RECAP of 2013 Schubkegel Family Time on Floyd Lake

  

June 30th

 -        Tim, Jessi, Tyler, Levi, Jenni already at the lake, stayed after Angie, her parents and sister’s family of seven left/morning of June 30th.

 -        Joyce arrived/afternoon/ Tim Schubkegel family resting up/ lots of prior lake activity with Bohlmans.

 

July 1st

 -        Called numerous plumbers about circuit breakers flipping/bath tub leak

 -        Called Jim Schmidt, shingler/appointment July 5th/resolve shingling “loose ends”

 -        Moved picnic table to side deck

 

 July 2nd

 -        Ordered large rocks for beach front/old cabin/to eliminate weeds/erosion

 -        Planted Tim’s flower purchases/old cabin

 -        Cleaned new cabin after Tim’s family moved back to main cabin from new cabin

 

 July 3rd

 -        Tim dug out sod by rocks in front of old cabin/waited for delivery/none came!

 -        Inserted dug-out sod in deep tire track grooves/made from shinglers in spring

 -        Cathy, Dave, Hannah, Chrissy, Andi and Doug arrived late morning.

 -        Jean’s family arrived late eve/Jean quick to note familiar “fish smell”!

 -        Doug went fishing – the “best ever”, he said!

 -        Had green cake to celebrate Andi’s birthday!

 -        Jean/Mitch surprised Andi and Doug at Lakeside Grill/up until 1:30 am

 

 July 4th

 -        Country Fields Landscaping truck arrived with huge rocks at 6 am/

 dumped by lake/woke up family/not happy!

 Rock piles remained on lawn by the lake all morning and afternoon.

 Dave B described the rock scene by the lake as “a hernia waiting to happen”!

 Mitch was so sound asleep on a lawn chair, no one could rouse him.

 Finally Levi, Tyler and Tim started moving the huge boulders, lining them up along shore

Joyce was advised to “relax” and come back when it was all finished!

Weedy shoreline in front of old cabin was eventually “updated” with a continuation of the large rocks currently surrounding the “tree lake”!

 -        Tim fried fish for everyone’s supper!

 -        No “Beauty by the Beach” spa this year – forgot to bring nail polish remover!

 -        Family went into town for the evening fireworks, except for Joyce.

 She saw spectacular neighborhood fireworks from porch/ living room windows!

 -        Grandchildren were up until 4 am, hanging out in the living room/making pizza/singing hymns in the dark out on the dock/neighbors applauding!

 

 July 5th

 -        Andrea loved her megaphone birthday gift/tried it out at the fireworks/

 kept using to shout greetings to surprised boaters/pontooners passing

 by the cabin, who waved and smiled in return!

 -        Tim and Mitch went fishing at 8am/canoe was gone/thought it might had been stolen/

 Doug had gone out by himself earlier/just couldn’t stay away from those fish!

 -        Doug’s birthday/Cathy’s family gave him a fishing rod.

 -        Waited all day for shinglers to come/settle up loose ends from job/never appeared!

 -        Tim and Levi/Tyler changed light bulb in main cabin stair way/needed tall ladder/tricky!

 -        Mitch worked on laundry room switch/converted it to overhead/needed ceiling housing.

 -        Tim took grandchildren pictures in the evening/conducted interviews!

 -        All crowded in the living room that evening/watched “interviews” – priceless!

 -        Grandchildren sang for the family – also priceless!

 -        Jessi suggested that the grandchildren form the Floyd Lake Family Singers and sing in the boat parade next year!

 

 July 6th – Saturday - rain

 -        Tim’s family left at 9am/Angie had called previously about water in basement in their new home!

 -        Tyler left his billfold in the “newly-decorated” back bedroom of the main cabin

 -        Jessi left one of her paintings at the cabin/sweet note/took along “investment”!

 -        Purchased new dishwasher at Wal-Mart/Mitch helped make the decision.

 While parked in Wal-Mart’s lot/ Jean-Mitch’s car was dinged by truck/

 Joyce witnessed the event from inside/waited long time for driver to return/finally called police/eventually spotted the owner of the truck/Wal-Mart employee!

 -        Reiners family went fishing.

 -        Biedenbender family timed the Checkmate to see how long it took to circle the lake!

