Leech Lake Vacation

Yet another vacation with the Brigham family on Leech Lake in northern MN! GREAT TIMES! WE stayed at Grand Vu Lodge (Anderson Family resort) and had a nice 5 bedroom log cabin 35 feet from the lake/beach. The weather was super the entire week with the exception of one windy, cool day which was actually a nice break from the sun. Once again, the Anderson's did a fantastic job! They had fun activities scheduled every day for the kids and big kids of the resort including an ice cream social, sand castle tournament, turtle races, fishing contest, kayak contest, tie-dye shirt creation, free tubing, shuffle board, train rides, canoes/kayaks/waterbikes/paddle boats, water trampoline and huge slide into the water, family olympics, horse rides, bonfires, complimentary doughnuts and coffee in the lodge, furry bunnies to pet, playground with a pirate ship, and last but not least, adult social night (complimentary cocktails in the lodge from 4 until close). Dave and Derek took FULL advantage of that and closed her down at 2am! Lynn and I soaked in the massage service and went into Walker to shop on Crazy Days (the cold day) for our treat. Grandma Jackie (Derek's mom) was a trooper and she kept up with all of us and seemed to really have a nice time as well.

We rented a boat and had our 4-man tube and spent time whipping the kids across the lake at full speed and pulling up anchor on Goose Island (great fishing spot). We also temporarily adopted a cute litte cat, Mitten, for the week who showed up at our door the first night with a killer meow. She knew who to come to for love, and food and warm milk! Other than water activities most days, we watched movies at night (re-runs of Lonesome Dove - the entire series!), played games and had many bonfires. What is so awesome about Northern MN is the brilliant display of gazillions of stars, the call of the loons, the sound of the waves hitting the beach, the burning sunset and watching the bright moon rise on the horizon. So peaceful, especially when sitting around the bonfire.

We didn't have much luck fishing but then again, who would with 6 of the loudest kids on the planet all in the same boat hoping for a whopper of a walleye, northern or muskie. Dave and Derek tried the night fishing twice; the first and the last. They didn't have much luck so they headed into the lodge to close out Adult Social Night. Dylan was out on the dock every day fishing and catching lots of small fish and craw daddies. Taylor actually caught a Buffalo Head with her bare hands right from the dock during the fishing tournament and Dylan was none too happy about that! "TAYLOR!", is all you could hear as he continued to catch gerbil-sized fish all morning. Comical!

We even exercised while we were there this time. The Brighams brought their kettle bells and were the workout animals most days and motivated Dave and I. I personally enjoyed our walks in the woods while Dave and Derek hoisted bells to the tune of the Eye of the Tiger (jk). 

The vacation may be over but we know we will be going back again next year.  However, they may have to omit the Adult Social Night if they know Dave and Derek are coming back! Make sure to check out our Shutterfly link for lots of fun photos from the trip. The album is titled: Leech Lake Vacation. Enjoy!

Bismarck Vacation

This summer has blown by SO incredibly fast. Here it is, already August, and I am just now getting caught up on some of our amazing memories from June. Yikes! After the kiddos finished out Vacation Bible School and baseball, we headed to North Dakota for a 15-day retreat to our homeland to share time with friends and family.

We had loads of fun including the "regulars":  a trip to the Bismarck Zoo and Sertoma Amusement Park, miniature golf, swimming at the Elks Pool and Lil's pool, biking along the river, attending Art in the Park in Mandan, fishing with Grandpa and Grandma Clark, playing with cousins and celebrating Grandma Good's 71st birthday. We also attended my 30 year high school reunion which was a BLAST. It was wonderful sharing time with friends from all 3 high schools for 3 days straight. I am not sure who had more fun, Dave or me, but it was fantastic. We also shared time with Grandpa and Grandma Kemmet and spent some quality time catching up on their outside deck listening to dad's stories which always make us laugh hysterically. 

Something new this year, we decided to treat the children to a trip to Medora. We loaded up Grandpa Clark's mini home and headed to the Badlands in western North Dakota (oil country!). Grandpa and Grandma Clark came too. We camped for two nights; they stayed at the Badlands Motel which had a pool and came in handy during those hot 100 degree days. What a GREAT trip! We toured the Teddy Roosevelt National Park (all 37 miles) and saw live buffalo, wild horses, prairie dogs galore, deer and breathtaking scenery of the Badlands. We also went horseback riding, shopping and touring around Medora (old Western town), swam at the pool and attended the Medora Musical which was downright OUTSTANDING! Not only did we have perfect seats in the gorgeous outdoor ampitheater (right across the aisle from Mrs. Harold Schafer) on a perfectly clear summer night, but we got to sit right behind some new friends from Colorado we met at the pool.

When we returned to Bismarck, the kids treated Grandma Good (her birthday present from them) to an outdoor play at the Chidlren's Theatre for a rendition of Grease. We have been there twice now; the first and the last! Maybe they just had a bad night regarding  audio "quality" but they also needed to tone down the vulgar language; it is a childen's theater after all. At least the kiddos enjoyed the music and set. They sat in the front row on a blanket while Grandma, Dave and I sat back a few rows in our lawn chairs. 

All in all, we loved being back in North Dakota. The people of ND (Nodaks) are just so darn genuine, authentic, hard working and downright fun to be with. Please click on our brand new link, Shutterfly, in the right hand column of this blog to view our photos from our trip. There are two albums from our trip:  Bismarck Vacation and 30th Reunion. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making the memories.