My Blog

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The plan for the 4th of July this year was to head on up to the lake, suffer through 1 really hot day and relax for a couple days.  It didn’t work out that way.

On Friday, July 1st, we arrived and unpacked like we normally would.  There was some weather on the way, but no indications that it was anything worse than we’d already seen.  It was hot and muggy, so everyone was in the garage enjoying the A/C while I got to be in the hotter-than-blazes kitchen doing prep work for dinner.  Once I finished chopping, I thought I’d take a break and sit out by the fire ring to see if I could get a bit more comfortable.  As I was sitting there, I noticed a large, bow shaped cloud coming across the lake, moving NE at pretty good clip.  I thought the people in the garage would like to see it, so I briskly walked up to let them know.  They came out immediately, which coincided with the wind coming up out of nowhere and trees starting to break.  No warning, no storm build up – just calm to trees snapping.

At that point it was pretty clear that we needed to get to the someplace safer in a hurry – like now.  So, all 9 of us ran flat out.  I had to stop along the way to pick up Peter, who had tripped, and to get Zoey pointed in the right direction, trees falling behind us the whole way.  When I got close to the door Annie (holding Thomas) was on my left, some people ahead of us and some behind.  As she rounded the corner she was accosted by a tree or large branch, which threw her to the ground.  She landed on her back and Thomas skidded away.  I went for Thomas first and handed him off (he was unscathed), then helped Annie inside, not 20 feet away.  Total time from trees breaking: <30 seconds.  She had lost her glasses and suffered some pretty gnarly “tree rash” on he left shoulder, but had no external bleeding or obvious signs or broken bones or dislocations.  She started to exhibit signs of shock (shaking, nausea, light headed), so we got her down and covered with a blanket.  I thought she may have had a fractured collar based on where she was feeling pain, so it was clear we would be going to the hospital, but it wasn’t clear what the actual diagnosis would be.

The wind and rain stopped after a few minutes, and the storm broke just like it came.  First order of business was to assess the damage – someone else took care of that, I went looking for Annie’s glasses.  I found them under a pile of debris after a few minutes of searching (score!), hoping that it would help with her state of mind.  The reports started coming back that there was a significant amount of damage and a significant number of trees down – the only way to move around was by using the shoreline.  The driveways were impassable and we figured the road would be impassable.  Our vehicles were useless.  I went north along the shore to see if anyone else was injured (and how bad) and to see what kind of resources we had access to.  No one hurt to the north, the roads were in worse condition and one of the guys had a working cell phone (yay!).  I turned and headed south while Drew took our boat out to see if anything around the landing was open – it was clear this was going to be our best play for getting out.

In the meantime, Annie had not improved, the boat had stalled, and I hadn’t found anything useful to the south.  I think it was around this point that someone called an ambulance for Annie – that timeline is a bit fuzzy for me.  We also tried to call anyone else to see if they could get to the landing from the south roads.  Drew, having been stranded out around the bend, found shore and walked to the landing to meet anyone passing by.  He ended up meeting Pede and Jay out there and they were prepared to bring us to the hospital.  Mark and I helped Annie get down to the water and we took the neighbor’s boat out to the landing.  She was still shivering and she was starting to ask how she’d been hurt (uh oh).  We arrived just as the ambulance was getting to the landing, so we loaded her up and pointed south.  At that point, the ambulance driver wanted to know if I knew the way out (!!!).  There were lots of trees across the road, but we eventually got out to highway 35 and it was smooth sailing to Spooner.  Fun fact: 20% of drivers don’t pull over for an ambulance with sirens and horn blaring.  Assholes.

We arrived at the Spooner hospital at about 10p, 3 hours after the storm rolled through.  At this point, Annie had about 20 seconds of short term memory, which meant that I spent the next 3 hours telling her why her shoulder hurt on a 20 second loop.  It wasn’t as funny as the scene in ’50 First Dates’.  The folks in Spooner did some scans and found no broken bones and no spine damage (2 CTs and an x-ray), but they were not equipped to deal with head trauma, so at 2a they loaded us up for a trip down to Regions in St. Paul.

