God Bless the U.S.A.

Gotta love the fourth. Chris took a couple extra days off, which made our Fourth of July weekend nearly as long as our honeymoon! We ditched Duluth in favor of Chris' family's lake cabin, where the fam would be hanging out. The Stavenger boat made it's debut appearance in the boat parade this year...rocking Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" made us an instant hit. Plus, no one could match our energy :)

Chris was our trusty driver. Doesn't he look EXCITED!?

We joined many other boats on the lake...this is just a few.

Brianna and Carrie were festive adornments for the front of the boat.

In the afternoon, we took the boat out for some water skiing. I won't tell you how I did, but Chris looked great! That is, until he busted up his elbow on the boat (see post below). Everyone was looking forward to the fireworks in the evening, which Chris lit off the dock. A spectacular showing, especially with the multitudes of fireworks exploding around the lake.

Ah, my little pyromaniac :)

The light show is amplified by the reflections on the lake.

The weather cooperated beautifully...lots of time out in the water and room for some intense rounds of croquet and bocce ball!

Alissa kickin' tail.

Chris and Marcus having fun in the sun.

Cousin Chris, Carrie, Alissa and Brianna hang out on the dock.

As a "bonus", Chris took me on a day trip to Lake Itasca, which is where the Mississippi River begins. It was a great date...we had lunch, then got our feet wet, walking across the headwaters. Only about 15 feet across- it's hard to believe that little stream becomes a raging river!

Chris proudly crosses the headwaters, with Lake Itasca in the background.

Standing in the Mississippi.

"HERE 1475 FT ABOVE THE OCEAN THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI BEGINS TO FLOW ON IT'S WINDING WAY 2552 MILES TO THE GULF OF MEXICO."


Most of our family left the lake on Monday morning. We stuck around an extra day, but the arrival of some thunderstorms put a damper on our water activity! As soon as the clouds cleared, Chris tried his hand at some fishing. Number of fish caught: zero. But it sure was pretty!



This year, I'm thankful we were able to enjoy this country in all of it's serenity and natural beauty. It really is "God's country".