Our Sweet Little Life: Up North

Check it out...the Mississippi River!

When I think back to my childhood summers, inevitably I end up reminiscing about the lake. How Minnesota is that?! Some of my earliest memories are from the lake, especially Grace Lake. Showing my grandma and great aunts how I could "swim", laying on my stomach on the beach kicking my legs...the only part of my body in the water. Walking to the resort lodge to buy fudgesicles with my Grandma Shirley and cousin Tricia. I know these are early memories because my family stopped their annual visits to Grace Lake when I was only 3 or 4.

Of course, Grace Lake wasn't the only "lake vacay" in my childhood. My aunt and uncle have lived on Lake Platagenet for well over 20 years and my great aunt has owned a cabin on Big Wolf since my mom was a little girl. We also have family on Lake Bemidji. And with sojourns to these respective summer havens came visits to Bemidji, the closest little-big town Up North.

I have realized that as Libby grows, I want her to have the same experiences. To enjoy summer trips to Bemidji and its numerous surrounding lakes...to get to know the extended family she has up there and to make memories of and with them. We visit a few times a year since most of my dad's family lives up there but our visits always seem to happen in the Spring or Fall. Never in the summer.

So when I realized I had a full week off, with no meetings or appointments or obligations, I decided that I was taking Libby Up North to spend a little part of our summer the right way. At the lake.

Five glorious days spent hanging in and around Bemidji. While we didn't spend a lot of time swimming or out on a boat, we did get to catch up with friends and family, see and do lots, and get in some much needed R&R. And we made lots of memories. It was just about perfect.

My camera was kind of forgotten the first couple of days we were there. Which means there are no photos of Dave's Pizza, our visit to Roy Lake where this mama held on for dear life (and had a blast) on top of a tube being yanked behind a too-fast jet ski, and Libby's very first pony ride. Yep, somehow Miss Mary May got Libby to not only climb on top of Daisy, my cousin Jessie's pony, but to give her a kiss before we left. And I have no proof of it beside mama pride. P.S. Libby now refers to her as "MY pony Day-zee." After the pony adventure, my camera went EVERYWHERE with us.

This is some of what it captured:

Coloring time with Aunt Sue.

Getting together with Courtney and her mom Stacey, aka my freshman college roommate.

Helping Grandma Flossie get the mail.

Getting attacked by Uncle Bill's shadow monster.

Libby was fascinated by Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Every time we'd drive by it (which happened quite often, since it's smack dab in the middle of town) she'd shout from her car seat "Look a big blue cow!"

But the highlight of her trip came the day we left. Not gonna lie, it was probably the highlight of mine too because this was one of my favorite places when I was little. I honestly was shocked to hear that Paul Bunyan Animal Land was still around and operating, and nothing was going to stop me from taking Miss E after that. Who knew getting to feed the animals would be so delightful? She fed a bear, got her ice cream cone of corn stolen by a deer, got her hand muddy courtesy of a big, and had her hand inside the lips of a camel...apparently that tickles. A lot.