Some time on the trip down Annie started remembering things.  I was still soaked to the bone from rain and running in the lake and all I had on me was my cell phone, keys to the van, and a small ziplock bag to keep them dry.  No wallet, no money, no nothing.  And I smelled like I’d been running in the lake and rolling in pine needles and dirt.  One of the EMTs gave me a package that they save for pediatric transports. She made sure to point out that it had a clean shirt, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste – twice.

We arrived at Regions around 4a; a time when everyone in the emergency room has a police officer waiting by their door, except us.  The next couple of hours were pretty boring.  We had a steady stream of doctors and NPs come and visit.  Some labs were done.  Nothing special.  Annie’s short term memory was about 10 minutes at this point and we were both getting kind of dopey from being awake for going on 24 hours.  There wasn’t a whole lot that they could do at that point besides observation, so we were moved to a room with a view at about 9a.

Annie was in a bit of pain, so she was given some fun pain killers and allowed to sleep.  I gave the NP Annie’s history and then called Bethy to give me a ride home.  I needed a shower and a nap in a bad way.  She got me a ride back at 2p and we met up with Annie’s parents.  All of us spent the evening watching Annie sleep.  At about 10p we all left.  Over night, Annie got a few more CTs.  Sunday morning we got back up there to find Annie in good spirits.  She was awake, alert and had just passed some testing, so she was able to get up and move about by herself.  This, of course, meant that she was able to finally take a shower and clean off the random pine pitch, mud and leaves she’d accumulated in her fall.  Scooter brought the boys home that morning(they helped clean up at the lake), so Annie’s parents brought them out to visit.  We stayed around a bit longer so they could do another x-ray for her shoulder and an MRI for her head.  She was cleared to leave Sunday afternoon.

We spent Monday laying low and resting.  And telling everyone the story.  Annie is doing better now, but she’s a bit bruised up.  She’ll probably never remember anything about injuries or all of the people that were there to help us along the way.

To everyone that helped and visited, I know there are a lot of ‘I’s in the above narrative, but it was far from a one man show.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

-Dustin

P.S. – The word on the street is that we were on the receiving end of straight line winds, clocked in excess of 100mph.

P.P.S. – Scooter has posted a photo album of some of the damage.

I am determined to squeak in before October ends!  It’s just been a tad bit more effort to do anything lately.

A little self portrait to start things off

We’ll get in the way back machine and there are some pictures from a cabin weekend.  I spent most of it either in the chair or in bed but everyone else had a great time.  Peter found a rake and decided to help.  I think he just moved dirt and dust around rather than any leaves but he had a fun.  That’s what matters.  He also had a few cars to play with and was very proud to show them off.  They were all lined up along the window sill.  The very favorite of the bunch was the fire engine.  It has a really loud siren when Peter drives it.  Lastly, there was a pontoon ride.  I heard that there was quite a bit of snacks eaten and some play in the water.

Next, Dustin and I went to Green Bay with Paul and Donna for a wedding.  While we were there, we had to go visit Lambeau Field.  We didn’t pay for the official tour but walking around the atrium was a sight in itself.  My ultimate favorite part was the fans already tailgating a day early in the K-Mart parking lot.  Nothing says class like campers in the parking lot across the street from the field.

Cassie and Pierce got married.  It was suppose to be outside in a park but it was way too windy and cold so it got moved in to the building.  It turned out beautiful even with the changes.

We held the annual tavern tour weekend.  It started Friday on the way up to the cabin with a stop in Balsam Lake and then up by the cabin at the Tap.  Saturday we split it into two chunks.  Late morning we headed out and stopped at a few places going north.  The plan was to then stop at a bridge and have sandwiches for lunch.  We stopped and got it all out but then there was some shooting going on in the woods.  I’m pretty sure they weren’t hunting for us but it made a few in the party a little nervous.  It was time to head back to the cabin anyway so we packed up and headed out.  We made a pit stop at the cabin, let the dog out, and picked up Karthik.  It was then off for more fun and festivities.  Everyone crashed early that night.

