Trees, lots of trees!

The Albert Lea Art Center opened its annual Festival of Trees in conjunction with the arrival of the 2026 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. There are dozens of trees that have been decorated by area businesses, organizations, and Art Center members.

Celebrating the BIG TREE

The 2026 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, making the journey from Idaho to Washington, DC, made its only Minnesota stop tonight in Albert Lea and a large crowd was on hand for the celebration. The crowd was invited to sign the side of the semi-trailer and get pictures of the tree and Smokey Bear!

Veterans Day

We remembered all veterans today including our dads and Charles' siblings who served as well. This afternoon, Charles was invited to offer the invocation at Oak Park Place's Veterans Day luncheon.
 

Church weekend

We had a busy weekend with the Glenville UMC family! On Saturday, we made the drive to Open Doors UMC in Wells for the annual church Charge Conference. This was a gathering of several church in the area and Glenville UMC was part of this event. Charles led one of the church meetings in his role as a UMC Elder. The Sunday worship in Glenville was a joyful gathering which included the Ad Board meeting after worship.

Election results

Charles did not win the election to the Albert Lea city council on Tuesday. While not the outcome we were hoping for, he is proud that he had his name on the ballot.

It's done!

Belinda wanted to vote early and so, for her birthday weekend, we went to the Freeborn County Courthouse and did the deed. It was neat, seeing Charles' name on the ballot! We don't exactly know when the results will be announced, but we're excited to see how it plays out.

Kittens on the move!

And just like that, the three kittens have departed for their new forever home on a farm near Albert Lea. Amber and her daughter, Elena, and Charles spent more than an hour together getting them ready to go and corralling them into a carrier.