Dear Dad

Dear, Dad Mom went into the doctor today to get an endoscopy and they found out she has a Laparoscopic Pareasesophageal Hernia. They are referring her out to Mayo to do the surgery but we need a little divine intervention to be sure everything goes ok! She's also waiting to hear back on a few biopsies. We need a little Myles Mojo. Love you,Heather

How goes it?

You know how there are some phrases that just completely and totally remind you of a particular person? How goes it is one of those phrases. I heard someone say this today and instantly I could see my dad with his head sticking out of the cab of the pick up visiting with a neighbor.

Big Brother Program

Today's story takes me back to many years ago when my dad was part of the Big Brother program. His little brother loved coming to the cabin but he didn't want his own room so he always slept on the couch. The first thing he asked for when dad wanted to get him a gift was a pair of flip-flops. Although dad was busy with his own three girls he had enough love to share with many other kids.

Zamboni Man

Last week Stella got to go the Wild hockey game. They were finally playing again! She calls the penalty box "the naughty box" and she had lots of questions about the zamboni. Myndy told her about how she and mom would push their noses up against the glass and wave at dad when he was driving the Zamboni. Dad would never wave but would just nod his head in their direction to let them know he'd seen them.

Weather Boy

The weather is a little dicey here. Ice covered streets and lots of cars in the ditch. Steve is happiest on his IPAD looking at the radar and reporting any weather changes. I can just hear dad. He'd call and say, "How's the weather boy?" He got a big kick out of how much Steve and his dad loved to track the weather.

Ellie's Carrot

Today we were talking with Ellie's teacher about her science fair project and we got on the subject of growing vegetables. Ellie went on to tell her teacher this story: We were at my grandma and grandpa's house in Thief River and it was harvest time for the vegetable garden. My grandpa Myles and I went out to the garden to pick the carrots. He looked out at the garden and dug a special one out for me. It was one of the best carrots I've ever tasted, probably because my grandpa picked it out just for me.

Hawaiian Shrimp

On a day like today when it's blisteringly cold in Minnesota, I love to look at mom and dad's Christmas card. In it, they are posing on the beach in Hawaii. I know one of dad's favorite Hawaiian memories was their day at the north shore. They ended up there kind of by accident and ended up seeing all kinds of sea turtles. They also enjoyed what both mom and dad claimed was, "the best shrimp we've ever tasted." It was from a little stand on the beach. Great memories!

Good Catch

Today's story once again involves Uncle Ernie. He and dad were fishing at Lake of the Woods and Ernie went to the outhouse at the campground to take care of business. He came out very shook up and said, "Say, say, say, Myles...you gotta help me. I lost my wallet in the john." Dad said, "Take off your watch." Ernie looking puzzled said, "Why do you need that?" Dad replied, "You don't think I am going in for just your wallet do you?" I believe the wallet was retrieved with the help of a fishing pole. Uncle Ernie did like to carry a lot of cash around and this probably contributed to his level of anxiety. That and the fact that he knew he'd never hear the end of it from dad.

Water Fun

We spent part of today at the Athletic Club enjoying the pool. As I watched Steve and Erik splashing around and doing the "porpoise" I thought of my dad. He wasn't one of those dads who sat at the pool and watched everything from the sideline. He was always in the water with us playing one game or another. One of our favorites was "Marco Polo". Today I am grateful for dads who know how to play with their kids. I am a better person because my dad always had time for fun.

YMCA

I just returned home from a girl's weekend in the Wisconsin Dells. Last night we had fun at a piano bar and entertained the crowd with our boisterous rendition of YMCA. Hearing that song always makes me smile because I think of my dad...who was always about two beats behind when we spelled out the letters. Love you, dad

Fish for Friends

Tonight Mary Sponsler from the lake sent me a message on facebook. She mentioned reading the blogs and then said one of her favorite memories of dad was when he came over with the basket of fish nuggets to share fresh-caught walleye with them. Dad loved to share his bounty with others...that's for sure!

Fishing with Uncle E.E.

Last night as I was falling asleep I was reminded of this memory. I was in about fifth grade and dad and I went fishing to Lake of the Woods with Uncle Ernie. It was pretty windy and Lake of the Woods gets a little choppy at times. E.E. started looking a little green around the gills. Of course, dad couldn't pass up an opportunity for a little joking around. Mom had packed us a lunch with jello blocks and dad held that jello up and wiggled it around. Ernie was throwing up over the side of the boat in no time.

I Went to the Animal Fair

Tonight Erik was especially needy as I rocked him. He wanted extra stories and extra songs...lots of them. I was almost out of ideas when I remembered dad's favorite. I went to the Animal Fair....(then he'd change the words to whoever he was singing about)Erik Willman was there. The old raccoon by the light of the moon was combing his auburn hair. The funniest was the monk. He fell on the elephant's trunk. The elephant sneezed and feel on his knees and what became of the monk, the monk, the monk. It was a great memory but it really made me miss my dad. Erik said, "Mommy, why are you crying. The animals are at a fair." "I know Erik. I just miss Grandpa Myles."