Today is Halloween.  Peter has been asking to go to the pumpkin store for weeks.  Every time we would drive by a house with a bunch outside, he would remind us that he wanted one.  We finally bought a big one.  He saw the baby pumpkins too so we had to get one of those too, of course.  He was a little excited when it came time to give our pumpkin a face.  He ended up in a box ready to ride.  Once we got everything set up and going, he came over.  He didn’t want to touch the goop at all.  It was “icky.”  He was good with a spoon to scoop though.  The funny part is that he went and got his baby pumpkin so Dustin could cut that one open next.  It’s hard to explain to a two year old that you can’t actually carve a tiny pumpkin.  Peter helped draw the face and wanted it to look spooky.  He was so proud to point out the different pieces of the face once it was all done.

Peter dressed up as Diego this year.  He made such a cute animal rescuer with his vest and back pack.  He says trick or treat so cute and had his pumpkin bucket ready to go but when we actually got to each house, he just pushed his bucket out.  I did at least get him to say thank you afterwards.  It was really hard to wait until we got home to eat the candy but we did.  The next big hurdle was the fact that you can’t in fact eat a bite out of every piece of candy.  It’s a learning process.

We went to the State Fair!  This is something I look forward to every year and Dustin is sweet and has gotten into it for me.   Peter doesn’t get a choice, at least for a few years, and gets to experience the fun too.  This year I was quite pathetic though.  I blame it on Thomas and it was hot.  We didn’t see or eat hardly anything on the list of usuals but we’ll try again next year.

After the marathon parking adventure and eating our breakfast burritos, we headed for the animal barns to get there before the sun completely baked the smell in.  Peter couldn’t have been more excited.  He found a little wagon pushed to the side that was full of baby chicks.  He got right in there and thought they were so fun until they kicked saw dust in his face.  We saw the big chickens too, for me of course.  Peter loved the bunnies.  Every one was more exciting then the next.  He got to pet the baby pig and the horses were GIANT!  

We did a few of the buildings.  In one, the lions were giving away sunglasses for little people.  Peter thought there were super cool.  Every time he puts them on he gets excited.  I’m not sure if it’s that he can still see things or that they look different.  He spends the whole time pointing things out.

We made sure to stay at the fair until the parade as it was fire safety day so there would be lots of fire trucks to see.  Both Peter and I were getting very tired so we found a spot in the shade to sit and wait for the parade to start.  The family that was right in front of us had one of those big buckets of cookies.  Peter thought they looked really good but they weren’t ours.  Some how he sweet talked his way into getting one of their cookies.  Nothing tastes better than a stolen Sweet Martha cookie.

Bethy and I took Peter to the zoo.  We were able to do the whole loop of outside animals and it was a lot of fun.  It was a nice warm day and apparently the a lot of the animals thought it was a perfect morning for a nap.  We did come across the bears right as a training session was about to begin.  It was neat to see the trainers work with the bears to do little tricks.  The bear at the gate didn’t want to stand though.  The funny part is that Peter had the most fun at the farm section.   We got to ride on a tractor ride to get there and then we got to see the animals up close and personal.  Overall, it was a fun day that we’ll have to repeat to see all the inside animals.

Finally, we spent the long Labor Day weekend at the cabin.  It was finally actually cool outside.  It was kind of fun to pull out the long sleeves and pants.  Jim and Sherry came up to play as well as Ashley and Eli.  It was a full house which made it lots of fun.  We didn’t take many pictures as everyone was busy having a good time but there were a few pictures of some boat work.  The carpet was more than a little tired so the goal was to replace it.  After pulling everything off, there was a realization that more work will need to be done later.  It was interesting to watch the process from the safety of inside.

And now it’s September and that means back to work and back to school.

We go to the cabin most weekends in the summer.  Peter has made himself at home up there and pretty much runs the whole time.  On the rare occasion that he’s not running, he finds himself either in the dirt or the water.  He usually has a partner in crime (a.k.a Donna).  Bethy came up with us one weekend and she ended up in the dirt too.

We celebrated the 4th of July at the cabin.  We went to the Pederson cabin for some awesome fireworks.  I didn’t get to light the warning shot like usual but it was still a good time.  The show was amazing as usual, even the mosquitoes enjoyed the show.

