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 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.

Washington State: Mt. Erie Lookout, Roozengaard Festival and Heading Home

Day 6: Mt. Erie Lookout, Roozengaard Festival, Supper with Ayottes, Seattle Again

Our last day in Washington was a busy one! We were up fairly early, got ourselves packed, and then hit the road to check out the Roozengaard Festival in Skagit Valley. On the way, we stopped by one of THE most incredible places we visited the entire trip: the Mt. Eric Lookout. It was absolutely breathtaking!

Mt. Erie Lookout

Roozengaard Festival

We didn't know what to expect with the Roozengaard Festival. We hadn't ever heard of it before, and the drive there felt like a wild goose chase down back country roads. We were pleasantly surprised with all the beautiful flowers, however, and incredible mountain scenery in Skagit Valley. It was definitely worth the time (and small entrance fee) for a couple hours.

Dinner with the Ayottes

After Roozengaard, we parted ways and we made our way to Seattle for the night, as our flight was early the next morning. We met up with Kristin and Loren on our way home for supper at Scuttlebutt Brewing Co in Everett. I had been chatting with Kristin on a web forum for about 4 years and had never met her before, so it was fun to meet her and her hubby and catch up on things. So fun :)

After supper, we made our way to our hotel to check in for the night, and Mark returned the rental car (after only a little trouble finding the place). It was the end of our big trip, and we were blown away by all we had experienced in such a short amount of time. Yet, we were so, so, so very exhausted. It was a phenomenal trip, and we're SO glad to got to experience everything we did. I can honestly say there wasn't a day we'd have skipped, and there wasn't a single part of the trip we'd want to do over. (Well, okay, except for the time we wasted looking for my wallet...we could have done without that part) ;)

Washington State? Yeah, we'd go back!

Washington State: Whidbey Island

Overview

Click on the links to go directly to the specific days or events

Day 8 (Apr 14): Coffee at Whidbey Island Coffee, Being Complete Bums, Supper at home, Sofie's Soccer Practice

Day 9 (Apr 15): Coffee at Honeymoon Bay Roasters, Shopping in Oak Harbor, Deception Pass, Mexican Restaurant for Supper

Day 10 (Apr 16): Mt. Erie Lookout, Roozengaard Festival, Supper with Ayottes, Seattle Again

Day 5: Being Complete Bums

After the VERY busy first half of our trip, we were in dire need of a day of rest, and that's just what we did. While the rain and colder temps had been holding off for us the entire trip so far, the rain finally came, and we enjoyed snuggling up and staying cozy most of the day. I did make a short diaper/wipe run to Walmart and a coffee/scone run to Whidbey Island Coffee in the morning, but beyond that, this day was filled with a lot of catching up and a lot more resting.

Iryna had to get back to work, unfortunately, and Sofie had to get back to school, so it was just Mark, Daniel and I most of the day. Daniel made us lunch (hot dogs - YUM!!) and otherwise, like I said - we didn't do a lot. We did go on a tour of Iryna's workplace, and that evening all took a trip to Sofie's first soccer practice. (She has since become a soccer star!)

Daniel and Iryna also made us some DELICIOUS fresh fish for supper, which we really appreciated!

Day 6: Oak Harbor and Deception Pass

Our second day in Oak Harbor, I woke up, got myself and Cashel ready, and then left the boys in charge of the kiddo while I ventured out for coffee (at Honeymoon Bay Roasters) and a little shopping in downtown Oak Harbor.

After my little shopping trip, we all loaded up and after a quick lunch at [Carl's Jr.?], we made our way over to Deception Pass State Park for the afternoon.

That evening, we decided to check out a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in downtown Oak Harbor, which proved to be pretty tasty.

After that, we did a lot of relaxing and catching up. It was so nice to have a home to come home to at the end of the day while in Oak Harbor. We couldn't believe our trip was coming to an end, but we still had one fun-filled day left before we headed home :)