Mother's Day with Susan

Happy Mother's Day to Susan! Today's celebration included going to Lady J's Catering for their special Mother's Day brunch and then to Caribou Coffee for a little more visiting with Abigail before we took her to the airport. She is on her way to Florida for a vacation with some of her friends.

Then Susan and I attended an afternoon performance of the musical Bright Star at Dakota Stage. We were not familiar with the musical beforehand, although we knew that it was written by Edie Brickell, an '80s musician whose music Susan and I recall, and by Steve Martin, famous for his comedy and acting but maybe less so for his bluegrass music as a banjo player. The musical was very good, the singers and musicians were great--we really enjoyed it.

Afterward we went out for supper at the Blarney Stone Pub, right next door to the theater. They have a large garage door that opens to the sidewalk when the weather is nice ... and it was nice enough: about 65° with a light breeze. It was a lovely ending to a great day with a terrific mother!

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Posing after stuffing our tummies at brunch. Abigail snapped this picture of us before we took her to coffee and then the airport.

Traditions and Curveballs Back Home

Abigail and I recently drove up to McGregor for a weekend that brought a mix of special traditions and unexpected family worries. We originally planned the trip to attend a beloved 41-year-old community event before Abigail moves out of state for at least three years, but life threw us a curveball just before we arrived. The photos below will tell the story of our weekend filled with both community heritage and hospital bedside visits.

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At the heart of rural North Dakota are traditions like the annual creamy baked chicken supper at Zion Lutheran Church in McGregor. Returning always feels like coming home--especially now that my sister Sandy has taken our late mother's place in the kitchen to keep this four-decade legacy alive. Abigail wanted to experience it again before moving to Norfolk, Virginia, for her three-year pediatric residency; and my sister Cathy even traveled in from Belgrade, Montana, to share the meal with us! (Susan had to be in Bismarck to judge a competitive speech event for school.)

Our original plan was to bring Dad with us to the supper, but he was admitted to the hospital in Tioga several days before we arrived after experiencing some sudden weakness, mobility issues, and confusion. Abigail, my sisters, and I split our weekend between the farm and his bedside. While it wasn't the trip we planned, we were grateful to be there to support him as he waits for possible answers from the doctors.

The Plan of Care board in Dad's hospital room wasn't updated over the weekend, so I thought I would be helpful and recommend some care activities for the nursing staff to do with Dad. I'll have to ask him if they followed up with him!

Easter on the Farm

For Easter this year, Susan, Abigail, and I made the drive up to Tioga for a wonderful, relaxing long weekend with family. We slept over at my dad's, and my sister Sandy joined us there Thursday evening and Friday. Then we spent most of Saturday and today with her at the family farm, where she now lives and where we grew up with our sister and parents.

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Most Friday nights, Susan and I go out to eat at our favorite restaurant in Dickinson, El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant, for tasty food and margaritas. Since we were in Tioga this Friday, we went to Mi Ranchito Taco Shop instead. Dad tags along whenever we go there but doesn't really understand the appeal, saying, "Mexican food doesn't give me a thrill."

On Saturday, we all had a relaxing day hanging out with Sandy and her cats, playing games, and snacking. I even got some company (her indoor cat, Simon) for an afternoon snooze in the quiet of her living room.

This morning we joined Sandy for church at Zion Lutheran, just a few miles west of the farm in McGregor. Being there is always nostalgic since it was my childhood church. However, it's also special to see Sandy playing organ for services there because our mom used to be the church organist at this church!

After our delicious Easter meal, we posed for the obligatory family photo in our Easter outfits: Sandy, Abigail, I, and Susan with Dad in the front.

Our other two daughters were not home for Easter this year, but I have to share this cute photo that Hillary had taken of her dog, Dodger, to celebrate the holiday. He is so cute!

The Big Reveal: Abigail's Match Day!