 

 July 7th – Sunday

 -        Andrea and Doug left for New Ulm

 -        Family attended Audubon service/clarinet solo in different key!/still “old” TLH liturgy

 -        Cathy/Dave purchased new storm dorm for new cabin/stored in garage.

 -        Cathy left in the afternoon/took fishing pole/gun for Tim/uneasy about gun in car!

 -        Mitch spent all afternoon cleaning Checkmate, inside and out/looked brand new!

 -        Dave’s Biedenbender family arrived/loved the lake/went for rides.

 -        Mitch took out broken dishwasher in main cabin/found mold behind/

 needed parts from Menard’s/made three attempts to fix dishwasher/finally at 12:30 pm called it a night!

 

 July 8th - Monday

 -        Mitch drove to Menard’s early in the am/purchased dishwasher parts/bleach.

 -        Joyce cleaned mold from wall behind dishwasher

 -        Tony made omelets for everyone/offered to help Joyce with mold-clean-up

 -        Mitch was finally successful in getting the new dishwasher up and running!

 -        Mitch took children tubing in the aft.

 -        Jean/Mitch’s family left lake/Jack had to miss his baseball practice back home that eve

 -        Dave took the Rivera family tubing

 

 July 9th – Tuesday

 -        Dave’s family left in am

 

 July 10th – Wednesday

 -        David texted from Germany!  Relayed good news to Tim, Cathy and Jean!

 

 July 11th – Thursday

 -        Koestlers called/not coming/car problems

 

 July 14th – Sunday

 -        Purchased paint for touch-up at lake/Menards (after 10 am service)

 -        Found WIFI service at a coffee shop in Detroit Lakes for computer “catching up”

 

 July 15th - Monday

 -        Jean called/Megan is homesick in China/smell horrific/can’t eat food/showers?

 -        Andrea called/wants to drive to the lake the next day!

 

 July 16th - Tuesday

 -        Andrea arrived at the lake all by herself/slept in back bedroom/visited all morning/ sunbathed the rest of the day!

 

 July 17th

 -        Visited again all morning!

 -        Hung clean shower curtain – hot job!

 -        Andrea helped figure out how install new burner receptacles in main cabin stove!

 -        Andrea sunbathed all afternoon/went for a run in the evening

 -        Joyce weeded beach front.

 

 July 18th – Thursday

 -        Andrea helped with kitchen light fixture/painted swing in front yard

 -        Andrea tried to start mower/had Helen’s lawn service young man help start mower/didn’t realize clutch had to be held down/felt so proud to be able to mow the lawn by herself/thought her “dad would be so proud!”/did most of the lawn/ smiled almost the whole time!

 -        Andrea washed Joyce’s hair in the lake!

 

 July 19th – Friday

 -        Andrea left early afternoon/Joyce did laundry/began moving to new cabin

 -        Vacuumed/washed windows in main cabin

 -        Powerful sudden storm on the lake suddenly broke top third of Roel’s patio tree, crashing to their meticulously cleaned patio during their family reunion!

 

 July 20th – Saturday

 -        Wrote information sheet for “new” renters/moved clothing/food to new cabin

 -        Renters arrived/Sawchucks missionary-doctor young family of five/happy to have use of a high chair/play pen/floor bed for the baby

 -        At “first glance”, said everything looked “immaculate”/loved the lake view from the upstairs master bedroom where parents slept /children in two downstairs bedrooms

 

 July 21 – Sunday

 -        At church, Rev. Thompson asked me if I “was still alone”??

 

 July 23rd - Tuesday

 -        Darlene and Ollie Olson paid a visit/brought a wicker basket of chick plants for flower garden/spaghetti and brownies/invited me to their 10:15 church, Sunday, July 28th.  Ollie is quite bent over/Darlene has recently recovered from right hip replacement/was up and on her own in three days/both in good spirits!

 

 July 27th - Saturday

 -        Renters left at 10:45 am/washed bedding/dishes/towels/rearranged furniture/put away baby things/very tight schedule to get everything done before next renters arrive!

 -        Zetocha renters arrived around noon/Dale was in back brace but recovering/son was working/daughter would come later in the week/was still drying laundry!

 -        Zetochas helped with various projects during the week/mowed lawn/turned over the canoe which had filled with water/helped trim bushes by fence/weed under evergreens/invited Joyce for a few meals/left main cabin very clean!

