mom, dad and grandchild

This is a very nice picture of my parents holding one of their grandchildren.  It was taken during the 1970's.  I think it is a very sweet picture.

not my house

I have no idea who that super-sized woman pointing at the mansion in the background could be but let's just ignore her.  Gaze, instead, at the beautiful chateau at the other end of the gorgeous green lawn.  In April of last year I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina with my sister.  Oh My!  This house and the surrounding grounds are unbelievable.  Horse stables, formal gardens, a dairy, a winery and enough help to maintain the lavish lifestyle that came with it.  It's the Vanderbilt's place, you know.  The central atrium filled with tropical plants was so cozy comforting that I could spend a good portion of the day there just relaxing.  After that, a dip in the inside swimming pool and a round of bowling would be nice.  Which dining room should I eat in?  How about all of them at various times of the day.  What a dreamer I am.  I don't live here.  Just visiting.

kids by a fort

Another group shot of the Brudevold kids on vacation during the summer of 1956.  Look at how we are dressed.  Mind you, we were camping our way across the country to the east coast and doing a lot of sightseeing along the way.  Mom always insisted that we look presentable when we visited various landmarks and other historical places.  No play clothes for us on those days.  Play clothes were meant for the campgrounds.  And don't even think about stepping outside of the Higgins on a Sunday morning without being nicely dressed for the church service that was held at the campgrounds.  (Dad most likely led the service and preached)  It didn't matter if we were sitting on log benches or not.  We were dressed appropriately for the day.  (Show God some respect!)  So, here we are visiting historic Williamsburg, Virginia.  What a sharp looking bunch of kids.

Mom and Susan

How cute is this?  Here is a picture of my Mom and my sister, Susan, sitting in a vintage railroad car somewhere in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  This picture was most likely taken during the late 1960's.  That was the summer that my parents and my sister took a road trip out into the western part of the state and visited Mt. Rushmore.  Nice waves, ladies.  I hope you had a lot of fun.

my Mother and I

This picture was taken on March 20, 1976.  It was my sister's wedding day and our mom was glowing with happiness and pride as the mother of the bride.  I was Susan's matron of honor.  The choice of dress fabric for the day was polyester, of course.  Holds up beautifully.  Mom and Dad were married for over fifty years.  My sister and her husband are in their forty second year of marriage.  My hat's off to both of these lovely couples, as well as to my brother Duane and his wife Carole who have just recently passed the fifty year mark in marriage.  There's beauty in longevity.  Congrats.

steve,sue,jean

I am standing next to my brother and sister, Steven and Susan.  I am not sure where we are but there are either some very tiny houses in the background or, perhaps, they are dog houses.  I believe this picture was taken around 1962 or 1963 just by looking at my hair style.  And, look at those cut off blue jean shorts!  Very stylish.  What a fine bunch of teenagers we were.  And, good kids, too.  Also, that may be a little dog next to us. I'm thinking it is.

camping with the higgins

This picture was taken during the mid 1950's.  We had the Higgins tent trailer during the summer of 1957 and into the beginning of the camping season in 1958.  We got the Airstream later that year.  We camped in many of the state parks throughout Minnesota but we also did some cross country trips  and had some great family adventures.  One summer while we were driving out east we stopped at the Indiana Dunes State Park and camped there for a couple of nights.  There are two things that I remember the most about this park.  One--we were able to run barefoot along the dunes and dance in the wind blowing off of the lake.  The sand felt so good (cool and wet) under our feet.  Two--the bathroom situation.  I had "visited" many an outhouse during our time camping but this was my first experience  using an outhouse with a water pool at the bottom of the pit.  I was freaked out by the noise.  Tinkles and plops (SORRY) were scary sound effects.  Yes they were.  But, you know, the fear of falling in at least went away.  However, to this day I really avoid using any outdoor "facility" if I can.  Not pleasant.  No.  Otherwise, the camping was great!