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I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years Eve.  My family loaded up the vehicle and headed down I-35 to Iowa.  Over the last few years, my family has waited to celebrate Christmas until New Years when we can celebrate with our grandmother.  Our grandmother is 99 years old and we are reminded constantly by her that there may not be that many more Christmases.  and while I never enjoy hearing that, she ultimately is right.  

We had an absolute blast spending a few days at her house. Yes, she lives in her own house and still drives to church, the grocery store, her friends’ places and of course Wendy’s for coffee.  When the Silver boys get together with each other and our spouses, it is like we have traveled 30 years back. Laughing until we cry, making fun of each other, and eating way too much.  

As you too have a “Grandma’s place” I am sure, there is something about our time spent in that house. It is a chance to forget about the world, forget our worries, forget about school and our jobs and just focus on family.  Watching a 99 year old woman joking and laughing with her grand and great-grandkids is priceless.  This is one thing that I refuse to ponder when I am reminded that there will not be many more of these get-togethers.  Rather, I choose to keep it fresh in my mind and relish every minute with her.

As it looks now, the 2017 Celebration of the Lakes will be a ‘go’ this year.  The committee is still finalizing the details and we will keep you up on on the happenings at the celebration.  Businesses, we will be contacting you this week about the Celebration of the Lakes circular we will be creating soon.

With all of the weird weather we have had recently, you may think our local ski hills have suffered. But having kids that love to ski, I am here to tell you that the hills at Wild Mountain are in great shape for skiing and snowboarding.  Grab the family and come out for some good family fun.

Speaking of weather, on Monday, I saw a red full-sized truck driving on Chisago Lake.  Now I am no ice expert, but I was always told to drive slow on the ice because it would help you avoid cracking and under the ice waves.  This could be wrong, but then again it could be right. This truck on Monday was easily driving 20 plus miles per hour.  I had to stop my car on the road just to see  if they would break the ice.  Luckily they did not.  If you are going to venture onto the ice, please be safe.

Now that Christmas break is over and the kids (big sigh) are back in school, I wanted to remind you of some really cheap family entertainment during the winter.  We have some amazing high school teams in Chisago Lakes and in North Branch.  Have you ever thought of taking you family to a basketball game? Or if your daughter is in gymnastics, what better than taking her to a high school gymnastics meet.  Swimming is a great event to watch and it is warm at the pool.  Check out our schedules for North Branch and Chisago Lakes in the sports sections and we will see you out there!

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