 

 August 3rd - Saturday

 -        Zetocha’s left in am

 -        Returned items from new cabin back to main cabin

 -        Cleaned out refrigerators/new and main cabin

 -        Brought in flag/umbrella from patio table

 -        Washed bedding/towels

 -        Packed plants in car/personal belongings/food

 -        Watered lawn/plants one last time

 -        Stored cushions under bed/sun room

 -        Put garbage out by road/said goodbye to Roels’

 -        Turned off power/checked all buildings/locked up/sadly left!

 

  

SUMMARY of 2013 Floyd Lake Activity

 

May 31 – June 1st (Dave Biedenbender)

 -        Opened all cabins (See Dave Biedenbender’s separate activity journal)

 -        Took Checkmate to be repaired

 -        Mowed lawn

 

June 11-15th (Joyce, Dale, and Becky Markgraf)

 -        Updated back bedrooms/bedding/window treatments/accessories

 -        Weeded flower gardens/raked lots of leaves

 -        Shopped for lawn mowers/dishwashers

 -        Did lots of fishing (Dale!)

 -        Mowed lawn (Dale/Becky)

 

June 26-July 9th (Bohlman, Schubkegel, Biedenbender, Reiners, Riviera Families)

 -        Family Vacation Time

 -        Mowed lawn (Levi/Dave B)

   

June 30th- August 3rd (Joyce) - Maintenance/landscaping projects

 -        Touched up chipped paint spots in main cabin kitchen

 -        Cleaned/organized kitchen cupboards/pantry/broom closet in main kitchen

 -        Cleaned, organized and painted lower cupboard insides

 -        Cleaned, organized and put contact paper on lazy susan/main cabin kitchen

 -        Scrubbed/cleaned, painted bathroom floor/lower main cabin bathroom

 -        Scrubbed/washed shower curtains/both bathrooms/main cabin

 -        Removed rust stains from sinks/toilets/bathroom tub

 -        “Fixed” downstairs toilet from constant running/bent the inside rod!

 -        Cleaned/sorted through magazines/sunroom shelving contents/utility room

 -        Cleaned and organized tool, tackle shed, garage

 -        Disposed of water softener in garage/advertised on Craigs List

 -        Disposed of miscellaneous unused kitchen items/gave to Boys Club

 -        Dug out huge dead shrubs on south side of old cabin porch (two day challenge!)

 -        Trimmed bushes along south fence/weeded well

 -        Cleaned up brush pile by fence

 -        Cleaned up south side of old cabin/trimmed bushes/removed cement blocks

 -        Dug up sod around split rail fence/other pipes in lawns/put in small stones/for future ease of lawn trimming

 -        Inserted and watered sod in tire track grooves made by shinglers/huge project!

 -        Transplanted hostas to new cabin front entry/fence area

 -        Dug up/potted six baby evergreens

 -        Planted lots of sedum amidst large new rocks/front of old cabin

 -        Weeded all flower beds/edged deck area

 -        Weeded, cleaned, raked beach front

 -        Weeded under evergreens in back yard/by road

 -        Trimmed bushes in back yard/pulled lots of weeds from lawn

 -        Weeded overgrown plants on beach front/bordering Helen’s property

 -        Transplanted strawberry plants from raspberry bushes to south side of old cabin

 -        Weed around mail box, added stone border, planted chicks from Olsons

 -        Painted outside door sills of new cabin/main cabin

 -        Painted garage overhead and side door/shed doors

 -        Painted outside of the blue storm door of new cabin/spray painted the inside of the door brown/found screen in garage/put behind door for possible future use

 -        Painted new cabin inside loft steps

 -        Disposed of all recyclables/house and garage/found new pick-up place – 59’r Café parking lot

 -        Brought home potted flowers

   

August 31st – Sept 2nd (Biedenbender and Reiners Families, Joyce)

 -        Closed-up cabins/winterized boats

 -        Mowed lawn (Dave B)

Dear Schubkegel Family Members,

I thought I would give you a summary of what went into the process of opening up the Floyd Lake Cabin this past weekend.  It was a cold, rainy weekend, but I was able to accomplish everything I set out to do.  This will definitely be a long, drawn-out description of the events, but have "NF", humor will be injected to keep things moving.  I've boiled the whole cabin-opening process down to "just" 25 points.  So, strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride!

