Labor Day Sunday at the Trabin

After the Anniversary Trip, grandma offered to keep the kids at the Trabin for the day and drop them off at night… but we wanted nothing of that.  So, off we go to Lake Sturgeon.

Alicia and Eric had spent the weekend there in their pop-up so we got to hang out with her and baby Christina on the 10 square feet of sand that is Lake Sturgeon Beach.

The kids and I made a sand castle.

Jake has gotten really good at collecting minnows with his bucket and created an “aquarium” in the sand for them.

Grandma bought the kids a huge beach ball that they had fun playing with. Like anything that inflates at the Trabin, it has a small leak in it.

By the end of it Abby and Cristina were exhausted.

Christina is still learning how to blow bubbles and probably ate more soap than went out as bubbles.  She didn’t mind though.

We had a nice time!

Nice Day at the Trabin

We had a nice time at the Trabin again. The morning started off looking awful, but beach weather was in full force by the time we got there.

Grandma provided some floats for the kids and blew them up (which we were more than happy to let her do).

And the grown-ups hung out on the five square feet of beach that is Lake Sturgeon Beach.

Weekend at the Trabin

I’m sitting in the trabin on Sunday watching baby Abby sleep and listening to Connie and Debbie read Grandma Brown’s journal on the porch.

There’s a fly that keeps landing on Abby and waking her up a little. I’ve been chasing it around with a fly swatter between reading a biography of Carly Fiorina (former HP CEO).

We’ve had a nice weekend. Tim was here till about 6 last night with Dorothy and then took off (timing the drive around the Twins game so he could listen to it on the way home). I got in an afternoon nap then we had a dinner of brats and hotdogs.

This is what Emma looks like when she is up TOO late!

The little bar here promised to save some bottle caps for Jake’s collection, but when we came back in the morning (per the agreement) they had been thrown out. A promise of getting some from Uncle Adam’s job at Acapulco and two choco-taco’s made everything better.

Tara and I got a run in down Pumpkins Seed road and enjoyed a nice time by the fire and S’Mores (a trabin favorite).

Sleeping arrangements are notable… Shelly slept where the table is, Karen took the couch (against my protests), Jake and Emma slept on fluffy blankets on the floor, Abby had the playpen, and Tara and I got the… BIG BED. We were woken up in the middle of the night by a white horse neighing really loudly right outside the window and Abby getting up several times.

Breakfast was sausage, pancakes and eggs cooked in the grease from the sausage.

It’s fun listening to the ladies read from Grandma Brown’s journal. Lot’s a family history mixed with world history. Notable was the comment about Clinton. Something to the effect that ‘he did have an affair with that Lewinsky woman… bad news for our country’.

More 4th of July

We had such a great weekend at the Trabin. It was great time with Grandma, Papa and Shelly. We have really learned to relax and enjoy our time at Stugeon lake.

The weekend was truly filled with all of the fabulous things that 4th of July should be:

• A Parade: The perfect way to start the weekend. We loaded the family into the car at 8:30 am on the 4th and drove directly to Moose Lake for the parade. It was a great small town MN parade. Lots of candy which makes the kids happy.
• A Kiddo Bike Parade: We decorated the kids’ bikes and the had a parade with the other camp kids around the campground.
• Time sitting by the lake enjoying the kids and the sun. Abby got her first lake experience. She loved playing in the water and feeling the wet sand in her hands. Of course, her big brother added some mud on top of her head for good measure! The kids love just playing in the lake.

• Great Food (Buttermilk soaked fried chicken & lemon raspberry pancakes)! So yummy! Cooking the chicken was fun (albeit long). Probably came really close to starting a grease fire. Larry’s not good at frying yet, and there was a good ¼ inch of grease on the stove in the morning.
• Fireworks…a must for the 4th of July. We have the perfect spot in the campground since we are the trailer right before the big field where they set them off. The fireworks lasted for an amazing 60+ minutes. For a little camp ground, they sure have a great show.
• Games: The kids really enjoyed all of the great kids games that were organized by a fellow camper. She did it last year and does a great job with the kids.

We ended the weekend with a pontoon ride and a little fishing on Sunday afternoon before the drive home. No fish biting, but that’s okay it was still fun for all. Jake and Emma both got to drive the boat. They love that. Captain Grandpa is in charge, but even the captain needs help driving every once in a while. Although Abby didn’t like the life jacket, she managed to fall asleep 1 minute into the ride.

The weekend ended nicely too…grandma drove the kids home and mommy and daddy got to sneak in a mini-date at ingredients. I am told that Emma let go of the table while she was standing next too…looks like she it preparing to walk…mommy and daddy aren’t quite ready for that. Abby & Emma eating a freezy!

More highlights:

1. Took Jake to the bar (you kind of have to see this place to understand why it’s okay… but trust me, it’s more family friendly than a normal bar) in his Superman pajamas. A couple bought him and Emma some ice cream, so they were thrilled.
2. Sitting on the beach yesterday and catching up with grownup time while the kids played.
3. Watching Abby fall asleep on the pontoon.
4. Getting kicked out by Karen for doing too much cleaning.

Lowlight: Tara left her laptop. We figured it out after we’d been on the road for an hour. Fortunately, grandma and papa were nice enough to go back for it.

What an awesome weekend! Happy Birthday America!!

Nice Weekend Planned for the 4th

We’ve got a nice weekend planned: friends are coming over tonight and bringing their 2 girls and then we are going to the “trabin” (trailer cabin ) for the weekend. That means fishing, boating and grandma is making the crazy Martha Stewart fried chicken that involves soaking it in buttermilk overnight. YUM!!

Small Rant: I’m building this set with Jacob. It was expensive, but he’s showing a passion for lego.

…and it missing these two very small parts (probably less than a $.10 worth).
It will take them 3 WEEKS to send replacement parts. Grrr!!! What was supposed to be a fun kit is turning into a lesson in caveat emptor for Jake.