Just two days after our Sioux Park swimming afternoon, on July 15, we took off for our long planned vacation to Minnesota. The idea of this trip had been percolating for nearly a whole year, since my cousin Laura got engaged the summer or so before. We hadn't been to visit Nathan and Ana in Kerkhoven for three years and figured this was a good reason to go back, plus we'd make a vacation of it. I guess we had been back twice last summer, but that was for funerals which are such a sad reason to travel. This was more joyous!
Here's Noah very intent upon his music while we drove - he sure loves listening to it.
Ezra passed out with Samuel's dinosaur.
He did eventually wake up and then there was some weird playing. 😂
We got in kind of late since we couldn't leave until after church so Nathan and Ana's kids were already in bed. The following morning was a happy reunion for the cousins. Elin attached to Evie very quickly. Evie is so good with kids.
Nathan got right to work giving Noah more music.
After that Terry and Nathan had to drive to St. Cloud to pick up a swing set for a service project he was doing in town. They were gone for about three hours so the kids got a lot of play time in.
They'd moved since last time we had vacationed there and just finished the basement (mostly finished it). It looked amazing and was SO good to have some space for the kids to play in.
The E's played piano together.
I caught some cute video of that.
This was one of the only times they played so well together and we were actually present in the house for them to do it.
We introduced our laser tag guns close to lunch to try to entertain them for a bit longer.
Thorin has grown into such a good dog. I asked them if they'd trade for Luna, who is a complete spaz.
We got one picture from the guys while they were gone. Lots of driving (again) put Terry to sleep when he got back.
When Quinn got up, it was the very first time any of us got to see her. Squeee!!!
She's SO cute!
Noah loves the babies.
After naps the kids were restless so we went outside to play a bit. Nathan burned some old wood while the kids kicked around a soccer ball.
Kick!
Watch out Samuel!
The daddy got him.
Ezra on the little tree swing.
That night we went to the local pool for the discounted evening price of $2/person (score!) and that's where things got interesting. I mentioned in my last post that Samuel and Ezra did a lot of jumping from the side of the pool when we were at Sioux Park. It was very shallow just there and they had a blast doing it. Well, when Ezra got to this pool, he just took off ahead of everyone and was the first to the pool side. Everyone was still dumping their stuff, but Ezra ran around the right of that blue covered piece of pool equipment and jumped in... Only it was too deep for him! I had watched him this whole time because I wondered if he'd do anything like this. So because it was too deep and he couldn't swim, he started drowning! It was classic drowning. I was a lifeguard and I know what it looks like. It is silent. He would go under the water and try to flop his arms around to swim but couldn't get his head above water long enough to actually breathe. So I booked it over to him, feeling like my voice was stuck in my throat and I couldn't get a word out.
The thing was that he had jumped in RIGHT NEXT TO A LIFEGUARD!! Like seriously, she was sitting on the pool side two or three feet from where he jumped in and because she was looking the other way, she didn't see him. That's her pictured below and that's pretty much where she was sitting when Ezra jumped in, though she was a little closer. I had never taken my eyes off of Ezra and was running that way, and when I was finally a few feet away from him (because it felt like it took forever to get there), while he was flailing in the water, I eventually worked out a croaked, "He can't swim!" while pointing at him, just to her left. The lifeguard jumped right in and scooped him up. I had only been steps away from the pool side and was about to jump in but she beat me to it. She then brought him over to the steps all the while consoling him or herself or me, "You're okay. I've got you. You're okay now." From there I just grabbed him and took him over to my chair and held him. It was traumatic!
Ezra recovered quicker than I did and wanted to swim more but first we put life jackets on Samuel and Ezra. They're used to zero depth, shallow pools, so they really needed one. We would've done that right away but Ezra ran off before we could! So the lifeguard helped us get a couple and they all went into the water with daddy.
They had a great time after that!
