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You should have by now, received your blue card in the mail. The card is a reminder that your subscription is coming due the first week of May. All you have to do is simply fill out the card and mail it back to us along with your payment. We will make sure you don't miss a single Chisago County Press.

Thank you to all who have responded to our early renewal. And thank you to all of our readers for being so loyal. We appreciate each and every one of you.

Remember last week when I told you about our loyal reader Betty Charbonneau who was to turn 99 soon? I told you that she loved to walk anywhere her feet will take her. I had another interesting visitor last week. It was Betty Charbonneau....and it was not the woman I referred to last week.

Apparently what happened was after I spoke with the sweet lady who walks everywhere, I grabbed her renewal card and set it on my desk to remind me to write about her. What happened was, I grabbed the wrong card. I grabbed Betty Charbonneau's card by mistake.

Betty would like everyone (especially me) to know that she is not 99 years old and she has her drivers licence. She and her husband came up for a visit and a nice laugh about my mistake. We decided that she should take a few copies of the Press and save them until she turns 99. I apologize Betty. I have it narrowed down between two women who could be my mystery walker, but of course I will not name names until I am positive this time.

In this edition of the County Press, you will find our Spring Sports Preview. Our sports editor Jeff Norton along with our assistant sports editor Chuck Fitzer, have met with coaches from both Chisago Lakes and North Branch High Schools. They have compiled in depth articles about each Spring sport this year. You will find color photos, season schedules, great stories and of course wonderful ads from terrific local businesses who support our high school teams. Many thanks to Bachman Photography for their great cover photos once again.

If you have a child who is playing on one of these many teams, make sure to stop by the Press and pick up a few extra copies for keepsakes.

Also in this edition of the Press, we are excited to bring you our first ever Summer Camps section. People are constantly asking the Press if we know of any good summer camps for kids and or teens. The answer is a resounding yes.

Our three page pull out section is packed with colorful ads from camps of all kinds. You will find day camps, which are a wonderful idea if your child is reluctant to leave home. You will find traditional camps where children of all ages stay overnight(s). You also will find specialty camps such as sporting camps. We also have found other great activities for you and your children to do this summer.

We think our camp section is very special and only see it growing in the upcoming years.

Do you ever see or do something that gives you that nostalgic happiness from years ago? I found one.

Last Saturday, I received a text message (no texting does not make me feel nostalgic) from a family friend. She said for me to grab our bats and gloves and head to the Primary ball fields in a few hours.

Thinking that they just wanted our boys to get some swings in before baseball season officially begins, we decided why not? It was a beautiful day and we had done our chores around the house.

My son and I were weighing our options. We could go fishing on the boat or go hit some baseballs. After leaning heavily towards hitting the lake, we decided that the boat didn't have gas and I would need a fishing license, so we headed to the ball fields.

When we got to the fields, my jaw dropped. there had to be 18 people there. Not just fourth grade boys, instead there were families of all ages. We were quickly divided into teams and began playing. I can't begin to tell you how much fun we had. Everyone got along great and everyone cheered for everyone.

By the time I looked at my watch, we had been playing for over three and a half hours. It reminded me so much of being young and heading out to play ball with my friends in the morning and literally not coming in until supper was on the table. Isn't it funny how the simple things in life can bring you so much joy?

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