Flashback Friday

For this week's Flashback Friday, we will be going back to this month seven years ago. I traveled with my sister, brother-in-law and two nieces to Sonoma Valley. My brother-in-law's family was having a family reunion there. What a wonderful place for a reunion! I had never been to this part of California and I was very excited. We were only there for a few days, so we had a lot to do in a short amount of time.

I remember flying into San Francisco. Flying was still new to me back then. We were surrounded by the bay which made me really nervous. I'm not a fan of heights or water. How again am I going to travel overseas?!

I remember it was foggy, so we couldn't see the bridge very well.

I remember we had a Ford Expedition as our rental car. It was massive, the biggest car I've ever been in, and ever been in since.

I remember the view from the home of my brother-in-law's relatives. It was atop a hill and it was spectacular. I remember just wanting to sit there all day and take it all in. I figured that wouldn't be very sociable.

I remember the air, how it was so fresh and clean and breathable.

I remember traveling down country roads and seeing vineyards covering the landscape. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We stopped at a few wineries along the way. Back then, I drank strictly Merlot (shocking, I know). Now that I'm (a bit) older and have been more adventurous in what types of wine I try, I imagine I'd have a fuller experience if I were to go back.

This pig was at one of the wineries and I'm afraid I don't remember its significance. But I still find the picture hilarious.

=

I remember swimming with M in this amazing backyard pool. I'm not sure what my sister promised me (threatened me with) to get me in that pool though. Did I collect? Hmm...

I remember playing Dominoes.

I remember my niece, D, was only 6 months. She did a lot of watching the rest of us. And we did a lot of holding her. She's a go with the flow kind of person, so she was a perfect traveling companion.

I remember wishing we had time to explore San Fran.

I remember my niece, M, charmed the airplane crew and they invited her into the cockpit after we had landed. What a neat experience!

I thank my family and my brother-in-law's family for letting me tag along and for welcoming me with open arms. A truly wonderful trip.

I've found that everywhere I've traveled, I always wish I could go back and explore more. I've never been anywhere that I said, ugh, I'm not going back there.

I'm a lucky gal.

Flashback Friday

When Rich Met Peggy

This week's Flashback Friday is very special. My parents are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary tomorrow. How wonderful! I'm so blessed and thankful that they love each other so much. My life was so enriched (and still is) because of their relationship. I hope I have a relationship like theirs someday.

I asked them to write about how they first met. Here it is in their own words.

THE SUMMER OF 1964

In retrospect, this is really a mystical meeting of soul mates in the first place! Why Milford, Iowa? Why is Peggy staying at Rich’s best friend’s sister’s place anyway? Peggy has gotten a job this summer at Okobojian Girl.

We are both out of college for the summer and working in Milford. Rich has worked summer months in carpentry and lawn service jobs. His high school friend, George, is a carpenter.

Peggy has found summer residence at George’s sister’s home.

Well, as it turns out Rich is tooling around Milford one noon hour in George’s pickup. Peggy is apparently walking back to work from noon hour and we spy her on the sidewalk just west of Main Street. Peggy is well dressed and has a beautiful gait. She is petite, has long hair and glasses and looks just very intelligent, among other things.

Gloria started telling Peggy about this great guy they want her to meet practically from the first moment she walked in the door. Peggy thinks Gloria and George were plotting for quite awhile before the MEETING took place. Rich is very good looking with dark hair and glasses.

Both of us believe that Rich goes to their friends' place one night and therefore meets Peggy. We go on a double date with our friends to Arnolds Park and to a drive-in food place.

This is back in the day when Catholics were still prohibited from eating meat on Friday but both of us had a hamburger that Friday night. Were we too gaga to realize what day of the week it was?

Several days later Rich and Peggy go on a date and drive to Arnold's Park and are just driving around when Rich’s car accidentally throws rock into a police car directly behind us. Well, we turn the car off and address the officer. After that, the car will not start and so Peggy and Rich walk back to Milford on a clear moon-shining starry summer night. A time to remember for sure.

We won’t talk about the time that Peggy was covering for the newspaper the appearance of the Everly Brothers at the Roof Garden and Rich stood her up! He was supposed to meet Peggy there and never showed up. Neither one of us can remember what happened or what his excuse was but Peggy can remember being really angry! She obviously got over it.

Time goes fast and we find ourselves going back to college-Peggy in Sioux City and Rich in Mankato. We begin to write to each other.

We wrote to each other everyday. You can really get to know someone through daily letters. Much more so than phone calls or emails.