1.  I arrived at the FL Cabin at about 11:00 AM on Thursday.  My first order of business was to take the Checkmate boat in to the fiberglass repairman named simply "Paul".  I still don't know his last name.  So, I put the battery in the Checkmate, hooked the trailer up to the Trailblazer, and drove it over to Paul's place.  Besides having the longest ponytail I've ever seen on a male, Paul was able to hoist the boat up and determine that it would cost $900 to fix it.  Ouch.  He said he thought screws from our boat lift "bunk" had done the damage.  I checked on that when I got back to the cabin, and he was definitely accurate.  I left the Checkmate with Paul, and he said he'd be able to get it done by the end of June.  Tim, I'll talk with you to see when you're going to be there in June, and then let Ponytail Paul know when you need the boat.  I’m sure we’ll become good friends.

2.  When I got back to the cabin after dropping off the boat, I turned on the water in the big cabin.  As always, I held my breath until I realized that no pipes had burst.  Lieutenant Schubkegel, you did a nice job blowing the water out last Fall.  Two things that I did notice after turning on the water.  The first is that the light in the laundry room isn't working.  Did you try replacing the light bulb?  Before you ask, yes, I tried putting a different light bulb in, but it still didn't work.  The second is that the circuit breakers for the hot water heater keep tripping off.  Hot water heater circuit be trippin’. We knew that had happened off and on last summer.  This is something that needs to be checked out.  Otherwise, the water was returned to the pipes with no major mishaps.  Whew!

3.  Next, I took the dock inserts from the sunroom and inserted them into the dock.  This went off without a hitch until I got towards the end of the dock.  That's when I dropped my screwdriver into the water.  So, I had to go get my swimming suit on and get into the water.  Let me just say that I nearly died of a heart attack when I entered the water - it was COLD!!!!!!!  Good for the circulation J.You'll hear about how I learned from this experience, and figured out a better way to get things out of very cold water later.

4.  After the dock inserts were in, I decided to look at the "bunks" (I guess that's what the things are called that the boat sits on.)  on the boat lift to see if there were any screws sticking up.  On one of the "bunks" there were three screws sticking up enough to scratch and gouge the bottom of the boat.  I decided to take the "bunk" off and take it into J and K Marine (more on that later).  While taking the "bunk" off (which was not an easy job) I twice dropped my wrench into the lake.  This time, however, I got smart and used the fish landing net to scoop the wrench out of the water.  It shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks.  I could say something here but will not.

5.  Vacuuming and straightening up the sunroom was next on the docket.  There were lots of leaves, cobwebs, and dirt on the sunroom carpet.  After the vacuuming was done, I situated the furniture in the right places and put the furniture covers (actually old sheets) away.  Very nice.

6.  Then it was on to the deck out back.  I swept the back deck and then put the wooden tables and benches back onto the deck.  Those tables and benches have definitely seen better days, but everything is in place on the back deck now. 

7.  The side deck (I like to call it Tim's deck, since he built it.)  was the next to get some attention.  This deck was also swept, and then I put all of the chairs that the roofers had left on the grass over the winter back onto the side deck.  We could definitely use some new chairs (just my opinion, of course).  Ditto that sentiment.

8.  I then proceeded to sweep the back entry to the sunroom, where the old mosquito repelling fan used to sit.  This area was very full of leaves and other refuse.  It looks very nice and tidy now.  Nice … in three days it will be back full of cobwebs and mosquitos.

9.  The canoe needed to be put on the lift and the paddleboat needed to be put down by the lake, so I muscled both of them down there.  Not an easy task, but my short, stocky build definitely helped.  Having a low center of gravity was beneficial.  Just think if we still had the sailboat!

10.  Next I did something that the girls and I like to call "stick patrol".  This basically consists of picking up all the sticks that have fallen over the Fall and Winter that need to be picked up before the lawn is mowed.  I guess I never realized how many branches and twigs can fall over one Winter.  There's definitely a nice pile of sticks and twigs to serve as fire starters this summer.  Extra nice work.

