The Four-Year Reunion

Wednesday morning I got up with the boys and did some last-minute cleaning. I got myself ready and Kelly and I both had an appointment at the hospital lab for a blood sample to join the unrelated bone marrow program through Canadian Blood Services. I took the boys over to Kelly's in the stroller and we walked up to the hospital. We both did our thing and were on our way walking back home when we started to talk about the Chip Box. Kelly said she just had to have some Chip Box fries before the summer was out. I said why don't we go NOW? (I was starving anyway)...so that was a great idea on our parts and we walked downtown to get our fix.
Since it was the first day of school, there were many high school students lining up there, but we had beaten the rush. Carter and I shared chicken strips and fries. Cooper of course had a couple fries too.

We walked home and I started scrubbing the bathroom. Marsha called to say they were just leaving (that was at about about 1:30). This bought me a little extra cleaning time so I continued on my quest for a clean house. Both Carter and Cooper fell asleep on the living room floor. I attempted a nap too and maybe got about twenty minutes' worth of winks before Cooper got me up. At some point I decide the cleaning was done. By then I had to prepare the hash brown casserole to take to the fish fry at Cedar Point.

I drove the boys to my Mom & Dad's house for them to watch while we went out for our evening at Cedar Point. I got home and started the oven for the hash browns. Marsha called again at 4:45 to say they were just leaving Kenora. We decided to meet at Cedar Point since it was on her way here anyway. So again she bought me some time and I was completely ready when Chris came home from work. He showered and dressed. The hash browns were ready so I bundled them up and we were on our way.

We arrived at Cedar Point at exactly six o'clock. Marsha and Ryan had just arrived too. It was a great reunion. Hugs all around. We got to see Pat & Sharon and Janelle and Ryan, Wayne & Janel and Jordan & Mitchell, and there were some return guests that we recognized and remembered from years gone by. It was great.

We had a FANTASTIC meal. The fish was lightly battered and deep-fried. There were THREE hashbrown casseroles, three dishes of baked beans, an awesome taco-rice dish, a spinach-garlic dip with bread, a great layered taco salad dip with tortilla chips, roasted potatoes, I can't remember everything else, but I'm sure I ate it all (except for the beans - yucky!) Guess I should have taken a picture of the buffet table. Desserts - a couple types of brownies, squares and Rice Krispie cake that I took a good run at.

After dinner they had some free draws and I won a Cedar Point hat that my husband quickly claimed as his own. In the usual Wednesday Fish Fry fashion, there were sightseeing plane rides available. The four of us (Marsha, Ryan, Chris and I) decided to go. We waited our turn and boarded the Beaver. It was a beautiful evening for a flight. We flew over gigantic Eagle Lake (this lake is 72 miles long) - we flew as far as the site of the forest fire that recently hit the area. They just lifted the fly-over ban so we got to fly about fifty feet above and see so much detail in everything. We flew over Nelson Granite, Vermilion Bay, the V-Bay dump where there were some black bears having a snack, and we "buzzed the tower" when we got back to Cedar Point.

After our flight we reconvened in the lodge then Pat and Sharon took us all for a tour of their beautiful log home. Chris and I had seen it before but it was new to Marsha and Ryan, and we were all suitably impressed. We had a fantastic visit with everyone.

Around 9:30 we left for Dryden. We gave the house keys to Marsha and Ryan and detoured through Oxdrift to go pick up the boys at Mom & Dad's. Mom had fed Cooper to the point where he had been sleeping like a log since eight o'clock. Carter was still up but a little sleepy. We loaded them up and headed home, where Marsha and Ryan had found our house and made their way in just shortly before we arrived.

Chris had a very early morning coming up so he didn't visit long. Ryan caved shortly after, but Marsha and I stayed up talking until about 2:30. We both went to sleep. Of course Cooper decided to pay me a visit shortly after that, but I did manage to get a couple more hours' sleep after that.

We all got up and I made cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. Mom stopped in to visit. We all showered and got ready, then Ryan (the dear brave soul) took Carter to the park via wagon so Marsha and I could go visit Pat's mom Joann. Joann used to own the lodge and in more recent years did all the cooking after Pat and Sharon took over. A few years ago, she suffered a stroke and I haven't seen her since she was in the hospital. And since this was Marsha's first visit back this way we decided to go visit her.

We were pleasantly surprised to see how great she looked. She isn't able to move around on her own or speak, but she is very expressive and can communicate with sounds and facial expressions and some hand gestures. Marsha and I figured there would be no lapse in conversation with the two of there anyway. It was great to see Joann smile and laugh, and she got to see Cooper since we brought him with us. Joann has great help through living with her two daughters, and the awesome home care nurse that spends time with her. Our visit really lifted my spirits and I will definitely pay her another visit soon.

We came home and I started to prepare supper. Dad had stopped in and was visiting with Ryan and Carter when we arrived. I cooked a 'traditional Cedar Point meal' with Joann's awesome chicken, rice, and corn on the cob that Marsha brought directly from her sister's farm in Manitoba. Cindy and the girls stopped by to say hi to Marsha and Ryan. We sat down to dinner (except Carter who was preoccupied). Seija stopped by to visit. We had a great visit with Seija. We live in the same town and never see each other. She knew Marsha was coming by reading my blog, and called to get together. Another reason I'm so glad I've stayed faithful to my blog. I sure hope we get together again soon, Seija!!

Seija visited until around nine o'clock. Chris went to tuck Carter in bed and ended up falling asleep with him (on his toddler bed). Another photo opportunity I overlooked. I took a few minutes to post my new scrapbooking layouts for Christy's anniversary gala. Ryan went to bed and Marsha and I were a little tired from the late visit the night before and both went to sleep around eleven or eleven-thirty. I had a delicious sleep until around three when Cooper called upon me. I nursed him back to sleep and I quickly passed out again.

Cooper had me up at seven for the day. Carter followed shortly after, then Marsha and Ryan at about eight. I made pancakes for breakfast, then Marsha and Ryan started packing up to leave. They gave us a pretty shower curtain that I'll hang tomorrow. Carter loved helping me open it and asked Marsha for 'more presents'. Hugs all around again, then they were on their way.

I had a sleepy day with the boys. I tidied up a little, then there was a brief window of opportunity for a nap and I took it. I think I squeezed in about a half hour of zzz before Cooper woke me up.

Chris came home from work and had planned to help his dad replace the brakes on his car. So his dad brought the car over and Chris did the work. After he was done, he came in and we ate leftovers for supper. Chris went out for coffee with Greg. I worked on a couple scrapbook pages. I'll post all my new stuff tomorrow. I can't believe it's one o'clock. I'm going to bed.