Best Western Birthday Parties

Today the kids attended a birthday party for their friend Eliana. It was at the Ramada and the kids got to swim, slide, sit in the hot tub and play. It was a great idea for a cold January day. It all brought back my memories of my birthday parties. One of our favorite places to have a party was at the Best Western. We'd rent a room and invite a bunch of girls to swim, play and have fun. Everyone's favorite thing was trying to get away from my dad. He'd swim, chase us and torment us in any way possible. There's something special about these birthday parties that involve the whole family.

At the Movies

Steve and I enjoyed a rare movie night out tonight. I believe the last movie we saw at the theatre was Cars 2. We spent most of the movie chasing our crawling toddler around. As we were driving to the theatre I thought about the movies I watched with my dad over the years. One of his favorites was "The Deer Hunter". As a kid I remember watching "The Ammityville Horror" with him and being totally freaked out for days. The most awkward movie watched together would have to be "Brokeback Mountain".

Sleepover Night

It's sleepover night at our house. Each girl has a friend staying over and they are having a blast! So far they've consumed all of the juice boxes in the house, made a fort out of the office and are now working on making their own jewelry. Of course, this reminded me of my own sleepovers as a child. I distinctly remember one sleepover where all of us were sleeping in my waterbed. As I remember it there were four girls in one small bed. We snuck into the kitchen for a snack but we didn't realize that my dad had heard us. He proceeded to get some garden produce from the garage and "plant" it in our bed. As we all snuggled back in after our snack break loud screams could be heard from my bedroom. You could always count on my dad for a good practical joke.

TV Dinners

Growing up I was lucky enough to have two parents who were excellent cooks. It was the norm at our house to eat a home-cooked meal almost every night and trips to restaurants were rare occasions. When dad worked nights he'd make roasts, scalloped potatoes,and homemade soups. Mom was famous for pork chops, tator tot hotdish, and homemade cookies. You'd think I would have been grateful, having all of this wonderful food but I was a kid. What I wanted more than anything else was a TV dinner. When we'd head to the grocery store, I'd whine and beg for these and every once in a while my wish was granted. If I only knew then what I know now.

Lucy

When Myndy and Jason lived in the house on Beverly Road they had a cat named Lucy. Lucy liked to sleep in the guest bedroom and when mom and dad came to stay she thought they were invading her territory. Dad would shut the door when they went to bed but about half-way through the night Lucy would start running into the door and whacking it with her tail to get it to open up. Eventually she was always successful and ended up snuggled in between mom and dad.

Fresh Cut Fries

One of my memories of childhood was mom and dad getting out the fry baby to fry up onion rings, french fries and corn dogs. Tonight we had the same ambience going on as Steve made fresh cut fries with his french fry cutter ( purchsed from Northern Tool and Equipment). I can still smell that signature deep-fried scent and I'm sure our neighbors are appreciative too!

Pippi

On Friday we took a trip to Barnes and Noble since Anna and Ellie both wanted new books. Anna was looking at the Pippi Longstocking series and it reminded me of what dad always said when I was reading those books. "Are you reading about Peepee Yellowstocking again?"

Soup Day

Today was a perfect day to make soup. Anna had requested wild rice soup so that's what I made. As I was cooking the rice and grating the carrots I thought about how much my dad loved soup. It was one of his favorite meals both to make and eat. He almost always ordered a cup of soup when he went out to dinner. One of his favorites was mom's "zuppa toscana" made like the one at Olive Garden.

Pearl Harbor

On the last trip mom and dad took to Hawaii they spent some time at Pearl Harbor. One of the highlights for dad was a tour of the USS Missouri. The Missouri's claim to fame is that the Empire of Japan officially surrendered on it's decks in 1945. As they toured the ship dad had Stella climb into one of the tiny bunks and then he told her about his days in the Navy. I know this was a great memory for dad and he was so proud to have been able to tell his stories to his grand-daughter.

All you need is...Walgreens

When Myndy and Jason first moved to Woodbury dad spent some time getting to know their surroundings. One of his first finds was Walgreens. He discovered that they had spice drops, reading glasses and peanuts...all in one place. He had no need to go anywhere else!

Ear Aches

Last night Anna had an ear ache. Needless to say it was a long night for both her and her parents. As we were giving her medicine and putting the heating pad on her ear I got a visual of my dad doing the same thing for me. I remember one particularly bad ear ache and how my dad kept the warm wash cloth on my ear and tried to distract me with a Speerno story and some cheese curds.

Christmas Cards

One of the traditions that we've started in our family is that we hang up all of our Christmas cards on the door of our pantry. The kids love to look at them and often there are one or two that are dogeared because someone ( namely Erik) has been carrying them around. This year the favorite card is the one that mom sent out. There are pictures of all of the grandkids but in the middle is a great shot of mom and dad in Hawaii. They look tan, relaxed and happy and dad is even sporting his swimsuit. Erik likes to look at it and point, "Grandpa Myles going swimming!" I'm so glad mom and dad took that trip.