Mid Summer Check-In

Summer was a little late in arriving, here in the Northern State.  But, ahhhh...it's here now.  And we're savoring the long days - never mind that they're getting shorter each day and the school supply lists were just published, we're not paying any attention to that.  We're soaking in the warmth of the sun and living outdoors.  Fourth of July weekend was spent at Mom and Dad's lake cabin with all the grandkids (except one, ahem...).  The mess of all those kids was beautiful - life jackets, flip-flops, beach towels, bottles of sunscreen and bug spray, foam footballs and butterfly nets, dog bowls and tackle boxes.  Katie learned a new game while out with a friend and she taught it to us.  We played many rounds of "Ricky-Ticky-Bear", with even my youngest nephew joining in and almost keeping up.

Every fourth of July, the grandkids put on a holiday pageant.  They arrange lawn chairs in rows in front of the deck for us, the audience.  Then they perform; they sing songs, perform skits, tell jokes, and end with a dance-off.  As each cousin gets older, they seem to gravitate from center stage to side stage.  My oldest neice was the "applause" sign holder this year.  There's something for everyone in this show!

Yesterday we explored the Dakota Rail Trail, a thirteen mile paved bike path near our house.  Mark is a mountain biker and he loves off-roading.  But this - nearly-zero-elevation paved path winding around the lake and through wooded sanctuaries - this is my kind of biking.  After all that biking, however, we returned home feeling guilty that Rocco hadn't been able to go...so Mark and I walked him around one of our city lakes, Calhoun, stopped at the pavillion for a glass of wine and a beer as the sun set and called it a good day.