11.  Mowing the lawn "Part I" took place next.  I mowed the third of the lawn nearest to the road during a fairly steady downpour of rain.  I'll admit that I took a couple of breaks to get out of the rain during "Part I".  Then, I decided that the other two-thirds of the lawn could wait until Friday.  Great thinking and I agree with your “dividing the lawn into thirds” method.

12.  After listening to the smoke alarms in the big cabin beep for most of the day, I decided to by a couple of 9-volt batteries at Walmart.  I guess I haven't bought 9-volt batteries for awhile, but $7.45 for two batteries?  Ridiculous!!  WalMart is sticking it to us.  Yet those batteries could save a life. But, after I put the new batteries in the smoke alarms the beeping miraculously stopped.

13.  Opening up the old cabin (otherwise known as Jean and Mitch's place) was the next thing on my list.  Priming the pump went well and water has been restored to the oldest cabin on Floyd Lake. 

14.  Opening up the new cabin (or should I say "Swiss Chalet") and turning on the water in it went equally without incident.  Glad the underground hose is still functioning.

15.  After 14 other things were done, I felt that the Lund boat had waited long enough.  It was time to put the Lund into the icy waters of Floyd Lake.  My backing job was flawless, and the Lund was released into the wild.  The Lund belongs on Floyd – no doubt about it. After a few pulls, the trusty Johnson motor roared once again.  Excellent!  The problem was I couldn't keep it going.  I think we need a new hose between the gas can and motor - the one we have kept falling off and the motor kept stopping.  YES – that was an issue last year, as I needed to hold the hose and steer the boat at the same time to go across the lake.  At one point I looked for back-up hoses at WalMart (had none) and never got around to checking a marina.  J & K probably has one for $320.00 plus tax.  So, I row, row, rowed the boat gently to the dock.  Wow, what a workout.  I got the Lund safely onto the boat lift and put the tarp over it to protect it from the piercing rays of the sun, which might appear above Floyd Lake sometime yet this summer.  Thanks for the TLC.

16.  Putting the registration stickers on the Lund was the easiest job of the weekend.  Enough said.

17.  I needed to take a drive, so I took both boatlift "bunks" into J and K Marine and explained the problem to them and how it damaged the boat.  I ended up talking to a guy in the service department named Doug and also one of the owners of J and K.  The owner agreed that they would fix the "bunks", and they're going to consider whether or not they'll do anything else to help us with the fiberglass repair.  I wouldn't hold our collective breaths, but maybe they'll even pay for some of the repair of the boat.  They're going to get back to me.  That would be a nice gesture, since the boat lift came from them in the first place and apparently caused some of the damage.  Did “Doug” have a ponytail?

18.  When I arrived at the lake, I noticed that the float for the septic tank near the new cabin was up.  After an afternoon of telephone tag with Anderson Septic, a cool dude named Jason came and pumped out the tank.  All septic tank guys are cool.  Jason also provided me with some interesting information on why the float could be up already when no one had used the cabins yet this year.  His fascinating explanation enlightened me to the fact that water from the melting snow this spring seeped into the tank.  Septic tank dialogue can be and certainly is fascinating in and of itself. I didn't realize that could happen, but apparently a septic tank has some cracks and holes - at least that's what Jason said, and it sounded believable.  I suppose Mitch could tell us whether that's really true or not.  Let's talk about it around the campfire over the 4th of July!  I tell you, I learn many new and useful things "every day".

19.  I then remembered that there are two screens that need to be put into place on both sides of the crawl space of the big cabin.  They replace the insulated boards that are usually there in the winter.  So, I switched the screens for the insulated boards.  Let me just say that that crawlspace/basement area is really, really creepy!  I spent some nice hours under there a few summers back.

20.  Mowing the lawn "Part II" was the next thing to do.  The middle third of the lawn was definitely the thickest.  Several areas needed to be gone over twice.  But, mowing the lawn is nice, mindless work.  Stay tuned for mowing the lawn "Part III".  I cannot wait! …

21.  I did a little raking next.  The area between the lake and the sunroom was full of leaves because that's where the boatlifts and docks sit during the winter.  While raking this area, I looked at the nice wooden swing hanging down from the large tree.  It saddened me when I thought of little Jack falling off and hitting his head last summer.  Jack, I hope you're not suffering from any post-concussion symptoms.  I took about three wheelbarrows full of leaves from this area and dumped it across the road.  I didn't get any blisters from the raking, so I'm pumped about that.  Blisterless is best.

