Tuesday, June 18, 2019

First Lake Weekend of Summer 2019!

We had our first weekend at the lake last weekend and it couldn't have been better! Phil's mom joined us for this trip. I knew it was just going to be my parents and us so it was the perfect weekend for her to come along. We picked her up on Thursday morning, headed north and arrived at my parents shortly before noon. Leaving for the lake on a Thursday is SO MUCH BETTER than going up Friday after work. There is so much traffic on Fridays and there are always lane closures during the summer due to road construction projects. I'm glad we can use vacation time to travel during off-peak times!

Paul did pretty well in the car. He only napped for about 30 minutes of the 3.5 hour drive but was pretty happy otherwise.


My little book worm
 Grandma Joan had picked up a book that played "The Wheels on the Bus" at Costco. We saved this until the last 30 minutes when he was getting antsy. He LOVED the book so much and kept pushing the button to play the song over and over and over again.

Yay! A new book!
 My mom had a yummy lunch all ready to go for us and then we headed outside to soak in some vitamin D. Paul is still freaked out by grass, so we laid out a blanket with some toys and he was happy to sit there and play. This hedgehog toy is his new favorite toy. I highly recommend this if you have a toddler in your life. The little spikes can be stored in the toy so it's easy to transport. And it's great for fine motor skills.

Wrestling with daddy

Working on that downward-facing dog move
Paul is still pretty clingy and usually only wants to be held by mom. But both Grandmas got him to sit with them for a story.

On Thursday night, Phil grilled burgers and asparagus and my mom roasted some potatoes. I failed to take any food pictures but trust me when I say the food was all so good! Paul enjoyed toasting everyone!

 He also got a kick out of grandma's cool truck utensils!


He was up bright and early around 6am on Friday morning. My mom hung out with us. It was nice to have some company while Paul played with toys. Most of the toys are toys from my youth, like this typewriter, which he got a kick out of!


 It was another beautiful day so we enjoyed more blanket time. In this photo, Paul is waving to the neighbor's dog who came over to visit each day!


On Friday afternoon, we had a late lunch at our favorite spot in town. As usual, Paul did so well eating out!

It had been overcast during lunch but the sun came out while we were eating so we headed home and got our swimsuits on. My parents have something called a "lilypad." It's a huge floating thing - it must be 25 yards long? Maybe longer? We use a smaller one during swim classes so Paul was familiar with it. He LOVED the water. He was not afraid at all. My mom snapped a few pictures of us. He also really enjoyed playing in the sand on the beach.



We capped off the afternoon by going on a pontoon ride. Paul was not a huge fan of the life jacket but he tolerated it.

We woke up to rain and cold weather on Saturday morning so we headed out after lunch and were back at Joan's by 4pm.

Sunday was Father's Day. We had a low key day. Phil slept in a bit and then got groceries (such a glamorous Father's Day, I know!) while I took Paul for a walk.
Starting off his special day by reading to Paul
 We walked to Lake Harriet, about a mile away. There were a lot of ducks and geese on the beach. Paul enjoyed watching them!


We stopped for a little swinging on the way back.
Besides that, there was a lot of adulting - meal prep, laundry, cleaning, etc.

My diaper laundry helper. He likes to hand me the diapers, one by one. 
I capped off the day by making Phil's favorite meal - lentil enchiladas topped with extra olives. Paul was already in bed so we enjoyed this meal without interruptions. We are not gift-givers - enjoying a special meal is more our style.


It was a wonderful weekend! I can't wait to head back to the lake for a couple of days over the 4th of July weekend. I'll be there Wed-Fri with Paul (Phil has to work). Then we'll be up at the lake for 5 days in August which I'm really looking forward to! Battle Lake is definitely my happy place in the summer!

Where is your favorite place to be in the summer?

10 comments:

Charbelle said...

It's always nice when you can utilize vacation for downtime rather than adulting! I laughed about the wheels on the bus over and over and over again, probably because I wasn't the one listening to it. We have certain things in the nursery that play music and I've gotten to the point where I can mostly tune it out. We talked about a Lily Pad Saturday, our neighbors in the cove had one out when we were pulling the boat out. We know the kids would all really love it! That's awesome that Paul got to have time with both Grandmas! His grin just gets me!!! I'm glad that y'all were able to have such a wonderful weekend!!! I too have July 3-5, I took 2 vacation days. Originally I was planning to be at the lake but life is not going along quite so smoothly and it may be that I have to just enjoy my July 4th holiday, we shall see. We were down at the lake on Saturday and it was wonderful!!! I'm thankful it's only an hour away! I used to pride myself on my gift giving abilities then I married my husband and I have yet to be able to find a gift that I feel has really impressed him. This wouldn't be such a big deal except he always gets me with my gifts and I would like to be able to give him something special but he has some expensive tastes!!!

Marlys said...

It was such a joy to have you at the lake! I'm excited to have you back on the 4th and in August, so am hoping for great weather! I'm glad we got one really good warm day while you were here.
That enchilada meal looks great!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Looks like fun! I can't wait for summer like weather. We saw the sun yesterday after 5pm during Isla's softball game. :) Today should be a warm one. My parents have been thinking about getting one of those lily pads for their house. My aunt and uncle have one at their cottage and the kids do like it. If my parents don't get one this summer, it may need to be a Christmas gift from us so I can enjoy it next summer. :)

Carolina John said...

That looks like so much fun. I'm really glad Phil got to enjoy such a special father's day too

Leigh said...

Looks like a fun weekend! Love that picture of Paul waving to the dog. So cute! Nice that Phil's mom was able to come with you guys as well.

katielookingforward said...

Looks like an awesome weekend! I'm also planning on being up north Wednesday - Saturday of the 4th, I'm hoping that will help reduce some of the darn traffic. how great that Paul is at a good going out to dinner age, that is always fun!

Stephany said...

That sounds like such a fun weekend - I'm glad you guys were able to head up to the lake early because there's nothing like summer traffic on a Friday! It's great that you have a long weekend planned to spend at the lake each month, too. Something to look forward to!

Jeanie said...

It sounds like a perfect place to be and a wonderful time with both family tme and alone time. My fave place? You guessed it -- the lake.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

My favourite place to be in the summer (or ever) is at a campground. I love being in nature and sleeping close to nature. If I'm not camping, then my second favourite place to be is in my backyard.

The weekend at the lake sounds so nice, and I love that Phil's mom went with you guys too <3

San said...

Ah, I always love about your lake weekends! I wish my in-laws had a lake house somewhere LOL so glad you could also take Phil's Mom along!