Sheri's family photos - AWESOME!!!

Those photos Sheri took were priceless! Actually the moments were as priceless as it gets - family having a ball, whether it's playing in the mud or riding the 4-wheelers or just plain sitting around chatting and catching up. What a great weekend! Thank you for sharing the pics, Sheri. I am biased toward the mud pics - those girls had such a great time playing in and creating more mud! By next year I will have a camera and know how to use it - too many once-in-a-lifetime moments go by in a heartbeat; and to be able to capture them is a work of art.
This year's reunion has gone past, but not the memories or the moments. Next year will be here before we know it. Here's hoping for more great moments in time at another phenomenal Kjentvet/Fosse family reunion!!

Pictures....

Here are my families highlights from the reunion.


My main goal this weekend was to get a family picture done. We had all the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids in one place with GG (Great-Grandma) and I couldn't let everyone get away without getting the picture done. Sunday morning after breakfast we all got into place and took about 10 pictures...here are the 2 best. I think I like the 2nd one better :).

Jack had a blast with Isaiah & Josh on the 4-wheelers. He would now like to either buy some land and his own 4-wheeler or just live with Nana. He was happy just protecting the house with his "new" BB gun from Isaiah.

Grace and her "Mud Bud" Sierra were inseparable the whole weekend. They begged us to let them play in the dirt...Grace LOVES dirt. Of course we let them play in the dirt.....then, they asked Nana for some water so they could make mud. Of course Nana got them water for mud. They played in the mud for at least 2 hours and then the sun went down and they started freezing! I don't know if Nana's bathtub will EVER come clean.

Then on Sunday, we got the slip n slide out for the girls when the boys all went into the woods to do guy stuff like make more trails and cut down trees. Again, Grace and Sierra were all giggles. They found it very funny to squirt people with the water gun and slide down the hill into the water.

Kate found her new favorite place...on the swing with Nana. She fell asleep there for all her naps and at night. We are still trying to get her used to be home where we don't have a nice porch swing....it hasn't been easy!

Jared had fun playing working with Jeff and blazing trails. Jared is like a kid in a candy store when he gets up to Nana's. He can't wait for deer hunting to start.

We all had a fantastic time and ate way too much food. Thank you to Nana, Joan and Kristi for putting this together. Thank you to Sarah and Jeff for graciously letting us use your 4-wheelers and gas. Thank you to everyone who came and shared pictures and stories...Grandma (GG) will remember that day for a long time (hopefully ;)).

A Weekend to Live For

Many many thanks for all who came to the reunion! It was such fun seeing you all,catching up on lives, and simply being together for a joyful occasion! And what glorious weather and scenery - how fortunate can we be? Both Vi Kjentvet and Joyce Graff brought fantastic photos, only a few of which we had time to scan. Kari Katz brought a wonderful memory in photos of her and Mary Beth - who can forget the inseperables? Whenever they could, they got together for loads of fun! I think we all had fun at the Christenson's and Kjentvets! John and two sons were here; and it was so good to see them! The boys are as blond as ever, and full of fun and energy. John always has a great story to share - thank you! It was great to see Joyce Graff, two of her daughters - Ruth and Marie - and Ruth's grandson Caleb! Joyce's photos were phenomenal, and the memories they all had to share are priceless! Thanks so very much! Ragnhild Heath, her husband Red, and daughter Deb all came; and what a great visit Mom, Vi and they all had! All of Jean's family came, as well as Joan's and mine. What a lively crew! Everyone pitched in to pull things together; and this first reunion in at least 18 years was a success. We plan to keep in touch with everyone and to share photos as soon as they're downloaded and printed.

