It’s Been Real, Summer 2015

Don’t blink! Oops, you did, and now summer 2015 is over. Maybe some of you are still eeking out the last couple weeks before your kids return to school after Labor Day, as is tradition here in Minnesota, but for those of you who are back to school (or in my case, back to the studio) summer is basically over. Wah!

Luckily, we took full advantage of the family cabin and our new pal Gilly this summer. Most weekends were spent “up north” on the giant Minnesota lake known as Mille Lacs. In Minnesota, if you don’t have a cabin in your family, you’ve got a close friend who does, and going to the cabin for the weekend is commonplace.

We enjoyed our last official weekend at the cabin a couple weekends ago. I snapped these photos with my new obsession: my Panasonic LUMIX G7 camera. I talked about it last month on the blog. The more I play around with it, the more I ADORE this camera. I had fun snapping these action shots of what we refer to as the “Lumberjack Games”.

People take bets on how many swings it’s going to take us to split the log. You know, typical redneck fun. Plus, it’s a workout! I’ve woken up so sore the next day from trying to beat my husband at this game.

Besides log splitting, there’s always plenty of fun in the water. I caught this gem of a photo, or in other words my version of a heart attack, using the 4K Ultra HD Video feature this camera has. I extracted the perfect shot using the touch-enabled monitor on the camera and saved it as a 4K photo. The camera uses DFD focusing (which basically means it can focus on moving objects super quick) so every shot is crisp and clear.

As usual, Mom’s stuck snapping the photos while Dad gets to play with Bean. Anyone else usually fall into the family photographer role? I’ve got to make more of an effort to get on the other side of the lens.

The thing I love about Mille Lacs is that the water is SO CLEAN. Yes, the water actually looked this blue in person. Unfortunately it’s mostly due to the zebra mussel problem, but even before that the water was nice and clear. It’s a HUGE lake.

I took this photo while we were out geocaching with Bean, or as she calls it “treasure hunting”. I love the unique places that geocaching can take you to, in locations that you thought you already knew everything about. I had never been to this part of the lake before.

Another favorite activity, rides on the 4-wheeler. Now that Bean is so obsessed with Paw Patrol she likes to pretend she’s Ryder on his ATV. And she would not take off those clear safety goggles all weekend.

In typical up north fashion, the last day of the weekend was cold and gray. We still managed to sneak in one last ride on Gilly, plus rescue my Dad’s “favorite hat” that blew off his head and into the water. Guiding a 21 foot pontoon without power steering up next to a floating hat all while the waves and wind are pushing us was quite the task. Miraculously, I was able to swoop down and snatch it up before it sank. Memories 🙂

Although we might not make it back up to the cabin before it gets too chilly, we’re crossing our fingers for a few more warm weekends at home before Gilly has to be shrink wrapped and put back in storage. Hopefully, this time, a raccoon won’t decide to make it it’s home for the winter, everyone cross your fingers for us.