Not Going Home

We left the cabin with 22 minutes to spare before the official check out time! That feels noteworthy. There was a lot of stuff to pack and people to mobilize. Instead of pointing our car south toward home, we pointed it north toward Gma and Gpa's. I mean, it was only Tuesday and I was still on furlough. Unfortunately (although really, fortunately), Mike was not. So he dropped the kids and me off, spent the day with us, and then headed home after dinner.

Since Mike wanted to make the most of his vacation day, he and my dad headed up to Johnson Lake with Q and Dec in tow to do some fishing. They had a good time, but the black flies were terrible and made it less enjoyable. However, Gpa caught a big northern and Dec was more than happy to regale anyone who would listen with Gpa's fish story! Meanwhile, Fiona, Gma, and I had a lovely, quiet afternoon. F played Barbies and read, Gma and I read, and the three of us went for a walk by the lake. We were sad to say good-bye to Mike, but the rest of us were totally fine staying up north for a few more days!

Wednesday morning, Gpa was in charge of the troops while I tagged along with Gma to the salon to finally get a haircut (praise!!!). We were also able to make appointments for the girls for Friday morning, which they were very pleased about. Apparently Mom's Bathroom Salon was not their favorite!

After lunch, we met Anna, Brenda, Mike, and the four cousins at the Kona Ice Truck. We took our treats and sat in the grass field next to the store. As soon as the kids were done, they were running all over the place and tackling each other. The joy they have in seeing each other is the very best! Brenda and Mike took Beau home for a nap while Anna and I took the big six to the library. The best librarian ever (after Gma) had set up a storybook trail outside, where you walk from station to station to read a book (one page at each station). My three took turns doing the reading. It was the cutest set up, but the kids were too excited to be together to fully appreciate it.

When we got to the end of the book, we continued walking on the bridge across the Mississippi River. On the other side, there was a little drainage pond. The kids asked if they could take their shoes off and play in it. And since 2020 is the year of saying "why the hell not?"... Anna and I said yes. It took approximately 1.5 minutes before someone slipped on a rock and got their clothes soaked. But let's be honest, by saying "yes," we knew that would happen. One by one, the troops submerged. Some by accident (Otto), some by "accident" (Declan), some unabashedly on purpose (Milo). Anna and I sat on rocks with our toes in the water and let them enjoy for close to an hour. 

Once the kids were tired of being soaked, we headed back to Gma's for dry clothes. I joined Gma and Gpa for 4pm happy hour (retired/furlough life is not so bad!) and then it was my night to make dinner. We had a low-key evening and sent the troops off to bed. There were big cabin plans for the next day - because it had been like a day since we were at a lake!