Sunday, June 13, 2010

Up date on our vacation house

When we rented the house for our family get together it did not exist. We saw a snow covered hole where the house was going to be placed but no house. I am pleased to tell you all that the house is now ready for us and does exist.

Last Friday it was cold, cloudy, rainy and just plain nasty. Jeanne and I agreed to watch the neighbor's three kids and since it was too cold to take them to the camp, we decided to check out the house and see what progress they had made in getting it ready for customers. We all packed into the car and off we went to New London. On the way we stopped and saw the largest ball of twine in the world. Over 40 feet in circumference and over 17,000 pounds, the ball is located in a tiny town, Darwin, in the middle of Minnesota. The girls enjoyed the visit but Gavin was under the weather and just kept sleeping during the entire trip. We arrived at the house after about a 90 minute drive.

The house is going to be tight but perfect for our family. There is a wrap around deck that over looks the lake. My guess is that with a few cases of beer, most of our time will be spent sitting on the deck talking, playing cards and just watching the flow of the tiny resort.

The up stairs has a nice kitchen, big refrigerator and living room with a flat screen TV. The dinning area has a table large enough to fit everyone at the same time. The only down side is the chairs and table is made of hard wood and wights a ton. I don't think the kids will be able to move the chairs but there is a bench that is perfect for them. The master bedroom is up stairs (we plan on using that room for mom and I). There is another up stairs bedroom with a queen bed and a bath room on that level as well.
Down stairs area which is accessed from the parking lot and convenient for the kids, has six bedrooms and a small living area with another TV. There is a large picnic table under the deck as well. One of the bedrooms has a bunk bed large enough for all the older kids to sleep in at the same time. Three of the downstairs bedrooms have queen beds, one bedroom has a single bed and the other has two single beds. At this point that should be enough for all of us. We are planning on Scott and Tammi (4), Mike and Jess (5), Eric (2), David and Mel (4) and ourselves (2). That is 17 people and we are allowed 18 without additional cost.
The 'resort" has a nice beach so the kids should plan on lots of beach time. They also have good fishing on the lake. This past week they said they were pulling in 3 pound large mouth bass and decent sized walleyes. Mike is renting a fishing boat (thanks Mike for agreeing to my suggestion) so we need to make sure you all get a fishing license.
I hope Tammi can come a bit early with the girls but everyone, if you can, should plan on spending a little time with your grandmother.

To save some time, we can buy most or at least some of the food before everyone gets here. Shopping in Willmar is limited (we still have not found the grocery store) and a half hour away from the resort so what we can get in the cities would be helpful. We will buy the beer before hand unless you all want to be part of that buying decision as well. I know how important good beer is to the Utah group and the Chicago group and the Minneapolis group. Let me know if we should pre-buy some stuff.