For those unfamiliar with the medical school world, "Match Day" is a massive deal. On one designated day, at the same time all across the country, graduating medical students receive an email revealing where they have been matched for their post-med-school residency training. It's a high-stakes, binding system that determines where new doctors will spend the next several years of their careers--so our family wanted to make sure that Abigail had a full cheering section on Match Day today.

Abigail and Susan came to my office, where I had blocked out my calendar so we could wait together for the designated email time. The med school had sent T-shirts and announcement signs in advance to encourage Abigail to share the results on social media. However, the real highlight was the family surprises. Suzanna and her fiancé, Jacob, secretly flew in from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the night before so they could walk into my office just minutes before the reveal! Meanwhile, Hillary cleared her work schedule back in Murfreesboro to join the countdown via video call.

When the email arrived, Abigail was elated to learn that she has been placed at her top choice: Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia. She applied to and interviewed with dozens of children's hospitals throughout the winter and spring and even flew out to her top-ranked possibilities in February, and Norfolk became her favorite--so she ranked it #1 on her preference list and hoped that they had ranked her highly, too, based on her interviews. Apparently, she made a good impression on them!

We are so happy for Abigail and are glad we could share this milestone in her medical school journey. Of course, we went out for supper to celebrate; and we look forward to joining her at her med school commencement ceremony in May (stay tuned).

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Match Day ends the ultimate matching game: students rank the hospitals, hospitals rank the students, a computer algorithm sorts it out and delivers the result ... and Abigail has ended up exactly where she wanted to go!

Surrounded by love, surprises, and the best news ever. Congratulations, Dr. Abigail!

Better Late Than Never

My sister Sandy's birthday was last weekend; and Susan, Abigail, and I had been planning a trip to visit and celebrate with her. However, Mother Nature had other ideas. A blizzard swept across North Dakota, bringing hazardous travel conditions to our edge of the state, so we chose not to chance it on the roads.

Thankfully, a one-week delay didn't dampen the celebration. We just postponed, waited out the snow, and tried again this weekend.

It was a quick but enjoyable day trip. We made the drive up to Tioga this morning and headed straight to Dad's house for dinner with him and Sandy. The highlight of the afternoon was the homemade birthday cake that Susan baked for the occasion. Then we all headed out to Pour Decisions Bar and Steakhouse for a delicious supper. It was the perfect way to wrap up our time together before we had to hit the road again this evening.

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Susan made a retro Jell-O poke cake (with homemade whipped cream), which brought Sandy and me right back to our childhood days.

Sandy, Susan, I, Dad, and Abigail with our bellies full just before leaving Pour Decisions.

Celebrating Susan, Part II

The restaurants in downtown Bismarck, ND, have been raking in the profits lately, thanks to the Mobergs. Read on for the details.

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One of Susan's birthday gifts from me last month was a date night in downtown Bismarck, which she redeemed on February 7. We started with a delicious seafood meal at Pirogue Grille. Then we stopped by Blarney Stone for a cocktail before going next door to Dakota Stage to see a play: Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson -- Apt 2B, a version of Sherlock Holmes with contemporary women as the pair of sleuths. Afterward we went to Shakers on 3rd for a post-show martini.

We spent this weekend, too, in downtown Bismarck to celebrate Valentine's Day.

A couple weeks ago, we read about a Valentine's Day weekend special at The Fire Pit and couldn't resist--so I got us reservations for last night.

• 1st course: steak-and-lobster pizza to share
• 2nd course: Louisiana gumbo for Susan and a chop salad for me
• 3rd course: surf and turf (lobster tail and steak) and a Cajun stuffed smoked salmon (we shared both)
• 4th course: Louisiana bread pudding and a chocolate cookie brownie, both drizzled with bourbon caramel sauce (we shared both)

Today is the 35th anniversary of our first date! I worked at the Ground Round in Grand Forks during college, so that's where I took Susan out for supper on that first date. In honor of that, we ate dinner today at the Ground Round in Bismarck. The menu has changed a lot since 1991, but the Long Island teas are still tasty.

