Don’t get LEFT out

Saturday, July 25th 2020 started like most days in the greater Nisswa area.  It started  with golf ⛳️!!! Today the 4-ball would consist of LB, TB, Kari and I.  That is a lot of golf for the doctor so we well see how it goes. 

Well here is how it went.....left into the s&$@ all day long.  Left of the tee, left in the fairway, left from the fringe, HELL I think I even putted on left into the woods. On the flip side for every ball I hit in the woods I think I found 2 so that is a thing.

TB kept it light and made a truck load of 1-putts.  LB missed a hole in one on 18 (9 Lakes) by about 3 feet.  Kari started slow but was banging it around pretty good in the end.  It didn’t rain, nobody fell in a pond and we had a ton of laughs 

Kari on the par 3 on the Marsh 9

Lara about to put the hammer down.

TB finished with a wad of cash.  I finished with the need to have 3-8 Coors Lights.

While we were golfing he girls went into Nisswa to get......waffles!!!!  If you said Coronavirus then shame on you.

Waffles 🧇 waffles 🧇!!!!

Once we got back to the cabin it was pontoon time.  Food and Beer were packed. Inflatable rosé bottles, donuts and watermelons were collected and we were off.  We cruised the Gull Lake chain.

We cruised from Roy to Spider to Upper Gull to Gull Lake.

Along the way we stopped and saw one of our old neighbors Jeff and Lori Iverson.  We tied up on the dock and chatted for quite awhile. After cruising in the pontoon we headed  to Nisswa Lake for a little floaty swim time.

Grace on a huge inflatable watermelon 

The crew cruising the lake.  No Alejandro to entertain this bunch.

Loon. 

I love the old Texaco sign.

Zorba’s Gull Lake, you could almost feel the COVID-19 coming from it. 

When he isn’t the mayor, he is the captain. Which made me Gilligan on this three hour tour.  No one was injured.  We tied up at Iverson’s without wrecking their dock and we successfully filled up the pontoon at the Narrow Straights Lodge.

After the boat we showered, practiced our chipping (TB and EB), read and stared blindly at the wall wondering why golf is so hard.

Finally we decided to order dinner from the famous Rafferty’s Pizza

The pizza didn’t stand a chance.

After dinner it was books and games.  We ended up playing some Scattergories.  It was pretty impressive that at least a few times everyone had there own unique answers.  Finally everyone decide to head for bed.  A great weekend with family and friends was had by all.

In the end we live in uncertain times but what we do have is our family and friends.  Which is enough for me.  Not sure when our next adventure will be but when we do I will let you know.

Sometime I am mistaken for the Hoff

July 24h, 2020 was a steamy Friday in the greater Nisswa area.  We decided a split attack was in order again today.

Elle , Lara, TB and I head over to the Preserve for 18 holes of ⛳️.  The morning started off a little cloudy and windy but by the end it was sunny and steamy.

First tee at the Preserve. Let’s Go!!!! Hit ‘em, Find ‘me and hit ‘em again.

Elle aka the Lama going big of the tee.

Elle that bag looks a little heavy. Is there anything in there other than golf equipment?

At the turn, everybody needed a little gluten free swing juice.

Lara making her move.

Elle setting up for her shot.

We all survived golf.  Played a little lefty/righty for skins and the Wads for putts.  Not a lot of money exchange hands and we had a great time.

Back at the cabin, Kari and the rest of the girls ate some breakfast and prepared to go on a pontoon ride.  Gracie was fired up to get some floating Rosé bottles and Donuts in the water.

We grabbed a little lunch and TB and Monkey (Kim) managed an oil light situation on the pontoon.

We played  some cards, mostly Wist. A game that Katie and I are hard to beat at.  Ashley and Kari didn’t fair very well. Like the song says for Katie and I “All I do is win”.

We did learn something:

Everything is Kari’s fault and Ashley can no longer continue to carry the burden especially when we are competing in family games.

According to Ashley this may be Kari’s current peer group.

After Kari was banished TB dropped in and helped Ashley defeat Katie and I in an abbreviated game.  I want to emphasis Katie and I are undefeated in official length games.

Now it is pontoon time.

Katie is ready for the pontoon.

I will keep drinking this till I can hit it like Elle off the tee

Now I appear completely relaxed here but then things started happening.  First the inflatable ball blew away. As we chased it down Kari’s hat blew off into the lake. Just like The Hoff I sprang into action and saved the hat from a watery grave.

Just when I thought I was done. The inflatable bottle of Rosé blew out of the boat.  Again just like The Hoff, I sprang from the boat to rescue our precious floaty.

The note on one drivers car when we returned from the boat. Probably blame this on ......???

After the boat we all cleaned up and had a great dinner at Char steakhouse.  Here is the list: Crab cake, great, 7 oz filet with blue cheese, great, lobster Mac & Cheese. 

