Sunday, August 23, 2015
August fishing
Our August fishing trip was short and CHILLY this year! We went up for a long weekend--Friday-Sunday, and unfortunately, Abby had a fever and wasn't feeling well when we made it up to Frazee. Friday would have been the only nice day to play in the water at the beach, but Abby napped instead. The rest of the weekend was drizzly/rainy and chilly, but we did a little fishing during the day Saturday (at first in the rain, then it cleared up). We did a little bit of fishing Friday and Saturday night, too, but didn't go out at all on Sunday. Dave had a fever/chills and slept all of Sunday (even the drive home). Because it was such a quick trip, and half of our family wasn't feeling so great, I didn't take too many pictures...just a few at the bridge!
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
College cabin weekend
Our college friend cabin weekend was tough to schedule this summer...everyone was so busy! We nailed down an August weekend, but Dave had to work, Bill stayed back to work on their new house, and the Brekkes couldn't make it. The rest of us had fun, and the girls and I were able to stay with Kristina and her kids for a couple of extra days. Friday was HOT! We set up the tents and decided to go for an evening lake swim just to cool off before going to sleep. The kids didn't mind one bit!
Saturday was another hot day, so it was perfect for taking the pontoon out to the beach for swimming and a picnic.
Unfortunately, we ended up getting bad weather that night...I was in a tent with Abby, Norah, and Harold. Abby woke up first as the lightning/thunder got bad. Harold was next, and we watched videos and watched the radar on my phone until the lightning had passed for a little bit and it was just raining. We woke up Norah and the kids loaded up all of their sleeping stuff into their sleeping bags and made a run for it into the house before the next part of the storm started. We slept on the living room floor/couch the rest of the night...quite an adventure!
Matt, Katherine, Harold, and Marcus took off on Sunday late morning. Kristina and I ended up visiting the beach with the kids Sunday and Monday, even though by Monday the water was warmer than the air. The girls and I headed out Tuesday after breakfast.
Saturday was another hot day, so it was perfect for taking the pontoon out to the beach for swimming and a picnic.
Unfortunately, we ended up getting bad weather that night...I was in a tent with Abby, Norah, and Harold. Abby woke up first as the lightning/thunder got bad. Harold was next, and we watched videos and watched the radar on my phone until the lightning had passed for a little bit and it was just raining. We woke up Norah and the kids loaded up all of their sleeping stuff into their sleeping bags and made a run for it into the house before the next part of the storm started. We slept on the living room floor/couch the rest of the night...quite an adventure!
Matt, Katherine, Harold, and Marcus took off on Sunday late morning. Kristina and I ended up visiting the beach with the kids Sunday and Monday, even though by Monday the water was warmer than the air. The girls and I headed out Tuesday after breakfast.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Yurt!
We had a fun adventure earlier in August--staying in a yurt! We stopped on our way up at Father Hennepin State Park, where we enjoyed a picnic and playing in Mille Lacs Lake (while Dave did a little hiking). Unfortunately, Abby's swimsuit top got left behind at this park...
We got to Cuyuna State Recreation Area later in the afternoon, and had a tough time finding the yurts. After realizing that the e-mail we had received from the park had specific directions, we were able to find them. A woodchuck was peeking his head out from under the porch area of the yurt to greet us...our friends, the Clarks, had warned us about a critter living under that particular yurt. Luckily, we only caught a couple more glimpses of him and he didn't bother us too much in the middle of the night.
We loved staying in the yurt, and had perfect weather for opening up the windows and top to let a cool breeze through. We made pie iron pizzas over the fire for supper, and s'mores later on. If we were to stay there again, there is a great mine lake for floating or kayaking.
The next morning, we stuck around the yurt for a little while before packing up. We drove to an observation area and ate a picnic lunch, then went into town to play at the park and swim a little bit in Serpent Lake at the beach area. We are definitely looking forward to another yurt adventure in the future!