So after a while the lifeguard came over to me, kind of awkwardly and summarized what had happened from her point of view. She said she had seen him struggling in the water, heard me yell "He can't swim," jumped in, and got him. Yep, except I didn't think she had seen him struggling, or why would she have waited to go in until I yelled? Because although I felt like I barely croaked out those words, Nathan said I did yell them. I don't know. It happened so fast and I was so scared that it felt different in my own body, like I couldn't' get it to do what I wanted it to do, to move quicker or yell faster. Anyway, the lifeguard was sort of stand offish and I probably was too since I was still a little freaked out. I guess I gave her a weird vibe, because a while later she called her pool manager over to talk to me. This woman was seriously rude and pushy and on edge. Apparently the life guard felt I rolled my eyes (I do not think I did that!), wasn't thankful for what she had done, and didn't think she did a good job. The lady said she had excellent life guards and blah, blah, blah, went on defending her whole team for something I had never said. I was very polite and didn't rise to the attack, because it was definitely an attack. I didn't say anything about the fact that the lifeguard had not seen Ezra struggling. She didn't act until I yelled. But I didn't say that. I kept saying she did a good job, she did fine, I wasn't upset, it was all fine, everything was good. Internally I was so angry this was happening. Now I was in trouble for doing her job and not being thankful enough that I had to tell her what to do? Whatever. I wanted to scream. But I totally held it together, though I couldn't wait to get out of there.
The kids had a great time and were unaware of what was happening poolside so that was good. Isn't Elin so cute?
Noah and Evie of course can swim and I didn't have to worry about them.
They had a blast. Ezra tried to tell me that he could swim in deep water, that he hadn't been scared, and that he hadn't swallowed any water. Whatever kid.
Near the end of night they finally opened up the diving board and Terry was the first to show the kids what's up.
Then Samuel went.
Then Ezra went.
Evie.
Daddy did a flip!
Upside down...
...turning around...
...and going in. I thought that progression was funny.
The following morning we had to get out of the house to keep down on fighting so Terry and I took everyone but new baby Quinn to the park.
Half the roads in their tiny town have been torn up for like 9 months and we were lucky enough to see them get their long awaited new pavement.
Samuel and Ezra have been on a monkey bar kick for a while now and I think Ninja Warrior has blown it into a flame. Ezra is always wanting to show us how awesome he is. Well the first two times he fell so I finally got up (yeah too late, what great parents we are, but kids need risk so there!) to spot him, and then he made it.
That afternoon we grabbed a couple things at Walmart we needed and then went to the Willmar pool. There's not much to do in rural Minnesota so we did a lot of swimming. There's Ezra with his new goggles.
Thankfully this pool had an appropriate kids area that he could jump into safely.
Samuel perfected his underwater frontward and backward flips.
Terry and the boys getting warm. It was only upper 70s and kind of cold!
Evie made a friend and disappeared. She makes friends everywhere!
Nathan and Ana joined us after about an hour. After three hours we left and went to my aunt Nancy's house. Ana had made beef stroganoff and dropped it off there so we could all eat together low key. It was awesome.
It was time to go the following morning. Terry drew Theo, Elin, and Quinn this little train. So cute!
Thought the cow was funny.
Saying good bye to good Thorin. He's so much softer than Luna too! I wanted to take him along.
Some forced hugs to the cousins by Theo. Ha ha.
We got to wake Quinn and say goodbye.
She is so cute! She was doing very well with her naps while we were there.
Oh so snuggly.
Adorable!
Evie's turn.
That's my brother and his beautiful wife and offspring.
Getting some fruit snacks and coffee for the road.
Running out the door. I had forgotten to take many pictures so I took some silly ones before we left...
I had them take our picture in the front yard before we left. Not bad Ana!
And then in front of their house.
There's the whole house and Nathan and Terry hugging. Aw.
We got nearly to Willmar when I realized I didn't have my phone. Nathan saved me by meeting us halfway on his motorcycle. He reminded me strongly of our dad with that helmet on!!! From here we drove to Minneapolis for the next portion of our adventure, Valley Fair!!
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