Labor Day Weekend 2021

Labor Day weekend is one that our kids always look forward to. It has changed over the last 15 years, with sports impacting attendance at the annual cabin retreat. But we keep up the tradition, no matter how tricky it gets. And this year was no different. 

Ryan and Regan once again had to stay back for a tournament. They were both sad to miss out on the fun, and we sure missed them! 

We found lots of fun to keep us busy. Lincoln never stops moving and adores every second of lake life. He sure lived his best life this year! Sidney had a blast driving the jet ski (escorted by Dave of course), tubing behind both the boat and jet ski, because "mom, the jet ski whips faster in a circle", and hanging out with her cousins that she only sees once/year. 

Lincoln took me kayaking

Late night lessons teaching Hope to play Super Smash Bros on his switch

I mastered driving the pontoon without much fear this year. I don't mind driving it, it's parking it on the lift that has always concerned me. This year I didn't even get nervous, despite the waves earlier in the day.

Lincoln loves going "full rottle" on the pontoon. I taught him not to start and stop so abruptly and we all had a much more enjoyable ride :) 

Dave took Linc/Sid out on the jet ski each day both to drive it and to be towed. He has the patience of a saint and I'm so thankful for him. 

Each night, Lincoln and Lila would go frog hunting while the rest of us sat next to the campfire. They'd come back with this tote filled with frogs. It was seriously shocking how many frogs they could catch in just a few minutes. 

And what's a campfire without s'mores! 

Lincoln fished everyday, catching mostly seaweed. 

He and Grandma Jan love this bench. 

Our little daredevil had to jump off the pontoon any chance he could. It wasn't until after he was in the water did we realize there wasn't a ladder to climb back up :) 

Olivia, Sidney, Lila and Lincoln 

(missing Regan)

Sidney was not interested in her photo being taken this year. You should've seen the face she made until I told her this was going on the blog. Thanks for smiling! 

Shane and Lila took Lincoln out on their boat a few times to fish. I'm not sure who talks more out there: Lila or Lincoln. Poor Shane had to listen to all of it :) 

Early morning fishing, with bedhead and squinty eyes. 

Thankful for Grandma Jan for pulling us together every year, even if we had to leave 2 behind. 

Just a boy and his rod/reel

We have the ultimate swimming set up with a slide, lilypad and diving dock. The kids love it! 

Their expressions and looks just before the tube took off. I think they were plotting how to intentionally fall off! 

Hope was able to drive 2 days all the way from California to spend a night with us; and we are soooooo happy to see her! It's been 1.5 years since we've seen the whites of her eyes. 

Sidney stayed up until midnight soaking in all of her advice and stories. 

That's a wrap! 

 

Labor Day 2020

Labor Day 2020 is one for the books. 
COVID19 prevented Ben/Jon/Hope from traveling and joining us. 
Regan had to stay back to play in a showcase softball tournament, which meant Ryan did too. 

Grandma Jan and I debated for months whether we should go, considered cancelling many times over again, and ultimately decided to give it a go. 

It was a much needed break from the isolation of home, and considering the gorgeous weather, we were able to spend every waking hour outside. It was heavenly! 

Grandma rented a pontoon for the weekend and we ate lunches on the boat, went swimming in the middle of the lake and cruised around having a blast. I became a pro at docking that monstrous thing :) 

Lincoln was exhausted every night, sleeping in the last day til 8:30am (that's a record!). 
He played so hard all day that by 9pm, he would announce he was ready for bed and then say "I love sleep" as he passed out. 

And who wouldn't be tired after cruising around on the tube in the afternoon. These kiddos pick up right where they left off each Labor Day. They love spending time together and creating new memories. They're getting more daring on the tube too so it's fun to pull them and watch them fly through the air! 

The girls took out the bike one evening when the waters were super calm. Apparently the bike is hard to navigate because they didn't venture too far. But the giggles were heard throughout the resort. 

We watched the most beautiful sunsets on Nest Lake. I love a good sunset after a fun day.

Grandma and I taught Lincoln how to bait his own hook. 

He even uses a swiss army knife to cut the worms shorter, then hooks them. 

Win for Grandma and me! 

Because this boy loves to fish. He's working on his patience, but he sure loves to cast and sit and cast and sit. 

Jumping from the pontoon was so much fun, and an excellent social distancing activity since it was only a few of us on the boat. 

Dock fishing, where we could spot the sunnies sometimes; too bad they would nibble off the worm and leave Lincoln with an empty hook! 

