Pine Beach

We spent a beautiful week in the North Woods of Minnesota last week.  It's my favorite place on Earth, and a week of heaven for me.  The weather there is gorgeous, and it usually isn't here in Nebraska.  Omaha summers include many days over 90 with LOTS of high humidity.  Northern Minnesota offers days pleasantly warm enough for swimming, but cool evenings and nights, and rarely any humidity.

We stay at a resort right on the lake called Pine Beach.  This year, we took my Mom and brother, as well as my Aunt Connie and Uncle Dave.  We all stayed in one big cabin, which was really nice.  It was fun to be together in the evenings after dinner.  I love having no electronics.  It makes it easy to spend time as a family.  After dinner each night we played Canasta, and talked and talked.  There is something healing and wonderful about having long talks with the women in your family.  It grounds you, and gives you a perspective of where you came from.

Uncle Dave was the boat captain this year.  He did a great job taking us around the lake, and Charlie and Sammy even got a turn to drive.

Jeff's favorite part is the swimming.  I love that the deck on each cabin leads to your own stretch of beach and the water.

 

On Tuesday, Mom and Connie and I headed out for a girls day.  We visited a winery, had lunch in Park Rapids, and had pedicures.  It was so relaxing.   Even though we have been there four times now, we always find something new to do in the area.

 

Mom brought along her "Sorry!" game (which Sammy and Charlie have just mastered) and they spent time playing with Grandma each afternoon.  It's so important to me that my kids have opportunities to spend extended time with their grandparents.  I am so glad that I made an effort for my kids to be with my Dad before he died.  

 

One thing we didn't do this year was play Shuffleboard.  My Dad and I loved playing this game together last year, and it just didn't feel right to play.  Maybe someday, but  not yet.  In fact, I didn't even walk over to that part of the resort.  I didn't even want to see it.  (Aunt Connie took this picture).

The trip was so relaxing, and healing in many ways.  We had a chance to talk and to remember my Dad.  I'm so glad we went, spent time together, and had fun with the kids. 

**All pictures used in this post were taken by my Aunt Connie Bridges (who is a much better photographer than I am :)

Pine Beach

In July we drove up to northern Minnesota to Lake Belle Taine. This is our family's favorite vacation spot. We stay at a family lake resort called Pine Beach. I am so lucky that my kids feel the way that I do about sun, sand, and water. These are the only things we need on vacation to have a wonderful time!

We stayed in this cute yellow cabin...



My parents, brother, and aunt rented the cabin next door to us. The boys all loved running back and forth from Grandma and Poppo's cabin, and having the freedom to get a treat and a hug from them whenever they wanted. You can see in the picture that the beach and the lake are literally right outside the cabin, just off the deck. This makes the deck an amazing place to drink your morning coffee, read the Bible, and appreciate the beauty God created for us...



I loved it in the morning when the water was as still as glass, there were beautiful colors reflected from the sunrise, and a cool mist was hanging over the lake. It was breath taking.

We spent every second possible in the water swimming. The swim lessons Charlie and Sammy took every day for a month before we left were so worthwhile. They were like fishes.



When we weren't swimming, we were lounging in the warm sunshine on the beach. The weather in Minnesota in the summer is perfect. It never got above 83, and there was no humidity. Ever. This is so different from Omaha!



The resort also offers lots of other activities. Sammy and Charlie loved the playhouse, feeding the goats that wander the resort, and the swingset. My Dad and I loved having some fierce shuffle board competitions in the evenings after dinner.







Evan loved the fishing. He is the only one in our family who enjoys this, so often he fished off the dock. My Dad took him in the boat a couple of times, and ended up having to get the fish Evan caught off the hook, which is another notch for him in his quest for most awesome Grandpa award. My Dad is a great lover of fish, and it pains him to trap and kill them.

I am in love with this picture of Evan. I had it enlarged to a 16x20, and I am going to hang it somewhere in the house. So peaceful and innocent.



My Dad took the boat out almost everyday. I love this picture of him...



My Dad? He is the best. I love him to pieces.

And with beauty like this...



Is it any wonder that we are already planning our trip for next year? I am already counting the days until I am back, relaxing on this beach.

