Weekend in the Woods

Well every Memorial Day is now tradition to go to the cabin in Northern Wisconsin. This is the second year of cabin visits for Caleb and an abundance of visits for me. We relaxed the entire time with no electricity, no water, and no plumbing. We drove to get water, traveled the nature paths, we went fly fishing at 6 a.m., and helping with the upkeep of the cabin. I was able to make a “Corning Fire” as the Stoll’s call it named after my mom. Please see below:

We played a lot of Cribbage and all 6 of us were able to compete against each other. If any of you know how to play cribbage, please tell us. We are VERY willing to kick your butt at any chance we can get. We set up the badminton net and also pulled out “bags”. I have not had that much fun at the cabin in more than 20 years. It was so relaxed and worth ever hour of getting there. Please see the photos that capture the moments we shared together:

Fly Fishing Tradition Lives On

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I know my husband already photo shared on Facebook about this but I would like to share a little bit more about the trip as well. Why do we fly fish and not just through a line and wait? Where did we go to fish? Why did we buy all that equipment for such a focused sport? What have we caught so far? Answers I am very willing to share (hence the blog post).

When my dad passed away I got the urge (and nudge from my mom) to get to know the father of my father. This man is not the most approachable man you would meet, he says things straightforward regardless of the tone or word choice, he doesn’t do much anymore due to his age, and he gives and gives and gives to his family. In the past 5.5 years that I have held a relationship with the head of my father’s kin, I have grown to love this man that no one seems to care for and I also have inherited a lot that my dad would have received if he was still with us, including an abundance of fishing gear. I have ice fishing, cast fishing, and fly fishing gear to last me my whole life. He gave me all of the things he no longer uses (which is a lot seeing that he cannot fish any longer), all the things that belonged to my dad, and he has bought Caleb all this gear he would need but never had. He is a very generous man to those he knows and to those he does not know. Caleb and I have changed our prospective to being overwhelmed to being thankful, it wasn’t hard to see being the receivers of such gifts like fishing equipment. We have only gone two times since the middle of May to Willow Creek in Hudson, WI and also at the family cabin on the Peshtigo River. We also have not caught ANYTHING thus far but there is still an entire fishing year ahead of us.

Thanks G-pa.

Prescott Wedding Excursion

A month ago Jordan, Caleb’s good friend from home school days, got married to a very beautiful lady, Lyndsey. It was a fast trip down to the center of Iowa with a whopping 12 hours between leaving and getting home. They got married in a round barn with a country feel to all aspects.

 It was certainly a pinterest wedding; Lyndsey did a fantastic job in decorating. It sure is fun to road trip with Caleb, can I just say that?

Our Weekend Adventures

I was thinking on what to blog about these last few weeks and I came to these conclusions: I need to blog more consistent or stop altogether OR I need to start blogging when I have an idea or event instead of blogging all at one time. I haven’t decided which is a better idea for me but here goes blogging all at one time. I have about 4 other blogs to write after this one so make sure to come back every week to read with me what Caleb and I are able to do together as one.

 

Caleb and I pretty much have the same work schedules so we are together a lot. What we do together usually is summed up by Netflix, cribbage, and anything we can do outdoors. Caleb makes the most amazing meals I could have ever asked for while being married. I know the wife is SUPPOSED to be the cooker but when it comes to us, we do not do things in life that are generic and the “usual”.

 

Here is our life summed up with three photos for the summer months.

Caleb just whips up pies recently, big whoop.

Legitimate nightly routine.

NBD, just the norm Sat Morning wake-up call.

This sport is a blast to play!

Caleb and I have found ourselves going disc golfing once a week and riding our bicycles during the weekends. Living in Saint Paul has called for some fantastic trips to the river front bike path and around the city to explore. As I am writing this, Caleb is driving us back from a weeklong vacation to Chicago. We have decided as a family that moving to Chicago in less than 7 months is going to be mad. Saint Paul and Minneapolis have NOTHING on Chicago. That place is large and in charge.

 

Caleb and I went to the season opener of the minor league team here in the Twin Cities, The Saint Paul Saints. It was a blast to park on the busy industrial street, eat ballpark food, be SUPER close to the field for $5 a ticket, and to enjoy the company of far too drunk folks around us.

