Early Summer Roundup, Installment One: Having a Ball at Minneota Hall

We had a crazy June full of fun activities-- traveling and hosting both near and far. I think the last "normal" weekend I had with nothing going hasn't been since before track meets started, so sometime back in April I guess... June really topped the cake, though. 

We started with our Farmers Union conference in Bozeman at the beginning of the month. The following weekend was the Rudyard softball tournament (we hosted two couples, one with a baby).  After that was the Bangs Family Reunion and Tom's 60th birthday bash at Minneota Hall (We hosted three people for that one). Then, we left for a road trip through Washington, culminating in a beautiful wedding in Seattle- one of my high school friends. The day after we got back from Seattle, my parents and brother came to town and we were busy hosting them and showing them around the Glacier Park part of the state.  June has definitely been non-stop fun.  It was so great to see so many of our friends and family and do all the cool things we did over the past six or eight weeks. Even though it was such a great start to the summer, Jeff and I both agree that we are now more than ready to simply be at home and get some work done.

With all that has been going on, I haven't had time to do much on the blog. So, I'm going to try to play catch up and do several updates all this week covering some of our highlights of the latter part of June and early July. We'll call this little mini-series Early Summer Roundup. 

Early Summer Roundup, Installment One: Having a Ball at Minneota Hall

The first installment of Early Summer Roundup features the party we had at Minneota Hall for Tom's birthday. It was a milestone birthday ending in a zero and definitely required a big celebration. 

Minneota Hall is an old Community Hall in the country just a few miles north of Tom and Carol's house.  There used to be a small country school there, too, and they would occasionally have "Minneota Play Days," with lawn games, volleyball, baseball, spelling bees, and other activities.  The hall hasn't been used in some time, so there was A LOT of cleaning up to do before holding the party here, but it couldn't have been a better locale to celebrate!

 Carol had this cake made to commemorate the 60th birthdays of Tom, Dan, and Darwin-- all three of them turn 60 this year. The cake turned out perfect!
There were plenty of food and libations to go around...

"Not Responsible for Accidents..."

The inside of Minneota features a cool little stage where they used to hold pageants and plays, I am told.  The floor used to be waxed for dances.

For the birthday boys, Adria made three beer "cakes" with the favorite beers of each respective guy.  She did awesome!

The weather was beautiful that evening! Definitely nice enough for a game of volleyball in the grass, just like in the old days.

Some kids have fun simply playing on the old playground.  Do they even make playgrounds with slides, swings, bars, merry-go-rounds, and teeter-totters anymore? 

Some adults enjoyed the playground as well...

 

Two pen-pals who met a few years ago were reunited at the Minneota party!

Overall, the party was a great success. Friends and family from all over the country came to join the celebration.  A good time was had by all.

Holiday ReCap #1: The Howlers with the Growlers

In my effort to talk about all our Holiday Happenings in chronological order, I am beginning with Caroling.  This is a long-standing local tradition I had heard much about from Jeff and his family for years, and was able to participate in for the first time this year.

You may think you know what traditional caroling is all about.  Out here, there are a few twists on tradition, created as adaptations to fit the crowd and the circumstances.  Whoever chooses to participate in caroling meets at a house in the country, selected to be the starting point. Everyone caravans from one house to the next, driving pickups and SUVs along gravel roads.  One person is the grand organizer of the event each year, and he sets the route.  The destinations are homes of older couples or individuals, living in the country.  That is one of my favorite aspects of this tradition-- it honors those who have lived in the country.

At each home, the group climbs out of their vehicles (carpooling is encouraged), and gathers at the doorstep to sing four or five carols to the residents.  This year, we sang to six different households, which, I am told, is fewer than in past years.  The route also was twenty-some-odd miles shorter than last year.  This helps paint the picture of just how far apart homes can be-- how large an area our 'neighborhood' actually is.

The caroling route always culminates at one final house, where there is a potluck-style party, complete with neighborly fellowship, cards and games, and a wide array of beverages.  By the time everyone gets to the party, of course, many people have already dipped into the holiday cheer.  There is a lot of time spent in vehicles between houses, so suffice it to say the holiday spirits have been roused. One house that we sang to even left out a few cases of beer as a Christmas present of sorts.  Someone came up with the moniker The Howlers with the Growlers this year and it's really pretty accurate. The singing may be less in-tune while the enthusiasm increases as the evening progresses.

I hope I haven't made caroling sound like just a binge-drinking and singing marathon. It's not. It is actually a family event including people of all ages.  It brings a lot of us together to celebrate the holidays in country style.