The summers begin with Memorial Day and end with Labor Day each year. Maybe not technically if you look at the equinox calendar but most of the people I know think of those holidays as the beginning and end of summer. One of my favorite places to be is the farmhouse my mother-in-law lives in down in Bricelyn, MN. It is wonderful that we were able to start and end our summer at the farm. I love that we take photos in the pile of poppies next to the house at Memorial Day and on Labor Day we are able to just play outside and soak in the quiet of life on the farm.
The trips to the farm have become less frequent this year and I was only there Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend this summer. I think that is because I squeezed in a lot of other fun this summer. We have 3 families and 3 months in a summer, coincidence? I think not! We had 3 fun family trips this year, one in each month of the summer. Mackenzie had her first week of vacation and that is recapped in this blog post…
The 2nd trip of the summer was to Beaver Bay, MN, for our annual Christmas in July weekend with my Dad, his wife Anne, my sister Linda and her husband Jayme. We once again stayed at Cove Point Lodge and it was a ton of fun. The weekend included 3 picnics – 3 days in a row; the first picnic included time with my friend Kelli and her boys Wyatt & Alton at Enger Tower Park in Duluth. The 2nd picnic of the weekend was at my all time favorite state park Gooseberry Falls State Park. Having grown up vacationing with Dad and his family at this state park it was a delight to find a secluded picnic table among the crowds of park visitors. We also introduced Mackenzie to fishing for tadpoles in the shallow pools tucked into the rocks at Gooseberry State Park. The 3rd picnic of the weekend was at Jay Cooke State Park on our way home. I am so glad we as a family were able to enjoy some great time together with some hikes and good picnic fun!
The 3rd trip of the summer of 2017 was to Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, to spend an extended weekend with my Mom and her husband Jim. My sister Linda joined us for a day of this long weekend and soaking in the last of summer’s sun and family time. The weekend with Grandma and Boppa Jim (as Mackenzie calls them) was a treat. We had fun playing bean bags and creating obstacle courses for Mackenzie to run through and exhaust herself.
I am so grateful for the time spent making memories for my kiddo this summer. With the bookend trips to the farm my summer was incredible how about yours?
More photos from summer 2017
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The Family Thompson 