Greetings all – The Novaks are a little over halfway into our month-long R&R trip. We kicked things off by parting ways in Mumbai with Nick heading to South Africa for two weeks of diving and Nia and I heading to Minnesota for 2 weeks of Miller family fun time. We are currently enjoying some time in Disney (Nia and Nick’s 1st time!) and then joining Nick’s parents for a week in Munich and the surrounding area. It’s been a whirlwind of a trip and the adventures are far from over. Stay tuned for more details about the Disney and Germany portions of our trip. For today though, I’m talking about our awesome MN adventures!
Minnesota in summer is quite spectacular. Unfortunately, our arrival seemed to coincide with a heat spell, so it was a tad bit warmer than I would have liked. Lots of sweating but we still made the best of it. We arrived on a Saturday morning, so OF COURSE we went straight to the cabin. Thankfully there are plentiful water options, so we jumped right into water gun/balloon fights & hunting for “treasures” in the lake.
We drove back to the Twin Cities early Sunday morning so that we could all partake in baby Graham’s Baptism ceremony. Graham is the sweetest little thing. He just turned 8 months old and is my sister Beth’s (and her husband Jim’s) first child. Nia took her important role in the ceremony very seriously, as you can see in the photo below.
For my 39th Birthday I wanted to take Nia to see my beloved Alma Mater, the College of St. Benedict (and St. John’s University, it’s partner school).
Although Nia wasn’t quite as into it as I had hoped, my sisters were able to come and we had a jolly good time reminiscing at all our favorite places. It was the perfect way to usher in a new year of life.
Speaking of reminiscing… throughout my childhood years my family spent nearly every weekend camping. One campground was our favorite by far – Jellystone Campground in Warrens, WI. It had everything – swimming pools, mini golf, a kid’s train, an outdoor amphitheater that showed movies, children’s activities throughout the day, a Saturday night dance and a water slide even!
We had taken Nia to Jellystone when she was 2 and stayed in a cabin but this time I had the dream of returning and doing it old-school, in the same 30 year-old camper that we used when I was growing up! My Mom & sisters loved the idea as much as I did, and although the men couldn’t join us, we decided to proceed anyways. So off we went, 5 adults, 2 kids and 1 baby…
My memory had conveniently blocked out how much work camping is (or maybe I was always too busy off swimming while Mom & Dad set up and took down the camper). Suffice to say, it’s a labor-intensive activity and we needed all the adults to get the thing up and down properly. We did it though – go ladies! Special thanks to Steve for Skyping with us when we hit some hiccups. :)
The resort had all the amazing stuff I remembered from the past PLUS a new waterpark and rentable golf carts (which we, of course, had to enjoy tooling around in).
The sleeping situation was very cozy with 8 people in the camper. Nia and I were on one bunk end. Jenna, Emily and Armin were on the other bunk end. Beth slept on the pull-out bench that turned into a bed and my Mom slept on the kitchen table (which converted into a bed). Baby Graham was in the pack ‘n play in the only remaining floor space. Pretty sure we couldn’t have squished one more person in there!
We had a blast though and Nia absolutely LOVED it (said it was her favorite part of our MN visit). It was a good authentic American experience to provide her with and I’m glad we went for it, even if I was longing for a cool hotel room at several moments of our stay. :) Good family bonding time.
Thanks for the wonderful hospitality Mom, Dad, Emily, Beth and Jenna! Always a joy to visit home.