We had some other visitors at the cabin.  A big mama bear and her four little cubs decided to wander through.  They enjoyed the fry grease and then climbed a tree to take a nap.  They stayed up there for the morning and then wandered down and went on to someone else’s neck of the woods.  Peter was very impressed and still talks about the 5 bears.

One of Peter’s birthday gifts was swimming lessons.  We took a parent and child class.  At first he didn’t want to take off his shoes, much less get in the water and participate.  With each class he got better and better until he couldn’t get his shoes off fast enough and waiting for the teacher to come seemed to last forever.  He still didn’t always participate quite like he should but he gained a lot of confidence in the water and can kick and scoop.  The last class he got to play at the end.  He finally went down the little slide not only once but twice.  He thought it was so much fun that he wanted Dustin to take him to the other end of the pool.  We figured out that he conquered that little kid slide so he was going to try the big slide.  We’ll have to wait a few years for that one though.

Finally, we were festive and participated in Hastings Rivertown Days.  It was a fun weekend of shopping, family, going out on the town, and a parade.  The thing was that it was really hot that weekend.  Between activities, we decided to try and cool off with some water fun and bubbles.  We pulled out the rainbow sprinkler but Peter wasn’t having that.  Then I remembered Peter had gotten a huge blow up octopus sprinkler so I made Dustin blow it up and start it.  I guess we weren’t quite ready for that though as it made Peter run the other way and cry.  Finally Dustin pulled out the winning sprinkler and lots of fun ensued.

We started the month with a big birthday bash.  My baby is two already!  We planned a party with family coming and celebrating in the backyard.  The weather had other plans though.  As everything was being set up, the clouds rolled in.  So instead of plenty of space in our large backyard, everyone was squished in the garage.  It’s a good thing it was family and we like each other.  Thank you everyone for all of your help and for a wonderful afternoon.  Peter had a great time and that was the ultimate goal.

Of course we spent plenty of time at the cabin.  Paul and Donna were in Alaska for a couple of weekends.  Peter was so confused why Donna and Pop Pop weren’t there.  We told him they were in Alaska.  He heard Eliska, one of the girls that went to his daycare, and assumed they were playing at daycare instead of with him at the cabin.

We celebrated Marv and Joann’s 60th wedding anniversary!  That is awesome to have made it together for that long.  It was a nice afternoon with family.  The cool part was seeing pictures of their wedding and the family growing up.  Peter made friends right away, as usual.  Kari got a couple awesome shots of him in the grass.

One of Peter’s birthday gifts was a big boy Cars bed.  Peter was super helpful when putting it together.  He didn’t really get what it was but loved using the screw driver and looking at the pictures.  It wasn’t until it got moved into his room that he figured out what it’s for.  He had to have me reach his pillow and nuk and then pretended to sleep, snoring and all, on his new big boy bed.  Of course it still doesn’t have a mattress as Peter’s room needs to get cleaned out before he can actually use it but it’s a fun experience for now.

Peter and I went to the grocery store together.  He’s a really loud shopper.  He was having fun until we got to the produce section and I was trying to pick some peppers.  He saw the red food and was yelling for an apple.  The other ladies shopping thought it was quite funny but at the moment I didn’t seem to be laughing.  That’s when I found the section of free apples for kids.  It was at the end of the trip so I gave him one thinking he wouldn’t actually get anywhere.  When we got home I looked and he had big chunks out.  He ate almost the whole thing without me cutting it at all.  He was so very proud of his apple.

We had a couple weekends of cabin adventures in May.

Paul got a new rider lawn mower for up at the cabin.  It has a trailer that is just Peter sized.  He loves to tell Paul to sit on the seat and ask for rides.

Peter discovered the joys of a sprinkler.  At first he just got his toes wet and that was really fun.  Then he moved closer and got his belly wet.  That was really fun.  After moving a little closer, the water went over his head.  That was awesome.  One more step and the water went right in his face.  That was not as fun.  He managed to put his suit on and play in the water more and realized that the sprinkler is still a fun thing.

