Huntleys in the House!

My sister Heather and her family visited us for a week in mid-July, and we all had so much fun, especially Sarah.  She loves her cousins Forrest (12), Sam (10), and Kelley (8) and had a ball playing with them (and their iPod Touches).  It was a strange experience for me, as there were times that I didn't know exactly where she was.  It was a taste of what it might be like to have older siblings around to entertain the younger one, without the messy sibling squabbles.

The first day, we visited a friend's boat house (for the unenlightened, a boat house is permanently moored to land, while a house boat travels the river) for some fishing.  We didn't land any big ones, but we (I say that although I was the only non-angler in the bunch) enjoyed the quest. 

Uncle Brian's big catch

Fishing pals

Forrest waiting for the big one

Auntie Heather snagged a large-mouth bass!

Cute cousins!

The cousins find a frog

Sam, Heather, and Kelley

My little angler

A couple of mornings, the hard-core anglers (Don, Brian, and Forrest) went out on the M*ssissippi to fish from our small boat.  Over the course of the week, our group caught 10 different species of fish, including one scary gar, all of which were returned to the river.

Forrest caught a nice smallmouth bass on the river...



...and a white bass, too!

The gar -- ancient fish of the depths

Nice smallmouth, Brian!

Thursday, we went to the La Cr*sse Interstate Fair and enjoyed the barns filled with all sorts of horses, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens, etc.  Sarah spurned Uncle Brian's repeated offers to carry her on his shoulders and insisted I lift her to see the big animals.  She loved her decidedly unnatural-looking "blue moon" ice cream cone.  The taste was familiar (but no more natural-seeming), but I just couldn't place it, so I G**gled it when I got home.  According to W*kipedia, it's found almost exclusively in the Upper Midwest, and the Ch*cago Tribune described it as "Smurf-blue, marshmallow-sweet, and tasting remarkably like Fr**t Loops and Fr*ity Pebbles."  Nothing the least bit natural about that....

Sarah's first "blue moon"

We made one of our favorite day-trips across the river to W*nona, MN, up to W*basha, back across to N*elson, WI, and home to Tr*mpealeau.  First stop was Fleet F*rm, a must-visit whenever the Huntleys are in town.  We spent more than an hour spread out across the store and left with a military canteen and helmet, a fence charger, and I-forget-what-else that all traveled back to MA. 

After lunch in the rain at an overgrown rest area in K*llogg, MN (the state government was shut down, remember?), we went to L*rk Toys, a mammoth store/museum with every toy under the sun, both new and vintage, and a carousel with hand-carved animals.  Sarah loved her second merry-go-round almost as much as the first, and her tongue immediately fell out of her mouth when it started up.  She informed me later:  "The giraffe is my favorite animal, Mama."

So serious before the ride begins....

Watching Cousin Sam put on a puppet show

Sarah with the puppy she carried all around the store.  I didn't know how we'd get her to part with it, but once I said he wanted to go back with his friends, she happily returned him.

 The drive across the M*ssissippi from W*basha to N*lson is one of the prettiest, passing through the backwaters of the Upper M*ssissippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (which Don used to manage). On the other side is the N*lson Creamery, a stone building that, until recently, didn't even have a sign but always had a full parking lot. It sells yummy ice cream, cheese, wine, and gourmet foods.

Cousins and cones

On Saturday, we went to a Youth O*tdoor Fest in L* Crosse, where kids could try out all sorts of sporting activities.  The boys had a wonderful time, despite the unbearable heat, and Sarah won a fishing pole!

Sam, Kelley, and Forrest trying archery

Minnow races!

Sarah and Sam getting tattoos.  Sarah showed me hers then insisted it be removed.

Of course, some of the best times were chatting around the dinner table or relaxing under "the Grandfather Tree" in the backyard.  Forrest and Uncle Brian taught Sarah to play "Frisbee."  I wish I had it on video, because she got pretty good and was so proud of herself. 

Forrest (in one of our vintage lawn chairs) and Don

Sam and Sarah

Sarah and Uncle Brian

Sarah and Kelley "iPadding" before breakfast

At the start of the week, I was anxious about how Sarah would handle all the excitement and full house.  She did wonderfully when she was with everyone, but she was a bear at bedtime with me the first few nights!  I think she just unloaded all of her emotional backlog once we were alone.  She had fits of hysteria, and it took more than an hour just to brush her teeth, get her pjs on, and get her into bed the first night.  Fortunately, she regained her balance mid-week (I think some naps in the car helped), and it was smooth sailing from then out.

We were all so happy to have the Huntleys in the house (and thankful to have a big house).  It was a treat to watch Sarah with the boys.  As one store clerk pointed out:  "They just adore her."  The feeling is mutual.  We can't wait to travel back to M*ssachusetts for my brother's wedding in October.