Wednesday, 12AUG, we
finished our drive to Sprucewoods, MB, in 90 degree heat; the forecast is for
three more days of hot & humid in Manitoba.
As usual we set up camp at Corrie’s brother Ed Riesmeyer & wife
Elaine’s (see below BLOG link for our last visit here). The purpose of this visit is a family reunion
that was discussed between Ed & Corrie when they visited us in February
this year in Houma, LA. Corrie felt it
was sad that our kids, Rebecca & Joe, had only seen all their Canadian
cousins once back in 1986. So the
decision was made that after our trip to Alaska, we would pick a time in August
& fly Rebecca, Raymond, Jaxson, Mason & Joe to Canada for an
“impromptu” family reunion. Now it is just
waiting for them to fly in, while making the final preparations for the event
at niece Marta Werbowski’s house on Sunday!
Thursday &
Friday were lots of errand running (mostly by Corrie & Elaine). Because of the continued heat we headed to a
very nice community pool at Wawanesa, MB, on Friday afternoon. Ed & Elaine brought their grandson
Tripp. (You may remember from our June
2012 BLOG that their son, Jason, was married to Katelyn in Wawanesa back in June
2012. That’s where they now live with
son Tripp.) We were also joined by Ed
& Elaine’s daughter Kim, husband Brian, & children Haley & Rowan.
Saturday morning
first thing, it was into Brandon, MB, to pick up a rental minivan. (After three days of record heat, we now have
rain & thunderstorms?) Then it was off
to the Winnipeg airport for daughter Rebecca, husband Raymond, & grandkids
Jaxson & Mason. Naturally the plane was
one hour late, & then the airline lost one of their car seats; adding
another hour to our wait as they cleared Customs. Finally it was a two hour drive back to Ed
& Elaine’s, & pizza dinner.
Sunday, early
afternoon, we all headed to niece Marta’s for the family reunionJ Pretty much everyone was there; but niece Natasha & our son,
Joe, was notL Joe has started a new job
working offshore, & can not fly to Canada until Tuesday. Marta has a pool; & the weather warmed
just enough, that the pool was well used; & a great time was had by allJ!
The below picture is
from 1986, showing all the cousins at that time. (Not born yet were Matthew & Kristi.) Front, L to R – Joe, Nicole, Scott; Middle, L
to R – Kim, Marta, Natasha; Back, L to R – Jason, Rebecca
The below picture
was at the reunion. (Missing were Joe
& Natasha.) Front, L to R – Kristi,
Nicole, Matthew, Scott; Middle, L to R – Kim, Marta; Back, L to R – Jason,
Rebecca
Monday morning,
17AUG, Rebecca, Raymond, Jaxson, Mason & us headed to the Royal Canadian
Artillery Museum on Canadian Forces Base Shilo (Dan visited this museum in June
2012 w/Ed). This was followed by lunch
at one of Canada’s “institutions” - Tim Horton’s.
That evening after
dinner Kim (Ed & Elaine’s daughter) came by to take Rebecca & Raymond
quad’ing. Quads are what Canadians call
their ATV four wheelers. Apparently Kim got
stuck in mud & it took two quads to pull her out. They finished the night by getting hosed off
in the front yard.
Tuesday morning it
was off to the Winnipeg Zoo with Raymond, Rebecca & the grandkids. The Winnipeg Zoo is very nice. One unique exhibit they have is dedicated to
polar bears (maybe because Churchill, MB, touts itself as the polar bear
capitol of the world?). Part of the
exhibit allows you to walk thru glass tunnels with the bears swimming/playing
above you in their pool.
Then it was off to the
airport to pick-up Joe. After dinner at
Ed & Elaine’s - Rebecca, Raymond & Joe went skeet shooting with Kim’s
husband Brian; while Oma & Opa babysit four grandkids with Elaine.
Wednesday, 19AUG, everyone slept in, & after lunch it was off to the Wawanesa community pool. This turned into a mini-reunion when we were joined by Elaine & grandson Tripp; niece Nikki, husband Roger & their son; Brian & his two kids; Corrie’s youngest brother Robbie & his three grandkids; & eventually Tripp’s mom Katelyn.
The rest of the day
was spent not doing much, other than a walk thru the Provincial Forest next to
Ed & Elaine’s.
Thursday morning
Rebecca, Raymond & Jackson went to the local Reptile Farm for a quick
visit, while Mason napped. Meanwhile Joe
headed to a nearby farm with cousin Jason for a full day of harvesting
activities; which apparently involved firearms?
Sadly that afternoon we had to take Rebecca, Raymond, Jaxson & Mason to an airport hotel, so they catch their early morning flight tomorrowL
Then after
dinner Joe went quad’ing with Kim (no one got stuck this time & no one
needed hosing down in the front yardJ).
A few hours after
midnight, Saturday morning, Dan ran Joe to the airport so he could catch his
6:30AM flight back to the states. Apparently he was upgraded to first class for some reason? After Dan’s return to the RV, we returned the
rental mini-van & collapsed with exhaustion. After ten days of good weather Brandon is now
experiencing a cold “monsoon”, as we prepare the RV & Toad for tomorrow’s
departureL
We had just enough
energy left for dinner that evening with Robbie & wife Yvonne at Kim’s Asian.
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