Portview

Almost 2 weeks ago we finally made it up to the lake for the first time this year. The weather was beautiful! The mosquitoes - well - let's say MN knows how to grow 'em big!

We left WI for my Mom's house on Wednesday after Jason and I got done with work. Dan has been overall very good with the long car rides. Jason drives the whole way most of the time while I'm in back with Dan to keep him company. The dogs have always driven well so that has been wonderful since Dan needs a little attention to keep him occupied during those long trips. All week we had been getting rain so before we left I wanted to make sure that our back up sump pump was up and running. After starting our remodel of our lower level, I don't want a single second to go by without the sump pump working! Turns out, we should have looked closer at the box earlier because we needed to buy a battery for the back up. Both Jason and I thought the battery was included with the kit. Oh well, live and learn - and cross your fingers!

There was a lot of finger crossing on Thursday as we were having lunch with my Mom at her work. Jason had wanted to stop in for lunch so she could see Dan for a little bit. While on the way to her work, we were in a flash flood watch. With the rain pouring down like there was no tomorrow, I was getting nervous about the rain we were getting at home. The stories of her coworkers friends who had 5-8 inches of standing water in their basement (with no sump pump) only made my worries intensify. If only I had a webcam to check on the basement! We were fortunate that our pump did indeed work perfectly throughout the weekend, and we came home to a dry basement.

The first day at the lake was pretty uneventful. Got the place set up and started checking to see what needed to get done. The lawn needed mowing, there was a tree that fell down at the end of the driveway to the place that needed removal, and the boat hadn't been taken out of storage yet. So while Jason was out grabbing a few more food items, Dan and I played. He ended up crawling into the kennel, so I shut the door while he played a bit. As you can see, he wasn't impressed ;)  Really, he does enjoy playing with the kennel - when you grab on and jump around it makes noise!

Really Mom?

Saturday was spent in town. Mom and Jeff had come up the night before to spend the weekend with us. The original plan was for Jason and Jeff to go golfing Saturday morning, but when they got there they learned that it would cost them over $200 to play! Sunday, however, it was $40 each if I'm not mistaken, so they changed their tee time. Nisswa had an art fair the weekend we were up so we checked that out. I ended up purchasing this canvas for the cabin from Vince Quast of Creations Image. It now sits above the hutch in the living area. Mom really liked it, plus it felt right for the space. While in town, we of course took advantage of getting Dan on the vintage rides that are scattered around town. Check out the video of Dan on the horse in front of the Totem Pole!

 After some shopping we went back to the lake for Dan's first boat ride. I think he was pretty nervous as he was holding onto his life jacket for dear life! No fussing though so at least he felt comfortable enough to enjoy it a little bit.

First boat ride!

 Soon after we got back it was off to the beach. Dan has been swimming before, but never at a beach. He was crawling around the sand like this....

...because of how the sand felt on his skin. He seems to really enjoy it though! He was moving everywhere, picking up stones and sticks along the way. But the real fun began when we got him in the water! The lake was pretty comfortable thanks to the warm weather we have had so far this year.

Splashing in the water.

We also went to the beach again on Sunday, which is when these pictures were taken (below). This time we had the dogs with us. Trooper loves running up and down the shoreline barking at the waves coming in. Khail - well - he could do without the water. I'm not upset about that fact. Have you ever tried drying off a Siberian Husky who has 3-inch thick fur? The water wasn't quite as warm as it was on Saturday so we didn't spend as much time at the beach. Rachel came up Saturday night so she at least was able to join us for a little at the lake.

Trooper checking in on Dan.

I had known that I wanted to take Dan to Dairy Queen for the first time while at the lake since going to the Nisswa DQ has been a tradition for decades now. We waited until Rachel was there so she could be there as well. Verdict: Dan likes it! Well, minus any brain freeze :) Here is a video of his first taste of DQ. Before we headed into town between swimming and DQ, we played at the cabin. Dan has been doing this dance while I sing a family song that my Mom's side of the family sings. Don't mind the coughing in the video. I'm still working through a cold/sinus infection.

Mmmm...ice cream!

Brain freeze!

Right when we were done with ice cream, Great-Grandpa Croswell came over with Betty to visit. The last time he saw Dan, Dan was only 1 month old. It was really nice to see Grandpa and Betty. Both seem to be doing very well. Grandpa was showing off his new cane, telling stories, and enjoying watching Dan run around.

First time meeting Dan - 10-11-13

 

With Great-Grandpa Croswell - 10-22-14

Once Grandpa and Betty left, so did Mom, Jeff, and Rachel. They all had to work on Monday. Jason and I took the boat out one more time. I took the camera out with me so I could work on getting some better pictures of the loons. We had one couple that stuck around the front of the cabin that had two chicks. Between Margaret Lake and Upper Gull Lake, there were 4 loon couples with chicks. Over the entire weekend, I took over 1,200 pictures of loons alone! I'm still going through them, so one of these days you'll get to see some of the shots. Jason mentioned again that I should pick a few out and start selling them. I've thought of doing that before, so I may start pursuing it soon. In the meantime, here are a few pics of Dan on the boat.

Is this how you steer the boat Dad?

Enjoying being on the water.

 We didn't do much the last day at the lake. Dan spent a lot of time playing and getting underfoot while we tried to clean up. Trooper was a great distraction once in a while. He is so good with Dan! We still need to keep on reminding Dan that he needs to be nice with the dogs. Overall he does a very good job, but he his only 9 months old so there are still LOTS of reminders!

That evening when we got back to Mom's place, we went out to eat with my Grandma. She didn't know we were in town until a few hours earlier so she just kept us company at the restaurant. She had fun reading to Dan and playing with him while we ate. Dan tried walleye for the first time there. He did a much better job playing with the pieces I was giving him than actually getting them into his mouth, but he's getting better at feeding himself.

Dan is very focused on his book.

Playing with the straw.

After supper, we stopped by Great-Grandma Solarz' place for a generational picture.

Four generations.

 We left for WI right after we woke up Tuesday morning. After a long weekend at the lake and hours of traveling, and crawling/walking around everywhere, Dan was pooped. We're looking forward to heading back to the lake again! When, I'm not sure, but when we do it will be fun-filled once again. Take care everyone!