Stone Age

Well, we finally have internet again. We were without internet at home for the month of November and felt like we were living in the stone age. We had to go to the library or to our parents' houses just to check our emails. It was awful.

During November Ady started attending preschool and she loves it. I am not sure if she is learning anything but she always looks forward to attending school. She is in her cousin Landon's class and I wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper and easier to just schedule play time with Landon twice a week because that is all she ever tells me that she does at school. Hopefully Ady will soon be able to count correctly to 20 or say the abc's correctly and then I will feel better about spending money to send her to preschool. Brock seems to really miss her when she is gone and gets so excited when she comes home. Brock has started going to nursery at church and hates it. He screams and cries as soon as he realizes where he is going. Kasey and I rotate who has to take him in and then pry ourselves away from his clutches while he cries and has the saddest look on his face. Today Ady gave her first talk in Primary. She did so good. She had the whole thing memorized and wasn't even a bit afraid of speaking at the pulpit.

Brock has started wanting to use the potty and now uses his toilet every morning when he gets up. This morning we awoke to some weird sounds coming out of the bathroom. After a quick investigation we found Brock and Ady in the bathroom with Brock sitting on the toilet. Ady informed us that she got Brock out of his crib and helped him get his diaper off so that he could use the potty. I looked at her and asked how she got him out of the crib and was told "Dad, I used a chair, then I picked him up. Don't worry, I didn't even drop him." Not sure what to think about this. Lately Brock has really wanted to have a book read to him. All the time. He is constantly bringing us books to read. This is a major development because a couple of months ago he wouldn't sit still for more than about 18 seconds at a time. And that was only if he was having a drink or taking a bite of some food. But now he loves to sit with you and read a book. Brock is also finally starting to say a few words. But never on command.

Yosemite

After we went to Disneyland we continued our vacation by going to Yosemite. Kasey and Ady are really big into Disneyland and all, but it is not as much my thing. I really love National Parks. And I enjoyed Yosemite more than I did Disneyland. Here we are at Yosemite Falls.
While we were walking through this meadow we saw this buck. We saw lots of coyotes and deer.

El Capitan was impressive, but I definitely liked Half Dome the best.
This is us at Vernal Falls right before we decided to be crazy and climb the stairs up to the top. Note to others who have interest in hiking to Vernal or Nevada Falls, don't take kids with you!
I have to show a picture we took of Nevada Falls from Clark's Point just to prove that we made it this far. We all had a bit of a cold and did not take enough water for the 2000 foot vertical change and 6 mile round trip hike while carrying kids. Great view, but when the ranger tells you that it is a 6 hour round trip hike and not a hike for kids, believe her.
Here we are at the Tunnel Tree. The Sequoia's were freakishly huge and very impressive at Mariaposa Grove.

Disney Vacation

After several years of promising to take Kasey and Ady to Disneyland, we finally went. For the last couple of months Ady has asked everyday if we are going to Disneyland today. Well last week we finally said "yes, today we are going." Then our flight got delayed. We sat in the Salt Lake Airport for about 3 hours, and Ady's patience was really tested. But once we got there, she was super fun to watch and hang out with. She wanted to meet all the characters, talk to princesses, and ride the rides. Brock, he wasn't as picky, and occasionally decided it was more interesting to wander off and explore by himself. Good thing we had several uncles, a couple of aunts, cousins and grandparents to help keep an eye on him!Last year at Christmas, Kasey was talking to Brian and Jennifer and thought that it would be fun if Carissa and Landon(and Brian and Jennifer) came with us and we all went to Disneyland. Then she told her parents and said they should come too. Next thing I know, Melanie and Ryan are invited and then Blake is invited, or maybe told he is coming. All in all we had quite a crowd. So how many people ending up going with us?
I am a bit of a crazy vacation planner. I like to do tons of research and make sure that not only are we getting a good value on lodging and other things, but I like to research crowds and off the beaten path options. Well I really dropped the ball this time. Really in our group there was only 15 people. The rest of those people in the picture were people from Utah on UEA break. Yup, that's right, all that research and I didn't know it was UEA(Utah Education Association). Seemed like half of the families in Utah were at Disneyland. Even so, we managed to have fun.
The kids loved going over to Pirate's Lair(formerly Tom Sawyer's Island) and looking for the treasure. The whole time the 4 of them were walking around saying "Aaarr".
And Ady got to meet or see tons of characters. If you notice, she is wearing a princess dress and all day long workers at Disneyland called her princess. Every time she would smile so big. (And yes, she is wearing pajama pants under the dress).
For the most part we tried to be at the parks early and stayed till they were closed. The kids did great. They were having so much fun and were excited so they did a good job of the long hours. But, as soon as we would stop, they crashed hard.
Ady started out wanting to ride every ride at least once. But I think this is where that all changed. We took her on the Tower of Terror and as you can see from the look on her face(back row in pink) she did not like this ride. She was holding on for dear life and screaming the whole time. The rides she did not like were Tower of Terror, Space Mountain and Star Tours. Star Tours was really funny because I told her that we were going on a space ship and she thought it was real. Part way through the ride she started saying, "dad, we're gonna die." And when it was finished I asked her if she was okay and she said, "well, I didn't die, but I thought I was going to die."
Brock really liked the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland and the Toy Story ride at California Adventure place. Brock's favorite thing wasn't the rides though...
Brock really loved playing with his cousins, especially Asher(who he is trying to wake up in this photo) and Carissa.
And for closing, here is Ady showing her awesomeness while wearing the 3-D glasses for the Bug's Life show. 4 days at Disneyland and one day at Knott's Berry Farm. Kasey and Ady could probably handle going back tomorrow, but I need a few years before doing that again.

