Kris & Tom

We have thoroughly enjoyed a visit from niece Kris and her friend, Tom, these past five days. It is always hard to understand how the time passes so quickly, but looking back, I doubt we could have packed more fun into the time we had. Let's start with the canoing. Kris and Tom ventured up the river more than a mile and were entertained by a rather large group of otters that they chanced to encounter along the way. Here is a shot of their departure. I guess Kris was looking for a free paddle on Tom's part, or else she simply wanted to maintain eye contact with him. Whatever the reason, they returned in a more conventional seating arrangement, with both steadily paddling their way back to our dock.


Those of you who have visited us know that one of our "rules" is that the visitors must prepare one meal. Here are Kris and Tom hard at work in the kitchen. They told us this was the first time they had cooked together, but you wouldn't have known it by watching them. They were a real team, and the food was great. Kris introduced us to a meatloaf seasoned with a spicy red pepper jelly, which neither Kathie nor I had ever tasted before. Then there were steamed potatoes with mushrooms, green beans, french bread, and salad. Yum!


We did quite a bit of fishing too on both Saturday and Sunday. On both outings, we caught quite a few fish in total, and everyone caught at least a couple. Walleye are biting regularly, but we also caught bass and perch. Here are a few of the results:





The boat ride back to our cabin on Saturday was cold and wet. By the time we were ready to give up on fishing, a wind had come up and some rain was coming down. Because we had to plow through waves and wind, there was quite a bit of spray, so although we had rain gear, we still all got back cold and damp (but happy). So, our hot tub was especially inviting. (In fact, I think we spent some time in these swirling waters every night that Kris and Tom were here.)


We played a number of games of bolo wrap, the game that son Rob made for us. (Sorry if you don't like the paint job I did, Rob. Kathie doesn't like it either, so there may be a new round of painting soon.)


Kris brought her kayak along on the trip, so Tom and Kathie both gave it a spin. Kris plans to leave it with us for awhile, so Kathie and I may have more opportunities to try out this mode of navigating.



As I said at the start, we had lots of fun and a wonderful time together. In addition to everything else, we went to see Spiderman 3, "toured" Hayward, and had a dinner at Famous Dave's. Here are some final shots of Kathie and her niece, Kris and Tom, and all four of us following the required game of "Hand & Foot" in which Kris and Tom soundly trounced Kathie and me.