Continuing the Threads

Wish I was as funny as Rodger or Buck, or as witty as my sisters. However, that did not happen. Nor did I have that lovely singing voice, even though I can sing. So whatever I write will not be hilariously fall-off-your-seat funny or liltingly melodious!
To pick up from last writing, as we grew up and older, with families of our own, none stayed in real contact. We saw eachother occasionally at a wedding, but more frequently at a funeral. I think that is a big part of why we (Jean, Joan, and I) began this effort to have a reunion. We may not have reached everyone; but we hope that by a lot of us coming together, we may have enough contacts between us all to reach the entire family. And our children and grandchildren all should learn and know just what a good time we can have as a large and caring family. We were all so fortunate in that it was important to our parents that we know and love all of our family, including any great aunts and uncles! We had an idyllic time at Grandma Fosse's/ Uncl Mel's farm and Uncle Ted's store! Many of us can remember hiking up to Name Rock to carve our names or initials into the rock, and to try and see to La Crosse on a clear day! A few of us can remember Uncle Mel growing cucumbers for pickles in the field behind the old barn; and also picking berries back there at the edge of the woods! A visit with Uncle Ted and Aunt Borghild at the country store meant loads of treats (that didn't really thrill our parents!) and a bottle or two of soda. And Uncle Ted and Uncle Mel reading in Norwegian from some book. Aunt Borghild always had a lunch ready for anyone who came by! What amazing things we saw, heard, experienced!
Does anyone remember the get-together (maybe reunion) we had at St. Croix Falls Park? Hiking around the river, just having fun? The last reunion I recall was held in Madison about 20 years ago, or so it seems. It was at a Quality Inn I think, near the now Alliant Center. We all had a great time there, also; and had an opportunity to catch up with everyone. The kids swam inn the pool and just had a ball!
So here's a huge Thank You to all our family! How fortunate and blessed we all are to even get to know one another! Perhaps this will be a link for our children and grandchildren- a thread for them to connect with one another and enjoy.
So ends another chapter, for now! Have a Happy Day!

Family - History - Memories

Jean and Joan are working hard over at Jean's place this weekend. I work all weekend at the veterans' home in King. Wish I could be over at Jean's instead! Oh, well. Next weekend is coming up fast. This has been quite an adventure. We all have different ideas, and all have a time making decisions. Perhaps getting through tis reunion will make the next one smoother.
We all have many great memories, for most of us beginning at Grandma and Grandpa Kjentvet's in Eleva. Grandma had the most beautiful garden in the back, and had flowers planted around a huge old tree on the side of the house. And who could forget Rex, who was not just a dog but a "pony" for those of us little enough to ride him?! That wonderful huge dog had the greatest patience for all of us! I thinkk the first thing any of us did when we got to Grandma's and Grandpa's was to beg for a sugar lump to dunk in the coffee. If we were lucky we managed to get two or three! Then there was the old upright piano. "Thunder" was banging on the low keys and "lightening" was banging on the high keys! Grandma had a swivel chair whichh we all had to take turns on. Does anyone remember the great turtle that crawled up to the driveway fairly often?
In beginning to trace genealogy, I was fortunate to actually go back as far as Enngrav Farm to 1430. The Kjentvets came from Tinn, Telemarken, Norway; and it has been a tough road to trace the Fosse's on the free sites. If anyone has any information, please bring whatever you have.

One week and counting....

That is,, if I can still count! My son, Landon, will be flying in from New Mexico in Wednesday the 19th. I haven't seen him since April 12th. He moved out there to help his grandparents on his dad's side, and he has done very well. They say he is quite a good help; and it sounds as though indeed he has really stepped up to the plate. Adam is still working in landscaping for the same company he has worked for for 4 or 5 years. Time really flies! Sierra is now 4 years old, and Anthony is 7 + months old! They are truly amazing! They bothh have now been to Lambeau Field and are now officially Packer Backers!! Their mom might not be thrilled - she likes the Dallas Cowboys, poor thing!
If anyone out there knows how to get hold of Lucille Bjerke, please let us know. I tried all three numbers listed to her, and no luck. Am also trying to reach Alice Baker. Both are relatives, and it would be great if they can come to the reunion also. With Lucille, I even used the internet to no avail.
Hope all are having a beautiful weekend! It has been a hot and humid day today. See y'all soon!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to our family blog. I'm hoping one of the invited authors will take on the task of prettying this site up. I usually don't want to work at the computer too much after a full day of it, so haven't even tried to personalize the site.

Here's a blast from the past picture I like to call the Christmas List. This would be 1956 in La Crosse. Left to right is Kristi - 2, David - 8, Jean - 5, Joan (me) - 1.

Please pass the link on to whatever family you have in your electronic address book. Would love to see a lot of posts going on here

See y'all in a just a couple weeks!