The Great MN Get-Together

After a practice run in Martin County, we made a trip to the Real Deal in St. Paul with our neighbors, the Jungs.  Same old routine of food, rides, food, animals, food, games, food, exhibits.  

This year we also caught a magic show, and E was called on stage to help make, destroy, then reproduce a balloon dog.  And, we spent some time playing with bugs (the kids held each one pictured!) in the Horticulture Building.

Little Miss Seamstress

Nana broke out her old SEARS sewing machine, to teach our little makers the craft.  E sewed a new skirt, and S took in her new school uniforms... alone!

The (Other) State Fair

The state's not the only one who knows how to put together a fair.  Martin County dubs it's annual event "Minnesota's 2nd Largest Get-Together"... or something like that.  

My first time to the fairgrounds in a decade (and probably two!), it was nostalgic to get back as so little had changed.  The bottle toss at the entrance/exit, the BINGO hall, the Gravitron & Scrambler (both of which felt unsafely old when I last rode them!) and the 4H bars...

E & S made the rounds on the Midway, buddying up with Briley, the daughter of an old HS friend, Tammy, with whom I probably rode many of the same rides a generation ago.

Lily

We packed in some end-of-summer fun in Fairmont on the backside of August, enjoying the lakes while the temperatures are still hovering in the 80s an 90s.  

Nana's new "Aqua Lily" was the star of the weekend(s).  We can't keep the girls off the thing! 

The non-family pictured are the Beermans, our good friends from Maple Grove, who joined us for a day on and around the water with their twin girls, Livi and Piper.  And, the McNerneys, who popped over for an hour of fun in the sun before family/reunion festivities.

Northwoods Triathlon

After several years of trying to get in to the Northwoods Tri, really just as a free ticket to party at the Gorman cabin on Mantrap Lake, Linds and I finally got in for 2015!

Handicapped by injuries... and life... the limited training made the race a tough one, but the post-race beers, food, Kan-Jam, loon "music", pontooning, campfire, northwoods sunsets & stars and cabin fun with friends made the struggle well worth it.

Thank you, McNerneys/Gormans, for having us!  

Bowlin' with Bob

E & S schooled Grandpa Bob bowling at the Medina Lanes on his birthday, or so they say. 

They also said he turned 102, so... some fact-checking may be in oder.

NNO 2015

National Night Out at Misty run started with a BYOBBQ, and ended with a few neighborhood dads thinking they were funny water balloon bombing me (over the house) as I was cleaning up my backyard.

Staycation with Nana

Nana came up the Cities for a late July weekend of fun in the big city.  The girls took her to their latest favorite places... The Pond at Elm Creek, Town Green Park for a "sit in" movie, How to Train Your Dragon, at its outdoor amphitheater, and Vertical Endeavors.  

As you can see, Nana time translates into some R&R for Dad!

Kavanaugh's

 

Last year, the Backer clan returned Kavanaugh's resort in Brainerd, MN, an annual "reunion" vacation for the family during my childhood, for the first time in 30 years.  Reliving those memories, now as an adult... and especially seeing the next generation creating their own with their "cousins", had us all wanting to reboot the tradition.

This year the girls picked up where they left off with their (technically first and second / once removed) cousin besties Maddie, Tanner, Cole and Jordan... exploring all the resort had to offer from dawn to (way past) dusk.  And, as you can see from the Go-Kart and Valleyfair Pop-A-Shot, us adults picked up where we left off 30 years ago as well, playing, competing and laughing as well...  

E & S say the pool, fishing and "no bedtimes" were this year's favorite activities... with the impromptu Valleyfair trip a close second (a last-minute pivot as the entire crew was told en route to Brainerd that the resort wouldn't be admitting guests for another 24 hrs as they completed clean-up efforts from a devastating storm the weekend prior!).

Summer Sports

Move over Serena & Annika, the Backer sisters are coming!

Tickling the Ivories

E & S started piano lessons this summer.  Both seem to be enjoying it, saddling up to the keys at least once a day on their own accord (not exactly my mom's experience with my siblings and I when we were growing up!).

While our the pic of our little artist S in her fedora, may be a touch more adorable... the one of E below is pretty special.  In the photo you see a fourth generation learning/playing on the same Wurlitzer, (Great) Grandma Evelyn's.  And, that red Thompson lesson book sitting there is the same one Grandma/Nana, and I learned to play from as well.