We are not sure of the timeline, however Rich drove to Sioux City with his college friend’s '46 Chevy one cold wintry night. It is there Rich understands what he is getting into and gets that feeling that he cannot live without Peggy! As if Rich did not know that he was in love with this girl by this time, something also happened to him at a gift store during that visit that clinched that feeling that is too mystical to explain!!

We become engaged in December of '64 in the car going to a movie!!

The next thing we know we were at the church in front of Father Borman and with many family and friends.

For a 10:30 a.m. wedding! Lunch at noon and we were off to our small apartment in Sioux Falls. This was a beautiful hot, windy summer day in northwest Iowa. We stopped on the way for dinner. We loved our small apartment and our time in Sioux Falls. Especially since Peggy worked at Fantles Department Store and Rich sat around and did nothing. After several months we were off to Spencer, Iowa where Rich had landed an auditor position with the State Auditor of Iowa!

And 4 children, 4 grandchildren, 5 houses, a number of Ford cars later...

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I love you!

Flashback Fridays

Today's Flashback Friday is for my own amusement, well, some might say embarrassment. I will be going back to see what I wore to each of the proms and balls I attended in high school and college. I wanted to post this a few weeks ago, closer to when these dances occur, but this will have to do. Better late than never, right?

A few of the photos I needed to edit out the fella, but thankfully for most of the years, I took pictures with more than just the guy. Even though the relationships I was in when I went to these events didn't work out, I am thankful that I was able to go with someone I cared about. And I always had great friends to hang out with too. I had a lot of fun at each one. I really love dressing up and I love dancing even more, so of course I'd have fun!

First up is my junior prom. This isn't the best picture, but with the editing it's the best I can do. I wore a fairly simple black dress, but the back was the best part. The back had a see through, black mesh. I thought it was so sexy. For the proms in high school, I wore flashy, fake diamond jewelry and of course a corsage.

Next up, my senior prom. This year, I decided to take pictures with my parents. What a great idea! Of all the dresses you'll see on this post, I have two favorites, and this is one of them. I love the bright color and the way it fit and all that bling. I had my shoes dyed to match the dress. Classy. But boy did I feel like an adult. One thing you'll notice that's the same on most of the pictures is how I did my hair. I never knew what to do with it, so I curled it. This year was particularly curly. I also went tanning a few times (shocker!). Not that you can tell, unfortunately.

My third dance was in college, the President's Ball. I'm here with my roommate of four years. Love her! We're standing in front of a mural that she and others from our floor painted. This was the year of the short dress, look at all that leg! I don't particularly like this dress, but I like that it's different from the other years. I also like my hair in this one, swept back. Nice, classic. My jewelry is toned down considerably. Also nice.

Next up, another President's Ball. Again, not a great picture. I don't recall this dress all that well. I remember it was comfortable, which is always a plus, but otherwise it was quite unremarkable. It was the year of the black dress as the other women I went with all wore black as well. See the curly hair? Ugh.

And lastly, my other favorite dress. I loved this dress. It had an overlay with flowers and rhinestones over the top of the dress. It was flowy and feminine and just plan awesome. I felt great in it. Although I wore fake jewelry, they were simple, pretty earrings and a delicate bracelet. I'm here again with my friend three years later. I was with a different guy, but our friendship remained. Still to this day. The saying is true, men will come and go, but your friends will always be there.

Thanks for not laughing too much (I hope). Looking back at the photos from these events put a smile on my face. I enjoyed remembering how much fun I had. I'm glad I was able to have these memories. I dare you all to go back and see if you can find a photo of yourself at a high school or college dance. If you find one, send it to me. I'd love to see it.

Flashback Fridays

Flashback Fridays is back, albeit on Saturday. This week is going to be a bit different. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my Grandmas. This week and next will be about my Grandpas. My Mom's Dad very sadly passed away before I was born, before my Mom even got married, so I, unfortunately, never got to know him.

Today's post is brought to you from my Mom, in her own words. Thanks Mom for sharing your Dad with us.

One thing I remember most about my Dad was his complete devotion to my Mom. I always knew that they were the loves of each others' lives.

Another thing was his wonderful sense of humor. He loved a good joke or a funny situation. I can still hear his wonderful laugh.

He was a lifelong resident of a small farm in NW Iowa. I don't think he went more than 75 miles from there his whole life but he had a very broad view of the world.

