Brainerd Vacation 2014 - The Lazy Loon

This post has been a long time in the making, friends. And I only sort of apologize, because here's the thing: I took a ridiculous number of pictures. and really, it's just exhausting trying to pick which ones to use not just once (on the blog) but twice (for digi-scrapping). And as a busy working Mom with two little guys at home, I just don't have the time to do both (and seriously - my house needs attention!). So I just made the executive decision to wait to post until I finished my digi-scrapping and then I could just post the pages instead of having to get creative with all those stinkin' pictures.

We had a great week just outside Brainerd on South Long Lake. It was great to have some time to unwind, relax and spend some much-needed time together as a family in the midst of a busy season of life.

We have made the switch almost entirely to doing home rentals off vrbo.com because quite frankly, the thought of cramming all of us into a hotel room makes my eyes twitch: We tried it once, and none of us slept. We have had nothing but incredible experiences with vrbo home rentals, and The Lazy Loon was no exception!

Here is a little recap of our time there :)

Part 1

Thursday: Traveling, St. Cloud, Kendrick standing
Friday: Fishing, Relaxing, Jet Skiing

Part 2

Saturday: Rainy Morning, Relaxing, Dad, Pam and Jess arrive, Fishing, Grilling, Tubing
Sunday: Rainy Morning, Paul Bunyanland attempt, Lounging, Rafferty's
Monday: Packing up, lunch with Don and Carol, relaxing

Part 3

Tuesday: Nisswa, Ernie's on Gull
Wednesday: Lounging and relaxing
Thursday: Packing up and heading Home

Brainerd Vacation 2014: Part 3

This is the final post of a 3-part series highlighting our week on South Long Lake at The Lazy Loon near Brainerd, Minnesota in late May/early June 2014. Click here for Part 1 and click here for Part 2.

Tuesday

We started out the morning with a big breakfast, ready to explore the little town of Nisswa on Tuesday.

We had heard so much about it, and about how fun it was, but honestly, it wasn't really all that much fun for us with two little guys in tow. They did have a pretty cool park, which was nice, but other than that, Nisswa was kind of a bust for us.

However, I think it WOULD be a total blast going there with some girlfriends (or even just with Mark) and having a relaxing morning sipping a cup of coffee at the little coffee shops and browsing through the antique shoppes and other little shops. We just weren't really feeling it with two little boys in tow in little shops full of breakables and narrow aisles.

We got a great recommendation from one of the Mamas there to check out a little coffee shop/cafe a little ways down the road, that was apparently very kid-friendly, but it was an additional 15 miles away, and we just weren't feeling it, so we made our way back towards Brainerd and stopped for Lunch at Ernie's on Gull Lake on our way back.

It was a GREAT success, and we enjoyed sitting outside enjoying the gorgeous day and watching all the action on the lake. It was nice that it was a Tuesday, so it wasn't super busy there. The food was great, the service was great, and the boys weren't having meltdowns, so we were pleased :)

Afterwards, Cashel and I went to check out the docks, and then we headed back to the car, where the boys promptly passed out for a long afternoon nap. While they were napping, Mark decided to take the jet ski out fishing, and he caught an awesome northern!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BVVKXEhxiyg/VChUCXU_lNI/AAAAAAAAPBw/KJdYs3zKkBs/s840-no/2014-06-03%2B06%2BKendrick%2BExploring.jpg
To be honest, this is about the last "good" part of our vacation. After Cashel woke up, he went outside to play, and when he came in for supper, I noticed a huge bug bite on the back of his leg, and we spent most of the rest of the trip worried about him.

He was acting completely normal, and it wasn't growing in size or anything, but I stupidly posted about it on Facebook and everyone was urging me to rush him to the ER (which we didn't). We had no idea what the bite really was (we didn't find any remnants of a tick, and it didn't have the bullseye; We thought it might have been a spider, but there aren't normally any poisonous ones in our part of the country), so we were a little paranoid about letting the boys back outside for fear they might get bit by something worse.

Our neighbors were so sweet and tried to ease our fears, having seen bites like that before and saying nothing would come of it (and they were right, thankfully!)

That night, Cashel didn't sleep too well (which we found out right after we got home was because he STILL had that nasty double ear infection - poor guy!), so the next couple days were a bit of a downer. I almost took him in to a clinic the next morning to check on his bite, but then realized that he had zero symptoms, he was acting completely normal, and the bite had gone way down in size and swelling overnight. So, of course, we were a little paranoid the rest of the trip.

**************************************************************************************************

Wednesday

Wednesday felt like a total waste of a day, to be honest. With Cashel having been up in the night, we were exhausted, and with him having the bug bite, we were too paranoid to go outside anymore, for fear that even though we didn't think Cashel got bit by a tick, one of us could still. We mostly just hung out inside until the boys were going insane being cooped up inside. We realized how ridiculous we were being, and that they could just as easily get hurt inside. I didn't take many pictures this day, and I don't really recall what we did beyond trying to get the place back in order, get some laundry done, and get a few things packed up to leave the next day.

