Wild Encounters with The Lakins

My BFF's stepdaughter lives in England.  We love her.  We miss her.  We only see her once a year.  And now that Anna & Paul went and moved to Chi-town, we are down to one day a year.  Abbey stole our hearts before we even met her.  There's just something magical about her.  That was even more evident today.  

 We met the Lakin Crew in Minocqua at our favorite Wildlife Park.  The moment we walked in, the goats were on top of us.  That's nothing to feel special about, though.  The goats are on top of everything, including the barnyard tortoise.  This kid hopped on the back of the tortoise as it slowly passed by.  About 5 feet later, the kid jumped off, apparently reaching his final destination.  Abbey loved the goats, until we showed her the bunny cage.

Abbey, Mia, Anna & Charlie all went in the bunny cage.  They only allow a few people in at a time.  Don't want to trample those poor little fuzzballs.  You have to be quick getting in and out.  While Evan was debating whether or not to enter, a goat pushed past him and waltzed right in.  Abbey loved holding the bunnies.  She probably stayed in the cage the longest.  She was incredibly gentle with them.  Anna helped Charlie handle the bunnies.  Mia has been slightly obsessed with bunnies since our 8 year old neighbor (a.k.a. Mia's new best friend) has two bunnies that she occasionally brings over.  She wants to hold every fuzzy thing she sees, whether it's alive or not.  She is very gentle, but often she nearly chokes the animal in her attempts to hold and love it.

 This fawn, however, is not holding size.  Despite it's intense interest in her, she had very little interest in it.  She didn't really like it getting so close to her.  I guess I can't blame her.  It's mouth is lined up with her jug and her depth of knowledge on the behaviors of deer still has many holes.  I tried to talk her into giving it a kiss.  She was just about to, but reconsidered, turned and walked away.

 I guess she'd much rather get a kiss from Charlie.  He's a little rough with his love, but at least she knows what to expect.

 Once again, the Budgies Buddies Encounter did not disappoint.  If you ever go here, spend the dollar on a stick of seed.  It is well worth it.

 Mia was a little nervous about all the birds at first.  They are rather loud.  They usually don't fly near you unless you are holding out a seed stick.

 Of course many of us were holding sticks and of course Mia would be the one that has a bird land on her head.  She got over it quickly and soon was holding out her own stick for the birds.

 

Jim ended up with one on his shoulder.  They are so light, he didn't even realize it until I pointed it out.  He very carefully turned the camera around and shot this photo right before it flew away.

 Owen decided this was his bird.  If other birds tried to land on his stick, he would shake them off.  If this bird tried to fly away, he'd go after it.  Here he's trying to coax it off Anna's back and onto his stick.

Meanwhile, Abbey was intent on getting a budgy to eat out of her hand.  When she couldn't convince the bird by merely holding out her hand full of seed, she would just grab ahold of the bird.  She is such a bold and brave girl for her age.  Did I mention how much we love her?  And miss her?

 Two proud budgy handlers.  Owen with his budgy and Abbey with a budgy eating from her hand.  Time to move on.

 It was getting close to lunch and nap time.  The toddlers were getting restless.  This is how Paul and Anna lull Charlie to sleep.  LOL

 

We made one quick loop around the rest of the zoo, stopping briefly to see the snapping turtles.  Charlie grabbed a rye crisp from Owen.  I don't think either Owen or Abbey thought he would do what he was about to do...

  

But he did.  Evan was stunned.  Owen and Abbey were in a humored disbelief.  Anna & Paul, who were within steps of stopping the act, shook their heads at their failure to intuit the act.  Knowing Charlie, it should be obvious.  We fed the goats.  We fed the deer.  We fed the birds.  Now we feed the turtles.  He's a smart kid.  One second later, he has already moved on.  As everyone else stands in momentary flabbergast, he's wondering when do we feed the Charlie?

Toss It Here!

