Once we got to McHenry, Johnny and Cathy invited us to go with them to the
cabins on Lake Owen. "YOU BET!"

Jen has been hearing of this Vahalla in Wisconsin for years and we were ready to go.
Plus, I was a dad now and had to initiate a new generation.

Well, we couldn't have come at a better time. The weather was perfect and the local town, Cable,
was hosting it's yearly festival (see below).

At the festival, we went on a carriage ride.

Jen: We all know our little bundle of joy is a funny gal. During our carriage trip she
proved it. Since I don't have a sense of smell and we are trying to figure out this potty
training business, Dylan is the one to check with Malaren if she needs to go. This time,
smelling something in the air, he said, "Malaren, do you need to go potty? Malaren, looking
as innocent and matter-of-factly as in the picture above replied, "No, horse."

Here's the Forest Lodge Library in Cable. Jen had some work to do on her online studies
so she went there a couple days to get online and hook up with her classmates, in Sweden.
She couldn't get over that it has the best functioning computer system she'd been on
since leaving the office.

Also, part of the festival was a pumpkin carving contest. I saw the whites of Jennifer's eyes
roll to the back of her head: C O M P E T I T I O N ! ! ! In a moment, she mentally composed
her pumpkin: Hurrican Ivan. So we went to Rondau's Grocery store and got all the arts & crafts she'd need.
Then we drove to Hayward to get a pumpkin (because Cable's so smart, they had a pumpkin-carving
competition ... with no pumpkins in town. Duh.)

And Jen made this: Ivan the Terrible. She giggled for two days.

She won (of course). Not that the competition was stiff -- the other two pumpkins (on the left)
were submitted by the Cable School for Blind Children (Ages 4-6) and by a poor dwarf who
simply rolled his up, looking for symapthy. He came to the wrong game. Jen took home
a $50 savings bond as first place. The blind kid got a bail of hay (a new bed!) and the
dwarf got the boot.

Jen: While I will always deny that the issue of the pumpkin was to reach victory, I would
like to take this opportunity to thank my talented husband and mother-in-law for offering
the COMPETIVIVE edge over the blind children and dwarfs with their great drawings.
By the way, I'm STILL giggling!

Well, I think Jen put the curse on us by building a false idol of the Rodynian giant because
he followed us all the way north. We weren't going to get away that easily...

What follows next will go down in legend in the tales of the Great White North.
We decided to take a little ride in the pontoon boat.

It begins with a clear sky. Mom is getting the baby secured in her float-jacket.

(Kevin, thanks so much for float-jacket. And you're right: the loop on the back
of the collar is great. I wish all her clothes came with one.)

And off we go! Completely oblivious to Ivan's little satillite storm, right behind us.

Things got a little ... dark in the sky. But did we care. We were veteran lake-navigators.
What's a little rain? We could handle a little rain, yes?

Da.

We cruised through the narrows and headed out to deep water near Jonson's bay.
That's right when I noticed the horizon. "Hey, look, Malaren -- it's a pretty storm."

Pretty big storm. WHAMO!

Well, we didn't panic -- but we probably should have. I mean, it wasn't the Titanic,
but it was pretty wild out there. As you can see, Malaren did well and her Viking heritage
pulled her through. (I never knew a Swede who couldn't face down a Russian.)

Stalwart Viking lass! Brave the storm! Ride the waves, ye marine Valkyrie!

The rest of the trip was great. Malaren was a big help in the kitchen.

Also, we got up to Bayfield to see dad's brother Dick and his wife Sue.

Dick had a little biology waiting for Malaren. She loved them.

And so it was time to go. On our third day at the lake, Jen got the call from the college.
"Show up in three days." We left a couple days later.

There had been something missing from the whole lake experience: ducks!
But they made sure Maleren got to see them before we left.

This was cute: the McDonald's we stopped at in Spooner was having some kind of
party or celebration: Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow
were all getting ready just as we were leaving. (See the lion doll in her hand? She's so coordinated)

Jen: Malaren's pet lion is Simba. She got it while we were in Sweden and he has been
a true companion ever since. No nap or night's sleep can be had without him. So
naturally, I get a bit antsy when she calls for Simba and I cannot find him. When we
sat in the truck waiting for Dylan, Malaren suddenly hollered "Simba! Simba!" I began
a frantic search for the lion. She kept hollering and pointing out the window. I decided to
chill out in my search to see what she was pointing at. Now, what are the chances that
a real-life Simba would be walking towards our truck outside McDonald's in Spooner, WI?
And you can clearly see there's no mistaking that it really is Simba.

Jen: I am so happy we could "evacation" with family in McHenry and Cable this year.
What a great way to turn lemons into lemonade. Thank you so much for your hospitality.