Skip to main content

Scott Turns 38, We Go to the Cottage, Of Course

It's my birthday week and that means a weekend at the cottage.

There was a bin of Blake's stuff in our room. The kids started pulling out the toys which lead to Scott reorganizing the whole thing.

There was literal garbage in the bin. So, I figured it was best to, well, throw the crud away and get the good stuff sorted.

A remote control for a car that doesn't exist. A brush. I was soon told by G.G. that I wasn't allowed to go through Blake's bin. But I did anyways.

Everyone but Gail knew that Blake would never look through the freaking bin.



Mom was upset that we were looking through it instead of Blake. She said we couldn't throw anything away. I sent Blake a photo of the trash and asked if he wanted anything. He only wanted the french toast.

I brought this pile of debris to G.G. and I jokingly asked if I should save this. Not even really looking up she said, "Yeah, Blake might want that."

We were all pretty happy to see snow this time. Especially after not having very much home this year.


No ice skating this time around, but we could still walk on the lake.

Theo forgot his gloves and I didn't pack any. Luckily Scott had a pair that he keeps here.

Good thing it wasn't too cold. Those are the ones I usually wear up north.

Theo's favorite thing is riding the snowmobile with grandpa.


Snowball fight!

Good dodge, grandpa.

We always have to do a lot of convincing to get the kids to ride the kitty cat.


Theo was afraid he wouldn't be able to steer but he was fine.

We even got Meadow to take a few runs down the cottage road.

I think Theo is saying he's faster than Meadow.


Meadow pulled Theo on a sled like she used to.


Then we headed into Eagle River to go to their children's museum. I've been wanting to go but every time we have a chance one of us is sick. Theo wanted nothing to do with it until he saw what it was.

Has he even been to a children's museum since COVID?

I don't think so. 

Bubbles! This was new since the last time we were here.

Meadow's favorite room.




The kids sure like grocery shopping.

Another new exhibit: a circus themed human body carnival.


Meadow's other favorite room: the dress up room.


She's so close to being too old for dress up, but she's still all in at 10.





I thought we were done, but the kids just kept on playing.

We then promised the kids ice cream, as we do.

We picked up G.G. and went out to the newest rendition of the Black Forest Pub for my birthday dinner.

Two versions of schnitzel all the way around for the adults.

Theo got a fancy mac and cheese.

Every few years this place seems to sell to new owners, but thankfully everyone keeps the original vibes.

We then walked over to the Brew Station for another drink.


I guess I was jealous of the kiddos and wanted to take a ride on the kitty cat.

Theo was ready to snowmobile again.




The Farbers also joined us this weekend.


Who does Meadow think she is, grandpa?


Mr. Mike setup some tip-ups as he does.

Opening her belated cottage Christmas gifts.


We all got outside a couple of times. Why else would someone come to the cottage?

Brittany worked on a craft with Theo. He did a really good job.

Scott requested cheesecake for his birthday this year. When I started making it, I failed to see that it has to set overnight. We saved it for after breakfast.

I wanted to eat before bed, but no one else agreed. Who's birthday was it anyway?

It's always sunny and warm when we have to leave.

It's a struggle to pack up the car and hit the road.

Signs of a good weekend.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yardwork, Ikea and Pumpkins

My new parents-in-law got us a dehydrator for the wedding. Knowing we were going to be cleaning up the garden and going to farmer's market, we took a gander at our millionth kitchen device during breakfast.   Scott added granola to his oatmeal.  The oatmeal was rather bland, just the way Brooke likes it.   Scott was actually cleaning up so I had to take a quick photo of him as proof.  Scott told me he was, "putting a blanket down for Peanut," while singing. During the winter months peanut needs a warm place to peer through the window. Seeing as it was nearly November, I setup his blanket for him. Seeing as the farmers market season is dwindling down, we headed to the market...once again. The close proximity to the cities central farmer's market has to be one of the best assets of living in NoMi. We were both amazed by the bounty of produce still on sale. We quickly filled up our first bag and took it back to the car....

Backcountry Camping with Kids in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Day 1  Back in May I stumbled upon Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I had no idea there was a National Park in North Dakota and that it was the northern end of the Badlands. Usually our summer vacations coincide with Scott's work trips. Since he didn't have any this summer I thought we should take advantage of actually taking a vacation. What, my workcations are always classics? I suppose a second real vacation this year wouldn't hurt. We definitely have more time than normal. As long as we took Covid-19  precautions and avoided people. We finally settled on a time to go. Blake joined us so we borrowed our dad's van so we could ride together. Scott had just driven from Michigan the day before. Blake had met my parents in Wisconsin to get the van and then drove from Duluth to pick us up. I offered to drive since I literally only drive twice a month.  I was still pretty tired from a long drive home. Since we were near Fergus Falls we had to stop by the abandoned state ho...

The Whole Family Meets Me for a Spokane to Seattle Road Trip

After many failed attempts, we finally made plans for Brooke and the kids to meet me after a job. I couldn't wait to see killer bee and my little runts out in Washington State. I'd been on the road working for over a week at this point. My parents stayed an extra day just to take us to the airport.  Ready to go.  Meanwhile I made it back up to Spokane after a day of shooting 360s down in Pullman. Guess we'll never forget which car is ours.  I laughed when I first saw it. Couldn't wait for Brooke and the kiddos reaction. We stayed the night at the Steam Plant Hotel. I'd stayed here when I shot 360s at Gonzaga University back in the spring. Seemed like a good, cheap option. The rooms are simple and do the job. I liked that this place provided ear plugs but only because the walls are paper thin. I could hear everything our neighbors were saying. I wanted to stay on Minnesota time and made us get up at 6am. I'm sure our neighbors loved that.  I'm sure we loved t...