Fall Lake House Trip

My favorite season of the year to visit my parents' lake house has to be the Fall.  It's just incredibly beautiful then!  Hailey had Friday and Monday off from school, so we took advantage of the long weekend and headed north.  We arrived on Thursday evening and left on late Monday morning.  On Friday, we made leaf piles, hiked through the woods on a nature hunt, went for a boat ride, and helped my parents clean up the yard (picking up sticks and downed tree branches and then burning them).  We also celebrated my mom's birthday with Chinese for dinner and ice cream for dessert.  We drove up to Bayfield on Saturday to pick apples and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  We picked Honey Gold for us and Courtland for my parents.  We also bought some Macintosh 2nds (to make applesauce with) and Apple Cider.  On Sunday, Brian and my dad (with a big help from Hailey) took the boat and pier out of the water, but not before taking all of us on one last boat ride around the lake.  We made lasagna for dinner and apple pie for dessert...delicious Fall weather food!  We decided to do a little shopping in Minocqua on Monday morning before heading home.  I wish we could have stayed longer!

 

Leaf pile fun!

 

Look out!

 

Lots of leaves to play in!

 

Raking up the leaves and pine needles.

 

Out for a hike and nature hunt.

 

Animal tracks

 

Animal den 

 

The road leading away from the house.

 

Returning from the hike.

 

Our nature hunt finds...y-shaped stick, tree bark, three kinds of leaves, something brown, something purple, a pinecone, etc.

 

This was our choice for a "leaf bigger than your hand".  This one is even bigger than her head! 

 

Excited for a boat ride!

  

 

The view of the back of the house from the boat.

 

Love the abundance of color!

 

These Blue Jays have discovered a good feeding spot under the bird feeder in the back yard. 

 

Picking apples at Sunset Valley Orchard in Bayfield.

 

 

Half a bushel of Honey Golds.

 

I love the views on this orchard!

 

Climbing an apple tree!

 

 

Family photo opportunity!

 

Love this one, too!

 

This tree was a little high, so she didn't want Brian to leave her side.

 

Lots of trees to play in!

 

C'mon guys!  Let's go this way!

 

Finding pretty fallen leaves with Grammy and Poppy.

 

They were having fun!

 

I love how the white Birch trees stand out amongst all the color.

 

Testing out spots for another family picture.

 

 

This one works!

 

Some ATV fun!

 

One last boat ride for the year!

 

Trying to fish, but the fish weren't biting!

 

Leaf floating on the water.

 

Driving the boat!

 

This juvenile eagle flew over our heads when we were attempting to fish off the side of the boat.  I'm sure he was hoping we'd catch something for him!

 

Taking the pier out.

 

The sunset highlighted the beautiful colors across the lake!

 

Lots of fog over the lake on Monday morning.  It was much thicker prior to me taking this photo.

 

The sun came up and the fog disappeared not long after!