A Minnesota Summer! We made it happen! Let’s go back in time a couple of months…
Shane, Isaac, I boarded our plane with even more anticipation than usual, as Juliette had traveled to Minnesota a few days earlier to spend some extra time with Shane’s mom and we were eager to see our girl. Let’s GO!
Together again and it felt so good.
Plus, this sweet boy! Little Brexton, Hayden’s baby, was so much bigger than when we’d seen him in March. Juliette had spent the full day prior snuggling him to pieces and he was attached to her hip.
THE SWEETEST!
Isaac was mildly curious about the baby…
But was fully enamored with the golf cart. That’s my boy!
Shane spent our first morning of vacation out on the golf course with Jason. It’s been years since he swung a club, but he quickly got his groove back.
It helped that he had the very best caddy.
Isaac was obviously a bit young for golf, but we made the most of waiting at the final hole for Dad, Sister, and Uncle to appear.
The anticipation!
The rest of the day was spent bouncing from Pat’s porch to Tiff’s porch, right across the street. It’s rare that all the Minnesota and Seattle cousins are in one place, so we made the most of just catching up.
I remember when this guy was just a little babe, even smaller than Brexton. And now he’s taller than Shane! Time…
One of the chillest, happiest little guys I’ve ever met. He was so content to be passed from one lap to the next.
That said, at some point Isaac was like, “Enough with the baby already!” Let’s go play!
We laughed a lot that day…
And we realized upon unpacking that we’d left Isaac’s goggles at home, so we made an emergency run into town for backups, knowing the pool would eventually beckon. Isaac picked out a pair from the sporting goods store and insisted on wearing them the whole way home.
These are some of the best moments of vacation, just running errands without any rush. Time to be goofy, to wander off-route. To pop over to Dairy Queen for pre-dinner Blizzards.
We ate dinner on the porch, courtesy of Chef Tiff, the Hostess with the Mostess, and then Isaac and I took a walk down to the docks to get his final wiggles out before bedtime.
Hunting for hot dog plants became an evening ritual. Like I said, it’s the simple, silly things.
Let the games begin (again)…
Monday dawned a little gray and misty, but Isaac warmed his tush by the fire and all was well.
One last photo with the littles before Hayden and fam hit the road…
The sun broke through in the late afternoon, so we threw snacks and towels in bags and boarded Tiff and Jason’s pontoon for a family cruise. The lake was calling!
This little sand bar is one of my favorite places in all of Minnesota. I have memories here of Shane catching frogs, Juliette and her cousins jousting on a floating raft, Denny and Pat watching it all with total delight. This is Leech Lake…
The boat ride back was sweet, the kids sun-kissed and damp-haired, content to sit back and listen to the country tunes piping through the radio.
We showered and ate and took our sunset stroll. You know, golden hour and all…
We played a game of tag in the grass near the docks, because, well, ISAAC.
This kid is a tornado…
But then there’s the calm after the storm. Rest well, Bud. There’s more playing to be done tomorrow…
Leave a Reply