Life on the Lake

At home on the range. For the past week and a half, Colin and I each had our own separate adventures. My family and I headed north to Cedar Rapids Lodge in Tenstrike, MN and Colin headed south to New Orleans, LA with his church's youth group to chaperon their youth gathering.

I'm sure Colin will get around to updating you on his New Orleans adventures...he's got to catch up on some sleep first! But in the mean time, I'll share a bit about Cedar Rapids.

For the past seven years, I've spent the month of July working for Steve and Pat Addler at their resort on Medicine lake in northern Minnesota. My family had always spent a week of the summer at Cedar Rapids and over the years, Steve and Pat became like a set of second parents to me.

Because this was my last summer at home, I decided not to work for the Addlers, and instead just come up as a guest with my family. I missed spending the whole month at the lake, and I really missed seeing all the friends I'd made over the years, but I thoroughly enjoyed spending the week with my family.

Prior to heading up to the lake, we were able to spend quality time with my grandparents and aunts and uncles in Minneapolis. I hadn't seen them in a while and it was so nice to catch up. After seeing my dad's family, we met up with the Cunninghams and Schreibers and headed north!

Our week spent at the lake was filled with sun, sun, and more sun! At times it felt hotter than Kansas, but a quick jump in the lake reminded us that we were far from home.

The fishing was some of the best we had ever had and we spent many nights on the boat catching Crappies, Bluegills, Sunnies, Northerns, and a Walleye or two. For one of the first years ever, we had extra fish at our annual fish fry!

Even Grace and Luke got in on the fishing. Luke was probably the most devoted fisherman of us all, and Grace thoroughly enjoyed holding worms, petting fish, and telling stories.

We also spent lots of quality time in the lodge catching up with old friends and making new ones. Our time at the lake was very enjoyable and we can't wait to return next year. Thanks Addlers for the hard work you put in to make our vacation wonderful!!!! If you'd like more information about Cedar Rapids, here's the website: http://crlodge.com/. 

On our way back home, we stopped at my Dad's Aunt and Uncle's farm to say hello. Christian and Dad enjoyed taking the 4-wheelers out for a spin, and mom and I had fun hearing lots of stories about family members.

All in all we had a wonderful vacation. None of us are quite ready to be back home, but now that we're all back home on the range, it's time to get into gear and make the most of our last few weeks of summer!