Land of Plenty

(OK...I am so very far behind now, being this is the second week in September, but I REALLY want to document the rest of this trip...now that the kids are back in school--sniff, sniff--I just might be able to do this!)

I just love being at Lisa's. It is truly one of my most favorite places on earth to be. Maybe because she and her family are such dear friends. Or maybe because she takes such good care of all of us. Or maybe it is because the kids play and play with all their creative energies, and get along so well while we are there. Or maybe it is all the fresh country air. Or maybe it is all the fabulous food. Perhaps it is because they are living life the way God intended. I think it is all these things, and more, wrapped up in one beautiful, comfortable, homey, lovely package.

We spent Sunday morning at their tiny little country church.....so tiny.....and so in the country. But always so welcoming. The pastor greets us warmly each year, and has seen these kids grow up, change, and multiply over the past 11 years of our visits. The kids learned a few new songs, one of which is Lisa's favorite, and we had a hymn singing around the piano one evening to learn it better. (I REALLY need to play piano more.) Another evening, was story time in the living room for bed---I think Lisa read about 75 books the kids had picked out, while the kids snuggled in their sleeping bags on the living room floor, falling asleep one by one.

We took our annual kid photo shot at The Big Foot:

Lisa, the baby and I even took naps on the couches (a certain "first" for us--we MUST be getting old!) while the kids played games quietly in the living room:

...and played with the cats outside:

....and on the playset:

....oh, and with creepy crawlies--LOTS of creepy crawlies:

The garden....oh, my, the garden!!!

We surveyed the bountiful gardens, picking purple peppers, beans, peas, cabbages, beets, eggplant, squash, and raspberries:

The kids enjoyed visiting Ham, and feeding him beet leaves:

The turkeys honestly seemed to grow larger in the few days we were there:

The garden was just bursting. One day, we picked more than three crate boxes worth of veggies...on one day! The kids enjoyed picking from the garden, and were always eager to be sent out to find more.

Amazing harvest. AMAZING.

We also introduced our friends to the Geocaching game. We had brought a travel bug we had found in Waconia, and deposited it in a little town 20 minutes northwest of Vining. The kids found the first cache site before I even could figure out how to turn the handheld GPS device on:

The second cache was a bit trickier, but we did find it after taking some cool "touristy" photos:

The kids snatched a purple bead necklace from the cache, and left a pink motorcycle in it's place. The real fun followed: as they were deciding who should get to keep the necklace, Jonny threw it "accidentally" up into a tree. The next 20-30 minutes were spent trying to get that thing OUT of the tree. It began with throwing shoes. Without consistent accuracy, an empty Cherry Coke bottle filled with some driveway rocks was used(Lisa is so smart!). Lisa and Benjamin had the best aim, and even hit the necklace a few times, high up in the tree, even once knocking it down a branch. The kids were running around, giggling, taking turns throwing, and having a great time despite the cold winds by the lake. The adventure came to an end when the Coke bottle actually got stuck in a neighboring branch. In the tree remains our treasure. Rats.

We found the third cache easily, then headed back to Lisa's for homemade hot chocolate and marshmallows.....because it was freezing....we were freezing...and this was our second day of the trip enjoying hot chocolate...in August!

And then the kids worked for their dinner:

That's the very least we can do for all the gifts their family shares with us!