Interesting story, at dinner I saw a couple sitting at another table.  I knew that I knew them so I went over to see if they had ever had a hip or knee replacement and the gentleman said “Yes”.  I asked “Who did it?”  The couple was like “Scott Anseth!!!!” I was like “That’s me!”.  We talked for a little bit and I was able to introduce them to TB, LB and Kari.  This couple was really wonderful and on the down low paid for our dinner. What they didn’t realize was that there was a  table of 5 girls that left 25 minutes ago, also on our account.  They refused to take no for an answer.  They said some very nice things.  It is alway cool to see patients out living their lives. This time it was especially cool.  After dinner the girls crushed The Chocolate Ox.

Inside the lodge 

Crushing The Chocolate 🐂 

After dinner TB & LB’s friends Kim (Monkey) and Shayna came to visit - little did they know they would become entangled in a game of Throw Throw Burrito. After that it was watch the Twins start 1-0 and then off to bed.

The Llama is a big hitter

July 23, 2020 was just a regular summer day in Minnesota.  No it wasn’t ,,,,,Hell No.... it was time to get this party started.  We need to get this party started right!  We needed to get this party started quickly.  

A good night of sleep meant that Butseth Grandview Lodge experience was about to get started.

How do you go about starting g a vacation in a Pandemic?  A good choice would be... now on the tee from Hignham, Mass...Elle Butner.  So the first step is to schedule a morning tee time. Lara, Elle, Kari and I played 18 holes of GAWLF at the Pines.  We went Lake to Woods for our 18.  Kari has been playing more golf this year and has been hitting it well and long on the tee a lot of the time.  When she hits it well I like to yell  “Way to go Lama, the Lama is a big hitter.”  Little did I know that Lara was solid or that Elle Butner is the real Dalai Lama.  Now the Dalai Lama believes the Buddhist path leads to enlightenment,  Our  Dalai Lama believes that 2 White Claws equals nothing but Fairways and Greens in Regulation.  I for the record did not play great as usual but found like 6 balls and lost like 4 so not bad.  The ladies out drove me most of the day.  So I am left with more questions than answers.  I will begin looking to YouTube and the internet for these answer on Monday because you can always find the truth and the solution to your problems there.

Kari taking it back for a fairway attack.

Lara ready to tee it up

Kari Anseth only makes putst for 20+ feet

I didn’t get to use this much in my round so time for more practice.  

Our 4-ball on the Lakes par 3. For the record. The player with the sweetest hair got a par



Elle Butner at impact.  The Lama is a big hitter.

The best golfer in the Anseth family by a significant 

margin. 

Elle Butner swing juice.  One on the 1st tee and  2 at the turn if you are her partner.  I am recruiting Elle to be my partner for the Bearpath Member-Guest next year.

The 4-ball at the end of the round.  So much fun 

After golf we returned to Grandview Lodge. We all grabbed lunch.  Chicken Tenders, pretzels and someone ordered a salad. Grandma 🎩 made it up to visit us.  She had some help navigating from “the b&@ch in the box.”

After that it was back to the condo. Lara and Kari headed to the spa for a massage.  That is when we learned about “The Incident”.

When Kari went to the spa the staff at Grandview asked her about an incident that happens last time the Anseth family was at Grandview.  There were specific instructions that her next massage was complimentary.  What could have happened that left such a mark on the  Grandview Spa staff.  Turns out 9 years ago the masseuse never showed up for Kari’s massage.  9 YEARS AGO!!!!! Now, I was struggling to manage 3 young children while my wife relaxed at the spa so I have no direct knowledge of what happened but apparently Mrs. Anseth left quite an impression. 😉 

I went down by the fire pit to read or sleep.

Not even sure Kari Anseth could hit a wedge from this rough.

After a quick take out dinner we headed out for an evening pontoon ride.  The weather was beautiful.  We saw some big loons and had a great time.  Thank god there was oil in the motor.


Gracie on the pontoon 

Abby and Grace swimming in Lake Roy during golden hour 

Selfie Nation

Funny FaceTime.

After getting back to the condo we played some games like Wist, Throw Throw Burrito and Gin. Some people decided a shower was in order

Grace does not like the Paparazzi.

After sundown we started a bonfire.  There were no pictures taken of this fire to protect the innocent.  By 11 everybody is as ready for bed.  Tomorrow we reload on nuggets to go hit it and find it again.

Small Vacations

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020 was the start of a mini vacation.  It goes without saying that 2020 has been nothing short of a dumpster 🔥 on top of a tire 🔥.  A plan was hatched to escape to Minnesota Lake country.  The crew departed in shifts, TB, LB, Abby, Elle and Grace were sent ahead as the advanced team to secure lodging, food and scout the area.  Sophie, Ashley and Katie completed  the second wave after stopping at Raising Canes for massive amounts of chicken tenders.  Kari was forced to bring up the rear with me when I finally finished clinic.  The drive was pretty easy and the sunset was beautiful when we finally arrived in Nisswa at Grandview Lodge.  After we found the condo it was time to get unpacked.  After we unpacked it was definitely time for a 🍺.  We ordered at little food from the pub and the girls all got some ice cream.

The condo was great but no one could figure out why the handrails were painted white🤷‍♂️

White handrails.....unbelievable????

We settled down for a game of Blank Slate.  Abby and I faired pretty well the first game up but could not take down Sophie and KT.  In the secondary Kari and I finished strong but did not win.  In the middle of the game Grace and Abby began drawing pictures which was not really part of the game.  

