An Un-Official End to Summer

Friday, September 2

Labor Day weekend – the unofficial end of summer. * sigh *

It's been almost two weeks since we were up here last. Rob mowed most of the grass when we first got up here. I unpacked and cleaned up a bit inside the cabin. We have special guests this weekend, too – Rob's parents!!!

Brendan went out for a tube ride. I got the pontoon warmed up; Keenan and I met them out on the lake. By the time we got out there, the tube was empty, and Brendan was riding on the Waverunner. Brendan bounced out of the tube – Rob says Brendan went up at least 5 feet out of the water. Unfortunately, he landed head first into the water, giving him a bit of a headache, and ending his tube ride.

Gave Rob's parents a tour of the cabin when they arrived, then headed out for a pontoon ride. The boys went swimming, too. Today was supposed to be the warmest day of the weekend.

Rob and I went out for a waterski run. I had a pretty good run. Rob, unfortunately, had to miss out on his ski run. I, somehow, ran over the ski rope with the Waverunner. Ugh!!! I was being careful, too. Running over the ski rope meant the Waverunner was no longer running, and we had to find a way to get us and the Waverunner back to the cabin. Rob swam and pushed the Waverunner from the water; I paddled with a ski to the nearest shoreline. I started walking back to the cabin (I figure about a 2-mile walk); Rob started paddling across the lake. Barefoot running??? I did that!!! I was “rescued” from my walk home about a 1/2-mile from the cabin. Thank goodness, too … I couldn't run barefoot on our stretch of dirt road, and it wasn't very fun walking on, either. Someone finally helped Rob out on the lake – giving him a ride back to our dock, to which he took the pontoon out to tow the Waverunner back in. We cut the ski rope, to release the tension, and decided to wait until we pull it out to take a closer look at it. Guess who'll be putting a new ski rope on their Christmas list this year!

Got cleaned up, ate dinner, and chilled for the rest of the evening. Played some cards (Setback) with Rob's parents, while the boys watched Tom & Jerry.

Saturday, September 3

The Waverunner is officially out of the lake for the season.  I tied it up to the pontoon and towed it to the boat launch;  thank goodness it wasn't too difficult for Rob to get the ski rope out/untangled!!!  I hauled the Waverunner into Dorset in the afternoon; showed up at the service shop at 2:30, but the place had closed at 2:00.  BUT, the owner was still there!!!  We talked about a few things....pulling out the pontoon and having it serviced, servicing the waverunner, cost of pulling out the dock, etc.  I was worried about having the waverunner serviced, but not being able to pick it up for a month -- NO PROBLEM!!!  On the work order, he just put on there to have it completed by October 1; that way it can get done when there's time, or if there are other jobs with a higher priority.  AND, there's no additional cost!  Small town business is quite different than what I'm used to here in the cities!!!

All of us went into Park Rapids.  Rob promised the boys a trip to Cuzzins Candy Store, and now we know Labor Day weekend is the best time to go because the candy is ON SALE -- most of it is HALF-OFF; some of their more specialty-type candies aren't quite half-off, but they're still marked down.  My MIL and I walked through a few of the shops along Main Street.  I was hoping to pick up a couple of "Angry Birds" shirts for the boys, but I didn't see them this time.  My deal of the day, however, was a tea kettle that I picked up at the thrift store.

On my way back from Dorset, I stopped at a few garage sales.  Found a few books for the boys, including a riddle book and a pack of Brain Quest questions for Brendan.

Minnesota Gophers played at USC.  I listened to some of the game on the radio (while I was out driving to Dorset, and garage saling).  Stopped in at the Iron Horse Bar & Grill in Nevis to catch a bit of the game and drink a beer.  It was a tough first half, seeing them down 19-3 at halftime.  When I saw the final score (17-19) Sunday morning, I was happy to see that they weren't totally blown away, that maybe they played a little harder in the second half (which I didn't get to hear due to poor radio reception back at the cabin).

Sunday, September 4

When my in-laws heard there was a Hardee's in the area, they wanted to take the boys there for breakfast.  So, I drove them to the other "big" town in the area -- Walker, which is to the east of us (Park Rapids is to the west).  We had breakfast at Hardee's; it was okay, but I still prefer McDonald's for breakfast.  Played at the Walker City Beach for a little bit, but it was a bit chilly and the breeze was cool.  Then had to drive all the way over to the WalMart in Park Rapids because I forgot to pick-up the pictures I ordered for my MIL.  The downfall of forgetting things....the time and miles added on for more than one trip.  On the bright side, I took a different route on the way back to the cabin.

Rob and Brendan took Grandma & Grandpa into Nevis for some disc golf.  It's only a 5-hole course; they played through it 4 times!!!  Keenan didn't want to go, so he & I stayed back at the cabin.

Our neighbors came over for some wine and chit chat.  They've had their cabin for almost 15 years.  It was very nice visiting with them.  I think some good times will be shared with them as time goes on.

Monday, September 5

Is it really Labor Day already?  Do we have to go back to the cities now???  We're not really ready to say 'good-bye' to the cabin just yet.

Played a game of Skip-Bo with Rob's parents before they hit the road.  They left at 8:00 am, and had a long drive ahead of them.  They were planning to stop somewhere in the UP (Upper Peninsula), but the e-mail I received from my FIL said they drove straight through -- motel prices weren't cheap enough.  Oy!!!  What a drive for them!!!

We took some time to clean up the cabin, and pack things up.  Drove two vehicles home, as the Nissan has spent the past two months up at the cabin.

The most amazing thing to me, however, on this day, is that Brendan spent the whole rest of the day, from the time we got home at 2:30 until we called him in at 7:45, playing outside with the neighbors.