Cass Lake 2011

Sorry for the delay on this post!  We got back from Cass and had a wedding to go to and then I went to Minneapolis to do the Warrior Dash (I'll post pics when they put them online - or at least post a link to pics).  So we're finally getting back to a normal schedule again now.  So - I give you - CASS LAKE 2011!

Boozers.

Another boozer.  We had to though.  The weather was skitzo!

We totally planned this coordination. ; )

Need your baby to nap?  Throw em in a bike cart and voila - NAP!

Seriously - the weather was wacky.  It was the hottest week of the year in Minnesota and don't get me wrong - it was hot at Cass too, but there were strangely cool moments too.

The babies were braver than the bigger kids when it came to tubing.  Perhaps they are too young to know better.  The older kids are just smarter.  Easton is included in that group.  He refused to tube!  Thatta boy!  Way to use your smarts!

Not this one tho - she loves to tube!  And FAST too.

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on the 18th.  Had our usual morning mimosas - our tradition so far.

And here we are standing in the spot we got married (roughly).  Its now covered in water as you can see.

Dylan tried water skiing for the first time this year.

Got up on his first try!

Super Dylan!  I couldn't believe it.  Actually, yes I could.  He really is able to do a lot for a 4 year old I think.

He only went down cuz he started to get nervous about going any further with the boat motor and the fast speed, etc.  I think by next year he'll be over that part of it and he'll be a skiing machine.  Much to my dismay as the nervous nelly mother.

A gorgeous sunset that got me a few extra mosquito bites.  We all got more than a few this trip.  They were BAD this year.  The infamous SWIMMERS ITCH also made an appearance this year.  Previously, Eric had referred to it as a "myth" but it is a "myth" no more.  Cuz he got it, Dylan got it, Avery got it and a few others too.  There, it has now been documented here.  He'll still try to deny it I bet as I did not take a picture of their legs.  Tho, Avery's bumps are still visible so there is still time to provide proof!

Cousin picture time!  Reed ducked down so he's not pictured.

The first annual "Chase the Blues Away Margarita Party."  Everyone was kinda crabby that it kept raining and raining and raining that day.  It was 120 degrees with the heat index in Minneapolis this day, but we were wearing sweatshirts and pants.  It was seriously bizarre.  Especially since we too, were under the high heat index warning.  Never happened!  We're thinking this will be an annual party as the drinks were awesome!

So awesome that some people double fisted.

Messin' around at Cedar Island.  I was worried about my beverage!

And finally, our yearly family photo at Cass Lake.  Another good one!

That was well worth the wait, wasn't it?!

 

Cass Lake 2010

Well, we have returned from Cass Lake with more than a few pictures to share.  As usual, I had to pare it down for blog purposes, but plan to have a hefty Facebook album in the near future with more pics – for those who care and have a Facebook account.  The rest of you – too bad!  

When we arrived at Cass Lake, it was a beautiful day - perfect for setting up our new tent!  Avery and I were going to be staying in the tent for one night as my parents weren’t coming until the next day with their motorhome.  So we needed a bigger tent to fit all 4 of us.  We got our campsite all set up and settled in.  Suddenly some dark clouds came rollin’ in that no one seemed to think looked too threatening.  So we all sat around in our camp chairs and put the boats in thinking that nothing was going to happen.  Suddenly out of nowhere the wind picked up and you could literally SEE the storm moving quickly towards us across the lake.  We all jumped up and ran into Danny and Kim’s Winnebago before the storm hit our campsites.  It was kind of funny at first because we all had to really book it to cram into the tiny Winnie.  Then we noticed that Patty the Pontoon was not properly secured in the water and was on the move.  So Eric, Chandler and Eric’s friend Jason raced to the shore to rescue Patty.  The rest of us stayed in the Winnie to keep warm and dry until we noticed that the tents were starting to go.  So then Lisa and Kelli ran out to save their tent.  I stayed in the Winnie and just assumed that our tent was fine – it was new, after all.  So I didn’t really think much of it.  I actually had thought about laying Avery down for bed right before the storm hit, but decided to keep her up since she was on vacation.  So the storm had a lull and we all got out to assess the damage.  There were tree branches and twigs everywhere.  Then we walked over to our campsite to see how our tents were.  Here is what we found – our brand new tent completely upside down with all our gear inside.  Yep, 400 or so pounds of our crap wasn’t enough to hold the tent down.  And apparently a 20 pound baby girl wouldn’t have held it down either.  Her pack and play was completely upside down!  Good thing I didn’t lay her down before!!

Our tent had been set up right were I was standing.  It was damaged in the storm – one of the sides ripped.  We actually didn’t have too much water on the inside of the tent.  A few things got wet, but it really wasn’t as bad as it looked.  Of course, the item that got the most wet was my Perfect Pillow which is pretty much like a sponge when it comes in contact with water.  It took 3 days for the dang thing to dry out!  Grrrrrr.  So, all in all, a great way to start out the week!  Ha!

Here is one of many trees that fell during the storm.  The next morning on our run, we came across 5 trees laying on the bike trail.  It was crazy that it was that windy!  

Here is Dylan pleading his case for a second Smore.  I don’t think he won his argument.

I had to post this picture because when I took it and looked at it, it reminded me of how he looked when he was a really little boy.  

The motorhome – my saving grace!  : )    Here is the view from our campsites.

I like to get fancy for camping.  I know that everyone was jealous of my ruffles.

 

Avos matched Lulu’s rug!  Had to have a picture of that!

And here are the pictures of Avery and Easton’s Cass Lake baptism.  We lucked out again as the weather was great that day and not so much the rest of the trip! 

Here is Avery with Grandpa Danny.  Notice how Avery kept a stone face for pretty much the entire baptism.

 

Kelli and Addi were having fun tho!

Dejavu anyone?  Look familiar???  We were not able to have the same views as our wedding (not that you can tell that much) because the island was quite busy with other boaters and swimmers.  For those that know me well, thats the reason I have a crabby, forced smile on my face.  These dang people were ruining my photos!!!

Avery getting baptized – she did better than I thought she would.  Normally someone messing with her makes her mad!  But she did okay.

Easton, his parents and his godparents.

  Avery, us and her godparents.

I think there might be a smile on her face here.  Hard to tell.

Couldn’t get Dylan to take pictures with us for very long.  Immediately following these pictures, he threw himself into the water totally squashing my hopes for a re-creation of one of wedding photos that had the 3 of us walking hand in hand on the beach.  I had wanted one with the 4 of us, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.  Between the drenched child and the random dogs and people on the island – it just wasn’t going to happen. 

 

 

 

Booooo.

Here is Eric waterskiing. 

Some of the pink ladies!  (and Reed)

Some of the boys (and Ella).

Here is Eric celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary with some of the champagne leftover from the wedding.  A round of mimosas followed!

Back on the island!

Avos had had enough!

Dylan learned to ride without training wheels while we were at Cass Lake!  First he went with just one training wheel and then he decided to try with NO training wheels and took right off.  He’s officially a big boy now!!

Avery went on the tube!  She’s too young to know better.  ; )

This was the last day at Cass Lake.  We went on a marathon boat ride and trip to Star Island.  Dylan was so tired he actually fell asleep on the tube behind the boat.  It was definitely time to end the week at Cass, I guess!  Time to get back to reality and our normal schedules! 

Think that’s about it for the blog post on Cass.  As I said above, I’ll post a giant album of pictures of Facebook and will let the pictures tell the story that was Cass Lake 2010. 

Adios Readers!