Up North

Fourth of July weekend in Minnesota. Seen as the middle of summer vacation for many of us ... extra days are often horded for vacation to make the weekend as extended as possible. I am a big believer in this approach. It's a good way to really enjoy nice weather with those you love. And for us, it typically means taking a trip "up north" to my parents camper that is located at a camping resort on Lake Winnie.

A three and a half hour trek to get there, I savor the car trip. But that's because it usually means I get some serious reading time in ... since D does the driving. The boys settle in with an electronic device of choice and I settle in with a book. It's a sweet deal, that is for sure. Of course our trip typically starts with a stop at Target first where we end up buying a month's worth of snacks for a weekend trip, but it's vacation so indulgence is okay (and perhaps encouraged.)

Once we arrive, the boys want to make a mad dash for the pool. We explain that we first have to unpack and get everything situated. But it isn't long before they are in the pool. K and O could have just lived in the pool the whole weekend. However, since O is just three and we are super overprotective parents, this means at least one of us needs to be in the pool with them. D and I both did the honors on the first day. It's always fun to be a kid again and play in the pool.

That evening, K wanted to sleep in a tent instead of the camper. So, we put up our little tent and I hunkered down with the boys. Everything went well until about halfway through the night (frankly, I'm not sure what time it was because I didn't have any timepiece with me in the tent.) O woke up screaming. He had to go to the bathroom and clearly didn't know where he was. I tried to calm him down, but nothing would work. So I scooped him up and ran to my parents camper ... and was peed on in the process. I ended up bringing him  back to the tent (D slept through this whole ordeal ... how he did ... I have no idea.) But alas, that was the only night he spent in the tent.

On Thursday, my parents participated in the annual fishing tournament ... which meant the boys, D and I spent time at the pool and just relaxing. Grandma and grandpa took third place at the tournament and then we joined the resorts potluck (for those who know me well ... this is always a precarious situation ... I don't like potlucks.) Thursday was one of those days that you need more of ... low pressure ... relaxation ... perfect.

Friday, my dad and I took K out fishing in the morning. My dad was sweet enough to let K reel in the first fish ... and it set the tone for pretty good day for the guy. He had a great time. In the afternoon, we took O out. All in all, we caught a total of nine Walleyes, a bunch of Northerns and a handful of perch. Both boys had a great time ... neither would touch fish ... but then again, when I caught the biggest fish ... I would only hold it with a glove:

(Nice double-chin, I know ...)

All in all, it was a great weekend trip. A couple of other memorable moments:

• My dad riding his bike with me while I went on my 2-mile run. I almost felt like I was a major athlete and he was my trainer... but I thought it was sweet that he thought he needed make sure I stayed safe
• Teaching my boys how to play skee ball ... seriously stressed D out ... but watching K make progress quickly was super rewarding
• Learning that when it comes to roasting marshmallows ... K is much more patient than I was at his age. He waits for them to get golden, whereas I used to just take the direct to flame and burn approach. O just likes to eat up all the s'mores everyone else is making
• The ridiculous amount of Mosquito bites all over each and everyone of us. Seriously ... we look like we have the measles they are so bad ... and do they ever itch
• Wasting two hours at a small-town Wild Rice festival because my mom wanted the boys to enter a bike drawing. Alas, neither boy won ... but they did walk away with some awesome kettle corn
• D and I choosing to wear our race shirts every day - the other campers probably thought we were just trading shirts because we didn't wear the same race shirts on the same days ... so really, you couldn't have thought that we just brought up three shirts and took turns wearing them
• Watching my boys have so much fun

It was a great break from the regular routine. Next year, we think we'll rent our own cabin ... we just take up too much room for us to be in the quaint camper ... particularly with the two ruffians we're raising!