Time Flying.

 How in the world has another year come and gone so quickly.  Summer is almost over here in the Northwoods.  It has flown by.  And not just gone by faster, but feels like fewer days.  Fewer flotillas.  Less time out on the lake.  Hard to tell if this is real or perspective.  Either way it has been a great year so far.  here are some highlights

This was the last "real" swim of the year in 2023.  It was October 29th, and it was COLD.  Glad I got this in, because here was our deck just two days later! 

Halloween Blizzard!  Kids didn't seem to mind, and trick or treated through it all.

We had a lot of fun in 2023 heading down to Spooner for Wisconsin Lumberjacks games.  Even took some friends from Church.  I'm a little sad they left Spooner, but we have a new team arriving: The Northwest Express!

It was a big year for TDR, we attended several tournaments including Adepticon (skipped ahead on this one a tad, forgive me).,  Always good to represent our set with the boys.

Christmas time was lovely in the Northwoods, with lots of classic carols and Christmas hits played on our record player, and time around our tree.  We made it down to Orion as well for time with Poppi and GiGi.  We also enjoyed a Duluth staple this year: Bentleyville!  Our kids had greatly missed "Unbuckle Christmas Lights" in Peoria (Festival of Lights).  This was a way to harken back to those good old days and experience something new-to-us and classic for Duluth.

2023-24 has been a great season to witness Lady A.  Lots of high GP nights with clear skies for viewing.  A few highlights I managed to capture with my phone.

We had an amazing trip to Florida this year.  We decided to run the play back again and hit up a planned community near Orlando.  We have found that the resort life is the life for us!  This year's highlights included a trip to Lego Land!  A real thrill for our Pirate-Lego loving donks.

Our other big Spring event was Lovey's first communion!  What a joyous celebration, so glad that it was with Father Bala too, he left our parish a few months later - and we miss him!

I made it down to Illinois for the wedding of my good buddy Dakota (center).  It was a great time, made greater by the presence of our mutual friend Wes (left)!

Before we knew it LG had returned from Florida.  Thats how we know Summer is truly coming.

And oh what a Summer it has been.  My Mom moved up last year, and my kids LOVE having "Gamma Powwy" around.  And extra fun, my Sister Bey, and Brother (Funcle) Jack have also moved up North.  More time with family has been an amazing blessing!

Was super fun to have Dad and Janet visit for the first time.

Lovey and I got the canoe out :)

We had a really fun trip to Midieval times, thanks Poppi and Gigi!  Go Yellow Knight!

Nichols Week!  Had an amazing time with Nick and his family during their annual visit.

Mandi and I made it over to Amnicon on one of our few dates.  Great to stop and grab a pic just the two of us.

Here Jeff and I are trying out his new boat motor.  That guy loves his lake toys.

Lots of Pontoon time this year on Ol' Red, though it never feels like enough. And definitely feels like less than last year.  Here's hoping there is a little Summer left to squeeze out of September, and maybe even some to steal in October!

To wrap up this point I have a picture of my Aunt Aimee and I in downtown Monticello.  I was down to visit Grandma and Grandpa - and had a wonderful visit with Aimee.  She's lived in CO for most of my life, but recently moved back to Monticello.  So glad to get to see her more.

Thats all for now!

"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

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