Klay Family

Ah, one of our favorite weekends of the year arrived! We took our annual trip to our friend's cabin in the northwoods, aka Lutsen. We have spent the last few winters in Lutsen snowmobiling, tubing, etc...but this past winter was brutally cold. We have also taken a few trips in the summer to the cabin and we have to say, both are equally awesome. Our long weekend consisted of activities on the lake, 4-wheeling and fun in the woods, tons of playing and just enjoying our great friends and company.

We didn't plan on all wearing GAP sweatshirts, but to be honest, our weather was rather chilly! We had to laugh when we all showed up in our sweatshirts. Our parents think they should submit this photo to the GAP company. Lauren is one year older than me and Abby is just 3 months younger. If you do the math, they are 18 months apart, so the perfect ages for us!

Chilly temps didn't stop us from doing some of our favorite lake activities. We took plenty of boat rides, fishing outings, and we swam (brrr!) The lakes in the area are really chilly but the water is crystal clear, making crayfish hunting a fun and exciting event.

Daddy caught a small walleye and Meggen was a little eager; she nearly flipped herself out of the boat while netting it. We had to toss it back but it was fun to catch a few game fish.

Thankfully, Meggen and Pete/girls all love our Liberty. She was invited to come to the cabin too and as usual, she was in her element at the lake.

Raspberries were just starting to turn red. We did lots of berry picking while being snacked on by the bazillion mosquitos. We were literally covered in bites..... itchy!

We did daily hikes and walks to burn energy and explore.

Pete had a taste of what 2 boys are like. He became our climbing apparatus, but we secretly think he loved it :)

Mommy captured me and Abby walking together hand in hand. I am a hand-holder these days. My parents just love when I naturally do this. I am a heart breaker.....

Can you tell that Mom loves taking photos of little feet in the lake?!?!

One of our days was perfect for swimming. We had a sunny, 80 degree day and of course, we were ready to swim in that chilly lake. We all mostly floated and lounged.

Their dock was perfect for running and jumping off of.

Cooper was not amused by this and he kept his feet planted on the ground.

We took a morning jaunt to Grand Marais, another favorite spot of ours. We saw dragon boat races, tossed rocks into Lake Superior, and shopped at the quaint stores in town.

In the evenings, we were wiped out, but we still mustered enough energy to have nightly bonfires and s'mores. Abby had to bust out her fancy fedora hat from the Ben Franklin store in Grand Marais. She cracks us up.

Cooper must've been keeping the leftovers for a midnight snack.

Besides fishing and hunting for crayfish, we heard the cries of the loon. Such an awesome and haunting sound. We scouted them one night and found the Mama, Daddy and baby loon all together. Mommy is so proud of this photo she captured. The baby is probably a few weeks too big from riding on the Mama's back.

We also caught our own pet toad. We kept him for a day and then decided to set him free. Lauren sent him off with these words of wisdom, "Go enjoy your life now!" We couldn't stop laughing at how cute that was.

On our last day, we ventured to Lutsen Ski Mountain to hit their alpine (cement) slides. Mom hasn't done this since college, so we were pumped to experience it for ourselves. Cooper and I had to ride down the mountain with our parents. As you can see in the above photo, we took the chairlift up to the top of one of their ski hills and then prepared ourselves for a fast and hilariously fun ride down. We couldn't stop smiling.

We had such a fun trip with our friends and can't wait for a return trip next winter or summer. What a perfect, long, and rejuvenating weekend with lifelong friends.

Back to reality and an out-of-control garden! We were amazed at how quick things seemed to grow while we were gone. Cucumbers anyone?!?!?

We had a pool date with our girls, Lucy, Lily and Laurie Jo. Summer is flying by too quickly!

Our parents snuck away for a golf and dinner date with friends. Mommy is starting to love the game again after a long hiatus thanks to having kids :)

Daddy has always been a good golfer. Even though he doesn't play as much as he would like, he still is consistent. Don't ask him if Mom out-drove him on a few holes :)

August becomes our final month of scrambling to finish our summer bucket list but also prepare for school! T-ball ended last week and soccer is right around the corner. Cooper was my #1 fan and coach Daddy enjoyed helping me learn the game better this summer. I don't think t-ball is my sport, but I gave it a shot and am looking forward to my favorite sports this fall and winter. Thanks for reading our latest adventures! We hope you are all enjoying the dog days of summer!

We kick off the blog post with a garden update.... our garden seriously kicks butt. All of the early rain has made our crop plentiful. We help Mom by weeding the garden and picking produce. Here are some pics of our crop.

This "old" stone was from Mom and Dad's first garden in their first "real" home (13 years ago). It is old but adds character.

Raspberry Bushes~I picked the first ripe berry and ate it in front of Cooper. Don't ask how that went.

Cooper picked the first ground cherry, quickly ate it, then spit it back out. It wasn't nearly ripe enough... I win.

Ground cherries~ they have an unique and acquired taste, kind of like wine (not that I would know).

We have made fajitas with our peppers and prepared 2 large batches of refrigerator (bread/butter) pickles from our cucumbers.

Clearly, this isn't something we eat, it is just a very happy and adorable plant on our patio table. It is called Lemonade Petunias :)

With warmer and drier days lately, we decided to do some backyard camping with Daddy. We loved camping last year at a local state park but our parents convinced us that camping in the backyard is SO much easier and just as much fun. They were right!

