Phil and Shanna’s Blog

Summer Trip to MN

Posted on 17. Jun, 2007 by Shanna Gons in Family, Pictures, Vacation

On May 25th I flew up to Minnesota for a quick visit with my family. It had been about a year since the last time Phil and I were there. Unfortunately this time I had to leave my Sweets at home! (This was the first time we had been apart for any length of time, but somehow we survived!) I flew into Minneapolis a little after 11 PM and was so excited to see my Dad and Ryan. That night I spent the night at Dad and Kathy’s house. Kathy prepared a delicious brunch for Ryan, Erin, and me. It was great to be able to catch up with them.

Ryan, Erin, and I drove down to Granada/Fairmont that afternoon, where we spent the rest of our time. That night we joined Mom, Curt, Grandma, Chad, Sara, Caleb, Rachel, Seth, and Megan at Godfather’s Pizza for some good food, fun, and fellowship. On Wednesday, we spent some time at Chad and Sara’s home. The kids are getting so big, and it is so exciting to see them develop not only physically and emotionally, but also spiritually. We attended Calvary Baptist for the Wed. night prayer meeting. It is always enjoyable to catch up with friends and families from the church I attended during my high school years. Thursday was a fun day for all out at the farm. We (Ryan and Chad, actually) grilled some hot dogs and steaks. It was the first time Ryan grilled, but he did a terrific job! Mom made some salads and desserts, and Grandma brought out some of her famous potato salad. The food was delicious!!

After the cookout, Ryan, Erin, and I went bowling. It was a lot of fun, but I forgot what a pathetic bowler I am! I’ll refrain from sharing scores, but I got schooled by a 6-month pregnant woman, and of course my bro. Despite my sad attempt at bowling, I loved spending time with Ryan and Erin. I am so grateful for the wife God blessed Ryan with. Erin is such a great girl! They have a wonderful relationship and are so adorable together! (The three of us also got to play with an Aerobie Pro Ring quite a bit, but it was pretty windy so it ended up on the roof and in trees a few times!)

My Grandma and I were able to spend the day together on Friday. She had an angiogram scheduled at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN. Our day depended on what they would discover during the angiogram. There was the possibility of putting in stents and keeping her overnight, scheduling a time for open heart surgery, or letting her go home that night if things looked okay. When they took her, they left me with the impression that they would most likely put stents in and keep her overnight. We prayed together before she went into the procedure. After several hours of wondering how she was, I was informed that they were going to allow her to come home that night. That was such a blessing. We had fun together and I was so thankful that I was able to spend some one-on-one time with her.

After Grandma and I returned to Fairmont around 8 pm, I stopped over to the Flohrs’ home. Michelle is a childhood friend, and I hadn’t seen her in a couple of years. It was fun to see her and her family–as well as their house that they have done quite a bit of renovation on. (It looks great!)

On Saturday, I was able to spend some time alone with Mom. We took our usual trip to Mankato (which has a better selection of stores). We always enjoy those special “mother-daughter” times. I spent the night with the Prigges on Sunday evening, and Chad drove me up to the Minneapolis airport on Monday. Thanks to everyone for their gracious hospitality!

I arrived at the Greenville airport around 3 and met my sweet, adorable husband that I missed so much!! We went out to eat at Carrabba’s (a delicious Italian restaurant) and were able to share the events of our week.

The week flew by quickly, and I enjoyed every minute I was able to spend with my family. Phil and I are both eagerly anticipating our Christmas vacation in MN.

You can see some pictures from my trip at our PicasaWeb site.

Tags: Caleb, Chaffee, Curt, Erin, Family, Gary, Kathy, Megan, Minnesota, Pat, Pictures, Prigge, Rachel, Ryan, Sara, Seth, Shanna, Vacation