Aron, Hadley and I spent one fantastic week together with his parents and little sister before Aron headed back home and left his girls up in the wilderness for another week of fun. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with our families this summer, especially in such wonderful places!
This latest trip took us to Minnesota, where Aron's parents have built a beautiful home on a picturesque lake. It's way the heck up there (click here to see exactly where I'm talking about), and we've been there twice before for Thanksgiving, so it was wonderful to see what a Minnesota summer was like for a change.
The most exciting thing that happened while we were there was that Hadley's brain kicked into high gear and she started coming out with what seemed like 5 new words a day. It was amazing! And even now that we're home, she still asks for Gigi and Papa like she expects them to walk in from the other room, and last night when she woke up at 11:30 p.m. she asked for her aunt Izzy!
Here are some snap shots of our time up north:
Not your average log cabin, eh?
Gigi and Had at Sunset Point our first night there
Feeding Mohika, who Hadley renamed Mo-Mo, a morning snack
Hadley really trying to "help" walk Mohika
Our first spin on the lake in the fishing boat
Had's first driving lesson
Artist's Point in Grand Marais
Aron, Hadley, and Gigi
Had's cheeks are irresistible, so this couldn't be helped!
Hiking with Daddy
Hiking with Mommy
Kicking back and throwing rocks with Gigi
Back at the house and down on the dock, Had's got her red bucket of rocks to throw and Gigi is ready in the kayak in case Hadley throws any more of her toys in the water.
Maybe next year she'll be ready to take it in the water, but this summer it was just dry land instruction.
This is my favorite series of photos!
First order of business when Papa and Izzy arrived was to take out the cocktail boat. Had, who needed to be near Papa the entire trip, found her place comfortably in the Captain's seat.
Big dinner out at the Trestle Inn. Hadley ate 2 hot dogs. I would not recommend that.
Graciously sharing her just-picked blueberries and raspberries with Papa
I got to go fishing for the first time!! And hooked a fish on my first cast...well, Dick was holding the rod at the time, but I reeled it in, so I'm told that counts for something. What didn't go so well was the hand off for the photo-op. The slippery little bugger flapped his way right out of my hands and back into the water. And yes, I'm saying exactly what it looks like I'm saying.
Like father, like son
Everywhere you look there are blueberries and raspberries growing, just ready to be picked and popped right into your mouth. Gigi showed Hads the ropes on how to pick them.
Hadley wasn't too good at putting any in the container, however. They all just went straight into her mouth. I think she ate about 800 in 2 weeks.
Look at those fine motor skills!
Showing Daddy how it's done
Gigi got Hadley her very own hot pink fishing pole and Aron was so excited to give Hads her first lesson.
Fish fry!! Hadley LOVED it, of course. It's DELICIOUS!
Smushy face
The three of us on Blueberry Island, which we renamed Little Hadley Island on account of how small and cute it is.
Thank goodness for Hadley...normally when Dick takes you on a walk, you go for hours and cover serious ground and are sore for days. With Had in tow, we stopped every 5 feet to pick and eat more blueberries :)
Even with all the breaks, this is how everyone feels after a walk with Dick.
Hadley persuaded Papa to let her drive the boat during one of our nightly cocktail cruises. We found out later that some of the neighbors wondered if we were drinking too much on account of the boat just going around and around in tight circles.
She was a fan of the hard right turn!
And she was never content with just sitting on someone's lap again!
Her first taste of pickled herring. Gross...figures she liked it though.
And she was serious about those ribs too. Clearly she thought Izzy was eyeing hers.
Next fishing adventure was a success as well!
Until yet another great fish was lost on the dock...at least you can sort of make out the wet outline between my hands. He was BIG!
This face could mean only one thing...who could she see??
Gigi, Papa, and Izzy!
Back at the wheel
At the boundary waters
When things finally started to really heat up, Hadley and Gigi spent a lot of time in the water staying cool.
Had's one lucky little girl. She got LOTS of love from Papa.
Picking some of Gigi's beautiful tomatoes...
...and carrots!
Some for Papa...
...and some for me.
Finger painting with Izzy
Clean-up time!
Hads helping clean the cocktail boat before it gets stored indoors for the season.
For someone who is totally balloon obsessed, these giant balloons sent Hadley into a full-on tail spin.
Skinny dipping!
Such a Griffin...while I had no interest in interacting with the minnows used for bait, Hadley had tons of fun picking them up and watching them flap around between her fingers! She'll be baiting hooks by next summer.
Final goodbyes...but only sad because we had to leave paradise. We'll see them all next week when Izzy moves to Arlington for grad school!!
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