Thursday, July 16th: (Today is the anniversary of Tom & Linda's engagement on the shores of West Lost Lake in Minnesota--22 years ago!) It's 11:30 in the morning, 55 degrees, and cloudy. This isn't really what we were expecting for our July vacation at the lake! It is unseasonably cool here and will remain cool tomorrow. Mom & Dad called and have decided that they are going to go home early, since this is their 2nd week in Minnesota and it's just too cold to fish anyway. We're trying to find alternate activities (like checking email, blogging, etc.). This afternoon Tom and I will head off to the Forestedge Winery. The kids won't want to miss Karrie's treasure hunt at 4:00. They are definitely enjoying the cable TV and plethora of DVD's they have available. Hopefully better days are ahead!
After the winery (which was very busy due to the blustery weather), Tom & I headed to Bemidji to catch a movie. We saw "The Proposal," a romantic comedy, which was an appropriate choice for the anniversary of the day Tom proposed to me. The kids enjoyed the treasure hunt with their cousins back at the resort, and when we returned we took them out for dinner at the Casino. It was "Walleye buffet" night, and we found it to be quite tasty with decent service.
Wednesday, July 15th: It was another cool and windy day, but no rain, so we headed out for some fishing. We headed for Dick's Bay where Leah caught a nice crappie, and we go
t a couple of rock bass. We were fighting the wind all morning/afternoon, and after trying the Potato islands and only getting only one more rock bass, we decided to call it quits. We got a little disoriented on our way in and started heading in the wrong direction. So we battled the wind and huge waves even longer as we turned around and found our way home.In the afternoon, Seth and Luke wanted to go see a movie (Transformers) in Bemidji, and since we still hadn't made our "big" grocery run, I took them so I could go to Wal-Mart. They enjoyed their movie and I was able to finally get our kitchen stocked for the remainder of the vacation. In the evening, we watched a movie in the lodge which featured Birch Villa back in the 60's. It was fun. Mom & Dad came down for a short visit while Leah and I fixed our spaghetti dinner.
Tuesday, July 14th: The weather turned and it became cool, rainy and windy. Seemed like a good day for shopping! So the ladies headed off to Walker (Linda, Mom, Aunt Sone, Deb, Wenda & Pam). We enjoyed lunch together at The Village Square (the ice cream place) and browsing through the shops. The kids
stayed home with the dads for the fishing contest which was held off the dock. Some of the guys tried to go golfing in the afternoon, but were rained out.
When we got home we were treated to the most beautiful rainbow we've seen yet over Cass Lake. We could see the whole rainbow from one end to the other, and it seemed to have more colors than the average rainbow. It was gorgeous!
That evening Seth and several other relatives competed in the Texas Hold'em tournament. Seth ended up coming in 3rd and Kara came in 4th.
Monday, July 13th: We headed out for our 1st morning of fishing with Seth and Luke in the boat. We thought we'd try our luck in the Potato islands area. We caught 16 total fish (6 for Luke, 10 for us), all rock bass save one perch. We ate ours for dinner that evening and they were delicious! Monday afternoon was spent cleaning fish, reading, and chatting with relatives. I ran off to Teal's to get some more groceries for supper while Tom took a little bike ride. Paul's wife Pam has arrived for her 1st visit to Birch Villa. The kids have been having a great time hanging out with cousins and friends. Chloe plays with cousins Erin, Leah, and Lindsay and friends Nicole and Emily. Leah enjoys spending time with Kara and Courtney, as well as the younger girls. Seth and Luke are inseparable.
Sunday, July 12th: Sunday was a beautiful, sunshiny, warm day. After saying "hello" to the gang, we all headed off to church at the E-V Free church of Bemidji. Deb & I enjoyed the Highlander Grog coffee they always serve afterwards. Mid-afternoon, we all gathered for the traditional family pork-chop fry/picnic. There were 21 of us this year including: Deb & Roy's family (6), Phil and Wenda's family (5) (new this year), Uncle Roy & Aunt Sone and Paul (3), Mom & Dad(2), and us (5). The picnic included lots of great food and laughter, and we were thankful for good weather!
The kids did some tubing after dinner and the rest of the day was spent lazing around the resort. Mom & Dad are staying at Horseshoe Resort again this year, but found out that Karrie has a cabin (#1) available for them next year at Birch Villa! We're all so excited they'll get to join the rest of the gang here!
