Category Archives: Family

Weekend Recap (the best kind)

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Memorial Day weekend at Pelican Lake 2012!

Several weeks ago when Jon and I realized we hadn’t been home in almost six months, we looked for and found some perfect flights for the weekend over Memorial Day.  We don’t typically go home to the lake that early in the year (brrrrr) but he was beginning to see how homesick I was getting and we had high hopes for the weather.

Minnesota, like Colorado, had an incredibly mild winter so we decided we would take the risk.  He told me we would wait and see what the weather did and if it looked nasty we’d cancel our flights and re-use the fares at a later time.  I told him he could enjoy a nice weekend alone in Denver because I was going even if I had to walk.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who won that battle and last Thursday we packed all of our winter/spring/summer clothes as we prepared to visit Minnesota, no matter the weather.

What I realized about Memorial weekend is that there are many things that need to get done with it being the ‘first’ main weekend at the lakes.  Luckily for us we got there early on Friday and the weather was average so we didn’t feel so bad dedicating our time to getting everything all set up!

One of the main things to be done was to move the boat lifts out further from shore due to the water being so low this spring.  Have to have lifts in order to have boats!  All the boys were thrilled to jump into the lake for some manual labor.

A shot and a beer to numb the pain : )

Slingin’ some boulders before moving the lift.  You know, normal stuff.

Nice job looking on the bright side!

Way to use team work!

Excellent use of the ‘if looks could kill’ face!

Great delegating!

Way to try and look busy!

Nice job looking warm, dry and happy!

They eventually got it moved, grabbed the rest of the Jameson and hit the sauna.

When the weather is sunny and beautiful at the cabin, life is simple.  Boats, beer, sand bar, tubing and skiing.  On. The. Lake.  At all times.

When it’s significantly chillier, cloudy, rainy and windy – it’s time to get creative.  Apparently our version of creativity is competing with one another.

Heidi and I had a ‘who can find the largest stick’ contest.

Livi and I raced everywhere we went.

Chad and Megan whooped our butts and took all our money at a dice game.

There was a shooting contest, dirt bike races, a beer pong contest, and a Zorbaz dance off.

I don’t have photo’s of all of them (lucky you) but here are a few (50).Larson for the win!

And now…onto the MAIN EVENT!

Jon, read us the rules…

“All ages can play, 21 and up can/must drink beer, may the best man win.”

Due to the delicate nature of having minors playing, we had only water in the cups and those of us legal held our own beers separately.  This game was more for sport than it was drinking.  I can’t say the same of the other more ‘late night’ games.

Yes, I realize he doesn’t look legal.  Sadly, that just means we’re old and don’t know what 21 looks like anymore.

Jon and I made it a couple rounds…nothing to sneeze at.

A Brandt, Kinkade and Hendrickson.  Family : )

Ty’s got a lot at stake for at this point he’s on the verge of losing to his 13 year old little brother!

The eventual 2nd place team!The 13 year old “Beer Pong Champ” aka “Juice Box Champ”  Beginners luck some say but I credit it to his wicked victory dance skills — the T-rex.

It was a rainy Saturday, but we made the most of it.  I was so happy ‘my side’ of the family came out.  My parents were actually celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary that day!Please pardon the lovely garage decor.

Two of my brothers had to work : (  Luckily Greyson still made it out!

Along with my family came Miss Livi of course and she LOVES all the action at that lake.  She was certainly a busy girl this weekend.

Let’s play ‘Two Words’ for these upcoming random shots shall we?

Tooth Less

Crystal ClearEvery NightAirplane Ride

Airplane Ride?Sisterly LoveSisterly love?

Tiny Babies
Doing WorkVery ScientificMama BearParty StartersDock ViewGood Boy
No ThanksSpeed DemonGathering PlaceJungle Gym?Manly MenCousin CooporationLake CeilingOnly ColePure HappinessNew BabyPelican Lake

Goof BallSir SamuelLittle RascalBush BudsBest InventionFamily Overload?Lake FoodQuietly ContentThe following are some photo’s I took of Livi in the most beautiful evening light imaginable.

This was Jon and my first trip back to the cabin as ‘married people’.

I guess I hadn’t really thought about it beforehand.

I didn’t really think about it right when we got there either.

But slowly, throughout the weekend, I began to realize that this is my family.  All the people in all the photos above.

I started spending time at the Hendrickson cabin when I was 19.  Afraid to get out of the car and see this boy who I had met and meet his family.  T.J. was around 7 years old.  Livi hadn’t even been born yet.

