Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

I had bought Tim some tickets to the Vikings/Dolphins game for his birthday, so we headed up to Minneapolis yesterday. In hindsight, I wished I had made hotel reservations for Saturday night, but didn't realize at the time I bought them that there would be a Vikings, Twins and Gophers game all in the same weekend. So no go on the hotel room by the time I decided to try and reserve one.

We got up to Minneapolis and went to the 28th Avenue park and ride station by Mall of America, as we decided to ride the light rail. Despite it being a little crowded (standing room only) it was fun and beat the traffic, price of parking downtown and the argument that probably would have ensued if we had tried to find a lot. Got to the Metrodome around 10:00 or 10:30 am and walked around the fan zone, which was already very crowded, but interesting.

At around 11:00 am we get a little hungry so we go to the food booths and get a couple of bacon cheeseburgers. Its at that time that we realize that we had brought all of Tim's diabetes testing equipment, but not his actual insulin. Yikes. So we proceed to try and find the nearest first aid station or medic to see if they could be of any help. They weren't (basically told us we were on our own), so we decide to wing it, find our seats and watch the game, but keep an eye on his blood sugars.

At halftime, Tim's blood sugars had kept rising, so much so that they weren't reading on his meter anymore. So we tried to walk around the stadium, which didn't go well as everyone was out and about and it was very crowded, so we decided to just come back home. So we left during the 3rd quarter and came back home. All in all, it was a fun event, just cut short a little.

I will try and post more pictures later, as Blogger isn't being cooperative in this manner right now.

Gourley Reunion - August 2010

This past weekend, we had one of the Gourley reunions here in Clear Lake. We had a great surprise too, because Tim's brother Jeff and his wife, Jennifer came up from Austin, TX to join us for it, which we weren't expecting. They made it into town on Thursday evening and we had a chance to catch up and chat for a while, just family.

On Friday, the Gourley gals and family started coming into town. All were staying at the Best Western Holiday Lodge here in Clear Lake. We headed over there on Friday afternoon and caught up with some of the family. We then caravaned out to Dick and Genie Johnson's house in Tanglefoot on the lake. They had a GREAT spread of food and we all enjoyed each other's company that evening.

Saturday morning, the guys all headed to the lake for a boat ride and then The Other Place for lunch, while the gals went to the Rose Cottage Tea Room. The gals then went to Mason City to the Frank Lloyd Wright house and did some other shopping, before our big cookout. I was able to keep my surprise a secret and pulled off Tim's surprise 50th birthday, with 50 decorated cupcakes in the shape of 50. He was completely surprised and vowed to get me back..ha ha.

I think I counted over 50 members of the family in the Gourley portrait (thanks to Jeff for his photography all weekend) and that wasn't counting everyone that was there. The evening, I think, was a great hit and fun was had by all, especially Tori's boys who discovered the fireworks in our garage.

Sunday morning, everyone headed to Phyllis's house for coffee, rolls and doughnuts before heading back home. It was a terrific weekend and I was sorry that not everyone could make it, but those who did I think had a great time.

Updates to the blog

Since my last post, there have been quite a few changes in the Entner Family. We have now added one wonderful daughter in law, Jessica, to the family. Alexis isn't living at home anymore, but in Ames, which means that now all the kids live in Ames, IA. And we've added to our furry family, with the addition of Bella Mocha on June 15, 2010. She's a rambunctious, friendly and loving puppy (who also just happens to be the niece of our other cocker spaniel, Raven).

Our summer has gone by quick but we've been busy with lots of activities. Upcoming next week is RAGBRAI, which is a huge bike ride through the state of Iowa. This year, they are making a stop in our town next Tuesday, which coincidentally is Tim's birthday. So we'll see what kinds of activities and entertainment we'll get to enjoy then.

We have been getting more and more involved in playing golf and now I'm determined to be a decent player at this game. I've now got my own clubs and yesterday, had my 2nd lesson, which I think went pretty well. I've gotten a good handle on some of the things I'm doing wrong and can work on to improve my game. Now I just need to remember them when I'm playing, ha ha!