The First Season Ends

Well usually I give Adam a hard time when he writes a really long blog. But I suppose this time I am also guilty. We survived our first season in the “North Woods” as owners of our own business. That’s what people say…just survive your first summer, and then each year it gets better. Starting your own business is hectic. At the same time it is rewarding to see all the changes and improvements. People always ask us how our summer has been. I usually answer “fun and crazy.” Adam’s usual answer is that “we learned a lot”. Both statements are very true.

Here are some examples of fun. A few mornings ago, we had some customers eating breakfast in the dining room. The kids were helping me clear a table for some people staying in the Bed & Breakfast who had eaten earlier. A table of 4 was observing us and commenting about what good “help” my 4 year old and 1 year old were, as they would carry one glass-at-a-time into the kitchen. As they were talking about Ady she walked right over to them with the glass in her hand, complete with her turtle neck, blue dress, purple coat, and princess shoes, flexed her arm muscles and said “Look how strong I am!” They of course, humored her, and she spent a good 5 minutes talking to them. She is taking after her Dad(the talking part I mean, I haven’t ever seen Adam go flex his muscles to a group eating breakfast)!

Another reason I know she is taking after dad is that she is a great story-teller and tour giver. She has a great story from this spring about the seagulls in the back of our truck. You should ask her about it if you get a chance. Also, if you know Adam, and understand that we have a very historic lodge, you wouldn’t be surprised that he will give several tours each day to people who stop in. Adam’s tours are all about Charlie Boostrom being the first white man to come up the Gunflint Trail to live with the Indians, and about how he built a cabin so his wife would marry him, and how he picked Clearwater Lake to be their settling place with the Lodge being finished in 1926…and on and on…. Anyway, starting about mid-summer, every once in a while you could over hear Ady in the lodge telling people, “Do you want me to show you a moose? And over here is a rainbow fish. Etc. Pretty fun!

We also had some examples of crazy. I think people realize beforehand that all things usually won’t go as planned or as expected. But we had some things happen this summer that we never would have thought of. Two examples: In July, the State Government of Minnesota shut down! Although we are located at the edge of a national park and didn’t get affected that way, we were affected because no one could get a fishing license for nearly 3 weeks. Over 60% of the people who come up to our area, say that fishing is either their 1^st or 2^nd reason for coming. That was a pain. Then, just this last month, the Pagami Creek forest fire took place. This fire has now been recorded as the worst fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area spreading almost 100,000 acres. In fact, at one time, the fire spread 5 miles in just ½ hour. Luckily, no one was harmed, and lucky for us, we are far enough away from the fire and it finally has been recorded as under control.

We also did learn-a lot. We learned a lot about our business- things like marketing, being employers, bookkeeping, outfitting for canoeists or kayakers, taking care of overnight guests, and all sorts of hospitality things. We learned a ton about being owners of a property—things like taking care of a water system, a septic system, a heating system, and all those things. We learned that we like working together and we actually do a pretty good job together. As we have worked together as a family for something it has definitely created a stronger bond one with another. So much time, planning, praying, patience, work along with dreaming, remaining passionate, and harnessing our ambitions has gone into this project. It wasn’t easy. It would have been easy to give up so many times and just decide to get a 8-5 job somewhere instead of getting a place and business of our own. I don’t know many people who have the same passion and drive to really know their dream, and to go after it like Adam did. We also appreciate my Aunt Laura and Uncle Carl, as our partners in this venture, for believing in us and giving us a chance to go for the dream.

While I am at it, I should also thank our parents, who rode a lot of the start-up roller coaster with us to actually get a place of our own. They also supported the ambition and the long road here(even though they probably thought we were crazy-and still might:D) They also both came out this summer to visit and help out-which they did a lot!