He became very sick one fall with sleeping sickness and was unable to complete his farm work. One of my most vivid memories of childhood was standing in the yard with my hand in his and all the neighbors pulling into the yard to harvest the crops. I looked up at him and tears were running down his face. He and my Mom had three sons die very early in life including Johnny who died when I was about nine. I remember my Dad crying then too.

I still find myself quoting something he "always said." One of my favorites is "He would complain if he was hung with a new rope". My Dad never met a stranger. We would go to a town with him and plan to meet up after shopping. We would arrive at the meeting place to find him visiting with some guy. They would say warm good-byes and we would leave. We would ask him who it was and he would say, "Oh, I don't know. Never saw him before". His funeral included lots of people we didn't know.

Dad was very strong physically although he wasn't very tall. I severely sprained my ankle in the 8th grade and Dad came to get me to take me to the doctor. He strode onto the playground, bent over and picked me up to carry me to the car. One of the teachers objected saying I was too heavy but Dad proceeded without seeming to strain. He and Bud, our neighbor, used to come to school to get us if a winter storm threatened. I always felt very safe with him.

He smoked a pipe (which probably contributed to his heart attack) but the smell of pipe smoke still brings him vividly to me. Another thing about Dad was that he didn't suffer fools gladly. There were neighbors and members of the parish whom he loved to mimic. He was hilarious.

I wish you and your siblings, as well as your Dad, could have known him.

Happy Birthday S!

A very Happy Birthday to the coolest, most awesome nephew in the world! And since it's also Flashback Friday, I've gone back into the vault (7 long years) and found photos from each of his years to celebrate this great kid. I love seeing a series of photos like this together. It would make a great scrap page!

Flashback Fridays

Twelve years ago this week, I was a sophomore in college at Gustavus Adolphus. We had just started our spring break. I was at home with my parents and the phone rang. It was a friend of my Mom's and the first thing she asked was "Is Sara home?" Not a typical first thing for my Mom's friend to ask. Her friend went on to tell her that St. Peter had been hit by an F3 tornado. It was on the ground for only two minutes, but the campus had taken a direct hit and sustained heavy damage.

We were on spring break, so I knew my friends were okay, but I didn't know about my professors. I didn't know the condition of the school or my belongings. It was all surreal at first. We weren't allowed back for three weeks, so it was hard to imagine.

We soon learned that 80 percent of the windows on campus were shattered and more than 2,000 mature trees were uprooted, the Chapel spire was snapped in half and most buildings sustained damage. The eternal flame was still burning in the Chapel though, despite every window being broken.

It wasn't until I arrived back in town when it really hit me. When I saw it with my own eyes. It was shocking. It was awful. The drive up the hill on College Avenue is usually so beautiful, seeing Old Main appear amongst the trees, but this view was changed forever.

Damage to buildings and things can be fixed and fortunately, no deaths or serious injuries were sustained on campus because all the students were on spring break. But one little boy lost his life and 19 others sustained injuries from this tornado. For that little boy's family and for those who were injured, this can't be fixed and this will be with them always.

The city of St. Peter, which is a beautiful little city of century old homes, was devastated. Five hundred homes were destroyed and 1700 were damaged. Gustavus sits on top of a hill and I remember the view was drastically changed after the storm. I could actually see the town. There were no trees obstructing my view.

I don't remember when I found this out, but my dorm room was facing the valley side of town, not the center of campus, and my room did not sustain any damage. Many of my classmates lost everything. Some professors did too and yet they did all they could to get the school open again, so we could return. I had feelings of guilt because my home had been spared, when so much had been taken from so many, my life had been spared, when a little boy's hadn't.

Tornadoes are so vicious and unpredictable. Whenever I talk about this with family and friends, inevitably we say thank God students weren't there. It's hard to reconcile that with those who lost their life, who were injured and who lost their entire homes.

The rebuilding on campus was swift and coordinated. The President of the college created a campaign, "Rebuilding a Greater Gustavus." The faculty and staff were amazing. They were committed to bringing us back and finishing the year.

There were many hours of clean up. Some classes were held in FEMA trailers and it was a difficult reentry. The beauty of campus took longer to rebuild. But the campus is made up of its people and we rallied. This was our home, our community, and we made it so again with hard work, faith, and the great Gustie spirit. There's nothing like it.

You can see more pictures of before and after here.

http://gustavus.edu/events/tornado/

Flashback Fridays

No real story this week, just a few photos I really like. I always enjoy looking at the backgrounds in the photos and remembering what furniture used to be in our house and what items still remain. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

November '79: My big brother being pesky. He stole my coveted blanket and I was attempting to get it back. He looks pretty determined, doesn't he?

