Howdy, Stranger

So now that Nate has a new job and we're moving back to Minnesota something really exciting has been happening at our house.

Nate comes home every night and then he stays at home!

When we were dating Nate lived in Ukraine and I lived in Chicago. Then he came back to the States and lived in Minnesota while I remained in Chicago to finish my undergrad. We went on like five dates. Didn't really see him much.

When we got married he was working crazy hours at Lake Beauty Bible Camp all the time. Didn't see him much. The s'mores and late-night campfires with staff made it easier though.

When we moved from camp to St. Cloud, Nate was working his full-time job at the bank and going to grad school full time to earn his MBA. I didn't see him much then, either. Viggo burst onto the scene at that time in our lives. We wanted Nate to hurry up and finish school so we could have more time together. Little did we know . . .

Then after he finished up his Master's we moved to Delaware because of the job transfer with the bank, and he got a "part-time" job at Lowe's that he sometimes spent nearly 35 hours a week at. Definitely have not seen him very much since we moved to DE. And then the girls came along. Thank the Lord they were all good sleepers or I may have had to check into the Looney Bin.

I haven't seen him very much these past . . . 8 years. Or the kids. It was so painful to hear them cry at night when he'd head off to Lowe's - not every night, and they'd have dry spells when things seemed okay, but some nights were very tough on them. So you can imagine how happy all of us are when Nate comes home every night and then he doesn't go anywhere!

It is pretty amazing.

I hope we don't drive each other nuts. I should re-phrase that: I hope I don't drive Nate nuts. :)

Praise God!

We go to Hayward

The girls and I left the V-man behind at Lake Vermilion and drove over to Hayward to see Grandma and Grandpa Daisy.

One of the first exciting things to see was a bard owl. Grandpa Daisy said he visited the trees around the cabin frequently.

Bedtime stories happened every night.

Elin loved story time.

She really loves that puppy book.

There were gorgeous sunsets!

Svea was always on a lookout for wildlife with her beloved binoculars.

We saw a bald eagle.

And since we were there over the 4th, we celebrated our nation's freedom with sparklers.

Svea was simultaneously thrilled and apprehensive.

She was comfortable with the sparklers and I think she was wowed that we let her do something so grown-up :)

Another beautiful sunset.

Swimming happened often. Hayward is currently suffering from lack of rain, and the lake is so shallow my folks haven't even put their pier in. We walked out at least 40 feet and the water never came over my shins! It was sandy, shallow and warm - perfect for Svea to play in.

And she loved being goofy in the water.

She is really just a big funny goof.

We had a great time!

Lake Vermilion photorama

Here's the best of the rest from Lake Vermilion earlier this summer.

Nate spent a lot of time out in the kayak with the kids. I was kind of envying all the time he was out on the water until he and Viggo came back from one trip and told me they had been paddling close to shore and a nest of wolf spiders fell on them and into the kayak. After hearing about that I wasn't exactly eager to go out there myself. I don't like spiders and spiders don't like me. It's kind of a mutual thing.

Viggo and Svea picked thousands of tiny wild blueberries.

Viggo spent hours crayfishing. Most of the crayfish went into bait buckets, where they met an untimely death.

Riding the 4-wheeler was, of course, a major highlight for all the boys.

We had a wonderful time seeing family members we hadn't connected with in quite a while. Viggo loved spending time with his cousins, who were really just fun, instant friends.

A robin abandoned her nest, so we got a closer look. Svea kept thinking the mommy would come back.

Coffee on the porch with Grandpa Zeke in the morning has become a major tradition that can't be missed! (Viggo's coffee is "milk coffee": 90% milk, 10% coffee. Svea had herbal tea.)

Just looking at this picture affirms to me that someday Svea will be so much taller than I will. She's got long legs just like her dad and grandpa.

Lois baked amazing bread. My favorite question: "I was thinking about making some sticky buns. Does anybody want some?" Are you kidding me? Yes please!

Viggo learned some paddling basics.

While Nate was up with us, Elin remained glued to his side as much as possible.

Svea and I decided a tiny gnome lived under here.

Bedtime stories with Grandma on the porch.

Good night.

Vince Shute's Bears

While we were up at Lake Vermilion we drove over to Orr, Minnesota to see bears.

Orr maybe you've heard about Vince Shute's Wildlife Sanctuary already? :)

On our way there, Viggo guessed we would see 30 bears and I think that was pretty accurate! It was incredible to see so many bears.

You drive into the woods and then a big yellow bus takes you deeper into the woods. Svea's first ride on a school bus! She was so excited. The bus pulls up to a platform and you walk up a handful of steps and then . . . you see bears.

People from all over the world come to volunteer at the sanctuary and visit the bears.

Vince Shute was a logger who killed many, many bears trying to defend his logging camp.

Bears came into his camp and would raid the kitchen and other cabins looking for food.

Eventually Vince decided to try feeding the bears instead of killing them. He set food out and the bears gravitated toward that and left the camp kitchen alone.

And then word got out in the bear community and more and more bears came to eat at Vince's. They kept coming . . . and Vince kept feeding them.

Vince Shute has since passed away, but his logging camp now exists as a bear sanctuary. As guests there, we were told that bears are "annoying, dangerous pests" and to "never establish such a bad habit as Vince Shute did".

I promise I will never, ever do that. Although Viggo looked tempted . . .

Label happy

It certainly has been useful for packing. I've put Viggo to work making labels.

And then Viggo started having fun with it.

We've had a good time labeling things that don't necessarily need to be labeled.