Eagle River July 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th

 We planned our trip around the Eagle River Kids Guides Day on July 14th.  It is a day when the fishing guides volunteer their time to take kids fishing for a half day.  Brennan was so excited to finally be seven last summer and be old enough to participate!  There are always more kids than guides though so the kids that don't get "picked" go to the fish hatchery in Watersmeet, Michigan.  We were so happy when Brennan was picked last year!  He was the last one picked!  He had a GREAT time and was looking forward to doing it again this summer. 

We went to the fairgrounds at 10:00 AM to register.  They have fun activities for the kids to do but Brennan wanted to just hang out until the drawing of names at 11:30 AM.  His name was picked for a great door prize, but unfortunately it was not drawn to go with a guide this year.  He was so sad and went to the car with tears in his eyes.  With some encouragement, we convinced him to go to the fish hatchery.  He ended up having a great time and brought home a nice sized trout!  I'm glad we were able to talk him into going!

 While Brennan fished at the hatchery, we enjoyed lunch out with my mom and Steve and then a lazy afternoon on the porch overlooking the river.




Kate has asked to fish three
times so far!  She wants to
be just like Brennan!




The trout he caught at the
fish hatchery!















That night Brennan, Grandpa, and Dave went out in the boat to grab some dinner and to fish (of course).  Mom, Kate, and I went across the river to eat at the White Spruce with mom's Birthday Club Group.  Once a month this group of ladies gets together to celebrate that month's birthdays, enjoy a dinner out, and socialize and talk.  This group has been meeting for over 30 years!  I join usually once a year when I'm in Eagle River.  Mom was very excited to introduce everyone to Kate.  She was such a charmer and so happy the entire dinner!  We all had fun!

First kiddy cocktail



My mom's birthday was
celebrated this time.




The view of the house I grew up in  from across the
 river.You can't build any closer than this!



 Kim and Spryos came up late on Thursday night so on Friday the "kids" decided to take the boat out for awhile.  We went up to Eagle Lake which is about four lakes away.  We fished, swam, laughed, and played.  It was a beautiful day!  That night since it was Friday and an Eagle River tradition, we headed to the Honey Bear Restaurant for fish fry!  That is truly my favorite place to eat anywhere in the world!  I love fish fry!  The funny thing is you can order the fish any day of the week but Fridays are the "up north" tradition for many people!  We knew we'd have to wait for a table but that's part of the fun!  We found a table outside to wait and enjoyed our time together.  The wait was about an hour, which is considered pretty fast.  The food was delicious (of course) and it was a very enjoyable evening!

Brennan has probably caught over
50 fish in Eagle River so far this year!



The pirate ship is always a
favorite sight!




Swimming with Uncle Spyros





Waitng at the Honey Bear




While we waited, Brennan
went to the water and
fished.



Uncle Spyros and Aunt Kim

We managed to drag Brennan
away from fishing long enough
to eat fish fry.

Aunt Wendy came up late Friday but Uncle Dan couldn't make it because he wasn't feeling well.  On Saturday, mom and Wendy took Kate and Brennan to the Children's Museum.  Dave and I had some alone time and decided to go shopping in Eagle River and out for lunch.  It was so nice to have some quiet time together!  I'll have to get the pictures from Wendy of Kate and Brennan at the museum.  They had so much fun.  I truly think it is one of the cutest Children's Museum's I've ever seen!  That evening we snuck out again  along with Kim and Spyros and played some darts and ate dinner.  It was another perfect day in the northwoods!

 


The big muskie fishing day was Sunday.  Kim and Spryos had bought Brennan a half day of fishing with a guide for Christmas!  Brennan, Dave, and Spryos met up with guide (Chas) at 6:00 AM!  They fished from about 6:30 AM until 11:30 AM and caught some great fish!  Dave said it was amazing and was so impressed with Chas!  He hopes it can become an annual tradition.  While the boys fished, the girls enjoyed another lazy morning.  Boy will I miss these lazy mornings when I go back to work!

Fishing with Chas was a true highlight of Brennan's trip!
Thanks for such a great gift Aunt Kim and Uncle Spryos!

When the boys got back Wendy and I decided to take Brennan and Kate to the beach (which is really a small lake that we always called the beach).  Brennan fished and swam and Kate played on the playground and swam.  Brennan was catching fish for about five other kids and they were all playing with the fish in the water- poor fish!  I think they all survived though!  We left the beach when it started thundering and headed home to watch the rain from the porch.  About fifteen minutes after the rain started, mud and water started streaming down the hill and flooding the porch!  It was a MESS!  I guess that's what happens when it rains about four inches in a half an hour!  Poor mom and Steve- their porch was a disaster!  Everything had to come out on Monday and be cleaned.  It could have been worse though!
 

The porch before the big storm.



Brennan wanted to stay in Eagle River with Grandma and Grandpa, so Dave, Kate, and I said goodbye and headed to Madison so Dave could catch his flight back to Raleigh that evening.  It was a quiet three and a half hours without my sweet buddy Brennan in the car.  I miss him so much when I'm not with him!  We were sad to say goodbye to Dave too.  We'll all be in Raleigh back together in a week though!  I'll go back up to Eagle River to get Brennan on the weekend and then we'll head for home.