22.  Mom S. suggested that I should check on the condition of the bunkhouse, so I did.  I am happy to report that the bunkhouse is in great shape and there are no signs of mice infestation.  I also took the boards off the outside of the bunkhouse windows.  That was enough time in the bunkhouse for me.  The less time one spends in the bunkhouse, the better.

23.  Mowing the lawn "Part III" was next.  This was, by far, the most rewarding of the lawn-mowing segments.  I'm not sure why, but it just felt really satisfying.  After the entire lawn project was done, I stood back and admired what a beautiful lawn we have at the cabin - except the areas where the roofers drove their trucks and trailer.  But, I'm sure it will fill in over the course of the summer.  I’m getting emotional …

24.  On Saturday morning I did the job that all of us wish we could do - cleaning out the gutters.  Boy did I scoop some sweet stuff out of the gutters!  Four pails worth.  Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain - those gutters are clean and the downspouts are flowing freely.  By the way, I also picked up many stray pieces of shingles that were left up on the roof.  You'll thank me this summer when you won't be getting hit by those pieces falling off the roof during extremely windy periods of the day.  Always remember - I'm here for you, family.  You’ve got our back – we’ve got yours!

25.  The last thing I did was sweep out and straighten up the garage.  What a fitting end to a great Cabin Opening weekend!  Nice!  The only thing missing is finding a drowned chipmunk in the toilet like we did a few summers ago, but your time at Floyd sounded much nicer.

Well, thanks for hanging in there.  Let me know if you have any questions about anything or think I should take up a novel writing career instead of teaching.  I'll keep in touch with J and K Marine and Ponytail Paul, and we'll get that Checkmate and boatlift up and running before we get up there.  Take care!

Your friendly cabin opener,

"Dr. Dave" Biedenbender

 

P.S.  I bought some new golf clubs on the way home at Scheel's in St. Cloud.  Now it's time to golf!  Well worth it!



           

4^th of July Recap:

Dave S., Jean, Mom, Cathy, Angie, Tyler, Levi, Jessica, and Ryan left Big Floyd Lake to go back home.

Dave B. and Tim have a successful 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. outing with many 15-18 inch bass at Al’s Honey Hole in Mud Lake on plastic worms.  Fish fry for lunch.

Dave B. fixes Andrea’s non-starting car (anti-theft problem) and takes out his frustration on the charger.

It was a hot day flirting with thunderstorms and other skiers/tubers on the lake.  Dave grilled Jean’s chops and Cathy’s wings, then headed to Wal-Mart for a non-productive trip.

We went to see the fireworks at Big Detroit Lake among many drunken youth, strange people, and mosquitoes.  Andrea’s comment of the day while observing the 4^th of July crowd:  “Where are we – at the circus?!”  The fireworks started late and seemed shorter than other years, but fun to watch.

After returning the cousins slept together in the old cabin after watching the academy-award winning dramatic movie, “Nacho Libre”.

5^th of July Recap:

8:30 – 12:00 a.m. fishing trip with another dandy stringer of bass in the 15-17 inch range on jigs, spinners, and Dave’s newly purchased Power Bait plastic worms on the weed lines in Mud.  We observed a bald eagle swooping down and catching a fish (caught on video).

Dave ran some town errands (recycling, Wal-Mart trip #2).

It was a great day on the lake – lower humidity, mid-80s, sunny, calm.  There was plenty of swimming, sunning, tubing, and relaxing.  It really hadn’t rained since we arrived here two weeks ago, so things are a big dry.

We started cleaning up for the return on the 6^th.  Dave B. and his girls plan to stay until Saturday.

Dave B. took his girls for a late-evening fishing trip and Check Mate ride.

As I type the loons are calling out over the calm lake as the sun sets over the western horizon.

THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT TIME MOM AND DAD! 

We’ll hope to see everyone again next year at Big Floyd Lake!

