deer river, mn...

This summer has been a whirlwind, so let me get you up to speed (it will take many posts for you to fully catch up)...  

Andy and I taught summer school from when the regular school year ended until the end of June and then immediately jumped in the car to head to Minnesota.  We have been there since June 30th and just returned back to Denver.  

Here is where our Midwest adventure started...

We have always wanted to spend some time at our friends' parents cabin near Dear River, MN.  A group of our dearest friends go up there every year for the 4th of July and this year it finally worked out for us to join in on the fun!  

After we drove 15 hours to my home town, grabbed some good grub, and visited with my parents, we were back on the road to Deer River, MN.  We were welcomed with open arms at the Nystrom cabin and were overwhelmed by their instant hospitality.  We lounged in floaties on the lake, road along in the boat while others fished, took naps, enjoyed nightly fires, but mostly we enjoyed spending time with some of our favorites.  

Sometimes life moves so fast when you are in the city or at least that is how it feels every time we go back to Minneapolis.  We often feel like we signed up for speed dating as we try to see everyone that we care about there.  Many times we get back to Denver exhausted and feeling like we didn't get enough time with everyone or we didn't see everyone we wanted to.  The cabin was a welcome retreat away from the city and gave us that quality time we are always yearning for with our friends.  

Unfortunately, I did not take many pictures (we were too busy relaxing), but all of the memories still swim around in my head and we will always think of them fondly.  Quality time with friends is a little thing that is always so precious to us, but often looked over or not possible because of distance or busy lives.  Fortunately, the time we spent in Deer River, MN will stay with us long after this summer is over.