Just The Three of Us

Andi went away for a boys' hunting trip in Canada this past weekend, so I decided to embrace the calm and stay put for a change vs. driving to our lake cabin. I bet I could count on one hand the number of times we've spend a Saturday or Sunday in the Twin Cities ... which is crazy since we live here!

I typically dread the weekends Andi's traveling because it seems like everyone in the world has their own family's plans. Saturday and Sunday drag on forever; it's different from the weekdays when the kids and I have our regularly-scheduled activities to keep us busy. This weekend though, I welcomed the chance to chance to take things at our own pace. Now that Tory's in school half-days, we've got somewhere to be every morning by 8:25am. I made a list of things to do this weekend, but loved the idea of picking and choosing where we wanted to be.

Friday afternoon, I took the kids to Westwood Hills Nature Center for an outdoor scavenger hunt. Going for a nature hike has become one of my favorite pasttimes, though admitedly, not much ground is covered with four little legs along. Before we left home, I printed a nature scavenger hunt in hopes it'd spur Tory and Aden to walk with a purpose. It definitely worked for Tory! We had the entire grounds to ourselves and enjoyed an absolutely perfect fall evening outdoors.

These two make my heart burst with happiness! I hope they'll always be the friends they are today.

We made homemade pizza for dinner, ate popcorn, and watched Curious George Halloween Boo-Fest that evening. I don't personally love how dark it gets at night now (the sun sets at 6:30pm!), but I do love how easy it is to pull the wool over the kids' eyes and make them believe they stayed up super late when it's really their regular bedtime. Movie night at 6:30pm, bedtime at 7:30pm and Mama's time by 8:00pm = winning for everyone!

Saturday, the kids decided they wanted to see the Thomas the Train exhibit at the Minnesota Children's Museum. We haven't been to the museum in ages (like, three years at least!) so I thought it sounds like the perfect plan. Plus, Aden loves trains these days so I knew he'd enjoy it.

The Children's Museum is currently under construction so it was a little underwhelming compared to the past, but Tory and Aden didn't expect anything less. They had a great time!

 
Later that day, the three of us walked to a nearby park and played for several hours. We had a great time.

One thing I love about the lake cabin is the way it feels like a mini-getaway every single weekend. We always have something fun planned, but fun takes planning and preparation. This weekend, it was nice to stay home for change and enjoy some local fun and relaxation.

Weekend at the Cabin: Strawberry Picking; Fun In The Sun

Another fabulous summer weekend in the books!

Andi was traveling again last week, so I decided to take Tory and Aden to the cabin on Thursday afternoon to give us a long weekend at the lake. With no big plans on Fridays or Mondays this summer, the kids and I are able to make every weekend a long weekend at the lake if we like. A huge perk of stay-at-home-mom life, for sure!

Of course, packing up the car with two little kids underfoot and driving to the cabin for 1 1/2 hours with them by myself isn't without incident. I assumed Tory and Aden would sleep during the drive, so naturally they both decided to show me up and were WIDE AWAKE the entire time. We weren't pressed for time though, so I decided to make the most of their activeness and made several stops along the way.

First, we stopped by a park in Chisago Lakes to run off some steam and to take our picture in one of those iconic adirondack chairs along Highway 8. Tory was super fascinated by this and exclaiming, "This chair would be perfect for my Uncle Adam!" who, in her eyes, is the tallest man in the world. Ha!

(Not exactly the best photo because I could only stand back from the chair so far; Aden kept trying to leap off head-first, that silly boy.) 

Farther down the road, we stopped by Pure and Simple Foods to visit the farm animals and pick up some breakfast supplies for the next morning. Last summer, this place had gorgeous flowers for sale, but this summer ... yeah, not so much. Darn.

I could eat these two up, I love them so.

The kids and I capped off our night with pizza to-go from Cumberland's new Lakeside Pizza, which we took to the playground for a picnic dinner. I didn't feel like cooking but I didn't feel like wrangling two kids in a restaurant by myself for another night either, so a playdate at the park was the perfect solution.

Andi joined us at the cabin later on Friday and Andi's sister Lindsay and husband Kyle came for a visit on Saturday morning. Shortly afterwards, we all headed to nearby Crystal Lake Berries to pick strawberries. This is one of my favorite things to do during summers at the cabin. The weather on this morning was perfect for picking strawberries -- sunny and warm, but not too hot.

