Spending Time with Dad / Grandpa Frank

 We had a trail camera set up at our dad's place since he was up at the VA Hospital for a while. Most of the pictures were of one of us stopping in to check on things but it also captured the times that we were able to get him out of the nursing home for a few hours after he was moved back to New Ulm for hospice care. He really enjoyed those outings and it was nice to have that time with him.

I don't know what it is about this picture but I really like it. I drove Dad's Harley over since it was such a nice day. Krystal had her cute baby bump. Joe was probably BS-ing with Keith cuz he's got that big grin on his face. Good memory! :-)

Dad's nephew, Larry, from Iowa came to visit on one of the outings. It was so nice that he was able to visit and he even brought a "toy" that he thought Dad would enjoy... a tennis ball gun! The guys and Jared thoroughly enjoying playing with it. Dad was in tough shape but I know he got a kick out of it.

Caught by the trail cam... love the mischievous smile!

Filling it with aerosol hairspray (propellant). 
Keith is 6'1" and Larry makes him look short!

Jared was ready to catch the tennis ball!

Grandma Lappe, Lyndsey, Krystal, Daryl holding Morgan

Larry wanted a picture of Dad and the V8 motorcycle Dad built.

I think I was taking a video of Dad shooting the tennis ball gun since Morgan and Jared were covering their ears. ;-)

August 10th...

Keith and Joe tried to soak up as much information about Dad's equipment that they could. If you knew my dad, he was quite the fix-it/handyman and he had many tricks to getting things to run. One of his notes included using a nail to lift some engine component if it got stuck. Ha! We've had quite a few chuckles over Dad's "thriftiness". I remember sitting on his Harley in the shed trying to get it started and finally had to call him cuz I couldn't even find the key! He talked me through the steps to getting it to start as if he was standing right next to me... not sitting in a hospital bed 100 miles away. It fired up and I had to call him back cuz it was so loud... and sounded so good! Oh, and the key... it's under the right butt cheek. Ha!

Keith learning how to operate the boom trailer.

Then everyone wanted a ride! Jared had to go first, of course.

Joe with Ashlyn and Kaelyn

Me and my girls

Dad

It's crazy how much I think about him every day.

My dad's nephew, Larry Lappe, from Iowa is quite a talented photo editor. He took this picture at an auction that my dad was at. It was Larry's dad's rare 1947 Harley that they were going to sell at the auction. Dad was going through his first first battle with cancer and had lost his hair. Strange to see him without his signature mustache. What a great picture. My dad really liked it too. We had it on display in his room at Oak Hills during his last days. 

Bavarian Blast Parade

July 21st...

Isabel, Morgan, Chloe and Jared

Shari, Brianna, Aaron and Claire were on this float

Brainna is in te front. Claire is under the lady's elbow.

Aaron and Shari waving at us.

A fire truck was coming and it was blowing the loud horn ;-)

Thumbs up for the Advance Auto guy!

What a dork =)

Little League

July 20th...

Jared played Little League Baseball this summer on the Angels team. He enjoyed it and made a lot of progress over the season. These pictures are from their last two games of the season at their tournament.

I think he was supposed to be looking the other way ;-)

At bat

Not paying attention

Chloe found her buddy, Spencer!

I thought they were hugging but then they started lifting each other...
well, Chloe tried to lift Spence ;-)

Getting their participation medals from Coach Russ

Bitty Ball

UPDATED...

 

Chloe played Bitty Ball through the NU Park & Rec this summer. She was lucky enough to play on the same team as her cousin, Ashlyn, and her good friend, MaKenna.

Ashlyn, Chloe & MaKenna

July 16th...

Ashlyn, MaKenna and Chloe

Ready to field the ball

These two are quite the duo... kinda like their mothers ;-)

Ready!

The cheering section!

Lots of water breaks... it was a HOT summer!

The mischief continues in the dugout

Kenna

Chloe up to bat

Ashlyn had a nice hit

Kenna drove one down the right side

She was drowning in those batting helmets...
had to hang on to it when she ran the bases.

Go, Kenna, go!

July 23rd...

They got to play on the big field at Johnson Park!

Ramsey Park

July 5th...

The kids and I picked up my aunt Lois and drove over to Redwood Falls to spend the afternoon at Ramsey Park. We had a picnic lunch and did lots of exploring. The kids loved it and I'm hoping to make this an annual trip. They have a campground so we might have to try that out!

Checking out the river.

Ready for a fun day!

 

The Waterfall

Lois and the girls walking across one of the suspension bridges.

Chloe

Morgan

Jared

That's such a Moe-moe look :-)

Looking at the river below. Love those cute piggy buns ;-)

Jared showed Morgan how to dig.

The river right before the dam.

Jared on the bridge watching the rushing water.

Where's Waldo Jared?

There he is! He was quite the adventurer and cover a lot of ground!