minny-sota

molly LOVES minnesota. she loves the water, she loves the boat, she loves the John Deere riding mower, she loves the old school Fisher-Price toys, she loves her aunts and uncle and grandma, and she especially loves, and worships, and copies in every way, her cousins! so lucky for her, she gets to go every summer (and hopefully some occasional winters) for the rest of her life.

we were the last group to make it up this year and just in time to see most of the family before they headed back to their individual necks of the wood. she had so much fun with her cousins. there was lots of legos, trains, pirates and sharks (along with a lot of "no! that's mine!" which ended up being one of Molly's favorite phrases, sigh). Molly has always had this eery ability to balance things on top of each other (except for herself that is, she falls all the time, even when standing on her own two feet on solid ground...ah, like mother like daughter), but she spent some quality time with the blocks and legos making super tall towers.

and there was much dancing and playing of music. her uncle Sean plays guitar which Molly thought was the coolest thing ever, and grandma Mike bought Guitar Hero for the Wii (yes, they have a Wii in the woods) and here is a picture of Molly on drums, cousins Declan on guitar and Ryan on vocals. what a band!

Molly also went a bit more classical and played piano with cousin Sinead (yes, there is also a piano in the woods...i'm telling ya, this place is posh!).


this summer for Molly was all about the hand-me-downs, being the youngest of the grandkids means we pretty much didn't have to bring any clothes for Molly. and her after-shower attire (on the left) was no exception. the Pooh robe has been passed down through the kids from the very first Feeney grandchild (Sara, now 15) and Molly kept the tradition going this year by sporting the cuteness after taking her showers. the cabin has an outdoor shower, which Molly thought was pretty much the best thing since sliced bread, and she asked for a shower almost every day. i got some great pics of her in the shower, but perhaps not appropriate for the blog. but i tell ya, that girl's got a fantastic physique!

the only thing that got more requests then the showers were "boat rides" and "jumping in the lake". we took a boat ride pretty much every other night. we would get suited up, to the right is one of the best nightly boat ensembles, with molly in her "boat coat" (aka life preserver), dinasour pjs (more hand-me-downs), skeleton hoodie (again from cousin Ryan) and pink sneakers - oh yeah! this year i got to do a lot of the driving, which was fun, and of course Molly helped. check out what a good boat driver she is!


regarding the "jumping in the lake", this was the coldest July on record in those parts, and the temperature of the lake water proved it! so we only got into the water a couple times, not that Molly didn't try. every time we walked outside she'd start beelining it for the lake, exclaiming "run and jump in the lake!" like all the other clothes she wore while there, her bathing suit was another hand-me-down and it was one of those awesome ones with the flotation device built in, which made her look like super man (picture on the left). look at how happy she is at the prospect of getting in the lake...and it was freezing!

the best day of swimming happened on our very last morning there (of course) and it was also the day my camera ran out of batteries, so we only got a few pictures, but here they are. i especially love the shot of Molly standing by the steps at the end of the dock. i swear that girl has no fear! Molly really loved watching both Zero and i run and jump into the lake. she would even count it down for us, "1, 2, 3, GO!" and off we went, splashing into the cold, cold water! but hey, the view is great!


speaking of great views, here is another slideshow of some of the fantastic scenery there in Minnesota - we took most of these on our boat rides. if you look closely, you'll notice a family of ducks in one of the shots.


and since i'm on a slideshow kick, how about our blueberry hike. first off, molly is a pretty darn good hiker, of course she'd do anything for the promise of blueberries. there are many wild blueberries growing on the island and here's some shots of Molly enjoying the bounty!


i mentioned at the beginning Molly's affection for the John Deere riding mower. well come on, who wouldn't love that?! i myself got to take her for a spin this year and mow the lawn. for those of you who knew him, Tee Feeney, Molly's grandpa, was a man who loved his lawn. i can remember many a time looking out, off the deck, to see him watering away, almost in a zen-like state. and i would wake early to the sound of the riding mower starting up. so i consider it an honor to mow the lawn in Minnesota, and i hope i do him proud. Molly, being the go-getter she is, not only tried her hand at the riding mower, she went old school as well!

Minnesota is a magical place that's all about family. and Molly had a wonderful time with hers!


hopefully everyone got a chance to spend some time in a beautiful place with their loved ones this summer. next up, our week with Grandma Nancy!