Before learning of the Valentine special at The Fire Pit, I had already made reservations for us for tonight at Anima Cucina. They were offering a special four-course meal with a wine pairing for each course.

• 1st course: a Spanish tapas plate (fried artichoke, Serrano ham, and Manchego cream on bread crisps) with a Spanish sparkling wine
• 2nd course: a salad served with a German semi-sparkling wine
• 3rd course: (1) lobster tail and balanzoni, a pasta stuffed with mascarpone in a saffron butter sauce (wine = a Californian chenin blanc); and (2) prime rib rolled in Italian herbs with horseradish cream and garlic mashed potatoes (wine = a Tuscan chianti) ... and we shared both
• 4th course: chocolate ganache tart with strawberry jam and a cocoa shortbread crust (wine = an Italian sweet red)

And because we enjoyed Shakers on 3rd so much last weekend, we returned there tonight to end our Valentine evening downtown.

We have a couple more treats on the agenda for this weekend: tomorrow afternoon we will attend a performance of the play Our Town by the Capitol Shakespeare troupe followed by supper at La Cantina in Mandan, ND. Then we'd better stop galivanting around the BisMan restaurants for a while and actually cook our own food again!

Celebrating Susan

Susan's birthday was on Monday, and the celebration started then and continued today as we hosted visitors who came to our home bearing birthday treats for her. Read on for the details.

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Susan had to work on her birthday, so the festivities had to wait until the evening. We went out for supper at Los Cabos but had dessert at home: Susan's requested birthday cake was actually brownies, which Abigail baked and served with vanilla ice cream.

I had flowers delivered to Susan at work so she'd have a bit of birthday cheer during the day. Her colleagues treated her well, too, with more flowers, a German chocolate cake, and other treats.

Susan opened her birthday gifts in the evening. The girls gave her gift certificates for nail salon and spa outings for some pampering. On her Christmas wish list, Susan had requested games that we could play as a family, so I got her a couple of those and a scented, weighted wrap that you heat up and then drape across your neck and shoulders to relieve tension. I also gave her this "birthday date night" experience, and we have already scheduled it for next month.

Fast-forward to today, when my sister Sandy and our dad came to Dickinson to spend the day with us. As a birthday treat, Sandy made lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, which we had mid-afternoon with coffee. We also had a mini spa day with everyone choosing from our collection of sheet masks for a little facial in the afternoon--and even Dad participated. We ate tater tot hotdish for dinner and lasagne for supper ... and more cupcakes for dessert.

Before Sandy and Dad headed back home, we had a video call with our Tennessee daughters. In this screenshot from our call, that's Sandy and Abigail (in our basement); Hillary and her dog, Dodger (in TN); I and Dad (in our dining room); Susan (in our bedroom); and Suzanna, her fiancé, Jacob, and their dog, Zoey (in TN).

Dad and I. Don't we look youthful and rejuvenated from our spa day?

Christmas in Tennessee

Happy New Year (almost)! Not only are we nearly at the end of the year, but we also are nearly at the end of our two weeks of Christmas festivities with our daughters. Tomorrow Susan, Abigail, and I will fly back to North Dakota and get ready to resume our daily routines. Here is what we have been doing the last couple weeks in Tennessee with our kids.

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Sat., Dec. 20 -- Susan, Abigail, and I flew from Bismarck, ND, to Nashville, TN, where Suzanna, Jacob, and Hillary met us at the airport and drove us back to Murfreesboro, where they live. We got to meet Hillary's new puppy, Dodger, whom she brought to the airport! And he was a very good boy, napping in my lap on the drive home.

Sun., Dec. 21 -- After a day of running errands and playing with pets and relaxing, we made a supper out of our favorite dips (for chips, veggies, etc.) and had a family movie night, watching A Very Jonas Christmas Movie. It was pretty funny ... and it starred the Jonas Brothers, whom the Moberg sisters had just seen in concert in October!

