Riding Becky the Bull

We had super exciting plans for Friday. We were going to see Auntie Tracey and her lake. And her bull ...

Oh, and Grandpa!

We got to Auntie's house shortly before lunch and were treated with rides in Nate's graduation gift - an off-road go-kart. Grandpa took the kids out on the wheeler and Mike and Tracey took the kids out on the go-kart. Then Uncle Mike got a ride from Nate - including a full-speed turn!

After our off-roading, we all happily headed down to the lake. It was a billion degrees (it was 90 degrees. But in northern Minnesota, that is equivalent to a billion), so being in the water felt like a necessity.

Quinn was super excited when she saw the new inflatable tied up to the dock ... a bull. A bull that rocks when you jump on it, basically making it like a mechanical bull for the water. Fun fact: Quinn tamed that bull. Fun fact #2: Fiona named that bull. Becky. Uncle Kyle tried to point out that perhaps a bull would not be a girl. Fiona had no time for his facts. Becky the Bull it was.

Mike took the jet ski out for a few spins - and had several volunteers to accompany him. I even got a ride! Then we hooked up the tube to the jet ski. Quinn was not sure about it, so she and Dec jumped on first. She did not like it. Dec loved it. Then Fiona and Quinn switched spots. Fiona and Dec were the perfect partners. They both loved it so much!! They even did really great when they almost fell off!

Dec did some fishing with Nate and added a couple fish to his weekend total. They were small ones - but he was really proud nonetheless. Especially since he caught them off the neighbor's dock! [He was relocated so as to not "catch" one of his sisters]

We swam and jumped on the bull and snacked on the beach for six hours. It was so great. And so hot that every time we got out of the water, all we wanted to do was get back in. Quinn and Dec ended up with some pretty impressive sunburns on their faces. Poor Q even burned her eyelids! But thanks to some magic coconut oil lotion from Auntie, we were in good shape by the morning.

We headed back to Gma and Gpa's for dinner - where the seven of us cleaned every speck of food off the dinner table. Apparently six hours in the lake make people extremely hungry!

This is what they looked like on the drive home. Perhaps a bit tired!

Left the City

We did it! We went North for the first time since Christmas. And my goodness, it felt so good. It was even worth the two cases of swimmers ear that we brought home with us ... [and the decidedly unpleasant 6-year-old until we got his ear infection under control].

The 4th of July trip was definitely different than normal. We did our best to keep our circle small - and the circle was all outside. We are grateful for the amazing (HOT!) weather and the fact that northern Minnesota is simply wonderful in the summer.

We basically spent three straight days in the lake [see swimmers ear] and came home sun-kissed [burned] and refreshed. Even I, the pastiest of them all, got some color. I've moved from Bright Ghost to Stealth Ghost and am pretty proud of my new shade of translucent.

We spent Thursday morning packing and prepping and were on the road shortly before lunchtime. As expected, we are not road trip warriors anymore and there were a few bumps along the way. Including Declan and I sitting on the curb at McDonald's while Mike and the girls went through the drive thru so that the little dude could get some fresh air. Carsickness is a real thing. After a bit of lunch, he seemed better and we made it to Gma and Gpa's by mid-afternoon.

That evening, Dec, Auntie, Mike and Gpa went fishing. D caught 31 fish (his story). Thirty sunnies and one crappie. He was delighted and happily told his fish tale to anyone who would listen for the rest of the weekend! They were having so much fun that I had to text Mike to remind him that D is six and to maybe not stay out too late.

Meanwhile, Fiona, Gma, and I went for a walk to check out the clear cutting they had done in the woods where we usually do our moonlight walk at Christmas time. They are replanting trees - but let's just say that we'll be able to see a lot of moonlight this year. Ultimately, the forest will be healthier - but wow, that was a lot of clearing. [Quinn was in heaven playing with the kitchen stuff at Gma's and chose to continue her game instead of walking and/or fishing. As always, Quinn is her own person.]

Once the kids finally fell asleep (so excited to finally be up north!), it was a pretty quiet night. Which was good. We needed energy for the next three days of sunshine and lake.

Father's Day Cabin

The karmic repercussions of the most perfect sunset are apparently SUNRISE AT 5:30am! Mike and I were in the bedroom on the east side of the house - and let us tell you that lace curtains do not keep out the morning sun. Ugh. We pretended that it wasn't as bright as midday in there for a while, but eventually gave up. The kids were excited for the day too and no one slept in much. It basically felt like lunch time by 9am.

It didn't get super warm on Saturday - only high 70s - but when the sun was out, it was really lovely down at the lake. The kids could hardly wait to get back in the tubes and kayaks. Quinn quite happily created an entire bakery in the sand. The shoreline offered hours of fun throwing and skipping rocks into the water as well.

Declan lived his very best life hanging out with Jack and Coop for the weekend. They shifted for treasures and caught bugs and sword-fought with sticks and fished off the dock ... It was the boy time he desperately needed. Quinn's favorite thing was the hammock, especially when Hannah joined her in it. And Fiona loved wandering down to the lake for a while, and then sneaking back to the cabin to lounge on a couch and read her book.

Nine out of ten cabin occupants had a great day. The tenth member of the group was Mike. He did not enjoy his day. His allergies exploded at a level we haven't seen in several years. Near the end of the day, Mike joked that he was allergic to Dec because D was standing by him and he got all plugged up again. I realized that I had not showered Dec after being in the lake! I quickly showered the rest of the Vs and Mike showered as well. That seemed to help. So all the Ps also rinsed the lake off themselves. While his allergies weren't completely better, they seemed vastly improved. At least he got to enjoy the evening.

