Last Summer Trip

Seems fitting on our last official day of "summer" (where it was 46 degrees for a high), I blog about [the start of] our final adventure for Summer 2020. We took advantage of my second week of furlough to take one last trip north - to see the lake and the woods and the grandparents - before schools starts and we marinate in the germs of public education. 

Getting ready for furlough (followed by a week of vacation) was no joke and I ended up working until almost 11pm Friday night - before they cut of my access at 11:59pm. Because of the late night, we were slow moving on Saturday morning. 

Thankfully we still managed to get ourselves packed and organized by shortly after lunchtime. We had always planned for a pretty flexible schedule on Saturday (knowing I would be working up until the last minute), which helped mitigate the packing stress. The kids were good helpers and traffic was amazing. We made it doorstep to doorstep in exactly 3 hours. That is nearly impossible to do ... a personal record by far! Mike had to go to the bathroom for the last hour, but we were making such good time that he just held it. He did ask if his eyes were yellow when we pulled into Gma and Gpa's driveway!

Saturday night was perfectly low-key with our favorite pizza, a fire in the yard, s'mores, and some outside time to get our energy. The kids settled in really well and were delighted to be back at Gma and Gpa's! They didn't seem terribly sad to have us back either (although if we keep staying for nearly a week when we come, they are probably going to start to wonder if we'll ever leave). 

Sunday was our Summer Send-off day at McAvity Lake with Auntie Tracey and the crew. Gpa V came over from Duluth too, so we got to see the whole gang. It was a really windy day, so even though it was low 70s, it definitely did not feel summery and hot. The kids all jumped in the lake, as did Mike. In his clothes. The casualty of my late night before packing was that I forgot Mike and my swimsuits. Turns out, we didn't need them. According to my sources, the water was cold! The kids took their final rides on Becky the Bull and then we talked Uncle Kyle into a pontoon ride around the lake. While not great swimming weather, it was fantastic boating weather!

After we were done at the lake, the kids decided to explore Auntie's yard. Quinn surfed on they hammock, they used the hammock as a wrestling mat, and Dec charmed Auntie out of some snacks. They got Nate to get out his go-kart and Mike gave everyone rides. Then ... he taught all of them how to drive. That was a somewhat terrifying adventure to both experience IN the go-kart and watch from the sidelines. Uncle Kyle got a ride with each of the new drivers as well. His assessment was that Bugs was the craziest driver (backed with skill), Dec was the next craziest (with less skill), and Quinn was all about method and taking the corners to shave time (precision driver!). 

We had the best day seeing our people and the kids really enjoyed the freedom to explore. We ended the day with dinner and the blueberry pie that Q and Gma had made.