Peter got a sweet new camo hat.  I know he’s hard to see in the picture but that is in fact Peter 🙂

The next weekend Zoey got a little brave in the morning so the rope got pulled out.  It’s kind of funny though because most of the time you don’t even need to tie the rope to anything.  She just knows she’s in trouble and behaves.  Peter thought it was a toy for him though.

Peter was a very busy boy that weekend.  It was extra special because not only were Donna and Pop Pop there but Grandma and YaYa too.  Oh, and Unkie and Uncle Drew too.  There were so many people to play with that he forgot to sleep!  He had a little bit of a crash on the boat but then the lure of water was too strong, for a little while.

The other guest at the cabin that weekend was a momma turtle.  She worked her way up the driveway and picked right in the middle to lay her eggs in the sand.  It took her a long while to lay them and then bury them.  She wasn’t a fan of everyone watching but she kept working hard to finish her task.  Then she quickly walked to the lake.  I was amazed at how big she was and how long her legs were.  Zoey was brave and even sniffed her butt once she was almost to the lake.  The one time Zoey actually acts like a dog and it’s with a turtle.  Go figure.

Very soon I will post some pictures from the big birthday party for my big 2 year old boy.  I can’t believe Peter is already 2!

So I’ve basically slept through April and well on my way through May.  It doesn’t bode well for posts and pictures, unfortunately.  I’ll try to do better.

Dustin and I went up to the cabin in early April.  It was COLD.  There was most certainly still giant ice flows on the lake but we got the boat launched and in the water.

Peter and I hung out one afternoon and had some fun.  He is such a ham and says cheese for the camera.  I did manage to get one picture that wasn’t so cheesy.  That day Zoey got her haircut.  She looked and smelled so nice.  She wasn’t as big of a fan of the bows though.  Dustin didn’t like them either.  I did and that’s what matters.

Bethy was an awesome friend and brought Peter and I to Under Water World at the Mall of America.  It was really cool to walk through the tube and see all of the giant things swimming all around us.  Of course, Peter was very serious for the whole trip.  He talked about sharks for a long time afterwards though so he must have liked it.  We made a stop to Lego Land afterwards.  On the way over we happened to pass Diego.  From afar Peter couldn’t be more excited.  He yelled Diego and was saying hello.  Once we got close it was a different story.  I guess this Diego was a little big.  Overall, it was a great day though.

This year we spent Easter with the Bjostad family.  It was a really nice afternoon spent with the family.  Peter got a new big truck and drove it all day.  He even tried to drive it in the tree.

Peter got to go to the cabin too.  He and Dustin went up, along with Zoey of course.  From the stories and the pictures, it was still cold but Peter doesn’t ever seem to mind.  His first weekend he seem to remember everything right away from last year, including playing on the boat.  He now has figured out the joys of the throttle and going fast.  Oh, and if you’ll notice he’s wearing his sweet new life jacket in the second picture.  Grandma Sherry picked that out for him so he doesn’t have to be squashed into the other one.  He hasn’t quite figured out the new balance though and was a little top heavy.  He’ll get it.

Towards the end of September Donna, Paul, Drew, Dustin, and I were up at the cabin.  It was the Gandy’s big celebration.  The day ended up being a mini-tour.  We finished out the day at the Gandy and then came home tired and done.

Peter is a really good eater.  He’ll eat everything but a few green items.  Well that is until he discovered frozen peas.  He couldn’t eat them fast enough.  I guess I know how to get some green in him.

We got snow!

Dustin celebrated his birthday so I made him a cake.  He got to pick whatever flavor he wanted.  He picked german chocolate.  I did have for him and put regular chocolate frosting on my half.

It was a sad, sad day when the boat came out of the lake.  Dustin, Donna, Scoop and I took the last ride to the landing and it was cold.  Paul met us with the truck and trailer and out it went.  Dustin and Zoey rode on the boat back to the cabin.  It’s now hibernating for the winter under the roof.