I do know that we decided to put the jet ski away, so we loaded it up, and got some McDonald's at Cashel's request.

Our sweet neighbors took us out on a nice ride on their pontoon that evening, and we finally got to see where all the Loons were hiding out on the other side of the lake. The ride ended badly, however, when Cashel started frantically trying to jump out of the boat. (Once again, poor kid with a DOUBLE ear infection we knew nothing of about. Add in the wind, and that must have hurt like a banshee!) He did fine for the first 3/4 of the ride because we were going with the wind, not into it. Thankfully, we made it back without incident.

**************************************************************************************************

Thursday

We had reached the end of our trip, and while we were sad to say goodbye to the Lazy Loon, we were also anxious to get Cashel home and to the doctor to check out both his ears and bug bite. We spent most of the morning loading our things up and getting things back in order.

The morning came early again, with Cashel up around 3am again, this time complaining about his ears. We had been so confused, as he had JUST finished an antibiotic for a double ear infection a week before the trip, but apparently it hadn't done its job properly. We snuggled a LOT this morning, and Mama had a boatload of coffee.

While Mark was getting the tube put away and the deck cleaned up a bit, he and Cashel discovered a frog, and Cashel was enamored!

We took off around noon just in time for naps, and then made a beeline home to capture the most of naptime.

We stopped in Saint Cloud for Chinese on the way home, and we made it home just in time for Cashel's doctor's appointment.

We will always think so fondly of this trip. We had so many wonderful memories together as a family, and I hope all our future family vacations are as fun and memorable as this one. :)

Brainerd Vacation 2014: Part 2

This is the second post of a 3-part series highlighting our week on South Long Lake at The Lazy Loon near Brainerd, Minnesota in late May/early June 2014. Click here for Part 1 and click here for Part 3.

Saturday

Saturday started early for Kendrick and I as we enjoyed some snuggle time, then some jumperoo time for Kendrick while Mama enjoyed a yummy cup of coffee and some journaling. It didn't take too long before Daddy and Cashel joined us, and we enjoyed some yummy Belgian waffles for breakfast :)

With it being as wet as it was, we spent the morning inside with the boys just playing, crawling around (with Kendrick), watching movies (Ratatouille) and a little Saturday morning cartoons for Cashel and really, just passing the time until Mark's Dad and family arrived shortly after noon.

The boys once again napped well for us, and when they woke up everyone had arrived and it had dried off outside from the passing storms overnight, so we hit the dock and did a little fishing. It didn't take long for Kent to catch a little rock bass, and Cashel was just intrigued, but a little scared too.

We mostly caught a lot of weeds while we were at the cabin, but I caught another little rock bass and actually TOUCHED it, which very well may be the first time I've ever actually touched a fish that hadn't already been filleted.

It was nice to have a little more flexibility with them around, not having to constantly keep my eye on Kendrick. Aunt Jess was more than happy to watch after our little guy :)

Cashel and Mark were both eager to hit the water a little more :)

Before we knew it, it was time to start supper, so I headed in to throw the teriyaki chicken on the grill, and we had some yummy chicken teriyaki sandwiches with various salads.

Kendrick tried strawberries for the first time and went a little nuts haha :)

We just sat around visiting the rest of the evening for the most part, and stayed up late talking after the boys went to bed.

***********************************************************************************************************

Sunday was an early morning for Kendrick and Cashel and I, but everyone else slept in a bit before breakfast. We enjoyed the cinnamon rolls that Dad and Pam so graciously picked up at our house on the way up the day prior and some yummy coffee.

We had initially planned to try to hit up Paul Bunyanland, and we snapped this really great picture outside of the place, but when we got in and realized it was going to cost us approximately $80 for all of us to get in, we decided it probably wasn't really worth it with the ages the kids were at. Plus, it was a pretty humid day, so it hardly seemed worth it.

We ended up just going back to the house, which, thankfully, was only about a mile from Paul Bunyanland and were thankful that we were able to get outside, as the grass and deck had dried off.

Kendrick was VERY interested in showing off his new standing skills :)

Cashel seemed far more interested in catching algae and rocks than he was in catching fish, but he did end up catching a little rock bass while I was in getting Kendrick down for his nap, even with his mildly unorthodox fishing techniques.

After Kendrick got up from his nap, I decided to take Cashel and Jess out tubing for their first time ever, while Grandpa and Grandma watched Kendrick.

Cashel just absolutely LOVED exploring, although it was unfortunate that it was SO mosquitoey out front, so we didn't spend much time out there.

We decided to go out for supper this night, but it took a long time to find a place open for supper on Sunday evening. (Or, rather, to find one of the places on the "must eats" list I had compiled.) We ended up stumbling across Rafferty's out of the blue, and boy are we glad we did! The atmosphere was fun, they had plenty of seating available, and the pizza was SO GOOD!