Each night, Lincoln and Lila went out frog hunting while the rest of us sat around the fire. Every time they would come back to the fire, they would show us more and more frogs. It's like they were multiplying! At one point, there had to be more than 15 frogs in their white pail. 

(now you know whey we taught him to bait his hook?!) 
This boy loves fishing. 

Why yes, it was chilly in the early morning cruises, and I had to wear my ear band to stay warm. 

And in true COVID pandemic style, there's a canister of wipes in the picture. 

Sunset tubing, we tore up the lake one night. It was so calm and peaceful until the kids got out there and screamed in delight with every figure 8 we turned! 

Our crew was smaller this year. 
But the memories will last forever. 

I love to kayak on a warm summer day. 

With Lincoln being old enough, I felt confident to take the kids out a little further than we have in the past. His little arms did quite well paddling away on his own. 

We missed having Regan in the annual photo of cousins. Hard to believe we've been doing this trip for as long as these kiddos have been alive. 

Peace out grandma, where's my fishing pole. 

Grandma lost her hat in the wind during a boat ride. This made for quite a good story! As I quickly whipped the pontoon around (PS: those things don't whip around!), Sidney changed Lincoln into a swim suit. We tried to get close enough to grab the hat out of the water, but no success and we nearly ran it over before I kicked it into reverse to avoid it going through the motor. Instead, Lincoln jumped in and swam to the hat, saving it from drowning! 

Throughout the weekend, I "watched" Regan's games online; thankful to be able to "see" how she was doing. 

More jumps off the pontoon. I love how these pictures turned out! What a fun afternoon. 

Meanwhile, Regan was back at home getting to know her new team having just formed teams again 2 weeks ago. 
I'll have to play catch up figuring out their names! 

We had massive storms one night. I knew they were coming but there wasn't much I could do. So just as I fell asleep, I started hearing hail and it got louder and louder. I pulled up the radar and knew it would be a while before it passed! 
Good thing we didn't seem to have any damage to our vehicles, but it sure made for conversation the next day. 

Thanks again Grandma! 
We had the most fabulous time creating memories and finding some joy in these crazy pandemic times. 
We love you! 

 

Lake life 2019

Labor day brings us to the cabin every year as it has for at least the last 14 years. This year we ventured back to the same place we went last year-Island View Resort on Nest Lake, with its amazing beach, swimming area and fun game room.

 

My brother definitely won uncle of the year, letting Lincoln drive the pontoon and taking him fishing from sun up to sun down every day. Hooks, worms, fish, repeat.
Thank you Ben!

 

 

Lincoln and Lila caught frogs and toads, bringing them to the fire at night. One poor frog was not so smart and leapt directly into the flames.

From the dock and from the pontoon, Lincoln certainly caught the most fish of anyone. One day alone he brought in 17 fish!



 

A little game room fun. It might have been missing a cue ball, and thankfully Grandma Jan brought her own ping pong balls, but it gave the kiddos a break from the water and another opportunity to have some fun.

 

We took lunch out on the pontoon one cloudy afternoon. It wasn't warm and it wasn't a great weather-day, but we had all of us together enjoying the lake and I knew my mom's heart was filled!

 

 

Lincoln learned to kayak and can cruise pretty fast in that little boat. He loved joining in with the big kids, doing all sorts of fun activities.

 



 

When my cousin's boat failed to operate properly, our kiddos sweet-talked the owner's son into taking them out behind his super fast speed boat for some tubing.  Boy did they have a BLAST going super duper fast!

 

From the boat or from the tube, they giggled the afternoon away :)

 

Lincoln eventually got brave enough to take the fish from Uncle Ben and toss it back to the lake himself. He'd always say something to his fish to wish it well back into the lake, then touch the fin one time and plop it into the water.

 

My cousin's daughters are just about the same age as our girls and all 5 of these kiddos hung out all weekend together.

 

 

In his glory driving the pontoon.

 

Regan wasn't too sure about swimming out to the dock given the temperatures were hovering in the 70's; but she looked pretty chill enjoying some sunshine out there.

 

"Ben, Ben, Ben"

He sure made Lincoln's weekend!

 

I challenged Regan to climb up this tree that hangs over the lake. She accomplished it easy and then attempted to hang her hammock from the branches. That didn't end as well and she eventually gave up; content to just sit on a branch.

 

I'm so thankful to mom for getting us all together every year to enjoy this annual tradition on the water!

 

Sun-kissed cheeks and boat hair, don't care.

 

Minnesota sunsets on the lake are amazingly incredible

We ended each night gathered around the fire, all 20+ of us. S'mores and pie fries and roasted starburst.

We had lots of laughs and made countless memories as summer 2019 came to a close.