I will end by sharing with you a picture I have just found while scrolling through our “life behind the iPhone” album. This photo was taken on a trip to Waverly to make up for not seeing each other for Easter. Everyone was able to come for the weekend for at least a day and everyone was in the same location for about 10 minutes. It was awesome. We went to the movie “42”, went disc golfing, played baseball at the local baseball diamond, played with the kiddos, and slept all scrunched together. I will remember this trip for a long time along with all the chaotic trips to Waverly we have shared together.

Ta-ta my peeps.

Seattle Visit

 Hi there, I have been absent. I have not been busy doing other things, I have just been lazy. Just love me, okay?

So... Caleb and I just got back from Seattle, WA to visit our dear friends Gabe and Naomi Long. We treasured every moment and wish our lives had them in it on a weekly basis. We got our tickets to see them for free, ask me about AMEX Gold Card (worth it). We flew red eye both ways in order to get as much time as possible with the Longs which was a treat to try and sleep on (worth it).

We arrived in the middle of the night to be greeted by this precious lil pink house with an interior to melt over. They live in a practical suburban flower garden with magnolia trees and tulips coming out of their ears. Please see photos below, Naomi is such a great decorator:

We woke the next morning to a full breakfast, props to Gabe. The first day was LOADED with things that we did including, but not limited to: a tour of Kirkland, WA, Pikes Market in downtown Seattle, a visit for some coffee at the first Starbucks, fresh French croissants  homemade man and cheese from a on-site cheese maker (beecher's), eating lunch in an alley full of character and lil cafes, there were street performers that were beyond talented, Pioneer Square, Gum Wall, dinner at the Longs of creamy pasta and garlic bread, couples cribbage (the boys won, phooie), a card game called "Up/Down the River" (I won, NBD), and $5 late-night nachos with mojitos. Please see photos below: 

French Bakery

Presh Street Lamps

Pioneer Square

Gum Wall near Pikes Market 

 Day two we started the day with blueberry muffins and preceeded to the best/worst brewery tour of our lives. The tour guide ruined some parts but snarking jokes with the Longs made all things better. We went to the Red Hook Brewery close to where the Longs used to live. I made it through 3 tasters (6 oz of beer) and then I needed to slow down (lightweight). After the brewery we, naturally, went across the street to a winery tour. Who wouldn't, right? This place was the cat's meow. Very sophisticated and proper. St. Michel Chateau. We were welcomed with semi-open arms. Caleb and I now know how to properly "test" a wine before consuming. Clarity, smell, taste, REPEAT. Well folks, after the tour, Laura needed a visit to Chipotle to get something in her belly so we made a pitstop before heading to the ferry for an island tour. We walked in the rain to this lil "Public House" to consume some of the best coastal food Caleb and I have tasted. Head to the Harbor Inn if you get a chance, folks. We were very tired after our endeavors on day two. Please see photos below:

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Ferry!

This dude...nice sweater, eh?

Fruity lil drink for the hairy beaut.

Besties

The Beautiful Long Family

We started our final day with INCREDIBLE blueberry waffles and then continued on to church at Mars Hill Church. People, I was filled with the Spirit after church last sunday. No joke to be said, the message, the worship, the communion, the community of believers was an all-in-one deal for my soul. It has been awhile now that I have felt a lil empty of the spirit. It was not because of Mars Hill but because the Spirit was present and I was rejuvenated. We had a bar-b-q at the Longs before heading to the SEATTLE MARINERS GAME. So fun eating ball game food and people watching. The game was very, very beautiful weather and they WON! We left the game and went into the mountains. Mountains are a little erie for me due to their massive presence but sure a magnificent to look at. There was a waterfall that we went to which reminded me of a miniature Niagara Falls. It was BILLOWING from the water above and slamming into the water below. So beautiful to watch. We went to a rootbeer brewery and had my new favorite rootbeer. Literally people, this is a big step because I am a snot about Ginger Ale and Rootbeer. It was so spicy and rich, I could have had many-o-glasses. Snoqualomie Rootbeer, get some if you can find some. We ate our last supper with the Longs at a fantastic thai cuisine, it was called Wild Ginger. I tried my first Green Curry, Seven Flavor Beef, and Pad Thai. It was VERY good and filled me up to a comatose stage of life.  The last thing we did before heading to the airport was playing, Peanuts. My alltime favorite card game! Please see photos below:

 

Pretty, eh? All baseball bats.

 

Froever Friends

This guy!

There were so many seagulls at the game!

BEST ROOTBEER EVERRRRR.

Double Rainbow. WOW.

 Such a great trip. We just really loved it.