Circa 1981: There aren't a whole lot of pictures of just my Mom and I while I was growing up, so that's why I like this one.

Circa 1983: I love this picture of my Grandma and I laughing it up. Don't you like the disembodied arm?

The day I met...

As many of you know, I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew. I thought it would be fun to revisit the day I met each of them.

Miss M was the first born in the family. I waited and waited for her arrival. I was so excited to meet her. I was in college at the time and when I got the call, I immediately went to see her. She was so small and she smelled wonderful. I made a promise to myself that I would be a part of her life; that I would make knowing her a priority. She changed my life forever.

The second born was Little D. She was born on a frigid day. M and I were together when my brother-in-law called with the news. We did a happy baby dance and practiced holding and feeding a baby doll. We met her the next day. She was so precious. It was so cute to see M holding her, being the big sis. We knew early on that she was a cuddler. She still is. It's amazing how much capacity we have to love.

The third born is my only nephew, S. They don't live here, so we all went to meet him together. It was hard to wait a few weeks! He was such a sweetie. I'm always amazed how small they are. We stayed a few days during that trip, and then a month later, my Mom and I went back for a week. I'm so glad we did this. We were able to get to know him better and hold him for as long as we wanted. I'm sad we live so far apart, but I'm happy that we get to see each other as often as we do. I make every effort to see him on his birthday and I take care of him and (now his sister too) when his parents travel.

The last born is Miss A, the baby of the family. Like me. We all traveled to see her too. She was so beautiful. Everyone wanted to hold her. When I finally got the chance, she was wide awake, looking around and smiling. I remember when my niece first saw her, she said her heart was going to burst. I couldn't say it any better.

For each new miracle, I made the same promise to myself that I did with my first niece; that I would make knowing each of them a priority. I'm so glad I did. I've said this before, but they are 4 of the coolest people I know.

Now, when we all get together it's such a joy to watch the cousins play together. We might go months without seeing each other, but it doesn't matter. They always pick up where they left off. I have a great family!

Flashback Fridays

Flashback Fridays will return next week. Have a wonderful weekend! I hope it's warm and sunny where you are. Spring is definitely in the air here. Up next week: Mini-albums.

Flashback Fridays (Sunday)

Today's post is about my Grandmas. I've been thinking about grandparents a lot lately. About my parents as grandparents. About how my nieces and nephew are so lucky to have my Mom and Dad; all the games played, the books read, the walks taken, the songs danced to, the pictures drawn, the concerts attended, the tears wiped away and so much more.

My Grandmas were amazing women. They raised large families with very little. They fiercely loved and lost. They were women of strong faith and strong values. They both worked and maintained a farm. (My aunt and uncle still live on the same farm as my Mom's parents...very cool.) They were fantastic cooks. This is the thing I remember most about each of them.

I was the youngest in my family by a number of years, so I'm sad to say I don't remember much about my Mom's Mom. She passed away when I was 11 years old. I do remember visiting her at her apartment. My Grandpa passed away before I was born. I remember her very high bed and her different colored metal drinking glasses. I remember her handmade cinnamon rolls. I remember her canned goods, especially the pears. I love canned pears! (Mom, I want to learn how to can!) I don't remember this, but my Mom tells me she had a great love of reading, which is so cool. My Mom learned the love of reading from her Mom and my Mom passed this love onto to me.

I remember visiting my Dad's parents. We traveled there for many Easters, Thanksgivings and Christmases. The entire family of uncle, aunts and cousins were always there. It was usually chaos. My Grandma was always in the kitchen, a very small kitchen too. I remember her glorious pies and perfect gravy. I don't remember her ever sitting down. I think because we saw each other mostly on these grand occasions and she was always busy tending to everyone, that we didn't get a chance to know each other like we would have otherwise. I saw the deep love she had for her husband and her family and the joy she found from her garden. She worked very hard to make us all happy. She was a wonderful host. I take great pride in my work and in how I care for my family and I think I got this from her, which is much like my Dad too. She passed away when I was 20 years old.

I miss them very much. I wish I had had more time with them. More time to just be with them and talk about their childhoods and be old enough to remember. I treasure the stories my Mom and Dad tell me. I will continue to tell my nieces and nephew how lucky they are to have grandparents that are so involved in their lives. It's such a blessing.