Mon., Dec. 22 -- Instead of buying one another a bunch of things for Christmas, we decided to give each other experiences. Each person chose a day to sponsor an experience for the family. This was Susan's day, and her experience was a family game night. She made us homemade pizza for supper, and we played Catch Phrase, Farkle, and Wicked Christmas at the dining room table while snacking.

Tue., Dec. 23 -- This was my day, and my experience was a night out downtown. We started with cocktails and live music at High Society, then had a delicious meal at The Alley on Main (pictured here), then walked around the Public Square to see the shops' Christmas-y window displays and enjoy the temperate weather, and then had dessert from Andy's Frozen Custard on the way home.

Wed., Dec. 24 -- After the Christmas Eve service at Advent Lutheran Church, we gathered at Hillary's home to make our traditional Scandinavian Christmas Eve meal. Well, it's tradition for us to make a Scandinavian meal on Christmas Eve, but we don't usually eat the same foods every year, other than to start the meal with a shot of ice-cold akevitt ("Skol!"). This year we made halibut, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, carrots, beets, lingonberry cocktails, and dessert parfaits made from Icelandic skyr. Then we gathered in the living room for gift opening. (Yes, although we mainly gave each other experiences for Christmas, we did also draw names for a gift exchange so we'd have something to unwrap for Christmas.)

Thu., Dec. 25 -- Susan's sister, Cassie, and her family (husband, Nick, and kids, Davis and Marly) live in Murfreesboro, too, and invited us over to their place for Christmas. We lounged outdoors on their patio in the afternoon because it was 62° ... quite a difference from a Christmas Day in ND! Supper was prime rib, twice-baked potatoes, creamed spinach, baked corn, and blueberry cobbler for dessert--delicious. Pictured (left to right) are Davis, Nick, and Cassie next to Jacob, Suzanna, Abigail, Susan, me, Hillary (holding Dodger), Marly, and Nick's mom, Kutzy.

Fri., Dec. 26 -- Friday is "date night" in our family, and that usually means going out for Mexican food and margaritas ... so that's what we did this night. We had delicious food and great service at Las Trojas Cantina. Then Susan and I relocated from Suzanna's house to Hillary's to spend the weekend at her place.

Sat., Dec. 27 -- We got back to our experiences today, and this was Abigail's day. Her experience was an afternoon in Nashville, starting with an outdoor igloo reservation at Game Terminal, a "super arcade" and bar. We had cocktails and food delivered to us in our igloo out on the patio area (where they have games like shuffleboard, cornhole, and ping pong) and then went indoors to play a variety of arcade games, like Space Invaders, Q*bert, Frogger, and Dig Dug.

Then we went downtown and visited a couple Christmas pop-up bars for seasonal cocktails and views of the Nashville skyline. It was so bizarre to be sitting outdoors on December 27 without a coat on a rooftop bar's patio with the neighboring skyscrapers in the background!

Sun., Dec. 28 -- This was Suzanna's day, and her experience was an at-home variation of Liquor Lab, a place for mixology classes that she has taken before in Nashville. Before we all arrived in TN, she had each of us tell her the ingredients for a Christmas cocktail that we would make for everybody else. Suzanna had everything ready for us on this day, and we took turns making small versions of our chosen drink for the others (e.g., pictured is Suzanna's cocktail: a peppermint white Russian). We sampled and snacked while playing card games throughout the afternoon and evening.

Mon., Dec. 29 -- This was Hillary's day, and her experience was taking us to see the Dancing Lights of Christmas, a drive-through holiday light and music show in nearby Lebanon, TN. On the fairgrounds they have an enormous setup of Christmas lights, all of which move in sync to the holiday songs playing on their radio station. After driving through the light show, we stopped at Santa's village, where there was a petting zoo, several carnival rides for kids, and backdrops suitable for Christmas photos ... like this one!