It was another great few days! On Monday evening the cousins presented a power point presentation on the benefits of a new sun island and jet ski, followed by a beneficial LLC meeting with many discussion topics covered.  The weather has been hot and calm every day with some Monday night storms and perhaps today. Dave made amazing breakfasts with omelets and French toast. Cathy’s family provided a great pizza dinner on Monday as well as her and Jean making chicken tacos last evening. Jessica’s friend Ryan’s car keys went missing for a while yesterday but Levi came to the rescue in finding them.  Dave B. did another fine job mowing the lawn.  Bob Roel came over for a visit. Jenni caught a turtle off the dock.  Angie and Jean shopped for a new sun island. Megan received a surprise special delivery of flowers from her boyfriend.  Andi, Jessica, Ryan, and Uncle Dave had a great tube ride despite breaking the rope. Mom continued to receive numerous roofing bids for the hail damage received a few weeks ago. Andi celebrated her birthday last night with party hats, noise makers, cousin cupcakes, and a fine acceptance speech.  After a “’dad vs. Jessi” tube ride (Jessi won 5-2), Tyler and Angie hit the lake for some fishing action, followed by popcorn and another game of Monopoly.
Despite the national holiday, many of us (Jean, Cathy, Angie) will be leaving today to return for work.  A few of us others plan on staying until Friday.  Happy 4th of July!

After 10:00 a.m. church at Immanuel, Audubon, the annual Floyd Lake fishing contest took place on Sunday under hot and sunny conditions with boats zooming all over the lake.  Paige and Jack took home some cash for their sunfish. Hannah and Jenni came home with prize coupons.  Jean and Mitch made a great grilled dinner as Dave and Cathy celebrated their 24^th wedding anniversary, complete with a 142 tube of red, white, and blue Menards bubble gum and a visit to the Lakeside Bar ($$).  Although Mitch needed to drive back for work that evening, Dave S. took the midnight Amtrak train up to Detroit Lakes and arrived around 4:00 a.m., slept a bit, then made omelets for everyone late morning.   The hot and muggy Monday afternoon was spent in the lake and behind the Check Mate.  Jessica’s nice friend (B)Ryan came up from Minneapolis and fit in well.  Late afternoon storms fired up as Dave and Cathy made pizzas for us all. 

Congratulations to Levi for winning the earlier three-day-dad vs. Levi fishing contest (just to keep things interesting) with a morning fishing trip triumph in the sunfish and northern category.  That, along with his previous 19 inch bass, put him over the top for a grand prize of a box of Menards fruit snacks (his request).  There'll be a rematch next year:).
Mitch, Jean, and their family arrived late Friday evening at the lake, followed by Jessica (picked up at the Fargo airport from Tucson via Chicago by Tim and Levi), and Angie, Tyler, and Jenni from Wisconsin.  The Biedenbenders came mid-Saturday morning and we enjoyed a very calm, warm day at Floyd.  Angie and her girls hit the town for the farmers' market.  Tyler joined Levi in the wake-board category.  Surprisingly, no one tubed!  Angie and Jessi enjoy canoe rides around the bay.  There was plenty of sun, playing in the water, and relation.
On that day, June 30, 2012, we celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of our dear parents Joyce and father-in-heaven Fran with a fish taco dinner (quoted by Mitch as "the best meal here ever", much to the dismay of Dave and his world-famous Rubens), followed by some rhubarb crisp and celebratory raspberry champagne. Mom enjoyed her 50th anniversary card, scalp massager, scented soap, and chocolates. Later on Mitch, Levi, and Jack hit the weed bed for a quick run (Jack got a 14 inch bass).  We also had a fire with smores followed by two games of Yahtzee, Mitch's New York car trip, Guy Johnson stories, and a good night's sleep.  We're looking forward to another great day today with church, the annual Floyd Lake fishing contest, Andi's arrival, and more good times.

On a very warm and humid day we took a mid-morning canoe ride with grandma, followed by skiing and wake boarding with Levi, then lunch.  Since the weather calmed down with cloudy skies, we tried mid-afternoon fishing which resulted in a nice basketful of panfish from the north Floyd shore of reeds and a dandy 19 inch plus bass caught and released (after photos) by Levi on a plastic worm.  During that time Joyce continued to weed and make the yard look great.  After filleting the fish we travelled to Wal-Mart for a new trolling motor battery, some groceries, then back to Floyd for a nice evening neighborhood walk.  Warm days are expected for the next week, as it looks like most of the other families will be making it to the lake by this Friday.  Safe travels everyone!