Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Stolen Summer, and Then Some

 Once again it feels like it has been to long since I've had an update.  The photo selection over this large amount of time is always daunting.  It has been an amazing Spring, Summer, and now early Autumn.  My theme for this post is "Stolen Summer"... because that is exactly what we did.  We started our Summer early, and we kept it rolling late!  Here are some highlights.


I made it down to Monticello in March to see Forrest and Rosemary - always a joy!  Grandma's treatments are going well and she is feeling good.  What a remarkable woman!


The kids always have fun when we travel, seeing the sights and interesting locations :P


Lovey tried out Roller-Blades!


Another visit down south meant a chance to catch up with these two absolute champions!  Here's to you Mark and Nick, and here's "to the Cul-De-Sac!"


A rare chance to take the Donk's down to Monticello to visit their great-grands.


We've learned to have fun with our trips to Hayward. That town never disappoints.  Here we see three Donkeys and a Burro!


One of our treats this year was a trek with the Donks to see the new "Super Mario Movie" in Hayward with some of our Church Friends. It was a Dads-Only trip.  


Here we see the last bit of Spring.  The ice was starting to recede and the sun was shining!


And just like that the lake was open and the boat was in the water.








We stole a LOT of summer. Probably the most fun we had was reliving the glory days of Ol' Red, the Double-Decker Pontoon that has served as a fun-having platform for kids for the past 35 years.  We love to see the feet dangling over the edge.  Having made friends with neighbors and their families, we enjoyed our fair share of Pontoon-Flotillas.





So happy to get to see our cousins.  The Nicholses made it up North - our children and theirs get along great.  We had fun in Hayward, and Great Grandma even went on a Go-Kart with Lovey!



Cousin Nick is the best Tube-Puller around :)



We even got them over to truck about a bit on Ol' Red.




Tons of fun this year having made it to the Gordon Good Neighbor Days. The donks even played under Finstad bridge - The Kid and Babo even jumped off of it!



I took a day trip down to Milwaukee for a Brewers game with a couple of old buddies of mine.  Go Brewers!



Lots of time spent on the beach at Bond as well.


We were greatly rewarded for our Blueberry picking sills this year, courtesy of Chinch's absolute 11/10 pie making skills.


Grillhammer 2023!



More fun in Hayward.




Another trip south to visit friends and family.


My Warhammer 40k team: Team Dirt Review showed up in force to the 2023 North Star Open in Superior.  YES!


No summer is complete without a trip to Brighton Beach.


Our friends from California made it out!


This year marks a big event for us - above is the last picture we took of our place before the work started on our addition.  The Hollow Tree is growing!



I never want to forget the amazing natural beauty of the lake.


My new buddy Carter is a kindred spirit for sure.


Babo turning 6!


Grandma and Ma took me out for my birthday at the best Supper Club around!






Fall started off right with a trip to Amnicon and the Duluth Oktoberfest.  Lovey and I went on a Helichopter ride!


My first ever viewing of the Northern Lights!


Sunset over the Enchanted Field.


One of my dearest and oldest friends, Josh!  I was back in Champaign for Titan Games' 10th (!!!) anniversary.  What a great weekend!



Thanks to the Catholic Schoolhouse co-op we are a part of we had a great trip to the Bird Sanctuary.  What a cool place!  More raptors than you can shake a stick at.


Bey came up for a surprise visit!


To wrap up we just had a great trip to Ashland and Bayfield. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pics of the Applefest, but we had fun enjoying the waterpark as well.  Neat place!

Until next time, 

"Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may achieve success wherever you go"

Joshua 1:7