[Belated] Scenes from our Fourth of July

 

The happiest fisherman on the lake.  I thought he would last about five minutes out there, but they were fishing all morning!  He caught two sunnies!

 

Ridiculously Happy Baby loves the feeling of the grass between his toes.  And the taste!

How sweet! 

Now, for the choke hold hug....

Family photo on the boat with husband's soaked shirt...best we could do, we were in and out of the water!

Say CHEESE!!

Hope you had a fabulous Fourth!

#7QT: Moving!

1.  We're moving to Minnesota!

2.  In one week!  Anyone want to help me pack?

3.  Why we are moving:  D received a great job offer with a great company, better benefits, etc etc.  Onward and upward!

4.  We will miss Idaho and the wonderful friendships we've made here, so much.  This is such a beautiful place to live and we found our sweet boys here!  God truly meant for us to be here at this time in our lives.  We hope to make many trips back.  I love new challenges and adventures, so I guess this will just be another chapter in our lives.  I never imagined I'd live in Idaho, and I never imagined I'd live in Minnesota either.  I hope my winter coat is warm enough!

5.  We are taking an epic road trip from here to there: hoping to stop at the Museum of the Rockies, home to the largest T Rex fossil collection in the USA, Yellowstone, and a couple of other national parks along the way. 

6.  I probably won't be blogging much along the way since we are really trying minimize everything that we are bringing with us in the car, but I'd love to share my adventure with you via Instagram.  I'm American_Annie, feel free to follow me there!

7.  Where are we going?  Not quite sure yet - our road trip will be capped off with some house hunting adventures, and probably some hotel living for (hopefully) only a few weeks until we can close on a place.

Hope you'll follow us on our next adventure across America!  

For more quick takes, check out: Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum!

A Family Reunion in Numbers

1

Grandmother, whose memory was honored and toasted, as she passed away this past year and wanted us all to gather together this summer.

2

GaGa+Papa, who hosted and cooked for us ALL!  

3

little R cousins, in their matching jammies!

4

R relatives, 2 adults and 2 kids, tubing behind Papa's boat!

7

great-grandchildren present and playing in the lake

30

descendants of Gramma & Granddad, present at the lake, watching home movies from the 1930s narrated by Granddad

10,000

lakes in Minnesota, but ours is the best

Plus countless rides in the paddle boat, s'mores roasted over the fire, cocktail cruises in the "giant ferry" (M's name for the pontoon), games of SkipBo, and memories and laughs shared.  Thanks to all for a wonderful week.

The Calm Before the Storm

It is a rest day here at The lake cabin in Minnesota.  We are here for a family reunion and enjoying a day of quiet before the rest of the family arrives!

It's a beautiful afternoon, as you can tell.  D and I will try to get up on the skis this afternoon.  Wish us luck!

Minnesota Nice

Dan grew up spending his summers on Lake Blanche in Minnesota.  Now we try to make it there at least once a summer.  It is a beautiful, peaceful lake and we were lucky enough to get there during the same week as all of our extended family.  There is a lot of family history connected to Blanche so it is a very special place!

Sometimes when we go the weather is 90 degrees and you hardly ever get out of the lake.  This year it was nice and cool, perfect weather for sitting on the deck and curling up with a good book, or watching your little guy toddle around on the beach playing in the sand.  We went for boat rides ("cocktail cruises"), a hike in Glendalough State Park, had a lot of fun playing with our niece and nephew and visited with the extended family.  Dan got to get his fishing in, we ate our share of walleye, and we got to have lunch at my favorite spot, Zorbaz on Ottertail.  We didn't ski this year, which was probably a good idea because every year we end up so sore from trying to drop one ski, haha!  All in all, it was another great visit to a special place!

Grandma borrowed this roller coaster from the neighbors.  Can you tell he loved it?!

Water baby!

Hiking in Glendalough

See You Later, Summer! We Love You!

We've been having so much fun that I've completely neglected this blog!  Is there anyone out there reading this?  (Crickets.....=))

We have been so VERY blessed this summer.  Two glorious weeks in Florida, one wonderful week in Minnesota, and a whole load of fun at home this summer. 

We relaxed this weekend since both D and I are recovering from colds/sickness and it was a bit of a drizzly day today.  We're thankful to have D home for a 3 day weekend, and hope you had a great one too! 

Photos and recaps of all of our travels to come, but just wanted to stop in and say HI!  How was your summer?  How did you spend your Labor Day?