Minnesota Vacation

This past week we went to Ottertail Lake, MN with Jared's family a trip we do every year and we look forward to every year.  This year I was looking forward to getting away and some relaxing time but it wasn't exactly all that but was still a great trip overall. 

Great friends from college (basketball friends)

Jared and I had a wedding in Omaha on Friday July 12 (Lindsey Stineman, a good friend from college).  So we went into Omaha late Friday afternoon in time for the 6:30 wedding hung out until about 11:30 and then got back on the road to head back to Sioux City to get some sleep before getting up to finish packing and get on the road.  We left the boys in Sioux City with a sitter so they didn't have to be in the car any longer then they had to.  Our plan was to get up about 5:30 and on the road between 6-7 well we missed that time and got on the road about 8 but thats ok.  The boys woke up on their own so they got their normal night sleep and then we got going.  I drove first and was real tired but drove about half the trip to Watertown, SD.  It is about a 5 1/2 hour trip from Sioux City.  We were unsure how often we would have to stop but the boys did pretty good and only one stop for us so not too bad.  We got into the cabin about 2:30 and Jared's rest of the family were already there Thursday and Friday so we got unpacked that day and tried to organize stuff. 


Most of our days consisted of boys waking up about 7 or so and hanging out trying to be as quiet as possible while everyone else slept (older kids would sleep until 11 or so).  After the boys had ate I would take them on a morning run to burn some more time and get my workout in for the day.  We would get back boys would play outside or sometimes in water then eat lunch play outside and then nap time, once up usually water time and jet ski then dinner and bed.  We tried to stay as close to 8-8:30 bed time as possible because if not my boys are bears and are not happy campers.  The weather was great every day except Monday was rainy and gloomy so we just hung out in the cabin, napped, and caught up on our lives.  Tuesday was not a very good day for the boys or myself.  It was just one of those days were the boys would not listen and were off the wall ornery.  They were just being naughty and all I wanted to do was call my mom for some Motherly advice on raising ornery boys at this age.  She was always so good at telling me the right things and how to handle and approach them so I would not get so frustrated and upset.  I sat in my room on vacation a lot this day and cried and thought of What am I doing wrong, am I a bad mom, I just want to talk to my mom like we used too.  Now I don't want a pitty party at all and I know I have a ton of support out there and I am very thankful for that but sometimes I just want my mommy.  I asked Jared if we could go home, I have never in the 13 years I have been going to Minnesota wanted to go home but this day I was very serious about going home.  I know Jared's family would have been supportive if I needed to talk to them but at the time I didn't.  I just hated the thought of them thinking our boys were being naughty and I was a bad mother.  I thought to myself try one more day and if Wednesday is not better that the boys and I would head home.

Luckily Wednesday was a little better and most of days to follow were not too bad.  Our days again just consisted of lots of outside and water time and just hanging out with the family!  All in all was a pretty good week.

Our trip home was great boys did awesome they napped right away for about two hours then we stopped for dinner and then back on the road again and they did great.  Towards the end of the trip they were ready to be home and in their beds since it was after 8:00.