Well, we have been winterizing everything here and will be headed back to Utah in a couple of days and then on to California for a much needed vacation! Wish us luck on our loooong car ride back! In closing here are a couple pictures taken in the last week from right in front of the resort.

The fall colors are so pretty and we love the way things look right now.
We have been able to see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights a few times this summer. Last week when this set was going Adam and I took a boat and rowed out in the middle of the lake to watch. It was pretty cool and very beautiful. This is the picture that one of the staff took while we were out watching the sky dance.

Summer Fun

Labor Day weekend is almost here and it looks like summer is about finished. This will be a summer that our family will never forget. While we may mostly remember the insane hours worked or the occasional difficult customer, we did have some moments that we want to remember.
At the start of the summer we bought Brock this little four wheeler for him to scoot around on. Well Ady and Brock discovered a "more fun" way to ride the 4 wheeler. Brock and Ady have both managed to wipe out going down the little hill in front of the lodge, but that hasn't stopped them from doing it again and again.
Kasey and Ady took an afternoon to paddle/hike to Rose Falls. Here they are in front of the water fall. Ady is turning into quite little canoeist/hiker girl.
I was able to get away twice in August to do a little "research" on fishing in the area. We get a ton of questions about fishing and now we know a little more about a couple of lakes. This is one of the fish I caught that night, this one is a 19 inch Smallmouth Bass.
One of the kids favorite activities this summer was roasting marshmallows or "smashmellows" as Ady calls them. Ady is even able to do it sometimes without catching the marshmallow on fire. If you look closely at Brock you will see that he has one on his stick and one in his hand.
And what does Brock think about those sticky white messy mallows? Well, he likes them a ton, and everything else that gets stuck to them as he waves his stick around. Usually we find that he eats a couple pine needles, some ash, some dirt, maybe some grass and a whole lot of marshmallow.
Here is Ady and Brock sitting in front of the totem pole at our lodge. Seems that even though we often feel like we are in a little over our heads as we learn our new business, we enjoyed our time together.
And our final picture for today is the picture from the dock looking down the lake. We have spent countless hours working together this summer trying to help others enjoy their summer vacations and time on the lake.

July

Once again we find ourselves realizing another month has passed and we haven't found time to blog about our adventures. So here we go with a quick recap of our month.
Grandma and Grandpa Van Tassell came to visit in late June and have been with us since! The kids love having them around. Ady had fun one day with Grandma when they were making a pie. Ady and Brock also both love to go to the lake and swim.
We got a new item to rent-stand up paddle boards- and they have been a huge hit. Ady and Kasey love them and you will often find them out in the evenings paddling around. Ady is getting to the point where she doesn't want to do it with you, she has to do it herself. She has also started to kayak on her own.
Brock has also decided that he likes the paddle boards, but generally doesn't paddle around on his own. Brock seems to have decided that he doesn't want to talk. He understands us pretty well, but he will not verbally respond. He points, shakes his head and grunts. Ady seems to be able to understand him just fine and we are trying to get her to stop translating for him.
Kasey decided that I was getting stressed and needed a break so she sent me off yesterday for the afternoon. I took a kayak and headed across the lake and then hiked to the top of the palisades. The view was amazing and I had a nice respite from work.

Rise and Shine

Brock and Ady are very different sleepers. Usually Brock gets up early and Ady sleeps in. Normally Ady sleeps through anything and Brock wakes up if Ady breathes loud. Well, this morning Brock decided that Ady was sleeping too long and we think that he wanted her to play with him.
Brock must have decided to take measures into his own hands because this is what we caught him doing. Brock was whacking Ady with one of the water noodles.

When that didn't do anything he next went over by her head and was intently studying her. After what seemed like a moment or two of internal debate he looked back at us pointed and then grunted.
Then he started to slap Ady's face and grab her cheeks. Well this definitely made Ady wake up but only long enough for her to push him away.
Not to be detoured, and having just discovered that physical contact produced results Brock lunged onto Ady's bed and began to climb on her and give her big hugs.
This time Ady woke up smiling and hugging him back.

However, she still didn't get out of bed, so Brock grabbed a stuffed animal from her in an attempt to make her get out of bed and play. Good thing they have each other, who knows how they would entertain themselves otherwise.

Ady's First Log Rolling Lesson

I love when you find hidden treasures. It is even better when they are close by. We were invited by one of our neighbors to come over and try Log Rolling (or Rog Lolling if you ask Ady) Well is just so happens that Jenny, our neighbor, is a 2005, 2006, 2007, World Champion Log Roller. She took 2nd in 2008, and then had a baby in 2009 and Breast Cancer in 2010. She is back training to compete this year though! Amazing! So this is the Awesome Pond that is just a short walk down the road and then up over the hill. All set up for log rolling and boom running!Here is Ady getting her first log rolling lesson. Outside arm up- inside arm behind.

