Vacation....Iowa

On the way home from MN, we went down to Iowa for Mom's Miller family reunion in Kalona.  We made a slight detour and stopped in Lakefield, MN and toured the Cozy Heat Fireplace manufacturing plant which is a line of stoves that we sell in the stove shop.  That night we slept in the Lake Okojobi area in northwestern, IA.  The next day we drove on to the reunion in southeastern IA and had a nice time connecting with Jolene's aunts & uncles.  Not too many cousins were there so we were very glad that Bill & Tammi and 3 of their kids were there too.

Mom's family had the most people represented.

9 of the 12 living siblings were present.

We went to the house where Mom lived as a girl for lunch.

On the way home, we stopped at Antique Archaeology from the show American Pickers since it was not far out of the way.  The show itself is much more interesting then the actual shop was, but it was kinda cool to say we've been there.

LeClaire, IA (near Davenport and along the Mississippi River)

MN Vacation

We had a very special reason to go to MN this year.  We had our first wedding on the Helmuth side of the family.

 Congratulations Rachael & Colton!

All of Jolene's siblings, their spouses, and the grandchildren were together for a short time.  We were focusing on the bride and groom and did not get a picture as proof.  We did get this nice picture with Mom and her kids later on.

Mom (Ida) with Joy, Brian, Bill & Jolene

Our family was able to reserve a small cabin on a lake about 3 miles from Grandma's house.  It was very nice to be able to stay there.  We were still able get together with family for at least one meal each day.

Altogether, 47 northern (we kept 7), 1 walleye and a bunch of panfish were caught.  These northern that Renae caught were 21" and 22" long.

Naptime

Although this was the only picture, we did spend a lot of time with cousins playing games, spikeball, and relaxing & tubing by the lake.

And we took a drive to the little cemetery where Grandpa Helmuth was laid to rest over 9 years ago.