 When I was a kid, I loved playing frisbee with my dad.  After dinner we would head out to the field behind our house to play.  I am tall, like my dad, but basketball was not my thing, as much as he might have wished.  But frisbee?  That I could handle.  We would spread way out across the field and see how far we could throw it.  If the throw was good, the catcher would do their best to perform one of many trick catches: behind the back, between the legs, between the legs backwards, tipping it off the finger.  If the catch was bad, we would run our buts off to the other end of the field, trying to catch it anyway.  Our frisbee was black, so when the sun would set, things would get real challenging.  Eventually we would admit that we could no longer see the frisbee and head in.  We haven't played frisbee in a long time.  

I'm not sure how exactly it started off tonight.  I looked out and my Dad was tossing it around with Jim.  Then Jim was teaching Evan.  

 Owen wasn't about to be showed up by his little brother, so he jumped in the mix.  The boys both picked up on it quick.  Owen had trouble remembering to keep his thumb on top of the frisbee, but when his held it right, he could really whip it.

Evan picked up on tossing it right away, too and would run after even the most challenging throws.

Mia was preoccupied on the deck, so I decided to play too.  I was definitely out of practice, but I did catch one behind the back.

My dad and I even got Jim trying some trick shots.  I'm not sure why throwing and catching a disc is so much fun, but it always is.

Even Mia caught one!
 

 As the sun set on our last night at Alder Lake, we made one last campfire.

 

We ate one last s'more.

 

We told one last ghost story.

  Next weekend we'll be back up north.  It will be a zoo in every town as everyone scrambles to squeeze in the last bit of fun before school starts - including us.  This weekend was the quiet before the storm.  We must remember that this is the perfect weekend to come up north.

Pontooning Around

 

 Day 2 at The Lake on the weekend before Labor Day.  No boats in site.  The lake is completely still.  Kristin took Mia for an early morning kayak.  They saw a deer and fawn come down to the lake to get a drink.

No motors or jet skis to be heard.  No screams echo across the lake from visiting tourist.  The only sounds are those of the hummingbirds and dragonflies as they buzz past your head while you gently rock on the bench swing.  This is the life.

Brock and Tracy said their goodbyes last night after we had a mini birthday celebration for Kris.  The weather was a little cooler, but still perfect for boating, so we took one last tour around the chain.

Ya-ya and Mia joined us this time.

Evan came along as well.

 

But these two spies decided to stay on shore.

Manitowish Waters with the Lundberg Clan

We are back at in the Northwoods this weekend with the Lundberg clan.  My parents' neighbors let us borrow their Bennington.  Sweet!  It was evident from the moment we got up that the best weekend to go Up North is the weekend before Labor Day.  There were barely any other boats on the lake and the water was like glass.

 

The sky was blue, the clouds were fluffy white and the temperatures were perfect for a day on the lake.  Here are my aunt and uncle kicking back at the rear of the boat as we began our 3 hour tour.

My cousin's son, Bennett, and his wife, Tracy.  Sometimes Tracy and I look so much alike that my kids mistake her for me in photos - which is such a compliment to me!  I just love this photo.  It's one of my favorites from the weekend.  She is such a good mommy.  We don't get to see them nearly enough.

My cousin Kristin's beautiful daughter Greta had the ideal seat for leaning back to enjoy the ride.

As we passed into another lake on the chain, we saw a couple getting married on the shore.  Their wedding party had at least 13 attendants per side!  On our way back home, the wedding guests were all departing to the reception site via a fleet of rented pontoons.  The drivers were lined up at the dock, picking up wedding guests and then taking them to their destination.  One dock down we saw this boat waiting for the newlyweds.  What a great idea!!!

When we got back to my parents' place, we enjoyed more water sports including fishing, swimming, and kayaking.

My mom stayed back at the house during our pontoon ride while Mia napped which Jim and I really appreciated.

We didn't take another pontoon ride that night, but Mia and the other kids enjoyed playing on the docked boat.  I think Mia is still a little sleepy in this one.

 

 My dad took Gus out fishing.  Gus LOVES fishing and so does my dad.  They were gone for a really long time, but when they returned my dad said that he'd take Gus fishing anytime.  Gus doesn't like to sit still.  The pontoon ride drove him crazy.  But when he's fishing, that's a whole different story.  He's in his glory. Anyway, when we heard them coming in, we all ran down to the dock to see what they caught.