This was Aden's first time picking berries by himself (last year, he sat in his car seat and watched), which made this visit even more special. He loved eating the berries as I knew he would, and kept his clothes surprisingly clean (I think because he stuffed whole strawberries in his mouth!).

Once again, Crystal Lake Berries did not disappoint. We practically had the patch to ourselves, and the owners were so friendly and helpful. Best of all, we walked away with three heaping buckets of strawberries for $8/each. Can't beat it! Chances are, we'll be back again before the season ends. 

The weather was so gorgeous Saturday afternoon, we spend the rest of the day on the lake. Andi was adamant about purchasing a floating dock this summer, and once again he was right -- it's such a fun place to sit and chill on the water. 

Sunday morning, the six of us went for a morning boat ride around the lake before Andi, the kids and I split off to attend the Musky Festival in Hayward, WI. (More to come on our time at Musky Fest in another post ...)

Summer is here, and it feels so good!

21/52: A Weekly Photo Series

One of our family's favorite things to do at the cabin is go for "Ranger rides." The countryside near our lake place is surrounded by hundreds of miles of scenic ATV and UTV trails connecting through areas of Wisconsin. We tend to ride close to our cabin and surrounding towns, but have occasionally trailered the Ranger to farther destinations in Wisconsin to check out different trails and loops. The best part is, it's something our whole family enjoys doing together. We can ride for an hour or make it a day's adventure; there's road maps and restaurants perfect for pit-stops along the way.   

The first thing that comes to mind when most people think about trail riding is probably ATV-ing or four-wheeling. An ATV driver straddles a quad and steers using handle-bars. Differently, we own a UTV (or Utility Task Vehicle) that seats up to 5 people. Our Polaris Ranger Crew is outfitted with seat belts, a roof, a windshield and doors for roll-over protection and has a heater that makes it comfortable to use all year long. We've added car seats for the kids, a blinker, a rear-view mirror, a horn and a registered state license plate so it's legal to drive on the road. This set-up is ideal for our family because we can all ride together in one machine. 

Last weekend at the cabin, Andi, Tory, Aden and I went for a long morning ride. We saw some amazing sights on our journey, which is one of my favorite things about "Ranger rides" -- you never know what you'll come across. There's breathtaking scenery and wildlife around every turn. On this particular morning, it was dreary and cool with intermittent spurts of rain which made for a lovely drive.

Our cabin road, now densely covered by lush trees and shrubs:  

Spotting all the different animals during rides is Tory's favorite part. On this day, we saw cows resting in a pasture, horses, deer, bald eagles and various types of smaller birds. We've also seen donkeys, sheep, groundhogs, sandhill cranes, ducks, geese and bears to name a few.

We passed by Staples Lake Bar & Grill -- one of our favorite restaurants at the lake. I suggested we stop in for an order of deep-fried pickles to-go, but Andi quickly nixed the thought. "That's a bad idea," he said. Well yes, consuming deep-fried anything is always a bad idea, but it tastes so good!

More riding through the back country ...

We hopped on the ATV/UTV trail near Comstock Creamery and followed the path toward Cumberland. Recent rains left big muddy puddles on the road. "What do we do when we see a puddle?" Andi typically asks Tory. "Splash 'em!" she'll shouts back.

Though not on this day, as both kids were fast asleep in their car seats. Tory and Aden are powerless to the natural roar of the Ranger's engine. Rides are *just* bumpy enough to lull both kids right to dreamland, giving us parents a few peaceful minutes alone.

While riding along the same trail, Andi and I saw one of the neatest sights -- a white-tailed deer and her brand-new baby fawn together. We could sense the doe was afraid of us (though we stopped and let her pass, not intending to cause any harm) but she didn't run; she didn't want to leave her baby. The legs of the tiny fawn wobbled as its mother slowly guided him across the trail into the woods.

UTV riding adds a new element of adventure to our time at the lake cabin. We explore terrain normally off-limits by car or by foot, and it allows us to take in sights we otherwise might miss. So far, we'd clocked over 800 miles on our Ranger! I'm so thankful Andi's introduced this recreational past-time to our family, and for all the memories we've made on the trails together.

