Berube family vacation 2017:

This year, like 2 years ago, we are up at Jason and Angie Caron's mansion of a lake home in Bemidji while they are away on their own vacation.  We wish them well and are SO thankful for a place for our entire family to camp for free, in luxury and comfort like we will never know anywhere else...haha.  :)  There is a theater in the basement, folks.  So much fun.

We've been out tubing on the lake twice, the guys all went golfing, and we're eating most of our meals out on the lovely deck.  Life is good, and life with family is even better!

Jonas was in PotBelly getting a "about to drive 4 hours north" sandwich, so I took a typical "starting off on a trip" pic that seems all the rage, right?? :)

 On the drive up we stopped at Treasure Island off of Highway 10.  Anyone who knows northern MN knows Treasure Island...haha!  So much crap, and so much FUN for a kid! :)

They got into the face paints right before we left.  It occupied them so I could pack, so I didn't object.  And yes, I did leave the house like that.  Because...3 kids, don't care.  :)

They wanted their pictures taken with every.single.little.statue there.  

The view from the deck on our first night there.

Layla did a violin recital for us the next day.

Getting in a little light reading for myself, in moment here and there.
To be honest, getting into a book is made difficult by A) Cora, and B) meal prep (kids still want to eat 3 meals a day on vacation, it seems).  BUT, I got to read *some*, and I'll be able to read more I'm guessing, so I've been contenting myself more with podcasts on this trip...those have gotten me through and allow me to cook AND learn/listen at the same time.  :) I'll write more about what podcasts I've been enjoying later on...

Behold, the yard.  And the neighbor dog.  Layla loves this dog, but Cora was a little afraid, so being the good sister she is, Layla was holding Cora and giving her good advice on how to get to know a new dog.  You can see 1/2 of the pond in the distance, along with the path and bridge that leads down to the beach and dock/boat area.  

Layla's favorite part of vacation is probably having Anja around 24/7.
Anja is the kindest big cousin ever to Layla.  

Playing barbies.

Finn enjoys eating one thing at a time...

Reading on the deck in the evening...

We've been using the massive 4-car garage to scooter around and roller blade.  PERFECT.  

My little bouncy girl...

Enjoying the scooters in the back driveway.

Finn was coming towards me to tell me a LONG, detailed story.

*mid story*

There were 8 baby frogs in the bucket that they caught in the pond...

Lauren and Dan and I sat on the shore and watched the boating progress for a while.
Then I sat at the end of the dock and talked to a good friend by phone for a while.
Things you never can do at home, right?  :)
*the grass felt SO good on my feet...funny, but way better than our grass.  Must have been expensive, designed grass*... ;)

Layla on the tube:  She was scared initially and only went on with Jonas, but today she went on by herself.  At the start of the video you can see her wave quickly and yell"Hi Mama!"

I'll post more photos from my REAL camera soon...