Up north for Dad's birthday

The very best way to celebrate my dad's birthday - even if it's a belated celebration - is to head up north toward Mille Lacs Lake, about two hours north of the Twin Cities. That's where you'll find the campground that houses the RV that accompanied my family for many annual road trips in my childhood. Before we started celebrating Dad's birthday with a trip up north, I hadn't been back to the campground in many years. I am happy and grateful we've turned this annual weekend into a new tradition.

From the archives:
2012: Leisure and Leisure
2013: Celebrating Dad's birthday

One earlier trip coincided with Memorial Day weekend, an especially bustling few days at the campground as people set up for the summer. This year, earlier in the week, the weekend forecast had called for a total washout, and I think that kept the campground quiet, even though the forecast improved as the weekend approached. It turned out to be gorgeous: lots of sun and puffy clouds and 65-70 degrees both days.

Josh, Wish and I carpooled with my brother and sister (it was a full car) and arrived by about 2 p.m. on Saturday. We immediately settled down and grabbed seats at the picnic table and in camping chairs and the hammock. Mom brought out a batch of homemade playdough because it was such a hit last year, and my dad covertly whipped up his trademark Babar the Elephant during one of my mom's stories. And then Wish tried to eat playdough that had been shaped into a carrot and then did eat playdough shaped like a mushroom. The rest of us focused on Mom's dip and Brother's salsa. I brought mojito fruit salad and that made appearances throughout the weekend, too.

The hammock was rarely empty. For example:

The view looking up from the hammock helps explain its popularity:

But the entire site is so peaceful and relaxing, whether you're in the hammock, the gazebo, or lounging on the ground:

Dad grilled steaks for dinner, and then we celebrated his birthday, as tradition calls for, with Mom's lemon meringue pie.

While Mom was setting up the birthday candles, my job was to prepare the picnic table and my camera for our timed photo. Not too long ago, Mom and I figured out the beauty of setting a timer on our cameras to get everyone into a picture, and as you can tell, we now employ that practice frequently, especially at birthday celebrations.

My brother and dad were standing in to help me find the right height for our cameras (I think the final result was two coolers and one magazine stacked on a small table), but really, I was taking pictures of them as they were goofing around.

And then we sang to my dad and tried a few photos. I am sharing all three from my camera because we got surprisingly different results from each effort. (Also, I have no idea what's happening in the second photo, but I love it.)

Mom and Josh chopped up some wood for the campfire. I think Dad is supervising that process in this picture, looking down the stairs toward the fire pit.



On Saturday night, as the campfire dwindled, Phil and Josh pulled the TV out of the RV and into the gazebo, and the six of us lined up our chairs in theater-style seating and finally watched our "Airplane!" DVD, which was a Christmas gift (and family favorite) that we've been meaning to watch together ever since.

On Sunday, Mom made pancakes for breakfast and then Dad took us out for boat rides on Mille Lacs Lake. Dad grilled hamburgers when we got back and then we wrapped up the weekend with his famous Monster Malts. Truly: this was a big treat during my childhood and will always be one of my favorite desserts.

My camera's battery had faded by lunchtime on Sunday, and I left it on the picnic table and used my phone's camera for backup. When I uploaded my photos back at home, I found the following selfies (taken without my knowledge with the last of the battery power) and burst out laughing:

I think my dad enjoyed the birthday celebration as much as the rest of us did. I hope so!

Sunday evening

We're back in St. Paul and unpacking from our annual trip up north with my family to celebrate my dad's birthday. There were downpours in the Twin Cities yesterday morning, but the sun was shining by the time we got to our destination, and we were able to spend the better part of Saturday and Sunday outside: at a picnic table, in a gazebo and in a hammock, and on the water.

We got back late this afternoon and Wish has been basically in this position ever since (still wearing his camping bandana, by the way):

I loved our time together this weekend (and will tell you more about it soon).

Door to the secret garden

Hayride 2014

For the last several years, my extended family on my mom's side has congregated at my grandma's house on the first Sunday in June for what we call The Hayride. (I use that language because, as I wrote about in last year's recap, there's not actually hay involved.) It has become a fun tradition: we all grill and eat lunch, and afterward, we hop on a trailer and sit down on benches we've piled on the trailer, and then my uncle pulls the trailer around the farm and nearby woods with his tractor.

(Not this tractor, though, just to be clear.)

Seeing muddy terrain isn't necessarily uncommon on our hayride, but after several inches of rain fell in the 24 hours leading up to the event, my uncle had to modify the route to include more dirt roads and fewer trails in the woods. Whether the hayride would even occur was actually up in the air through lunchtime, but after we ate, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful, warm afternoon. I am so glad we were able to go!

I like this lookout point on my grandma's farm. This is when the clouds started to backtrack.

The farmland and trees were unbelievably green - in some places, practically emerald green.

Enjoying the trip:

I loved leaning back, relaxing, and watching the big horizon, puffy clouds and rich blue sky. I love our home in the city, but a big horizon is something special.

This looks like Minnesota summer to me.

Poppies

I wrote last week that once the lilac blooms peaked, the peonies were next.

I'm still waiting for the peonies - they'll be blooming soon - but neck and neck with those flowers, it turns out, are the poppies.

Y'all might know I love myself some poppies. My wedding bouquet included them, thanks to my mom, and that red-orange color showed up often around our wedding. I'm so drawn to that vibrant color that I was surprised, when I was looking in the big poppy patch in my grandma's garden on Sunday, to be just as captivated by the flowers before they bloomed. (The raindrops might have helped.)

I really wish I could see that poppy patch in full bloom. Instead, I'll be keeping an eye out for these flowers closer to home.