It's beginning to feel a lot like ... summer!

Another great weekend at the cabin!

Andi, Tory and I drove up to the lake cabin Friday night with our new outdoor table for the backyard deck. Andi has a wood-working shop at his office and sourced his employee to make us a new wood table. It's really beautiful and easily seats 8-10 people. We're always searching for more spots for everyone to sit when we entertain up there, so it'll be perfect for that purpose.

Saturday afternoon, Andi and I tried out our new table for lunch with hot dogs, local farm-fresh salad and fruit on the menu. Our tranquil view of the lake ahead rivaled any summertime patio's ambiance. Tory and I also dined alfresco on Sunday afternoon and she thought it was pretty special eating outdoors. We ate together while watching Andi mow the lawn and talked about all the wildlife we heard around us.

The weather is finally warming up around here, so we anxiously took the pontoon cover off the boat as soon as we arrived at the lake on Friday night and hit the water for an evening boat ride before Tory's bedtime. Unfortunately, just as we pulled away from the dock it began to DUMP rain on us! Tory didn't think it was too funny, but Andi and I couldn't help but laugh as we were completely soaked on the ride back to the cabin.

After Tory went to bed for the night, Andi snapped some pretty incredible photographs of our surroundings. Seriously, tell me this isn't like being on vacation every single weekend? This place is our kryptonite. We are so at peace here.

After the rain, Andi fished off the dock for a bit while Chloe and I kept him company on the pontoon nearby. Andi caught a bass and I snagged fifty-million mosquito bites on my ankles and toes.

Nice rod placement, honey

Saturday morning, the weather was absolutely perfect. The three of us were on the water for a morning pontoon ride shortly after 9:00am. The water was glass and we were the only boat on the lake. Toward the end of our leisurely cruise, Andi pulled up to the swimming beach and another family on the lake was there with a little boy. We introduced ourselves and talked with them a bit. Their grandson was 3 years old and he and Tory had a blast splashing in the water. Of course, I didn't have Tory dressed for swimming because the boat gauge reported the water temperature at a chilly 58 degrees, but kids never seem to care and somehow Andi, Tory, the little boy and his grandpa were wading waist deep in no time.

While Tory took a nap in the afternoon, Andi and I tinkered around the lake. There are a million upsides to having a lake cabin tucked back in the bay, but one negative is all the mud and muck that accumulates on our shoreline. Andi used the boat motor to redirect some of the sludge while I raked weeds on the beach. He also persuaded me into helping him reposition the dock (why am I always pregnant when he needs help doing those things?) and we moved a picnic table down to the water for lounging. Those are some of the less glamorous parts of cabin life but even so, it was still nice to work outside together.

Shortly after Tory woke up, it started to rain so we drove into town to pick up groceries and run a few errands. We stopped by the hardware store, the meat market, the liquor store (for Andi), the laundromat to wash extra sets of cabin sheets and the dollar store. I don't know why I love browsing through the dollar store so much when we're at the cabin. I never ever visit those stores when I'm back home in the Cities, but for some reason it feels so "vacation-y" to wander the aisles there. As we were leaving, a 2-liter bottle of Sprite broke free from the plastic shopping bag and massively exploded all over the entrance of the store. The cashier, Andi and I stood in silence for a second, in awe of the sheer volume of fizz and liquid covering everything in the area. We couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably at what had just happened. I feel sorry for the employee who had to clean up that mess. Wow. The cashier said it happens all the time with Sprite bottles. (So maybe double bag 'em next time, lady. Just a thought.)

Sunday was sunny and breezy. Tory woke up early at 5:30am and by 8:00am, I was scrambling for something to entertain her. We decided to take a drive around the countryside and ended up in nearby Balsam Lake. We window-shopped in a few stores and stopped by a gas station for a second breakfast for me. (My lord, pregnancy morning sickness, when will you ever stop?)

Our motto to Tory, always. She needs this license plate for her wagon or something

Back at the lake cabin, we spent the afternoon lounging on a picnic blanket in the yard and playing in the lake with Tory. I taught her how to collect rocks on the beach and throw them back into the water for a plunk! effect. She loved this game and we played together all afternoon.

One of Tory's new favorite past times is splashing water. She loves to throw water in the bathtub (which is obviously a no-no) but here at the lake? Go hog wild, kiddo. With pink shovel in hand for optimal scooping and water-flinging, that's just what she did.

Throwing rocks in the lake

A girl and her bucket

Summer's here ... I can feel it. It's exciting to think, we have weekends upon weekends of fabulous moments like these ahead. I'm already counting down the days until we meet again.