Up North

Once again I have returned to the United States. With the upcoming move to Kentucky my time with family in August will be short, so I decided to tack on a week in July. And of course it is during the most patriotic week of the year... I am spending Fourth of July in Moose Lake, which entails time on the lake, catching candy with the kids at the parade, fireworks, bonfires and grilled meat.
Upon arrival I headed to Lake Carlos in Alexandria, in central Minnesota, where our family has gone for around 25 years to enjoy the chains of lakes and stay in the same house on the lake. During my day there I helped my niece Natalie learn how to water ski (I hope to add photos of this soon), which is a requirement for living in this state. Another requirement is learning how to fish, and after my grandpa Bruno visited Lake Carlos, my nephew Casey was fishing non-stop, catching his own minnows for bait and all.

Casey with his buckets of minnows and Alexander (who wore his spiderman outfit as much as his mom would let him)

Alexander finishing off my grandma's blueberry pie (with blueberries picked by Bruno) for breakfast.

Casey, Alexander and me

Alex spending some time with me having a conversation about money

My mom and I visited an art fair on Park Point in Duluth and I bought a Shelby Bass and an Aubergine Sturgeon... pillows for our couches back home.

My best friend from high school, Angie who was pictured pregnant here, now has a beautiful five-month-old named Tyler