Summer Vacation Recap--Week 7

Sunday, July 8--Mylie turned 16 months today and we just can't believe everything she's doing these days.  I got up and ran 3 miles in the morning and Kelsey, Eric and Rooney arrived at the "Okoboji House."  We spent a beautiful afternoon on the boat.  Even Brandon got in the water, which was a shock (and an awe!) for just about everyone.  We'll get him to be a "lake man" yet!

Monday, July 9--Most mornings when we are up at the lake consist of sitting on the deck.  Some people drink coffee, some people check their email, some kids sweep the deck or play in the kiddie pool, but all in all it's people doing their own thing in the midst of company.  I "slacked" a little and only ran 2 miles :)  We had decided to take the girls to Arnold's Park Amusement Park today because we figured it would be quieter than on the weekend.  They had a fun time as usual, though they are a little too big for the kiddie rides, but about an inch short for some one the bigger rides.  Thankfully they appeased their baby sister and went on the kiddie rides with her.

 Afternoon naps were in order so it was pretty quiet around the house.  We went to the Fisherman's Wharf for supper and then Brandon and Uncle C (my brother, Cole) took Myah and Maysen back to Arnold's Park for a few more rides since we had paid for the day pass/wristband.

Tuesday, July 10--Myah and Maysen have never been miniature golfing so we decided today was the day.  We ventured to Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf in Arnold's Park.  They weren't great at it (obviously, since they had never done it before) and it was nearly impossible to actually play because of "The Bear" (Mylie) attacking the balls.  It was still fun.

 The five of us and my dad walked into Arnold's Park for lunch (corn dogs and pork tenderloins) and then headed back to the cabin.  Mylie was more than ready for a nap so Brandon stayed back with her while the rest of us went on the boat.  She was not a happy camper when she awoke because she was well aware of where the rest of us were, and she felt as if she was getting "jipped!"  We ordered supper from Tweeters and brought it back to the cabin to eat while we watched "America's Got Talent."  Brandon's parents came up around 8:00 to bring our "new" van.  We decided to trade in our blue van for one that Brandon's dad had on his lot.  It has more miles than our other van, but it has power doors, rear air, and stow-n-go, which are some options that we are really needing/wanting right now for the stage(s) our family is in.  We hope to get something newer in the next 2-3 years, but this is perfect for right now!

Wednesday, July 11--We spent the morning on the deck and had Eric try to get a picture of the 5 of us in our Okoboji shirts.  I bought the girls new, matching shirts since they didn't have any Okoboji gear that fits them right now.  We bought a size bigger than usual so that they will fit them next summer, too, if not longer.  We got on the boat early and headed to East Lake to the Ritz for lunch.

   Mylie fell asleep on the way there so I stayed on the boat with her and had them bring my lunch down to the boat.....talk about the life of leisure!  We stayed on the lake until about 3:15 so it was a lot of sun and fun.  The girls will be plenty tired!  Brandon headed back to Ames to tend to some open gyms, but the girls and I are hanging around for a few more days.  One of the things  I have always wanted to do is to go ParaSailing (a bucket list sort of item).......Kelsey, Eric, and I went tonight at 7:00.

 Uncle C watched the girls (who were worn out anyway).  It was so much fun......seriously something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember!

Thursday, July 12--This was technically a "race week" for me since I'm running a 5K on Saturday so I took Mylie out for a 3 mile walk in the stroller instead of running.  She enjoyed encountering the other morning walkers/bikers/joggers and they thought she was pretty cute.  She slept the second half of the walk, which was nice since we wanted to make the most of our last full day in 'boji.  We went to Minerva's (at ArrowWood Hotel) for lunch and then made a stop to Goodies to get a stash of chocolates to take home and savor for the next week (I hope it lasts that long!).  Unfortunately, it was kind of an overcast day and not really good for the boat.  We hung around the cabin getting things tidied up since we needed to leave the next day.  We watched the movie "We Bought a Zoo" before going to bed.


Friday, July 13--I spent the morning washing towels and sheets and gathering up all of our belongings.  We left Okoboji around noon, but not without a final drive through Hey, Good Cookies to grab some lunch.  Upon arriving in Lake Mills (the next stop of the tour), I got my packet for the 5K Saturday morning and I also went up to my dad's store to pick out some tile for a backsplash in my kitchen.  My mom's side relatives from Norway were in the United States (more specifically, Iowa) for a few days so we joined them for supper at the Grand Cafe in Lake Mills.  It had been 4 years since they've been to visit and my girls had a great time playing Caroline and Maya Helena.

 After the girls went to bed, I went over to my friend, Jill's, house for a bonfire.  It had been way too long since I'd had a good chat with her.

Saturday, July 14--Kelsey, Eric, and I got up and did the July Jubilee 5K.  My time wasn't too bad (31 min 20 sec) and it sure felt good to burn some good calories after eating all of that food while in 'boji!  Of course, we went to the parade and the girls collected to gallon sized ziploc bags of candy.....yikes! 

After a quick lunch, the girls and I loaded up and headed back to Ames.  They were really missing their daddy since they hadn't seen him since Wednesday, but he wasn't going to be in Ames either, unfortunately.  He went to Minneapolis with his friends Kevin and Andrew to a Twins game and had a guys weekend.  He doesn't do that very often so it was good for him to do something like that.