We had a lot of laughing and the start of some relaxing.  If you are stressed in Nisswa then Buddy you need to relax.

Eating some snacks and getting ready for Blank Slate.

This vacation started slow and smooth just like I need my swing tempo to be tomorrow.  Let’s have some fun while we can!! 

Isolation Graduation

I haven’t written any blogs for awhile because there has not been much to blog about.  It was either get up, worry, do some chores, worry, drink 🍷 and go to bed.  It became get up, go to work, check the MDH website, ride bike, worry and go to bed.  Hopefully you can see how that would produce a level of apathy for producing anything of quality.  

Now over the last few months there have been several bright spots which do make life fun.  I don’t want to say fun again because life is fun.  You can always find laughter, friendship and love if you want to look hard enough.

Here are a few highlights:

Social distancing beers at Lake Riley with CP, ScottyRob, SD and me

Gracie art projectpoloza 

Painting the sunroom.  This looks has not been seen since summer 1991 at CHS.

William Sonoma buttermilk 🧇.  Are amazing.  Call ahead if you would like to reserve a seat for my waffle bar.

Black Stack Brewing after a bike ride.  OK maybe even sometimes before a bike ride.

Family time and Family photos.

Missing a 2 on #4 by this much when I played with my wife.

All of those things were great but the biggest and best event was the graduation 👩‍🎓 of Ashely Grace Anseth from Holy Family Catholic High School.

It was hard watching our oldest daughter miss out on so many senior year events.  No Prom, No skip day, No cutting class, No hanging with your friends on a deck or a beach or a boat, No spring break, No graduation party and No time for the shenanigans that help you move from a high schooler to an independent college student.  She missed so much but handled it well and the few moments she didn’t well... then It was all her mom’s fault.

Ashley graduated on May 20th, 2020.  We didn’t know if she as going to have a ceremony.  The Holy Family staff worked tirelessly to organize a graduation ceremony around the football field.  I was not sold on this.  In fact I feared it would be a giant dumpster 🔥.  I was informed that regardless the Anseth family was going to participate.

Ashley at home before graduation.

Just for effect it is 2020. 

At the football field.

Father Gjengdahl performing the baccalaureate before graduation.

This is a drone photo I stole of the graduation ceremony.  It was a gorgeous night in Victoria to celebrate the graduation of Holy Family Class of 2020 and Ashley Anseth.

Principle Kathy Brown addressing the students and the families.

The families stayed in their cars for the ceremony.  There were time we used the WiFi to view an address or a slide show.  The staff read the students thoughts on graduation out loud.  It was very well done and quite meaningful.  I was amazed at how much fun it actually was.  Finally when it was time to get the diploma a flatbed was pulled up in front of our car.  Ashley left the car, ascended a couple of steps. She took her diploma and clay medallion with the Holy Family Cross on it.

Ashley still hasn’t graduated yet.  What if she tripped here.  That would be so 2020.

Keeping our eyes on the Prize.

The Graduate 👩‍🎓 in all of her glory. Seems appropriate that the sun should be shining down softly on her at this moment.

Dad and the Graduate kicking it in the car.

Kari wants in on the fun too.

The whole family sharing the moment.  It was amazing to share this moment together.  In someways it was much better than a regular graduation because Ashley was with us talking about the experience.  We all got to share this moment together.  Even Nana, Papa, Grandma Eva, Wendy, Keith and Marissa got in on the act by live streaming the festivities at home.

The medallion the HF staff made for each student.

After each student received their diploma HF put on a ridiculously long fireworks display.  It was almost as awesome as Choteau 4th of July.

Kari and I have video that shows how great this display truly was.

While we were at graduation, our friends the McNultys came over to our house and decorated it for Ashley.  The numerous cards were arranged around the house and over the doorways.   It was very special for Kari and I to see how many people love and care about our oldest daughter.  The pictures really don’t do it justice.

Ashley’s pictures for K-12 over the doorway

The rapper known as KT, Ashley and Grace opening A few present for the newest high school graduate.

The next day we opened all of her cards.  In a time where many feel disconnected we were able to feel very connected to our friends and family.  We were also able to see how connected Ashley was to her friends and their families.  It was a very cool way to spend an afternoon.

The memo on a check Ashley received.  Not sure they drink White Claws at the University of Wisconsin.

Out great friend Diana was nice enough to take photos of Ashley around graduation. The pictures  are beautiful and incredibly meaningful to Kari and I.  Just another way someone helped us see how blessed we really are.

Ashley and her cap

Ashley and her graduation gown

Cap and Gown 🎓 

These girls all managed to graduate.  Can’t wait to see what they do next.

Cecily, Catlin, Ashley, Allie and Holly

Friends

Kari and Ashley.!.!  Stylin and Profiling 

Mask on for Graduation  😷 

Sister time.  No bribery or threats were needed this time.

Family!!!

Ashley heading to University of Wisconsin. Go Badgers 🦡.

That is a wrap.  Thank you Holy Family for providing Ashley with a place where she was challenged and loved.  I cannot wait to see what this dynamic young woman does with the next chapter of her life.