Earlier in the week, I said I started working a large project. I plan to make a layout for each grandchild with my Mom, and a layout for each grandchild with my Dad. This is my way of capturing the awesome relationship each of my parents has with their grandkids. I've finished one. My Dad and my youngest niece. Here's a sneak peek. I'll share them all when they're finished.

Here are two photos, the only ones I'm aware of, that have both my Grandmas and me in the same photo. I treasure these. (Those handsome boys are my brothers. Love the pants, Steph. They're actually back in style!)

To my family out there, please feel free to leave a comment about the memories you have of these fabulous women.

Flashback Fridays

My first car, purchased by my parents. An Olds. I was a sophomore in college. I was so excited. At the time, I was dating someone who attended a different college, so this provided me with the freedom to visit him and to come home without my parents coming to get me. I felt so grown up and proud. My own car. Wow. What a big moment.

This was a good car to me, for the most part. But as time went on, it posed a major problem. Whenever there was a sizable rainstorm, the floorboards would flood. Good times. More times than I'd like to remember, my Dad and I were sucking the water out. Imagine the smell left from water collecting in a car.

Having this car opened up a whole new world for me. I could make my own decisions. I could visit my boyfriend in another state. I could run errands. My friends and I could go out, could travel to a nearby (big) city. I could visit my sister. This freedom was a gift and I'm thankful my parents gave it to me and trusted me with it.

Flashback Fridays

Flashback Fridays is back! Sorry I didn't post one last week. Life got away from me!

This week's picture is of me at age 5. I love this picture for two reasons.

1) I'm holding my most favorite bear in the whole wide world! When I was 5 it was in good condition, but over the years my bear had many surgeries! That was his name, Bear. Creative, right? He was much loved. My mom has since done surgeries on her grandkids' beloved animals too. The care continues!

2) I'm riding my awesome bike with a cool banana seat. Don't you love the basket too? So cool. The bike stayed in the garage all these years and several years ago, my Dad took it to a bike shop and got it spiffed up and ready for my niece to ride. It's been such a joy to see her get so much enjoyment from the same bike I loved. A reason not to throw anything away! :)

Also, I noticed I'm wearing red tights with white sandals. Classy.

Flashback Fridays

Bandit. My sweet, sweet puppy.

She joined our family in the summer of 1988. It's probably obvious, but we named her Bandit because of the black around her eyes. We had such fun together; playing with toys, taking baths, taking walks, and cuddling. She loved to cuddle.

She was so small. Looking back at these pictures, I can't believe how small she was. She went through an obedience training, but I don't know how much it helped. :) One thing I remember is she used to love to break free from us. We would let her out to do her business on the cold days and she would bolt. This always made me so nervous because we lived next to very busy street, but she always came back, thankfully!

She was such a cutie when she was wet. All her black spots showed up beneath her fur. After a bath, she would always shake vigorously and get all of us wet. She was also a barker. She barked at everyone and everything! She was very energetic and passionate.

Bandit was such a God send. She helped me, and I imagine my parents too, through a very difficult time. She became a very special part of our family. She was a loyal, loving puppy, and I miss her.

Flashback Fridays

(7th grade school picture)

To prepare for this post today, I decided to look through my old journals. I found a journal from 1991. It was fun to read through all the entries. I wish I could go back to my younger self and give her some peace of mind. There were many hilarious entries and some heartbreaking. There were some common themes throughout.

1) I felt overwhelmed by all I needed to do for school and worried about whether I would get good grades. I had very high expectations for myself.

2) I always watched McGyver. I thought it was so cool that he could get out of all those sticky situations without using violence.

3) I was concerned about the war in Iraq.

4) I loved my puppy, Bandit.

5) The thing I always wanted to do was visit my sister in the big city and stay overnight and shop until we dropped.

6) I hated Mondays back then too.

7) I worried about my recent perm and if people were going to make fun of me.

8) I was seeking more freedom and privacy.

9) I looked up to my sister's and brother's lives in the big city.

10) When I grew up, I wanted to be a writer, an interior decorator, a vet, a teacher and be involved in politics. 3 out of 6 isn't bad.

Flashback Fridays

Every Friday I'm going to feature a photo from the pre-digital era. This will not only help me in my quest to scan them all, but be a fun trip down memory lane too.

This one comes from circa 1979. I love this picture of me and my siblings playing and being silly. I like that my sister and brother are looking back at me to see if I'm having fun. I'm so thankful that I had older siblings to watch over me and keep me safe and teach me all about life. I love them very much!