Walking On Ice

I never thought I'd see the day where my California raised Dad, brother and husband would be ice fishing, together.  On a frozen lake.  With my Things.  Who would've thunk?  Certainly not me.  Yet, they did.  And I passed in favor of a girls day with Nani, Aunt Corynn, Gianna and Thing 1, who also did not want to sit on the ice with a jig and try to catch fish. 

 

This is how our morning started off after we bid farewell to the fishermen, sent away with thermoses of coffee and hot cocoa, snacks and hand warmers.  Just in case. 

Good morning Powo!  Yes, full kiss on the lips. 
They checked in and met the father/son who run the business and got a few important pointers.  Then Husband Jared drove the gang to the ice house and they went to it.

Poppi and the three Things that braved the cold

Getting started

 

Husband Jared and Things

 

Before our "girl" day officially started we met the fishermen for lunch at Lola's.  Beautiful snowflakes were falling and Nani insisted on pausing for a photo.  She was giddy over the snowflakes and even made Aunt Corynn stop in her mad dash to the door so that she could examine one that fell on her head.  Then she made Thing 1 stop and take a picture of one in my hair.

 

No, not dandruff, snowflakes

 

So sweet, Gianna liked the snow falling

 

Thing 1 and Gianna

 

Lola's boat house sits on the edge of Waconia lake and has amazing views.  In the bay area they were preparing the ice for broom ball and Thing 4 ran around making slides out of the snow piles and we all sat inside warming up and hearing all the fish tales.  There was a small wager placed on who would catch the first fish, the most fish and the biggest fish.  At lunch time Thing 2 was in the lead.  She was also still on the fence about joining us ladies for our trip to the book store.  After all the debating she stayed, only for sheer competition, she didn't want anyone else to beat her record, or risk losing her winnings.  In fact, she went on to catch 16 fish that day.  The rest of the results will remain unwritten.  Those that were present know the counts and that is good enough.  Lunch was great and those that hadn't seen the ice house wanted the opportunity, so Husband Jared drove us out on the ice.  And yes I did have a minor panic attack.  Yes, I did think about leaving the windows rolled down just in the event that the ice cracked and tried to swallow our vehicle we all would be able to escape.  I resisted the urge and prayed.  Then we made it safely.  Poppi and Nani walked across the ice from Lola's and met us.

 

There they are, brave souls

 

Once inside I was really quite impressed with the set up.  There was even a heater.  The Things impressed me with their ice fishing knowledge that they had learned in such a short amount of time and we saw fish and a few of us even gave it a try. 

 

Nani and Gianna

 

Stuck family

Husband Jared and Me

 

Thing 1 couldn't resist, the fish definitely resisted though!

 

Once our tour was complete we hit the ice again and headed to Wild Rumpus bookstore, one of my favorites.  I couldn't wait to share this special place with Gianna.  She wasn't so sure however.  We entered through the tiny purple door and immediately began searching for the animals; rooster, tarantula, lizard, ferret, chinchilla, birds even a few cats.  The rooster was ok as long as she (Gianna) was being held, the cat she loved and the birds she talked to.  We read a few lines and perused the shelves for a few good finds and then we were off to Great Harvest for a sweet treat. 

 

Big girl exiting the purple door

 

Please read with me...someone

 

 Mr. Rooster
 

We found our sweet treat and some fresh bread at Great Harvest but Thing 1 was wanting hot chocolate so we were referred to the coffee shop across from the bakery and it surely did not disappoint.  Sebastian Joe's I will for sure be back to visit you.  A spicy mocha and some special girl time, a great afternoon if you ask me. 

 

 

The day did not end there and even though it was our last night together it just got better and better.  We had another family dinner all gathered around the table sharing highs and lows and talking about the memorable week we had.  There is also a dinner table shot again, we do a lot of eating. 

 

Not too bad, Gianna has some nice hair, doesn't she?

It was the best one of the majority.

 

Then unfortunately there was packing to do and organizing and preparing and reality hit hard.  So I did the only thing I could, I snatched up that baby girl and gave her a bath and spent the rest of the night telling her 1000 times how much Auntie LeLe loves her.

 

Boy do I miss those eyes

 

One last cousin photo in Christmas p-jammy jams, a Nani tradition,

and one of my favorites

 

Once suitcases were packed, coffee set to go for our early morning airport trip and everyone tucked in and hugged goodbye we fell asleep.  Oops, how could I have forgotten, everyone but Gianna fell asleep.  Uncle J and I drove around the hood until the little munchkin finally gave in. 

Nice brother, sister time. 

 

Suffice to say these Hanson 6 are so very grateful to the Stuck families for enduring the bitter cold and trekking to the great white north.  Good times.  Good times.