 

After he showed his fish, Gus tossed them into the lake.  Owen has been interested, of late, in this show on Animal Planet called "Hillbilly Handfishing."  When he saw Gus's fish floating in the water, he thought he'd give a hand at the sport.

Winding Down Summer Days

 After all the business with the weddings, we've been trying to keep things pretty mellow by playing at home, instead of running here and there.  

 Owen went up north for a few days to spend some one on one time with Grandma Connie.  They did a lot of fishing, some kayaking, biking and, upon Owen's request, they even went to a local high school football game which they both really enjoyed.

 They came home today and Owen headed straight to the Twins Game with Jim, Ellie and Tom.  So much for keeping things mellow.  I thought that the kids would get sick of the game within a few innings, but they had a really great time.  Owen entertained them during the lulls with his "robot" dancing.

 My dear, dear friend Nina is going back to work, so while Jim and Owen were at the Twins game, Evan, Mia & I joined the Smiths at the Children's Museum.  I had no idea that it is open late on Saturday nights.  I'm guessing this might just be for the summer because it was dead.

 There was nobody in the Habitot Room, so we were able to let Mia and Thea explore in a room designed just for them, while their brothers tore it up, throwing stuffed fuzzy "bombs" at each other and avoiding the floor where sea monsters loomed.

 Mia and Thea found the book corner to be much more safe.

Next up, the Water Works.

 

 Evan was having a hard time listening, so we had to cut things a little short, but it was fun to spend time with friends, even if it was briefly. 

Double the Wedding, Double the Fun

 Jim's twin cousins had a double wedding this weekend down in Rochester at a beautiful perennial garden.  I was really proud of us for making it in time. We even made it early enough to score decent seats near family.  Paul, however, was not so lucky.  This was the first photo I took of the day.  I took it from waaaay across the gardens.  As I watched the grooms' father scanning the country roads and Anna's concerned face, I could almost hear her saying, "But, you're almost here, right?"

 You may have remembered me telling you a story recently of a family that is always late.  Well, this would be that family and it does not bother them in the least.  How could it on a day like this, surrounded with flowers of every color, including this little Rose in white?

"Who you calling dummy*?"

Charlie and Paul made it.  They weren't even the last ones to arrive.  Tom's family tried to sneak up the driveway, but it's kind of hard to sneak up a gravel road in a ginormus diesel truck.

 As soon as everyone was seated, the twins walked in with their matching grins and the officiate. The bridesmaids and groomsmen wore different clothes, the brides had their own unique dresses, but the twins matched, as they did on the day they were born.

Sadly, both brides have lost their fathers.  The couples did a really great job of remembering them on this day by including them in the service and with a memorial outside the seating area.  Will's bride, Rachel, was escorted down the aisle by her brother.  Erin was escorted by her 5 year old son, Hank, who was too short to be seen in this photo. 

 

The ceremony began with the Apache Wedding Blessing, which Jim and I also had chosen for our wedding ceremony.  I don't think I have heard it since that day.  After the blessing and a short sermon, the officiate did vows and rings separately with each couple, staggering them for each section of the service.

 

But the completion of the service was done together and they "kissed their brides" at the same time.  (Which forced me to be quick and ready with the shot.)

Hank & Rose

I tried to get a shot of the Mia & Charlie with the flowers, but they are like magnets for chaos.  Look how Maya is tormenting Charlie by pulling on his tie like it's a leash!  That's OK because he's gotten into the habit of pinching lately.  It's good that these girls are tough.

The horsing around didn't stop with the wee ones.  Collin makes it too fun to resist.  Ellie & Owen tried a sneak attack here.

The gardens and the day itself were so beautiful that nobody wanted to leave.  Many kids found this tree irresistible for running around, hugging, hiding behind...

And when the tree gets boring, there is always gravel to play in.

The gardens were so beautiful, I wanted to get a family photo in front of them, but nobody else wanted to stand still when there was so much fun to be had.

*Dummy is what the English call a baby's pacifier.