Chuck, daughter Nellie, Barb and grand daughters Katie and Jessie	Nellie, Jessie, and Katie	Katie and boyfriend Daniel	Jessica	Jessica & Katherine
Nellie and her Smart Car	Her license plate

Bismarck and Jamestown, North Dakota

Our next destination was Bismarck, North Dakota, where my sister Zona and her husband Mike live, as well as their daughter Cathy and her husband Jon, and their kids Katie and Cole.   Also joining us for a weekend were Mike and Zona’s (MZ’s) son Erik and his fiancé Cindy, and MZ’s daughters Susie and Jessica.   In tow with Susie were her husband John and their kids Maddie and Oliver, and with Jessie was her fiancé Peter.   Susie is a professional photographer and Zona took advantage and asked her to take family photographs, so of course I took advantage and got bunches of shots too.

MZ have a cabin on Lake Isabel just south of the tiny village of Dawson, and we spent time there as well, helping Mike harvest his grapes on one weekend and dismantling his dock on another.   MZ’s lake neighbors are Marvin and Violet, with whom we had our first visit to Norway several years ago.   Marvin’s little four-wheeler came in mighty handy on the dock-removal project.

I had decided to take advantage of our presence in the USA to finally get my knee diagnosed.  When a post-MRI visit with a surgeon indicated that I would probably be able to run again after arthroscopic surgery, I went for it on the eve of our scheduled departure to Las Vegas for Barb’s family reunion.   The doctor said I shouldn’t attempt to travel that soon, so Barb went on ahead and I stayed in Bismarck.  Mom and Zona have been discussing for years the possibility of Mom moving from out of her home in Jamestown and into a “mother-in-law” annex to MZ’s home.   So I suggested to Barb that instead of me joining her in Vegas and then us returning to Trinidad when the reunion was over, that she fly back to ND and we help Mom prepare the house for her move.

Pictures taken in North Dakota:

Chuck's sister Zona, her husband Mike, mother Evelyn, Chuck and Barb	Sign at Robb's lake house	Barb picking grapes	Chuck's sister Zona picking grapes	Chuck grilling dinner at Lake Isabel after an afternoon of grape picking
Mike cleaning grapes	Jessica's fiance Peter pitched in to clean grapes	Delicious grapes	Smushing and straining grapes in preparation for making grape jelly and wine	Lots of grape jelly was made
Mike and Zona with their grandkids	Chuck with great-nephew Cole	Our niece Jessica with her nephew Cole and niece Katie	Suzie took over grill duty one evening	Katie and great grandmother Evelyn
Great grandma with the four great grandkids - Cole, Oliver, Katie, and Mattie	Barb making a Smore	Jessica getting the kids to exercise at the park	Jessica & Peter	Jon relaxing at the park
Cathy roasting a marshmellow	Great grandma Evelyn	Chuck after his knee surgery

 

Las Vegas

So Barb headed to Las Vegas and helped her family celebrate her mother's 82nd birthday and her father's 84th birthday.  The family rented a huge house/mansion for four days on the outskirts of Las Vegas for the reunion.  33 family members were able to make it.  Son Jeff and grandson Zane were there, but daughter Danielle and grand daughters Kristen and Abigail couldn't make it. Barb had a great time and one day took Zane and two of his cousins down the Las Vegas Strip to see some of the sights. 

Unfortunately Barb’s mother Louise had been ill recently and was feeling so poorly on the third day of the reunion that she was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  She was there for three days before they diagnosed her with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  She is back home from the hospital now but is going to need care, so Barb will be staying with her parents until late October.  All of the family members were shell-shocked by the news.  Louise has been so healthy her entire life, so the news was a big surprise and sad news to everyone.

So I am in Jamestown helping Mom sort through (and dispose of) 45 years of accumulated possessions and – um – junk, and Barb is in Las Vegas shopping, cooking, scheduling, arranging, and supporting her parents.   It's good that we have a flexible schedule and can be there for our parents.

Pictures that Barb took at the reunion:

Trevor, Audrey, Mom and Mary playing cards	Dad and Hugh playing chess on-line against each other (no need for a chess board anymore :-) )	Nephew Austen	Dad	Shane, Samantha and Zane
Zane and Jeff - maybe some disciplining going on?	Kids playing in back yard of Family Reunion house/mansion	Boys on top of LV Eiffel Tower	View from top of LV Eiffel Tower	Zane, Simon and Wyatt at Excalibur
Brother Hugh	Niece Jessie and fiance Westin	Sister Lori	Brother Mike	Nephew Preston and Mom
Nephew Preston	Simon and Zane	Nephew Tyler	Barb, son Jeff, grandson Zane	Dad and son Jeff
Zane and Jeff	Family photo without Mom & Dad	Barb's brothers Dan, Tim, Mike, George and Hugh	Brother Dan's family	Mom in hospital with Dad
Mom leaving hospital	Mom & Dad