I’ve been coming to the cabin every year for almost 10 years (yikes!).

Now I’m family.  It does feel different.  It feels really good actually.  Jon and I met and fell in love there and I feel very fortunate that we get to return at least once a year and be reminded of that and of those feelings.  It’s the best part of being there…being there with him.  It’s like a recharge for us and our relationship and now marriage.  I love it there, I always have, and just like every time before it was a weekend and time very very well spent.

Weekend Recap

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Here is a long overdue weekend recap from when my Aunt Megan, Uncle Chad, Madigan, Apple and Fern Brandt visited us on their way to Arizona!

Finally free from the car!!!!!

We succeeded in scarring Marlo for life that weekend.  After she saw the dogs had arrived, she spent the rest of their visit refusing food, water and any attention.  Her military like tactics included hiding out in the bathtub or being perched on the highest shelf in the closet wide awake 24 hours a day.

Turns out Megan and Chad were hauling very precious cargo aside from the dogs.  Our favorite beer that you can only get up north!

While the boys went golfing, all the girls loaded up for some shopping and park time.Trying to get the ducks!

“Look at me mom look at me!”

Madigan large and in charge.

Seeesters.After a long day outside we dropped off the pups and headed to the Rio patio for some locally famous margs.

After food we headed back to our place for some beer, cards and tired puppies.

It’s always fun to have guests but it’s not everyday we get four legged visitors!  The 48 hours they were here wasn’t long enough (it never is) but Marlo may have starved herself to death in protest if they’d stayed any longer.  We learned that we are correct in thinking we need a yard before we get a dog and that Marlo will need intensive therapy when that day comes.

Hope they come back and visit soon!

Firsts.

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Being recently married I have found myself trying to document our many ‘firsts’ together as a wedded couple.  First morning as husband and wife turns into first coffee as husband and wife which spirals into first car ride, target trip, lunch, Tuesday, October, etc.  I’m not sentimental/crazy enough to photograph and mentally file away each and every one of these firsts, but it’s been fun to take a step back and notice the veil of newness that’s been cast over our lives.  Our daily life from the outside looking in probably doesn’t appear that different, and most days it doesn’t feel that different – but that ‘newness’ is there all the time.  It’s funny to every once and awhile look up at Jon over some mundane task and think ‘this will be the only ‘first time as husband and wife’ loading the dishwasher.  It takes me by surprise occasionally, and I even get a little bit sad when I acknowledge that these firsts only happen once and that tomorrow it’ll just be an ordinary task.

One of the biggest firsts to happen so far was a double whammy.  This Christmas was both our first as a married couple and first in Denver away from our families. It was surprisingly lovely.  Marlo thoroughly enjoyed the tree, specifically the cord for the lights.  In discovering her love for chewing cords she has successfully ruined 2 pairs of headphones, two of my laptop cords, and the entire top half of our once nicely lit Christmas tree.

To curb Marlo’s boredom and aid in our laziness I created an ingenious toy.

It’s curly ribbon hanging from a vent in our ceiling with some crumpled up tissue paper tied on the bottom that has another string of ribbon running to the couch where Jon can yank on it.  Genius.

Merry Christmas Marlo : )

Christmas Eve night we had dinner reservations at a local Italian restaurant and one of our favorite cozy spots, but before heading there we went downtown to get out of the house, look at some beautiful lights, and grab a cocktail.

There was a wonderful band playing that night and it wasn’t until they did an acoustic rendition of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ that I broke down in homesick tears at the bar.  Poor Jon you say?  Poor bartender.

My breakdown quickly dissipated and shortly thereafter we headed home to Skype with the Hendrickson family and open gifts. It was fun.  We were spoiled.  Which was also fun!  I got some Anthro dishes I’d been pining over, an adorable first married christmas ornament, and some bath necessities from Restoration Hardware – Jon got what is currently one of my favorite sweaters he owns from his favorite store in the world, Len Druskin.

Christmas morning Jon and I woke up early to give our gifts to the other and eventually got Skype up and running on my christmas gift from him – a new iMac!

It was fantastic to have the technology that allowed us to ‘be’ with our families from the comfort of our own home.  It truly made all the difference in the world.  That weekend was a really great way to cap off what had already been a spectacular year for us. Just Jon, myself and our cat/dog Marlo in what will go down as one of my favorite firsts.  Speaking of my favorite firsts – a parting gift for you.  A HILARIOUS video of a couple sharing one of the most important firsts in life on their wedding day.  Not that.  Get your head outta the gutter.