We snuggled in for bedtime stories and slept under the "SUPER MOON" that night. Between Cooper's headlamp and the moon, it was almost like sleeping in the middle of the day.

Can you tell how excited we were?!?!

Our camping adventure was a success. We came into the house around 6:30 the next morning ready for a nice warm breakfast. Mom was refreshed after a night of uninterrupted sleep in a bed ALL to herself. Win-Win.

The next day was the last day of the fair and we were excited to go. We couldn't have picked a better day of weather to attend. It was sunny, but not too hot. We met up with Caden's classmate, Trevor, and his family, as well as some of our other friends that day. We went on some of the kiddie rides, like the motorcycle one above.

We quickly transitioned into the big kid rides....Alien Adventures (spinny, gravity ride), the Tilt a Whirl, and the cage/spinny thing that nearly gave our Mom a heart attack. Thankfully, all of those spinny rides didn't make us sick.

See Trevor in the orange shirt in the top corner and little me, next to him to the right.

And this is what nearly put Mom into cardiac arrest... see Cooper, top left corner, TINY kid next to the tall boy in the blue/gray shirt... yep, he was tall enough technically but should have never been put on the ride (Daddy thought it would be fun, Cooper begged to go too, and Mom was getting lemonade). Dad won, Cooper was happy and Mom was frantic.

Back to "normal" kid rides

At the end of the day, I wanted to go in this hamster ball and run all over the water. It was super fun. Cooper was taking it easy at this point, so you won't see him in one of these things.

We had a fun day at the fair... the rides were awesome, we were brave and we can't wait until next year. Mom and Sheila (Trevor's Mom) captured our adorable friendship and excitement with this photo above (holding hands).

We said, "goodbye" to Dad as he left for his fellowship week in Washington DC. This was his 2nd round of the fellowship; he has just 12 months and board exam to go:) The focus of his week was the economy, so he met with WI state representatives and had an amazing experience. We sure did miss him but are so happy he was able to advocate for WI hospitals and experience politics first hand!

Just like our Dad, Cooper and I are fascinated by history. We really enjoy reading about Abraham Lincoln, probably because he died so tragically and he built cool log cabins. Dad took this photo of the Lincoln Memorial as well as the Washington Monument and texted us photos throughout the week. We were feeling jealous but also excited for a hopeful visit next summer.

While Dad was away, we stayed busy. We went to the cities to visit family. Grandma was home from Africa, so we stayed at her house, went to a waterpark together, and had yummy s'mores. Grandma and Grandpa Jamie are home for a few more weeks, so we look forward to spending some more time with them before they head back to Africa.

The following day, we met Papa and Grandma Sharon, Uncle Jim, Aunt Karri and Jimmy at Como Town for another full day of spinny rides.

Our first stop was the good ol' carousel. It is 100 years old this year. Mommy CLEARLY remembers going on many carousel rides at Como Park with her family during her childhood.

We took Jimmy under our wing and showed him all the fun rides Como has to offer....

Train ride (caboose=yes!)

Firetruck/Hose Ride

Frog Hopper (Jimmy was too worried to ride this one)

Mom didn't even ask us to do this photo op, we are just naturally trained.

Spin, Spin, Spin.... see Jimmy's head?!?! He kept on flopping around. I think the below picture is a good summary of how the ride went (big boys smiling, Jimmy not really sure what to think).

We got our drivers' licenses on the road course. I passed no problem, but Cooper's junky cadillac (or maybe it was Cooper) didn't seem to be working so well. He was beyond upset. Thankfully, he got a sympathy license anyhow.

Time to spin around some more

I took this photo with Mommy's camera of Papa and Grandma Sharon. I must say it turned out great!

Before we left Como Town (rides), I begged Mommy to zipline with me. She wasn't thrilled as she said childbirth has changed many things, her equilibrium being one of them. She was a trooper and went anyhow. We both screamed like little girls and loved it.

We couldn't leave Como without a few animal sightings. Good news! No gorillas escaped the day we visited. Apparently they went for a little walk the week before. Can you imagine finding an ape on your front lawn?!?

Como is just not a complete visit without a stop to look at the seals and to purchase a wax animal from the Mold-O-Rama. Those things are amazing and wonderful. Cooper and I are in awe about how quickly these things pop out of that machine.

Daddy returned from Washington DC with some great souvenirs... Abe Lincoln hats. We look like a mix of Abe and the pilgrims. Either way, we were HAPPY to have Daddy home and HAPPY to have such cool gifts. We do wear these around home and outside in case you are curious.

Mom welcomed Daddy home and then had a well-deserved night out with high school friends. They went to a fun Italian restaurant in Mpls and got "caught up" with each other's lives. For family who are curious... Meggen starts at the MN Supreme Court in August, Tricia is a Realtor in Arizona, and Sara lives in the cities and continues to own Champps (it now has a new name). All are married with 2-3 kids each. Crazy how responsible they all are (and you were worried, ha!)

We were home for a day and then returned to the cities because all the "grown up" kids gave Papa tix to the Twins game for Father's Day. They had great seats, but had to keep their eyes peeled for foul balls. Thankfully, no one was nailed, they enjoyed each other's company, and survived 90+ heat.... it was a scorcher! While they were at the game, we spent time with Bennett, Kyra, Uncle Ben and Auntie Erin at their house (sorry, no pics!)