" I'M NOT LOST FOR I KNOW WHERE I AM. BUT HOWEVER, WHERE I AM MAY BE LOST." -WINNIE THE POOH

  We had a family reunion vacation for the first time since 2022. It was great to see everyone who was able to make it. Diane graciously hosted us again. 

Last summer we all got my mom's puzzles. All winter long as we did a puzzle we would share a photo of it completed. We decided to bring them all up and have a puzzle exchange. I somehow came home with more puzzles than I brought up.

We played so many games. It was fun to learn some new ones including the horse race game. 

This puzzle was a big hit. Everyone gave it a try. Josie, C.J., and Rick were the winners and finally figured it out. 

Eli, Jacob, and Cheyenne having some Lago time. 

Rick Pizzeria was open. He made pizza to order for everyone. 

On the last day, we went to Black Duck Lake, for some swimming time. 

We had so much fun being together again. It was hard to not have Mom and Dad with us. But we shared so many memories. 

After we left Diane's house we continued our vacation for another 4 days. 

Our first stop was La Salle Lake State Park. We had been camping at the park a few years back but I had not done the hiking club trail. So we got there,  had some lunch then took on the trail. 

I was ready for the bugs. 

After we finished the hike we went down to the lake. Rick did a little fishing from the dock. If you have never been to La Salle Lake you should make it a place to go. It is the deepest lake in Minnesota. It is so pretty and quiet. 

Next, we made our way to Itasca State Park. We stayed in the Bear Paw campgrounds. I always book our campsite. After we got checked in I told Rick we were in site 53. I also told him we were by the lake. When we found site 53 we were not by the lake. We were also by the playground. My rules for finding a site are to never be by the dumpsters and try not to be by the playground. So I was disappointed in myself for the site I had picked. We went for a short bike ride and then started making supper. A camper stopped at our site and a man came over to talk to us. He said he had booked site 53. I pulled out my paperwork and saw that I had put us in the wrong site! I was so embarrassed!! We were supposed to be in site 59. I could not believe I had told Rick the wrong site. Thank goodness the other family was super understanding and waited for us to move. We got packed up and to our new site in record time. 

Our correct site was by the lake and much nicer! 

The next day we went for a bike ride. Itasca State Park has a great paved bike trail. We went on the wildlife loop and did a total of 18 miles. It was so beautiful. It was one of the best bike trails we have ever done. Part of the trail is on a one-way road. They have a bike lane and the road is low traffic. We saw a total of three vehicles the whole day. 

The first stop was to the headwaters of the Mississippi. 

I loved all the huge white pine trees. Next to a willow tree, white pines are my favorite tree. 

This is one of the lakes on the trail, Mary Lake.

Above is the map of the route we biked. 

The next day was hiking day. My favorite day. 

We planned on hiking a short 2.2-mile trail that connects to the hiking club trail. The hiking club trail is 3.5 miles for a total of 5.7 miles. We started on the Brower trail. A few weeks ago they had a big storm go through the area. As we went down the trail we found more and more huge white pine trees down over the trail. I am actually surprised they had the trail open. It was a little scary going under the fallen trees that were balancing on other trees. We decided that on the hike back we would take a different route.  It would be a little longer, around 8 miles but we didn't want to go under all those trees again. 

The bugs were so bad! We covered ourselves with bug spray and put on our bug net hats. 

Just as we started the trail a group of two families started right behind us. We were trying to stay ahead of them because they had several little kids with them. We figured they would be going slow. Because of this, we made our first mistake. We came to an intersection, instead of looking at the map we just looked at the trail name and kept going straight. 

We got to the next intersection and I told Rick I thought we had gone too far. We were looking at the map when the other group caught up to us. As the lead woman went by I told her that we were confused asking her if they were doing the hiking club trail. She responded yes, but the bugs are too bad so I can't stop and show you where you are. 

Mistake number two, we followed them. Two miles later the woman came running back at us. She said she understood why we were confused, she had made a mistake and was going the wrong way. 

Out came the map and we figured out where we went wrong. We backtracked and two miles later we found the turn we missed. The good news is I got the hiking club trail password. 😂

 I was enjoying the hike a lot more than Rick was. So adding those extra Í miles onto our hike plus the longer connecting trail back to camp we ended up hiking 13.04 miles. Thankfully we had brought a full can of bug spray, lots of water, and snacks. 

You can see on the map where we went wrong 😂. It was an adventure. We also learned to trust the map and not follow others. 

Enjoy the adventure....

Sharon 

The Cat Distribution Universe

 For years I have wanted a cat. Rick said no over and over again. When we moved to the new house I told him we had to get a cat because mice come with living in the country. He said no again and I said yes. I would send him cute kitty pictures and he would say oh cute but still no. Finally one day he just said that the kitten is cute so I took that as a yes. I filled out the adoption paperwork and waited to hear back. 

Five days later I still had not heard back from the adoption place. I figured we did not get her. 

I was complaining to Rick that I didn't want to go for a walk because it was raining out. He told me to suck it up and go. I had an hour window before the next rain shower started. So I decided that I would go walk but I would just do my 3-mile loop. Just as I was going to walk out the door I got an email from the adoption place that we had been approved! I was super excited. So now we had to wait again for the foster family to contact me for a meet and greet. 

So off I went on my walk. 

As you can see this is in the middle of playing fields by the schools. No house around. 

I was walking along when I saw a flash of black run across the trail.  And this is when the Cat Distribution Universe came into play.  

I thought to myself, is that a kitten! 

I kept walking and she came running to me as soon as I said kitty. She was so tiny and I knew instantly that some cruel person had dumped her. She was maybe 8-10 weeks old and weighed about one pound. She would have had to walk at least 1/2 to a mile to get where she was. She was all over me. 

This is when she found me. She looked so tiny and lost in the big outside world. I sent a picture to Rick and said look what I found. I could not leave her there, I knew she would never survive. So I scooped her up and walked the 2 miles back to my car with her in my arms. She purred all the way there. My car was parked at Rick's shop so I walked in with her and said she is ours now. The Cat Distribution Universe has spoken and I cannot ignore it. 

He tried to pretend he was not happy but he was instantly in love. 

So she came home with me. I watched all the Facebook chat groups to make sure no one lost her. After a week of no one claiming she was part of the family. 

I named her Rainy because I found her on a rainy day. And my granddaughter said the white spot on her looked like a raindrop. 

I got back to the adoption place on the other kitten and told them that I could not take her. I felt awful about it but one kitten is enough. The good news is she was adopted within a week and found her forever home. 

I did a slow introduction with the dogs and Rainy. Morgan wants nothing to do with her and pretty much ignores her. Otis has found a new best friend. Rainy holds her own with him and they play and play. Otis is very happy to have a new playmate.

She sleeps with this stuffed toy all the time. It is so cute. Every morning I find her here. 

Rainy is now part of the family. 

Don't ignore the Cat Distribution Universe...

Sharon