Our Trip to Atlanta

During the first week in September, Dick and I flew to Atlanta, Georgia, for my niece's wedding. We would also see my brothers and sisters as well as our son Ben and daughter-in-law Janelle.


But first I wanted to show the flowers that Ben and Janelle gave me for Mothers' Day. They were just little plants when I got them and now they are healthy, flowering plants.


While in Atlanta, many of the wedding attendants stayed at the same place. Ben & Janelle, my brother Benton & Marilyn, and Dick & I would gather at Benton's room in the evening to play cards.


The day of the wedding, the six of us went to Stone Mountain. Here we are on a train tour around the mountain.


After the train tour, we played mini-golf.


Being that we were at Stone Mountain, we had to go to the top of the mountain, so we decided to take the cable car to the top. Here is one of the cars returning people from the top. Once these people got off, we got on and rode it to the top.


Ben & Janelle walked towards the edge of the mountain. Here they are. Also, you can see that Stone Mountain is a huge rock.

Family In Mississippi

Dick and I traveled about while we were in Mississippi, seeing relatives and historic sites.


Here is a general store in Philadelphia, Mississippi, that is still in business. My brother, his wife, Dick, and I visited it and ended up buying several things.


Here I am with my two sisters, Sarah and Iva.


Back in 1957, my siblings and cousins went swimming at a nearby lake. Afterward we had a picnic. Here I am with my cousin, David Sansing, eating watermelon.


Fifty-two years later at our Sansing Family reunion, my cousin David Sansing and I re-inact our side-by-side watermelon eating picture.


Since I've just shown you an old photograph of me, here is another one. It's my senior class portrait that appeared in our high school annual.

Visit with a Transformer

When we were in Philadelphia, Mississippi, we visited a Choctaw Indian Fair. There were cultural displays, food, crafts, and dances. We did not anticipate meeting up with a transformer.


Here I am talking with the transformer. It was nice but had a strange sounding voice.


My sister-in-law, Marilyn, came over to see the transformer, too. When it looked up, it noticed Dick taking our picture. The transformer told Dick that he had better treat us properly or it would teach Dick a lesson!

Our Trip West

Dick and I took a four-week tour from Minnesota to Utah going through South Dakota, and then back going through Montana and North Dakota.


We were in western Wyoming traveling on I-80 when I took this picture. Those are the Uintah Mountains in the background.


On the way back to Minnesota, we traveled through Northwestern Wyoming. As we were approaching Yellowstone National Park we traveled along side the Teton Mountains.


In Yellowstone National Park, we got high up in the Teton mountains where there was snow on the ground. It was early June and we were not ready for winter.


In Yellowstone, we stopped by to see Old Faithful Geyser.


Finally, we got back to Minnesota near our lake home. The sunset was so nice that I snapped this picture.

Rob and Justin Visit

Rob and Justin came to our Lake Home and spent the night with us. They left the next morning to pick up Kristin and Alyssa at the Minneapolis International Airport.


Rob and Justin sit in the kitchen.


Here is Dick with his son Rob and grandson Justin.


Justin has taught himself the guitar. He played and sang a couple of songs for us.


Thirty-three years ago, Dick put up a split rail fence on our Saint Cloud land. But over the years the wood rotted and so he is in the process of replacing the fence.


Dick realized that I was taking pictures of him and quickly looked up.

My siblings and I get together in the early Spring to "hangout" for part of a week. This year we met at the lake home of my youngest brother's home of his daughter Sharon. The home is on Spring Lake near Huntsville, Alabama. We were together from Monday to Friday.


Here are the five Espey siblings: George, Iva, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Benton.


My two sisters, Iva and Sarah.


My two brothers, Benton and George, discuss the bacon frying. George gives instructions while Benton has George sample some of his bacon.


Here is Sharon on my right and Dick on my left. The lake home belongs to Sharon. Sharon was with us for Monday evening only since she had to be at work for NASA in Huntsville.


George, his wife Chris, and Benton were on the way to the boat and wave runners (jet skies).


One evening, Benton, his wife Marilyn, and I used the hot tub. It was great!


We played board games throughout the week. Here we play Aggravation. The game belonged to my mother who loved the game.


We also traveled around the area. This is an old covered bridge. At times we weren't sure where we were. Thankfully we had a Garmin GPS.

Bev Visits Us in Saint Cloud

A short time ago my sister-in-law, Bev Wolfe, came to my house with her son, Dan, and his wife. Bev was on her way to visit with her sister Barbara in Saint Cloud. The three of them, along with my husband, Dick, had lunch together before they left to visit Barbara.

A Special Gift

The first 5 people to comment on this blog post will get something made by me. My choice. From me. This offer does have some restrictions & limitations:
1. I make no guarentees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you!
3. It'll be done this year (hopefully sooner than later.)
4. You will have no clue what it is going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch? You must repost this on your blog. The first 5 people to do this and tell me you did so, will get something made by me!
Ready...Set...Go!

Barb & Jack Renew Their Wedding Vows

On Friday, 13 February 2009, the Talahi Care Center hosted a Valentine Day wedding vow renewal event. Barb and Jack, along with five other couples, participated in the renewals.


Barb and Jack pose for their portrait before going to the ceremony.


After the wedding renewal ceremony, punch and cake was served. Here is the Jelinek couple waiting for the food.


Jack adjusts Barb's bouquet while they wait for the ceremony to begin.


Jack renews his wedding vows.


Barb also participates in renewing her wedding vows.


The happy couple, having renewed their wedding vows.


Dick attends the festivities but does not eat the cake!

Granddaughter Bitsy's Visit

Our Granddaughter, Bitsy, along with her mother, Laura, and Bitsy's friend, Emily, drove up from Omaha, Nebraska, to spend the New Year holiday with us. They spent two days at our lake home and then we went to our Saint Cloud home Friday morning. Bitsy wanted her Grandpa and Emily to see the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with her. On Saturday plans to travel to Minneapolis were canceled due to an approaching snow storm.


Bitsy watches Grandpa perform some "magic" with his laptop computer. Then Bitsy got her computer and the two were able to connect Bitsy's computer to the Internet via the newly installed wireless router.


Laura and Bitsy along with their two dogs watch the DVD movie Signs and then the movie The Village.


At the breakfast table the next morning, Emily watches Bitsy's dog, Hemingway, beg for some food.


Emily, Laura, Bitsy, and I pose for a picture just before we leave for the Saint Cloud home.


Here we all are in the kitchen of our Saint Cloud home playing a German card game of Elferraus.


Here is Emily, Bitsy, and Laura just before leaving on their road trip back to Omaha, Nebraska.