VR

Linds and I spent our anniversary date night in worlds of our own, at Voxel's virtual reality parlor in the Vandalia Tower Building.  If you haven't yet played with this tech yet, you must!  

Happy 11th

Time flies when you're... going to school, getting jobs, having kids, moving homes, training dogs, paying bills....

Thank goodness I've got this one as my co-pilot!

Not a creature was stirring

A rare moment of calm in the Backer house...

(Side note: Thing #2 has gained 9 lbs in the last two weeks)

Zach's Carnival

The girls did it up at Zach's Carnival, an annual neighborhood fundraiser that we've somehow never been to.  Given that they served cotton candy, I'm certain we won't miss another one.

Peter Pan

E signed up for a week-long summer theatre camp and performed a class-created rendition of Peter Pan.  She's come a long way since that "famous" Christmas concert at church a few winters ago!

Tourney run

E's U8 Bandits made a helluva run in the year-end West Metro softball tournament, losing to Hopkins in the semi-final game.  Hopkins was undefeated, and scored over 20 runs in all of their earlier round tournament games, and our Bandits had them shutout with a 4 run lead in the bottom of the 6th (the final inning), before their bats came alive and our defensive wheels fell off.  

Such a fun day.  The girls played their best ball of the season, and us coaches and parents had a blast watching it all come together.

Frienemies

Griff is mostly toleratring his new little bro', and sometimes even seems to like him... but when working a rawhide is not one of those times, and Buster now knows this!

Hall Lake

With a weekend forecast in the 90s, our crew made a last minute call to head to Fairmont for some heat relief on the water at Nana's.

Buster took his first swim, jumping off the dock curious to see what all of us were doing, and did surprisingly well.  E & S both beat Nana at cribbage, on of her favorite games, and one she does not like to lose.  And, we ran into the Dwyers on Hall Lake's "Big Island" and wound up making a day of it with their crew.

Grandpa Cal (1925-2017)

My grandfather (Cal) passed away suddenly and peacefully at age 92 this past week, and if only we all could be so lucky.  He lived on meat, potatoes, bacon and brandy.  His workout regimen consisted of pulling slot machine levers and bouncing the clicker between sporting events on TV.  He was a small town legend, and left behind a legacy of eight children (whom he famously "raised without ever changing a diaper"), 37 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren and countless stories and memories (ranging from US Navy service in WW2, to "that time he brought Fran Tarkenton home from the bar", to his baseball glory days, and so many more).

Rest in peace, Grandpa.  You will be missed.

NEW ULM — Calvin “Cal” Backer, 92, of New Ulm died Friday, July 7, 2017 at the New Ulm Medical Center in New Ulm.

Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm with Pastor David Nissen officiating. Burial will be in the New Ulm Catholic Cemetery. Full military honors will be conducted at the cemetery by the New Ulm Area Comrades of Valor Honor Guard.

Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Monday at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home, SOUTH CHAPEL, in New Ulm and will continue for one hour prior to the time of service at the church on Tuesday. 

Calvin E. Backer was born to Elmer and Vera (Mueller) Backer on April 22, 1925 in New Ulm. He attended the New Ulm Public Schools and graduated in 1943. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the US Navy. He served in WWII and was discharged on his birthday in 1946. He attended Carleton College and the University of Minnesota. He married Carol Esser of Morris in 1947. After the death of his first wife, he married Kathleen (Cordes) Juni in 1998.

He managed the Backer Drug Store and owned and operated Backer’s Bar. He worked in circulation departments of the New Ulm Journal and the Mankato Free Press. He was active in youth baseball and basketball activities, inducted into Legion Baseball Hall of Fame, Lifetime Member Chamber of Commerce, served on many civic organizations including: NU Chamber committees, Cub Scout Master, NU Country Club Board, NU Baseball Board, Junior Baseball Board, American Legion Baseball Board, Brown County Fair Board, Rotary Club, NU Safety Council, Junior Pioneers member, Brown County Humane Society volunteer, Meals on Wheels, New Ulm Club, and past president of the Northwest Circulation Managers Association. He was very proud of being on the American Legion baseball team that won the state tournament in 1941. Backer took great pride in being a WWII Veteran and being on the cruiser, The Chicago, in Tokyo Bay during the signing of the Treaty.

He is survived by wife Kathleen; daughters Mary (Tom) Conroy of New Ulm, Cathy (Jim) Paulson of Shakopee, and Nancy (John) Genelin of New Ulm; sons Doug (Vickie) Backer of Rosemount, Tom of New Ulm, Scott of Chatfield, Dan (Jeanine) of New Ulm and Jay (Jenny) of New Ulm; stepdaughter Michele (Jim) Seifert of New Ulm and stepsons Jeff (Ellen) Juni of New Ulm and Dan (Sandra) Juni of Kentucky; 29 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren, 8 stepgrandchildren, 2 stepgreat-grandchildren; 1 nephew and 1 niece. Backer was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Carol and two sisters, Betty Fisher and Lois Korth.

Calvin was proud of his family, loved life, adored dogs, enjoyed sports, took pride in being a prankster and according to him “lived and died by the sword.” Memorials to Brown County Humane Society, Turner Hall or donor’s choice.

Bouncing beauties

The Jungs got a trampoline this June, so half of the girls' summer has been spent bouncing and giggling in their backyard.

4th of July Staycation

We turned the 4th of July holiday into a six day staycation to work on house-training and socializing our new puppy (Buster) while packing in the fun close to home.  We boated Medicine Lake with the Infangers, tooled around Harriet, went rock climbing at VE, loaded up on candy at Delano's 4th of July parade, and hosted the sibs for a BBQ and sparklers.