We got to Cuyuna State Recreation Area later in the afternoon, and had a tough time finding the yurts. After realizing that the e-mail we had received from the park had specific directions, we were able to find them. A woodchuck was peeking his head out from under the porch area of the yurt to greet us...our friends, the Clarks, had warned us about a critter living under that particular yurt. Luckily, we only caught a couple more glimpses of him and he didn't bother us too much in the middle of the night.
We loved staying in the yurt, and had perfect weather for opening up the windows and top to let a cool breeze through. We made pie iron pizzas over the fire for supper, and s'mores later on. If we were to stay there again, there is a great mine lake for floating or kayaking.
The next morning, we stuck around the yurt for a little while before packing up. We drove to an observation area and ate a picnic lunch, then went into town to play at the park and swim a little bit in Serpent Lake at the beach area. We are definitely looking forward to another yurt adventure in the future!
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Swimming lessons
We wrapped up three weeks of swimming lessons last night...THREE weeks! We will definitely not miss driving to Montgomery each evening around suppertime, but the girls did have a blast and did well. Norah's week was first--she and I joined my friend Kaysie and her daughter Addy in the "Tadpoles" parent/child class. Norah's favorite part of each class was "chop, chop, timber", where she got to jump in the pool. She also loved singing songs in a circle.
Abby and her friend Brayden were in level 2 of swimming this year. They met for two weeks for 50 minute lessons. That meant almost 10 hours of quality chatting time with my friend Kaysie. Abby and Brayden learned a ton in the two weeks and grew a lot in their swimming abilities. Abby was a little nervous about the diving board at first, but loved it by the last night. She was most proud of doing a back float for 55 seconds and loved jumping in the pool the most. Even though she passed level 2, her instructor's note said to wait to start level 3 until she has more endurance. Not sure what we'll do to work on that before next summer's lessons, but we may look into doing some lessons during the school year.
Our favorite night of swimming was the middle Friday of the three weeks where we joined the Pakiz's for pizza at the local pizza parlor and had a bonfire at their house afterward. Our kids get along so well and it was definitely something to look forward to during the first couple of weeks of lessons!
Abby and her friend Brayden were in level 2 of swimming this year. They met for two weeks for 50 minute lessons. That meant almost 10 hours of quality chatting time with my friend Kaysie. Abby and Brayden learned a ton in the two weeks and grew a lot in their swimming abilities. Abby was a little nervous about the diving board at first, but loved it by the last night. She was most proud of doing a back float for 55 seconds and loved jumping in the pool the most. Even though she passed level 2, her instructor's note said to wait to start level 3 until she has more endurance. Not sure what we'll do to work on that before next summer's lessons, but we may look into doing some lessons during the school year.
Our favorite night of swimming was the middle Friday of the three weeks where we joined the Pakiz's for pizza at the local pizza parlor and had a bonfire at their house afterward. Our kids get along so well and it was definitely something to look forward to during the first couple of weeks of lessons!
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Connor's visit
My cousin Connor came to visit us again this summer, the week after Watermelon Day. Even though he will be 16 in September, he still is willing to come up and be an honorary big brother to the girls, and they love it! We didn't do as much as we usually do when he's here, but we:
*went to Norah's swimming lessons each night
*went swimming at my friend Tiffany's family pool
*went to the arboretum with Tiffany, Henry, and Olivia and checked out the Lego sculptures and the hedge maze
*went to the giant candy store
*visited lots of parks
*went to the library
*checked out the Rice County fair
Connor of course got to play lots of "house, "wedding", "baby Gavin" and other made-up things like that, since that has been the play of summer at our house, all day, every day. He was a trooper! He and Abby enjoyed going fishing with Dave on the last night he was at our house--they even caught some walleye!
*went to Norah's swimming lessons each night
*went swimming at my friend Tiffany's family pool
*went to the arboretum with Tiffany, Henry, and Olivia and checked out the Lego sculptures and the hedge maze
*went to the giant candy store
*visited lots of parks
*went to the library
*checked out the Rice County fair
Connor of course got to play lots of "house, "wedding", "baby Gavin" and other made-up things like that, since that has been the play of summer at our house, all day, every day. He was a trooper! He and Abby enjoyed going fishing with Dave on the last night he was at our house--they even caught some walleye!
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