Summer in Minnesota

Although most of our summer was spent in South Dakota with my parents, we did take two quick trips to Minnesota to see Paul's side of the family.  Paul had a work convention in Minneapolis for a week in July, so the littlest boys and I took a quick trip there to see him and his family who lives there.  The 2 older boys couldn't come because they were in the middle of the city baseball tournament, but grandpa took them fishing so they didn't mind missing Minneapolis a bit. :) We stayed with Paul's mom and spent lots of time with Paul's brother Dann and his wife Rachel and their kids.  It was so much fun!  We love Dann and Rachel so much and wish we lived closer to them.  They are such fun-loving, God-loving people--the kind you just want to be around.  I love to hear my husband laugh when he's with his goofy brother, and I love to hang out with Rachel who feels like the sister I always wished I had.  If only we could get them to move to Montana!  :)  While we were there, we went to the Mall of America to see the aquarium and ride a few rollercoasters; we also went to the Minnesota Zoo, but I think the most fun was had at Dann and Rachel's house playing with all their cool outdoor toys!  :)  Paul's family was so generous and let Paul and I steal away for 2 date nights (overnight!) while they took care of our kids.  It was an unexpected treat and so good for our marriage.

My little ones with their MN cousins at the MN Zoo.

A beautiful butterfly at the MN Zoo's butterfly sanctuary.  

I would have loved to spend all day inside the sanctuary---it was so peaceful.

Nathanael at the Mall of America's LEGO-Land

Rowan, Kennedy, Isaiah, and Dominic at LEGO-Land

Dominic loved spending time with his cousin Rowan.

They were like two peas in a pod,

or should I say 2 farmers in a John Deer?

Precious pictures of Nathanael with his cousin Kennedy.

Kennedy was such a sweet helper with my little ones the entire trip.

A heart of sunshine and gold that little girl has!

Paul and his brother Dann chillin' and grillin'...

How I wish the two of them could spend more time together.

The final big trip of the summer was a trip to Paul's family reunion in Minnesota at a large, lovely cabin on an island in Lake Vermillion (near the Boundary Waters).  Again, it was so great to watch all of the cousins play.  They all got along so well and were instant friends even though they hardly ever see each other.  The days were spent fishing, tubing, kayaking, canoeing, catching crawdads, capturing snakes, playing beanbag toss and a giant Jenga game on the deck, picking wild raspberries, eating amazing food, and just reconnecting with everyone.  Grandma Jean and Grandpa Dick spoiled all of us with their generous hospitality!!!  As silly as it sounds, the highlight for me was praying the rosary in a canoe with our family of 7! :)  The family reunion was a great grand-finale to our summer and then we drove 18 hours back to Helena to start our adventure of moving into the rental and looking for a new home!

Now that's one huge happy family!

(except for one unhappy camper in the bunch) :}

Grandma Jean was so happy to have all 15 grandkids together!

She was also thrilled to be surrounded by her sons :)

Joseph with his cousin Gabriel: fast friends

Dominic and Rowan spent tons of time together tubing, fishing, and catching crayfish

Paul having fun playing a giant Jenga game

Dominic loved catching snakes all week long!

He says he wants to be a zoologist when he grows up;

perhaps he'll be the next Crocodile Hunter :)

Michael and Isaiah had fun with the snakes too

Michael was constantly catching something.

Here he is with a crawdad.

A sweet baby bear cub at a nearby bear sanctuary.

He was super high up in this tree, and even though it looked like he was barely hanging on and might fall any second, he looked so peaceful and relaxed.  

I wish I had his same trusting and peaceful spirit!

This canoe ride was the highlight for me in Minnesota.

I was pleasantly surprised that our semi-large family still fits in a single canoe together.

It was special to be able to steal away from the busy-ness of the reunion to pray a rosary surrounded by God's gorgeous creation.  

This summer was filled with so many graces, and I know my near-sighted vision only saw a small number of the blessings God was sending my way every day.  To be totally honest, I have really been battling this past year with anxiety, depression, spiritual warfare, and various insecurities, and this summer was just what my soul needed:  lots of R-and-R, quality time with family and friends, a religious pilgrimage with my spouse, and time spent in God's great outdoors.  I pray that this year my spiritual vision will improve so that I can see more graces, feel more gratitude, and give back more blessings to all those around me in order to glorify and thank God!  

Thank you, God, for all your gifts that you bestowed on my family this summer.  Thank you for filling us up with graces to help us get through this upcoming school year and drawing us ever nearer to Your Sacred Heart and Your Mother's Immaculate Heart.  I know that if we stay near those Two Hearts we can get through anything this year has in store with peace and joy!