Spring Break Week-end

I celebrated my birthday with Sherry, Lindsay, Jerry, Jeni, & Claire at the Badlands Restaurant. It happened to be a "Spring Break" day, so I had the day off. Can't get much better than that!

Friday morning Jerry & I drove up to Metigoshe to check out things at the cabin. We were on our way to Cavalier for the week-end. The Birchwood stays open year-round.

A left turn here at Solper's Addition,

and we're on our way to the cabin.

Almost there!

Jerry made tracks for me.

A little more snow has to melt before the campfires begin!

Things looked pretty normal inside.

Soon this cozy little cabin will be the gathering place for friends and family.

Good times will soon begin on the deck.

It may be awhile before the dock is pushed out!

Ice houses will soon be off the lake.

Summer can't come too soon!

The campers will be occupied.

The snow was about this deep!

It was worth blazing a trail!

We're ready for Lake Season to begin. It's been a long winter!

We're ready for the "World Famous Pizza Burgers" too!

We're now on our way to Cavalier to stay with Jayden while Tiff & Jason attend the Bon Jovi concert in Fargo.

Up at 5:30, and in Mayville by 8 for Jayden's wrestling meet. A Subway breakfast sandwich is just what Jayden needs!

He cheers his teammates on!

One pin for Jayden,

a loss to him,

some warm ups,

and,

another pin, gave him a

second place finish! We're proud of you, Jayden!

Nice trophy!

Jayden was excited to be in Mayville where Great-grandpa grew up!

Celebrating the great finish with a T-Bone at Texas Roadhouse!

And yes, he ate it all!

A few games with Grandpa

Jayden always leaves with a few balls from the Claw Machine.

Monopoly with Grandpa & Grandma

We brought Jayden a new over-the-door basketball hoop, and set it up in the hallway. It's made for dunking, and dunking he does. It's pretty noisy, so I'm wondering how long it'll last in the hallway!

Jerry grilled deer sausage on the patio without a jacket. Maybe spring is right around the corner?

A little shuffleboard game, before...

Tiff & Jason arrive home. Jayden is all smiles. He's got three days of school next week, and the family's off to Washington D.C for 5 days! Jason will stay on for a few more days for training. Hope you have a great trip!

Back in Minot, we stopped in for chili at the Andersons. Yum! Claire still enjoys her pink bumpy ball Jayden won for her in GF.

Grandma Lana enjoys watching her throw and catch the ball like a 5 year old! Great ball handling skills, Claire!

On the Road to Cavalier Again!

We made another trip to Cavalier this week-end. We really weren't planning to, but Jeni & Nathan have been trying to find a week-end when Cole isn't playing basketball to go, so when his tournament was cancelled, they decided to load up the van and take off. We drove through fog there and back. The fog in ND is really getting old! Anyway, Tiff put out her delicious bean & corn salsa for us to enjoy, along with a meat & cheese platter. Jason made ranch dips for mozarella sticks, and the food extravaganza began! Jason made his yummy pulled pork sandwiches, egg bake, & caramel rolls. We never go hungry at the Schmelz's.

Claire is intent on Nathan's computer screen, while Taja is intent on Jayden's sandwich!

Cole plays a little Wii after arriving Friday night. Jayden is so excited to have Cole come for the first time since last spring!

Early Saturday morning, we're on our way to East Grand Forks for Jayden's wrestling meet. Jayden hopes a little Mt. Dew will perk him up!

Cole is a good supporter of Jayden's sports, as is Jayden of Cole's.

The fans are ready for some wrestling!

Grandma and Nanni - "Life is good!"

Jayden's match is about to begin!

Jason & Tiff are ready to cheer him on!

Putting on the leg band for identification

It's a Pin!

Jayden receives his Third Place medal!

Congratulations, Jayden! We're all so proud of you!

We made a stop at Target to buy a few more packs of cards. Hoping to get a Jersey Card!

Luckily they both ended up with one. You never know until you open the pack.

Then on to Texas Roadhouse! Cole had never been here, so Jayden had to explain that it was okay to eat the peanuts and throw the shells on the floor! Cole loved the sweet buns. I think he had 3 or 4, so wasn't hungry when his food arrived. Jayden used the last of his free "cheesy fries" appetizer coupons he'd picked up at a motel in Grand Forks awhile ago. He also wasn't very hungry when his food came!

We had to split up into two tables, as the wait would have been extremely long! There was a Sioux Hockey game in GF this week-end.

Jayden is a pro at cutting up his Roadhouse steak by now!

Jayden and Cole won a few balls playing the Claw game at the Roadhouse, so gave Claire this one. She was so proud of it! She and I played for a long time. She made a rule that when you missed the ball you had to call out "Pinky Pie!" Needless to say, I had to call that out quite a few times!

The boys were busy out side with balls also. When the temp reaches 30 degrees, Spring Fever sets in, and jackets come off!

Unwinding with a little "Number Practice."

Unwinding with a little video game fun!

Unwinding in the Jacuzzi!

The cousins agree it was a great week-end!

Until next time, have a safe trip home! Glad you planned this week-end for us!