The rest of the night was more of the same: The boys went down to bed fairly early, and we sat around visiting and watching for the loon again :)

It was an earlier night for everyone, as we were worn out from a long day together.

***********************************************************************************************************

Monday everyone seemed to be up a little earlier, and we had more cinnamon rolls for breakfast and some had cereal. Dad, Pam and Jess were headed home that afternoon, so they were busy getting their things together and loaded up, and we were getting ourselves and the boys ready for a fun lunch date with all of us along with Mark's Great Uncle Don and Great Aunt Carol. We snapped a few photos together before taking off :)

We decided on Grizzly's, and it was a GREAT choice. Cashel did great for a little while, but then he got distracted and wanted to wander, so we took him around to check out the fish and animals lining the walls as well as the great big grizzly near the entrance.

After we finished visiting at Grizzly's, Don and Carol invited us back to their home to visit for a short while. We didn't have long to stay, as we had two ticking little time bombs on our hand, very much past their nap times. We had a nice time catching up with everyone, but it was definitely nap time by the time we got going. We had to make a quick stop at Walmart for me to pick up another phone, since mine pulled a failed trapeze stunt the day before we left. We settled in back at the cabin, although Kendrick didn't stay asleep long, so we didn't get much down time. However, we got enough time for Mark to take a nap and for me to do a little more fishing by myself.

When the boys woke up, we spent some fun time cuddling and playing in the living room before getting the grill ready for supper. We had enjoyed our time with company, but it was nice to have a little more quiet time together as a family. The boys were wiped out from being so busy the past few days and went to bed easily and early, so Mark and I stayed up, watched some TV, tidied up a bit and watched for the loon again.

Brainerd Vacation 2014: Part 1

This is the first post of a 3-part series highlighting our week on South Long Lake at The Lazy Loon near Brainerd, Minnesota in late May/early June 2014. Click here for Part 2 and click here for Part 3.

Thursday, Day 1

We loaded up the Tahoe full to the brim and luckily caught the boys' naptime on the 4 hour drive up to Brainerd.

The slept until we reached Saint Cloud, where we stopped for pizza and a little park time. We finally arrived at the cabin on South Long Lake around 6pm, not a moment too soon. We were all a little stiff, so we didn't waste any time in getting out and exploring the cabin and the lake front.

I made a quick jaunt to the store to pick up groceries for the week, especially MILKIES for Cashel. We had a horrible time getting the boys to sleep that night - they were way too excited and a little warmer than usual (the place didn't have a/c, just fans), but thankfully we did finally get them down and we crashed shortly after.

Friday, Day 2

The next morning, Kendrick and I were up early, and the coffee never tasted so good!

About an hour later, Cashel and Mark joined us, and we relaxed for a while over breakfast before heading back outside to enjoy the gorgeous morning.

While Mark and Cashel worked on their fishing skills, Kendrick and I just really enjoyed rolling around in the grass and exploring the yard.

Melt my heart - this face!!

It was truly one of the most peaceful, relaxing days. The cabin was so perfect for our little family, and Cashel just walked around like he owned the place. It was so cute to watch him just soak in the beach and the water and the yard and the dock.

One of the coolest parts about our incredible view at the Lazy Loon was being able to capture stuff like this: 35 geese just hanging out in front of the cabin.

We also tried desperately to capture the loon that frequented the area, but the stinker would only come out just before dusk, and my lens isn't quite advanced enough to capture him in detail at the distance he was at.

Over nap time, Mark ran into town to register the jet ski (he had forgotten to), so I took it upon myself to do a little relaxing and journaling.

The boys took LONG naps (about 3 hours each), so it was truly so nice to just unwind and have nothing to do. This practically never happens at home, and when it does, I tend to have so many things on my "to do" list that I never just listen to the birds sing and feel the wind blow with the sun on my face.

Of course, almost the exact moment Mark got back with the jet ski, the boys woke up, and we decided to go put the jet ski in the water at the public access point a couple miles away. Cashel couldn't wait to get out there on the water!

He just couldn't WAIT to come and tell Mama all about his adventures :)

Kendrick was still a little too small to go on the jet ski with Daddy, but he did have to go check it out once they got back :)

The rest of the evening was pretty laid back and uneventful. We did a lot of playing and snuggling in the yard

I honestly don't recall what else we did the rest of the evening, although I do recall that the boys were once again fighting going to sleep, so we spent a lot of time trying to get them down to bed. I'm sure we ate something that I made, but I don't recall what exactly.

Once the boys FINALLY went down, Mark and I enjoyed a little quiet time fishing on the dock with the video monitor surprisingly reaching all the way out there. I caught a little rock bass, and Mark caught an enormous dog fish.

It was once again a warm, sticky night sleeping, but we were grateful that a storm rolled through in the night to cool the place off by morning.