Tue., Dec. 30 -- This was Jacob's day, and his experience was providing a feast of Polish food from his own family's traditions. Pictured are pierogi with a half-dozen different fillings, two kinds of sausage, potato pancakes, stuffed cabbage rolls, sauerkraut with caraway, beet salad, and two kinds of dill pickles. It was absolutely delicious.

This was also ... Suzanna's birthday! We went out for lunch and pedicures in the afternoon; and after the Polish feast, dessert was Suzanna's birthday cake, which Susan made and topped with homemade chocolate fudge frosting using my mom's recipe.

Wed., Dec. 31 -- Our New Year's Eve frivolity included a trip to Arrington Vineyards, about a half-hour west of Murfreesboro. There we met some of Suzanna's friends from work to sample wine flights while playing trivia together. When we got back to Suzanna's, we made our usual surf-and-turf NYE meal. Jacob grilled filet mignon and made garlic mashed potatoes to go with our lobster tail, carrots, wedge salad, shrimp cocktail, and stuffed mushrooms.

Now we're watching country music stars perform on Nashville's televised NYE countdown and pouring the champagne so we'll be ready when the clock strikes midnight. Tomorrow we'll have brunch in Nashville (at SweetMilk) before heading to the airport for hugs and tears and the return flights to wintery ND.

Thanksgiving on the Farm

We spent Thanksgiving weekend on the farm where I grew up--and where my sister Sandy now lives. She hosted us (Susan, Abigail, and me), our sister Cathy, and our dad on Thanksgiving day. Dad went back to his house in Tioga each day while the rest of us stayed at Sandy's throughout the weekend--so we had a Moberg sibling slumber party in our childhood home.

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back row: Susan, I, Abigail, and Cathy

front row: Dad and Sandy

This is a post-turkey pic ... so forgive any tryptophan-related drowsiness on our faces.

On Saturday we went to Dad's and put up his Christmas decorations, including these banners on his garage doors.

On Sunday we joined Sandy for church in McGregor. She is the organist at Zion Lutheran Church, the church we all attended while growing up. After church we stayed for "Souper Bowl Sunday," a potluck meal of homemade soups. Sandy's contribution was a delicious tomato tortellini soup.

The trees around the yard on the farm looked so beautiful from the frost and snow.

Iceland Vacation, Day 6

Today was our last full day in Iceland. We spent the morning sightseeing, the afternoon driving, and the evening packing for our return home tomorrow.

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Here are morning views where we stayed last night. In the bottom photo is our building with three units (one for each couple). The entrance doors are on the other side and open onto the terrace that Nate is sitting on in the top photo.

I wrote yesterday that we would be returning today to Breiðamerkursandur (a.k.a. Diamond Beach), where the Atlantic Ocean meets up with Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. After yesterday's 60-mile-per-hour winds there (that canceled our ice cave tour), we were grateful for a still day today. The top photo is a view of the icebergs in the lagoon, and the bottom photo shows Susan and me standing next to one of the icebergs that had washed up onto the beach.

Our reason for returning to Jökulsárlón today was to take a glacial lagoon boat cruise! We suited up and boarded a Zodiac boat (that held 10 passengers) to cross the lagoon and approach Breiðamerkurjökull, a glacial tongue of Vatnajökull, Iceland's largest glacier. As we neared the glacier, we saw some seals hanging out on an ice chunk. At the glacier's edge, we saw and heard it "calving," the process in which chucks of ice break off from the end of a glacier and fall into the water, creating icebergs.

It was about a six-hour drive from there back to Keflavík, where we're staying tonight (at the beautiful Hotel Berg) because we have to be at the airport here at 5:30 A.M. to go home tomorrow. We had seafood for dinner at a roadside stop off the highway; and we had seafood again for supper at Kaffi Duus, a restaurant near our hotel. Susan and I have just repacked our suitcases and are ready for our last sleep in Iceland. What a fantastic trip with a terrific group of friends!