We spent a few days earlier this month in Minnesota, celebrating our niece’s high school graduation and catching up with our beloved Schnells. While there was some busy-ness with festivities and ceremonies, there was also ample time to slow down, to sit on the porch and drink beer, to stand by the fence and coo at the brand-new baby calves.
We arrived Thursday evening and after a round of hugs from Grandma and Grandpa, Juliette darted across the yard to say hello to the animals.
While Jules fell head over heels for the cows, I became smitten with these golden greens…
The temperatures weren’t quite warm enough for us to pull out our swimsuits on Friday, but Shane was still up for a ride on a french fry floaty at Lake Latoka.
Meanwhile, Jules and Hayden snuggled up together under beach towels.
We spent most of the afternoon setting up the church for Shanay’s big graduation shin-dig and then headed home for a stroll around the farm.
Denny just bought ten baby pigs and they are the cutest. We loved watching them dart from one end of the pen to the other, wooing them closer to us by dumping a heap of leftovers into their food trough.
Fatten up, little ones…Â Grandpa’s got big plans for you.
Outside the barn, we stopped to hang out with the cows. This sweet baby calf was just a few days old!
Back at the house, the cousins caught up with each other on the porch while Shane grilled up a whole lotta hot dogs.
We ended every day around this table, eating and drinking and laughing with the family.
We used the time change to allow ourselves (Juliette included) to stay up late and sleep in late. Our mornings were lazy – Juliette romping around the porch in her underwear, Shane and I taking our sweet time eating our breakfast.
We drove over to the church late Saturday morning for Shanay’s big graduation celebration. We’re so proud of this lovely young lady – she’s bright and generous and incredibly kind and now, a bonafide adult!
We spent the afternoon tinkering around the house, watching Grandpa work on his motorcycle and then spending more time with our cow friends.
This girl loves her grandpa somethin’ fierce – any time he entered a room, Juliette ran to him with arms wide open, exclaiming “GRANDPA!”, as if she hadn’t seen him just ten minutes earlier.
By late afternoon Jules was getting a case of the crankies, so I took her out for a lemonade reboot at the coffee shop. A little one-on-one time does wonders for the both of us.
The weather had turned super-warm and I still had our beach bag in the trunk, so we detoured on the way home for a toe-dip at the lake.
We dined at Chet’s that night with the whole family, feasting on fried chicken with our lovely graduate.
And as we settled into our porch chairs for beer and a sunset show, we saw tiny flickers of light appear over the field. Fireflies!
Shane offered to catch one for Juliette in a jar and I admittedly doubted his prowess, wondering how on earth he’d capture one of these fleeting-and-few-between bugs. But alas, DAD FOR THE WIN.
The country in the summertime is a magical place.
I went for a blissfully quiet walk on Sunday morning before heading to the high school for the big ceremony.
Shanay! You did it!
After setting our graduate free to hang out with her friends for the afternoon, we all headed home for yet another stroll through the farm. Never got old.
Roo, the cow Juliette is trying to feed, is known as being particularly troublesome, breaking loose from the pen any chance she gets. Jules developed a special fondness for this rascal, cooing, “Oh, Roo…” every time she came close.
Hayden loves animals, but does not love the resident bull, Pretty Boy. She avoided eye contact at all costs.
Hey, piggies!
Gosh, I miss these little fellas! They had so much personality.
These Minnesota Schnell kids are top-notch. Patient and fun and affectionate – Juliette hit the cousin jackpot.
We gathered on the porch again on Sunday evening, this time raising our glasses to Avery, who had just turned 14. Happy Birthday, Bud!
We lingered especially late around the table that night, Tiff and I savoring our super-sized beers and Shane sipping his little shot glass of top-shelf scotch. I can’t imagine feeling more at home with a family that’s not actually my blood. Thanks for a makin’ a girl feel welcome, Schnells…
We pulled away from the farm on Monday morning and set out for Minneapolis, Juliette yelling “Bye, Roo, you old troublemaker!” as we made our way down the road. We had a few hours to pass in the city before our flight, so we took a walk along the Mighty Mississippi and then grabbed lunch downtown.
We parked ourselves in this hip little coffee shop for a solid hour, sipping our drinks and playing game after game of Go Fish. I’m so glad that Juliette loves cafe time as much as I do.
Eventually, later than planned, we boarded our plane for Seattle and headed west. We rolled up to our house after midnight, weary but rested. We’re self-declared city folk, Shane and I, but a few days in the country sure does us good.