Finding her balance.
Ady's first fall off the log.
Brock watching the action, and showing off his new haircut-buzzed with the beard trimmer!
Cousin Rashel giving it a try. Also notice in the background the other 2 running on the log like its solid ground. Believe me it's much harder than they make it look.

Jenny Boom Running. This was amazing to watch. They run over 10 logs without falling off.
I didn't try the Boom Run---yet, but I did try the log rolling in the shallow end. I was wishing I would have tried this when I was a lot younger, and then maybe it would have felt(and looked) a little more 2nd nature. Even though I didn't dress for the event, it was so much fun!

And here is Brock giving it a try too. We are excited for more fun times up at the pond!

Flower Power

After several days of pouring rain and horrible wind we are now back to summer. And boy are the kids glad that they can go outside again. I always find it amazing at how fast things can change in nature. We had a storm as bad as I have ever seen up here that settled in and beat down on us for 3 and a half days straight. Then two days ago we woke up to the bluest sky and a beautiful warm day. Not only did the sunshine feel nice, but it seemed that flowers everywhere bloomed overnight.
Ady and Brock love being outside. Ady loves to pick flowers, she always tells us that "flowers make me happy". Brock doesn't seem to care too much about flowers except that he likes to pull the petals apart. But he does love to roll around in the grass and play.
The kids weren't the only ones glad to be outside, we were also happy to have them outside.

Ady's first camping trip

I took Ady on her first overnight camping trip last week. I needed to do some research on some camp sites and portages between lakes. So Rashel(Kasey's cousin), Ady and Grandma and Grandpa Haddock came along. The first day we got started really late because I couldn't get away from work. We didn't get to our first campsite till just before dark. Ady told me she loved cooking on the fire and sleeping in the woods in a tent. She was such a good sport. This is us by the fire while dinner is cooking.
We paddled 15 miles and portaged another 3 miles on day two. Ady was very cheerful most of the day and she will definitely be invited on a future trip. We took a side trip and hiked over to Johnson Falls. Many of our customers ask about short day trips so we made sure to visit one of the options.
Ady said that she liked the waterfall, but it wasn't her favorite thing. When asked what her favorite part of the camping trip was she will tell you that it was watching Grandpa fall in the lake. Yep, that is right. We all got a good laugh when Grandpa Haddock flipped the canoe over and took an unexpected bath. Fortunately the canoe was empty and he had some dry clothes. When Ady got back to the lodge, she immediately ran up and told Kasey about Grandpa falling in the lake. It was pretty funny.

Sorry we haven't been posting much lately. We have been very busy working 14-16 hours a day. We are trying to keep our lodge blog updated a couple times a week. You are welcome to check it out at http://clearwatercanoeoutfitting.blogspot.com/.

Ady decided that Summer is basically here. And since we live on a lake she decided that it was time to go swimming. The ice just came off the lake 10 days ago and the water temperature is probably not yet in the 50s. But here she is, ready to get in the water. She basically got herself ready. If you take a close look you can tell that she is prepared for anything. She has her towel, her bathing suit, a jacket in case it gets cold, sunscreen, a scarf(in case the water is as cold as mom and dad said it would be), her mom's flip-flops so that she can walk down to the water, and a beaded necklace thing so that she can look good. Kasey and I assumed that she would stick her toes in the water and realize how cold the water is and be done. She jumped off the dock in the shallows, had a somewhat surprised look on her face and got out of the water. We all laughed pretty good and then we were the ones who were surprised as she got back in the water. She stayed and played in the shallows for about an hour. I kept checking on her because I was worried about hypothermia. She says that we need to go swimming again, but this time everyone else has to get in also.
Brock is really starting to become independent. He loves to just walk around and get into stuff. He has also discovered the swings and loves to swing with Ady. As of yet he hasn't fallen off. Brock has discovered that the lodge has even more places to create messes than our old house. His new favorite activities include getting all the candy off the candy shelves, dumping out the cup of pens that is under the cash wrap, pulling out as many brochures out of the box as he can, messing up the postcards and leaving hand prints on any glass he can find. Brock is really sweet and has decided that he likes to give kisses. Wet open mouthed kisses.
Kasey and I are staying plenty busy trying to learn all the ins and outs of our new business. We generally start working about 6 am and try to be finished by 10 pm but often are still going well after that. Everyday it seems that we discover something else that we didn't know we didn't know. I was able to slip away from the lodge for 6 hours on Friday morning and took a short canoe trip through 4 lakes. One of the lakes had a really neat hiking trail that we hiked and discovered a really neat cliff that gave great overlooks.