Independence

Two weeks ago, Jeff and I took a quick trip down to the KC area to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. It was just three nights, but it was the first time we have taken a trip together, with or without kids, since our honeymoon. Which should explain right there why it was a wonderful get away.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast called the Hawthorn, which is located in Independence. It is a mansion built in 1900, which has been converted to a GORGEOUS B & B. I've never stayed in one before, but oh my goodness! HEAVEN! Here is a picture of the room where we stayed, which was a hundred times cleaner, more comfortable, and nicer than any hotel I have ever stayed in:





Right outside our room was a gourmet coffee station (and for the girl who drinks at LEAST one pot a day, this was a huge plus!) and a snack bar. Every morning, we were served an out of this world three course, fresh, homemade breakfast. In fact, on Thursday night we were the only guests, so we got first dibs on the table in the sun porch at Friday morning's breakfast. Every day started with a fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola parfait. Next came a variety of fresh out of the oven muffins, and then pancakes, hash browns, breakfast meat and eggs. We were so stuffed after all this indulgence we never had lunch one day the entire trip. Breakfast was probably my favorite part of every day. Not having to prepare food, feed three kids, and clean up afterwards was the biggest luxury. I felt completely pampered.

Although the mansion is beautiful, it turns out Independence isn't. It's a pretty scary town, actually. The whole thing is like one huge bad neighborhood, with sex shops, cruddy convenience stores with shady people lurking in the parking lot, and lots of crime. Sprinkled here and there throughout the town are some pretty cool historical sites, but don't wander too far off the beaten path!

A big highlight of the trip for me was our visit to the Truman Presidential Library. Beforehand, the only thing I really knew for sure about Harry Truman was that he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. I really enjoyed learning about his life. He is one of Jeff's favorite historical figures. Jeff loves anyone who "pulls himself up by his bootstraps", and Harry Truman was certainly a bootstrap man.

This is a photo of a letter written by a father to Mr. Truman after his son was killed in the Korean War:



He sent along with the letter his son's Purple Heart. Harry kept this letter in his desk at the Oval Office for the rest of his term. It made my heart hurt to see it-a little for the parents of this young soldier, and a little for Harry Truman, who seemed to carry the loss of each soldier's life on his shoulders.

In one room they had a display of articles that appeared in Life Magazine in 1952. One of them showed this:



It's a little hard to see, but the article told of a young mother with three small children who had been stricken with polio. Having a husband who also had the disease as a child, I think all polio stories grab my attention, but I will admit I stood at looked at this picture for a good 10 minutes. The photos in the article show the mom in an iron lung, where she lay paralyzed. Hanging above her head you can see the pictures of her three children. I cried right there, thinking about how heartbroken I would be to have to lie there, unable to move, seeing my children's faces, and knowing other people were taking care of them. I wish I knew what happened to her and her family.

We also took a tour of Harry Truman's home, which actually belonged to his wife. Poor Harry had to live with his mother in law most of his adult life, who wouldn't let him sit at the head of the table, stay in the master bedroom, or display any of his treasures from the White House, even after he had been President of the United States. That's one difficult MIL.


My favorite part was the kitchen where Harry decided to put wallpaper on the ceiling, as well as the walls, because he liked the pattern so much!

Afterwards, we stopped for an ice cream at Clinton's Soda Shop where Harry Truman had his first job. Here's Jeff, making his "if you're going to take a picture of me I am going to try and look as dumb as possible so you quit trying to photograph me" face. I hate it when he does this:



Seriously. He looks like the grumpiest man in the world. But I love him anyway.

It was so nice to be away, just the two of us. I am always nervous to leave the kids, but I am always a better mom for it when I return. I wish we could get away, if only for a quick weekend, more often. But alas! The joys of having three kids, a job, and a husband with a REALLY busy work schedule make that impossible. We appreciate it all the more though when it happens. It was a great way to wrap up the summer.

I'm Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Even though it's still a year and a half away, I am still super excited today! Last night Jeff and I decided we are going to take a trip, just the two of us, to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. WITH NO KIDS! We haven't been anywhere together, with or without kids, since our honeymoon. We don't know where we are going, but that doesn't really matter to me. Just getting some uninterrupted time with my handsome prince is enough for me.

Bring on the travel brochures!! WOOHOO!!!