After dinner, the kids tried out a couple of the sparklers that Dec got for his birthday. Then they all got ready for bed, piled into the bunk room, and watched a movie. While still up pretty late, it was a much easier transition to bedtime and was very quiet after everyone was tucked in.

Favorite activities from the weekend were kayak fishing adventures, kayak tube chains, and tube bumper cars. Declan figured out how to use the kid kayak as a paddleboard and was the only one who could successfully balance on it while standing up. Everyone else weighed a little too much. Our creature-loving oldest children also got to see frogs climbing on the windows, eating bugs, after dark. Declan even saved Hannah when she thought she was stranded in her tube. She was fine - but he was very heroic and a sweet friend!

Mike hung towels over our windows Saturday night and it was slightly less "surface of the sun" bright on Sunday morning. The kids slept in a little bit and then excitedly went down to the lake. Unfortunately it was pretty chilly and windy, so Mike and Brad declared no kayaks. The kids were super disappointed and also realized quickly that they did not want to be in the water.

Instead, they played in the sand and along the shore for a bit. We were planning to stay through lunch to get in a bit more lake time, but with the cooler weather, we were home by lunch instead. The lovely thing was that unpacking was so much easier than camping re-entry. So Mike actually got to relax for part of Father's Day.

While not our traditional way to spend the weekend, it was a pretty great time. And with all those stairs from the lake to the cabin, I set a new high on my Fitbit of 57 flights of stairs climbed in one day!

Cabin on Big Swan

Our annual Father's Day camping trip has grown to seven families. Normally this would be an awesome way to celebrate the dads in our group. But this year, the group simply felt too large. Minnesota is in the early stages of re-opening ... and while the campground is open, the rules prohibit multi-site campfires and gatherings - and many of the amenities (like the beach) were only tentatively going to be open. As a group, we decided to put a one year pause on the tradition.

As a wife, I knew that Mike needed O-U-T. We had been exploring options even before the official group decision, and decided to rent a cabin for the weekend. That way, we could leave our neighborhood and have time outside at a lake - but have our own space / beach area. We found a great cabin in Dassel on Big Swan Lake that met all our requirements and was available that weekend. It also had a bunk room with three bunk beds. So we invited the Ps to join us. Spending a weekend with our best friends after months apart sounded amazing!

We met up at our house on Friday afternoon and caravaned the hour (and a few minutes) to the cabin. The kids were so excited and couldn't wait to get out of the cars to check out the weekend digs. The bunk room was the big hit. They declared the basement the kid zone. And then expanded their territory to the garage as well when they discovered the air hockey table and ping pong table!

After we unloaded all.the.stuff (and C and I shared war stories about the guys complaining about how much we packed ... and B and M shared war stories about trying to pack all the stuff), we headed down the 41 stairs (we made Cooper count them) to the lake. We'd never been to Big Swan before and discovered that it's pretty muddy and full of algae. Perfectly fine for swimming - but not the clear water that we are used to up north. Once the internet assured us that we weren't concerned about the type of algae, we let the kids put on their suits and check out the water.

They splashed and kayaked and played in the sand and waded out forever (it was less than three feet deep for a really long ways). We pulled everyone out of the lake for a late dinner and then headed back down for some fishing. We saw the most amazing sunset, enjoyed s'mores, and put the kids to bed after 10pm. Six kids in one room was not without its bumps ... and poor Q didn't fall asleep until almost midnight. YIKES!

The adults enjoyed the perfect weather and drinks around the fire. We even heard a coyote howl as it got later. It was almost like camping ... especially the late bedtime choices!

Family Day

I know. I know. You are probably thinking how are you not blogging? It's not like you are going anywhere right now. And while you are right(ish), things have gotten busy around here - and by the time the kids go to bed, I just don't want to! Turns out, there is stamina needed to keep up with a family of 5 ... and we lost ours in the 80+ days of lockdown! We are so very very tired!

First off, Mike is back to work!!! Yay! But also, ummm ...... who is going to watch the children?

We just finished week 2 of him being back. It is really nice for him to be working again. It is a sense of purpose that he was missing. We are currently tag-teaming the supervision of the troops and relying on the children being responsible and able to somewhat entertain themselves. Oh, and a chore board. That was my contribution! But the reward for finishing your list is 30 minutes of iPad time, so they find cooperation to be a worthwhile endeavor.

Second, activities are back in different, but still scheduled, forms. So we have hockey on Mondays and Wednesdays, soccer on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (with Coach Mike!*), piano lessons on Tuesdays ... and Fiona had virtual drama camp all week from 9-12 every day. The whiteboard command center is back!!!

I have to make a physical return to my office in mid-July. At that point, we have Nanny J (our original nanny) lined up to hang with the troops so that Mike can actually get work done. It will also be nice for the kids to have someone who will actually do stuff with them during the day. We try to take breaks and engage - but it's not the same.

[We would have Nanny J start now, but there are just so.many.people.in.this.house!]

With that in mind, after two HOT hours of soccer this morning, Coach Mike decided that we were putting up the pool this afternoon and having some fun together - just the five of us. No friends, no one else. An afternoon of actively being together - not just occupying the same space.

It was simple and fun and perfect. The kids swung from the trapeze into the pool. They played with all sorts of water toys. And Mike and I sat in the shade by them, enjoying their fun and laughing with them. Everyone was tired from the sun and fun - so we closed the day with some Hannah Montana on Disney+ and called it a great day. It was time we needed to spend together..

*Q's team didn't have a coach. Mike was hoping someone would step up. No one did ... so the inevitable happened. Then Dec's coach needed help. The rest is history. Q's friend T (who is the most wonderfully exuberant person I've ever met) has already declared Mike "the best coach she's ever had."