After the boat came out, we were able to start our annual tavern tour.  This year we started at Hillside.  We then went to a lovely bridge to have lunch on the side of the road.  Next we went to Rosenthals.  Tami was celebrating her 40th birthday.  We played with the trivia cards at Roamers (even though it’s not really called Roamers anymore.)  The Shop had tasty appetizers.  Just ask Donna about the mushrooms.  Finally, we rounded the day out at the Crow Bar.  Once we got back to the cabin, there was suppose to be a post party but the other people never made it.  Overall, it was a great day.

Peter got a bunch of fun Halloween gifts from a Halloween gift exchange.  He got a sweet hat and gloves, some really cute outfits, and a big green pumpkin bucket.  His favorite was to put the fruit snack packets he got in and out of the bucket.  He didn’t realize until later that there was goodness in the packets.  We also put the fun pumpkin and spider window clings on our front window.

Zoey got a haircut.  She looks and smells awesome now!  She even got pretty pink bows.

And to round out the post, here are some fun pictures of Peter hammering.

So I realised that it’s been much to long since we’ve added some fun updates and pictures so pull up a seat and here we go.

First off, there are of course fun cabin pictures.  Peter decided that he needed his hat and then sun glasses all on his own.  One of his favorite toys up there is sticks.  There is one stick in particular that he loves.  It’s actually lasted multiple weeks.  I don’t think Zoey is as much of a fan but they work it out.  Peter also figured out how to climb up on the riding lawn mower.  We’ll have to put him to work sooner than I thought.

Bethy, Peter and I went to the Como Zoo before school started.  We had fun seeing all the animals.  Peter was very serious the whole time.  He wasn’t a fan of the monkeys.  Flamingos are a winner, zebras were kind of cool, and he really likes pictures of giraffes so we admired the real thing.  I think he had more fun while we waited for the Sparky show and playing with the spoon from the ice cream.  We all thought the butterfly tent was super cool.  They were every where and huge!

Bethy went to visit her grandpa Ralph and we were fortunate enough to reap the benefits.  There’s nothing better than fresh sweet corn that was picked right before you eat it.  Peter couldn’t agree more.  Although, he was a little confused on which end to eat.  Once he got it straightened out, he ate two whole ears!  

The family went to the State Fair this year.  I love going every year so it was fun to be able to share the experience with Peter.  He thought it was awesome as there was so much to see, smell, taste, and hear.  Everyone loved his hat.  He even got a free button because of the sweet hat.  He’s a little man after my own heart and loved the chickens.  He even tried talking to them.  He wasn’t so sure on the pigs but they are really big and loud.  One of our party did end up crashing after all the sun, food, and fun.  That meant it was time to go but we’ll be back next year for sure.  

We went with my parents, Jim and Sherry, on a day trip to Lark Toys.  It’s an awesome toy store in Kellogg, MN.  There are so many rooms full of really good toys.  Peter got to pick a wooden pull toy.  He had a good time testing them each out but finally decided on a giraffe.  He also ended up with two cars and a new bib.  Even Dustin got something, a deck of cards with scientists on them.  After we shopped and played, it was time to ride the hand carved carousel.  Peter rode the chicken and it didn’t go so well.  He cried the whole time.  We did move to the cart being pulled by an ostrich and that wasn’t as bad.  We’ll wait to try another ride for awhile.  After the toy store, we at lunch at a cute cafe.  Peter was a fan of the Amish family’s cute kids.  We went to a creamery and had ice cream.  Peter really liked all the big bikes that where there.  Then we admired the beautiful drive home through Wisconsin.  

September 19th was the 5k walk.  I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t make it.  In my head that seems like forever.  We all gathered at Thomas Beach on Lake Calhoun.  Matt Logelin stood up and thanked everyone for coming.  He held up Maddy but she didn’t have as much to say, although she made the rounds later and had plenty to talk about then.  (I think Peter has found his future bride.)  We then all started off around the lake.  Peter thought he should walk like everyone else.  He wasn’t very speedy though and had fallen earlier so he had a scraped knee.  After we convinced him it was better to ride, we cruised on.  I was amazed when I asked if we were almost half way done and found out we only had blocks left.  I actually made it!  Thanks for everyone’s support.  

And finally after all of that, we’re worn out…