Fishing at Jester Park

On our last family day, we went to Jester Park to fish.  The temperature was about 15 degrees cooler than at house and actually seemed to get colder as the morning progressed.  Coupled with the wind and the fact that we were dressed for warm weather, we were pretty cold fisherman!  The boys still enjoyed it.  We eventually moved away from the Lake and went to a pond there where it seemed warmer.  

Minnesota Vacation Part 4: BACK TO MY PARENTS HOUSE

The last leg of vacation was at grandpa and Grandma Ludemann's house.  I must say, this was the best place to spend our last 4 days, because it was so relaxing.  My parents are soooo close to the water and there is something so relaxing about waking up to the view.  These pictures were taken from their deck, so you can image how close the they truly are to the water.  They also have a pool, a beautiful walking path, a caribou coffee shop on the walking path, ice cream stores, and of course Maynard's restaurant.

FISHING
Leighton and McCabe fished every chance they got.  They caught soooooo many fish.  Most were way to little to keep but they didn't care. They just loved casting their lines all day.

As the story of the first two pictures tells, the boys fished from sun-up to sun-down.

McCabe did a great job casting his line and reeling the fish in.  He was ecstatic each and every time. 

Leighton caught a huge 1.5 pound bass that we did keep and fry up.  We were all shocker to see him reel this in and the proceed to drag it all the way on to the grass, bend pole and all!  

The following picture was off the smallest fish from the trip.  If you are having trouble seeing the fish, it is because it was THAT small.  

Don't be deceived by the following picture and think that Luke fished very much.  Every single time Luke tried to fish, someone else needed him to put a worm on their hook, take a fish off of their hook, get their line out of the tree, get their line off a lili-pad, get their line off of a rock, get their line untangled, restring the line on their pole, wash his hands, etc, etc.  Luke was a very busy dad.  I wish Luke got to have a faction after vacation.  He went non-stop!

The few times Luke wasn't able to help the boys fish, they entertained themselves with bubbles. These kids played so hard. 

THE LADY

Wynnlee and I watched all the fishing from the deck.  Papa even had a little time off of work and joined us!  As if the fishing wasn't enough entertainment, my parents live in a channel so there is constant boat traffic to watch.

THE POOL

Of course we went swimming several times!  You just can't turn down a heated pool. 

 

ICE CREAM

What vacation evening isn't complete without ice cream.  These fist few shots are from our trip to the local drive-in.  It is walking distance to my parents house, so you almost HAVE to go get ice cream!

On another ice-cream occasion, we went into the town of Excelsior to get ice cream at Licks and walk around the shore there.  We even ran into a live band at the bandstand and got to dance around a little bit.  Mt parents danced.  They are always doing that!  And Brooks danced.  He's always doing that too!

This is bar nun, one of my favorite family pictures.  It captures personalities a whole lot better than those posed shots.  

And this one here is of my and my one and only!  Life is so fun when you get to raise a family with your best friend.  

Oh and did I mention that my parents have a mustang convertible that Luke and I got to take into town for ice cream?  Of course it was a little chili, so I had the seat warmer on!  Upon our arrival back at their house, the kiddos joined us the car for a lap around the parking lot.  They loved it!

LOUNGING

My parents have a 3D TV.  The boys watched about 10 minutes of Finding Nemo in 3D until wanting to do something else.  But Luke and I took advantage and watched Avatar for the first time ever.  I have ever seen a 3D movie or Avatar and it sure was an experience.  

We also played cards a lot.  I think we played Zioncheck 2 or 3 times.  If you don't know what Zioncheck is, I am afraid we just can't be friends anymore! I cannot wait until the boys are old enough to start playing with us.  

And I think that is it!  After 4 posts, and 164 pictures I should probably stop!  But not before this:

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!

I am so thankful to have had the privilege to vacation with you guys.  Thanks for the cabin stay, the ice cream trips, the dinners, opening up your home to us and all of our 'bagage,' for the company, and for loving us and our kids the way that you do.  It was a wonderful vacation.  Our times with you have created so many giggles and memories.  Thank you.  Thank You.  Thank You.

Minnesota Vacation

Our family went to visit my parents in Minnesota last week. I am looking forward to all of the summer vacations we will get to spend at their new house. My parents are so hospitable, helpful and a lot of fun. My kids are going to love spending time swimming in the pool, boating on the lake, and watching boats drive by the dock as they grow up visiting my parents home. It was a fabulous week.

We had such a wonderful time. We got to enjoy a lot of fun activities together.

Garden Train
We visited a train track that runs through a garden at the Wayzata depot.

The Pool

We sent swiming in the pool almost everyday.

A Boat Ride

We rented a pontoon for a few hours and got to eat dinner on it, go fishing, and relax.

Fishing

Luke and Leighton did a lot of fishing. They caught about 20 fish. Leighton caught 3! Luke even kept and cleaning about 10 fish and we all got to eat them. McCabe didn't do a ton of helping because while running up to see the first fish that was caugh, he hooked his own toe. Then after Luke got it out of his toe, it swung into his finger. (This would be begining of a painful week for McCabe ... it ended with a trip to the ER)

Here are a few videos to enjoy.

First, see Luke and Leighton catch their first fish ...

And after Grandma Ludemann slaved over the stove frying them up, we all enjoy eating them. After this video was taken, Mr. McCabe kept stuffing the fish in his mouth until he started crying because he ate a bone. It was bound happen. Poor guy.

Visiting Great-Grandma Bea

We met my grandma Bea for a delicious meal! It was short but sweet. We don't get to see my grandma very much so we decided to meet her half way and eat lunch at the Prairie House. The boys loved their pancakes, applesause, huge cookie, and even got 25 cents worth of Mike 'n Ike's from the candy machine. I think listening to and watching these boys probably tired my grandma out!

Reading

Luke and I enjoyed marvelous Quiet Times on the deck. Luke and Leighton enjoyed some reading on the deck too!

Napping

The boys napped and slept soooo well. I usually found them cuddling or overlapping in some way.

Emergency Room

Late one night, McCabe fell off the couch and hit his head on the coffee table. We debated if we should take him in to the Emergency Room. After a neighbor/nurse came to look at him, we went to the ER for 4 stitches. I really think this might have been more tramatic for Leighton than anyone else. He was either crying or on the verge of tears for an hour. He was soooo sad for McCabe and scared about what was going to happen to him at the Doctor, if he would get better, how it happened, if it was going to happen again, if Mommy, Daddy, and McCabe would come back from the hospital, if he was going to stop bleeding, it he was going to get a bandaid, were we going to being his jammies to the hospital, were we going to drive fast,etc. One of his questions was, "Did the wind from the fan blow him off the couch?" After tucking him in, we left for the hospital and Grandma Ludemann layed with him for a while, answering all of his questions and keeping him calm. McCabe survived the hospital burrito wrap, cut cleaning, stitches, and was sleeping before we made it back home. He even got to bring home a huge balloon from the Hospital. I am honestly soooo surprised that we haven't been to the ER for stitches yet ... especailly for McCabe! Hopefully that was the last trip!

McCabe is so wonderful. To close this long post about our vacation, enjoy this precious video of McCabe, just being McCabe!