Nelson Family Blog: Summer Vacation 2017.

This past week flew by in a hurry, especially since we were on vacation all week long. I am in definite need of a vacation from my vacation right now.

We spent last weekend around home, catching up on some things and just spending some time with the kids. Emma and I went to the Emoji Movie, which she thought was hilarious. It was ok, but definitely not the best movie I have ever seen, but I enjoyed our Emma and Mommy date.

Last Sunday, we had a family get together at Ron's house in Parker. Jill and Peg were home for a summer visit, so we had a gathering to get people together and visit. We also had our traditional beanbag tournament for entertainment. It was a great day. In the evening, we headed to the fairgrounds for a free BBQ at the fairgrounds. The kids had a great time playing with everyone else, but they were super tired by the time we left.

Monday was the first official day of the Turner County Fair, so we spent most of the day out there. We got out there at around 1pm, and we stayed until about 10:30pm. It was quite the day. We walked the entire fairgrounds, got our share of free junk, had the kids perform in the Turner Teeny Tiny Rodeo, and then we watched a Rodeo after that. It was a beautiful day for the fair! The kids also enjoyed some more fair rides, fair food, and of course seeing all the animals. We also visited with a lot of family, and spent some time playing bingo. The kids really did a great job all day at the fair, but they were so incredibly tired on the way home, they both passed out and we threw them right in bed when we got home.

On Tuesday, we packed up and headed for Minnesota. We took our time getting to my parent's house. We stopped and ate lunch in Windom, and also played on the playground for a while. We also stopped at Ramsey Park on our way home and played on some playgrounds and watched the waterfalls. The kids really enjoyed that! We also had some excitement there. Apparently, before we got there a person jumped off the falls, and the ambulances, firetrucks, and police were there to try and help the person out, so we couldn't go to the falls right away. I'm not sure how all that turned out, but hopefully ok.

We made it to my parent's house by supper time, and enjoyed a nice steak supper and let the kids burn some energy off outside. They weren't took hard to put to bed that night.

Wednesday was our day to head to the cities. John, Ryan, and I headed to the Twin Cities at around 10:30 am. We walked through the Mall of America, checked into our Hotel, and then went and checked out Surly Brewery. After all that, we headed to the Target Field for the Twins Game. Unfortunately, after sitting there for an hour, the game got rained out. So, we hung out at some bars downtown and found some supper. It was a pretty fun day, even though our game got cancelled.

On Thursday, Ryan flew out to St. Louis for work, so John and I went to the noon Twin's game, and then headed for the campground. The Twins did not have a great game, they lost 9-3, and struck out 19 times in 9 innings. It was pretty sad, but we had a great time there!

We ended up at the campsite at around supper time, and ended up having a very nice campfire that night. The kids were a little tricky to get to bed in the camper, but once they were out they slept very well. We enjoyed relaxing and drinking beer around the campfire for a couple hours, it was great.

Friday started off as a rainy, dreary day. So, we packed up and headed to Willmar for a while. We checked out the county museum, which was actually pretty interesting, and then brought the kids to a brand new park in Willmar. The park was huge, and awesome, and the kids had a great time there.

After a couple hours of bumming in town, we headed back to the campsite, since the rain finally subsided. We spent some time just playing outside and enjoying the weather. We made some Pizzas on the grill for supper, put the kids to bed, and then enjoyed our last fire of our trip.

Yesterday was the nicest day of the weekend, it was sunny and warmer, and a perfect day for camping. Rachel, Elena, and Ryan joined us at the Lake yesterday, and it was really nice to see everyone.

We took a nice morning boat ride around Diamond Lake, which the kids really enjoyed. We also fished a tiny bit with the kids, and then let them swim on the beach for a while. They loved that.
The rest of the day was spent visiting and playing, and then we had a delicious rib supper before we left. We left the lake at around 6pm, and got home a little after 9. The kids were so crabby and tired, but we all had a great trip. Nobody wanted to leave!

Today is out catchup day. I did about 5 loads of laundry, cleaned the house, and just relaxed a little. Right now, the kids are just enjoying some Paw Patrol, and just not doing much of anything. John just left to go buy a new lawn mower, ours decided to break while he was mowing lawn when we got back. We also need some groceries, and school starts on Wednesday, which is just crazy. I better get used to making and packing lunches I guess. But I am excited for Emma to start school, and she is still very excited as well.

P.S. Elliott wore underwear all weekend, and did not have a single accident. He is doing so well with potty training, I can hardly believe it. We still put him in a diaper overnight, but most of the time he wakes up dry, he is just being a rockstar!!