for anyone to run through if they want. 

Next stop was Mud Island for a walk down the Mississippi from Minnesota to New Orleans.  It's all done to scale including the topography. 

William thought it was cool to go under the walkways.

Ruth and Anna Kathryn enjoy a brief stop in the middle states.

This is where it started to widen out into the "ocean".  Ruth had to rescue William after he stepped off the edge of the continental shelf. 

I was able to get one picture of some very tired kids in front of the real Mississippi.

We came home to find a sad cone headed dog. 

He had just had eye surgery and I think Glori's dog was taking advantage of the situation. 

Then I started to get back to my own work.  I started by having a "block party" for all of the men in the church.  (They helped me move blocks so we can get the landscaping away from the house that's sold.  And Leif did such a nice job of putting them in. That was in 2001.)

And, of course, Ruth had to get back to the old grind of household chores.  I'm sure she'd rather be in Memphis.

She doesn't complain (much) though.  Thanks for being a good sport, Ruth.

PHOTOS OF LEIF & REGAN'S NEW HOUSE

Memorial Weekend

 Just a quick blog to record the weekend before my advanced age takes over and I forget.  It's just me, Ruth and Glori at home right now with Joyce in Memphis on grandchildren duty.  And Glori prefers to spend most of her time with the horses so we didn't see her much.

Ruth and I went to get hay on Saturday from an old bachelor named Donald.  (Actually, he's probably my age. Bachelors just seem older, for some reason.) He's a scruffy looking former farmer who lives in a log cabin with no electricity, not because he needs to, but because he'd rather spend the money on kids in third world countries who can't go to school.  He loves the Lord and he loves kids. When he walks into the middle school where he substitute teaches, the students run up to him and ask excitedly, "Are you going to teach my class today?"  If it's "no" they get dejected and downcast.  If he says "yes" their face lights up. Some of them even give him a hug.  He says, knowing some of their family situations, it may be the only hug they get all year.  But that makes his principal nervous and his fellow teachers jealous so he comes under a lot of criticism.  They just can't fathom that an "old" bachelor can have a pure relationship with a child these days. They just assume he's up to no good.  Ruth has gotten a handmade birthday card from him almost every year since she was about 5.

Then, at about 8:00, after we convinced ourselves we were too tired to work any more (OK, I needed the convincing, not Ruth.), we decided to have our own private hot dog roast.  She's been taking very good care of me in her mother's absence.

Sunday we rested up and, after I helped Becky and Heidi look at some building lots, I picked up Ruth and we went to...

I paid for the mini golf at the most challenging course I've ever played (nice form there, Ruth),

which I won and she paid for the go carts,

which I let her win .  She opted for the high performance 30MPH model, which is pretty fast when you're sitting less than two inches off the pavement. We were the only two on the track, but I didn't want to hurt her so I was cautious   Of course, at her age, there's no appreciation for the potential effects of excessive speed.  It was a little cold for the bumper boats.

I was wearing a shirt and hat I just received from my brother Joel in Phoenix that said "Goranson University."  I thought it was interesting that the dozen people I was with over the weekend who knew me never mentioned it, but a perfect stranger behind the mini golf counter said, "Where is that school? I've been looking for a college to go to."  I confessed that it was just my name, but that I would cut him a deal on a degree if he was interested.

The other project I tried to work on was a new flagpole so I could have it up before Joyce gets home.  She's always wanted one. It's actually the mast from a sale boat that was in two pieces.  My boss helped me weld it back together and is working on a base for me, too.

It rained most of Monday so about all I could do was get the hole dug. 

Actually, I didn't have enough cement anyway.  I discovered that if you increase your hole size from 12 inches to 18 inches you double your cement needs, even after reducing the depth from 3 feet to 2 feet.  I'm sure there's a formula for that.  I keep telling the kids that they will use their math for things all through life, but they don't believe me. 

Let me know how your weekend went.