A Weekend in the Cities: Sleep-over at Grandma's; Aquarium; First Movie

Andi and I decided to stay in the Twin Cities this past weekend - gasp! - for one of the few times we do that a year. There isn't much to do at the lake cabin on spring weekends when temperatures aren't particularly warm (it was somewhere in the mid-40's last Saturday and Sunday), so we decided to stay home and occupy ourselves with things to do in town. And, in an effort to keep us from uttering the words "we should've gone to the cabin..." at any given point, I filled our weekend plum-full with activities.

Andi was suppose to be traveling for work this past week/weekend, so I'd arranged for Tory to spend Friday night at Grandma Janie's house. Janie offers to have Tory over for a sleep-over all the time but with preschool, swimming class and weekends at the cabin, it's difficult to find a night that works for everyone. Tory was excited to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house and raced out the door without a second glance. I tried not to take it too personally!

They took her to a Friday night fish fry at a local church, and she enjoyed being the center of attention. Meanwhile, Aden stayed home with Andi and I and I've never seen him so animated! Aden hopped around the living room on his knees, dancing and screeching with glee. I thought he'd be lost without Tory by his side, but he reveled in his newfound only child-ness. After he went to bed, Andi grilled crab legs for dinner and we enjoyed a quiet night at home together.

Andi, Aden and I headed out early Saturday morning for coffee and pastries at Rustica. Once again, Aden loved all the undivided attention he received from Andi and I, as well as the other cafe patrons. He smiled and shouted "Bye!" to everyone he saw.

After breakfast, we took Aden to Stride Rite to buy him some new tennis shoes. He's still not walking yet, and I thought some sturdy shoes might give him more support as he learns how to get around on two feet. He looks like such a big boy in his new kicks!

We cruised by Andi's parents house around lunchtime to pick up Tory. She was happy to see us, and even more excited when she learned about our afternoon plans. We decided to take the kids to the Sea Life Aquarium at Mall of America to see the new "Meet The Rays" exhibit. I think aquariums are so neat, and knew Tory and Aden would get a big kick out of it. And, yes, we were completely nuts for going to the Mall of America on a weekend. I hadn't been there in years and even then never went on a Saturday of all days, but we braved the crowds and had a great time.

Someone handed Tory a balloon-shaped flower while we were in the mall, and she was in absolute heaven with that thing. All the money and quality time we spent together as a family that afternoon, and all she could talk about later was her flower balloon. Three-year-olds!  

The four of us went to church Sunday morning, then drove over to Andi's sister Lindsay's house in Minneapolis. Lindsay agreed to watch Aden for the afternoon while Andi and I took Tory to her very first movie at the Riverview Theatre. We saw Paddington, the only matinee movie playing that afternoon, but we didn't really care about the movie itself. It was all about the experience of going to the movie theatre and Tory was so, so excited. It was a rainy and cold Sunday afternoon; the perfect day for a movie. 

The Riverview is a renovated 1950's style theatre with one movie screen and old-style seating. At $2/per person for admission, it's the perfect place for a toddler date to the movies. The entire place was packed with parents and kids. Tory sat down in a seat between Andi and I, but the chair kept springing shut like a clamshell. She was too lightweight to keep the seat down by herself, so she ended up sitting on my lap during the movie.

Obviously, the snacks were Tory's favorite part of the entire experience. She gobbled up her kid's size popcorn, some of Andi's and I bowl of popcorn, Swedish Fish candy and Kit-Kats. At some point she looked back behind our chairs in the theatre and said, "Wow! Look at all those people. There must be a thousand chairs!" It was adorable to see how fascinated she was with her surroundings. After about an hour, Tory was getting pretty wiggly so we left before for the movie was over.   

And if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, we hosted our friends Derrick, Ellie and their daughter Sierra for dinner at our house Sunday evening. We had to take advantage of the rare weekend opportunity to meet up with our old friends while we were in the Cities over a weekend.

Phew! Ever feel like you need another weekend to recoup from your busy weekend? The cold I've had for the last 10 days kicked up again this week, likely because we were constantly on the go all day Saturday and Sunday. Staying home for the weekend was fun, but it was exhausting! I'm looking forward to getting back to the cabin again soon for a calmer, more relaxing change of pace.