This past weekend, the Zielskes took a somewhat spur of the moment trip up to our family cabin in Lake Shore Village, just outside of Nisswa, Minn. Dan's grandparents lived in this quaint little house on Gull Lake for years, and Dan has as many years of fond summer memories spent here.
I didn't grow up on lakes. I also didn't grow up going to Northern Minnesota. And I didn't grow up doing anything remotely woodsy either. I stayed indoors with my sweet mother, where we just avoided insects and sleeping near nature of any sort.
Many weekends that Dan heads up north, I stay home. It's not that I don't like my relatives. I do. I adore them. They are the most amazing family you could ever hope to marry into. But I'm one of those sorts who avoids crowds whenever possible, and on major holiday weekends, you never know if there's a bed for your head, and for me that's a bit of a stressor.
But this past weekend, Dan's sister Debbie was headed up with my cute nephew Nick, and his girlfriend, and said, "Cathy, it's going to be quiet weekend…why don't you come up?"
Combine that with the forecasted highs of lower 70s and no humidity? It was a no brainer.
And it was the nicest weekend I've had in a long time.
We played games at night, like Mad Gab and Balderdash. Notice the intense concentration of the teams on boys versus girls:
(Yes, Cole finds he plays better while wearing a helmut. One can never be too cautious!)
We admired Great Grandma Boeder's massive costume jewelry collection:
We went into Nisswa for pizza at Raffertys, some general shop browsing and a round of mini golf at Pirate's Cove. And, Dan channeled his inner Bret Michaels:
Despite the unseasonably cool weather, there was still time for outdoor fun:
Even I got into the nature spirit by taking my coffee on the deck.
And we did some good old fashioned bonding:
And one of the best parts about going up north? Men doing dishes.
Note to self: we need to get away more often. It's good for the collective souls to get away from city life. I'm certain I grow mentally with every trip up there. I think I can prove it by the fact that I only Tweeted two or three times.
That's what I call being in touch with Nature.
