Shopping, biking, fishing and b-day dinners!

Today, Chloe & I planned to meet Phyllis in Park Rapids for a day of shopping, so Tom and I headed out early for a little fishing before I had to leave. We caught 7 perch on Strawberry Bar in a little over an hour, on a very peaceful lake. Chloe and I then drove to Park Rapids (an hour's drive) which gave us plenty of time to talk about life. (😉) We then met Phyllis for lunch at Minnesoda Fountain. We enjoyed sub sandwiches (and later went back for ice cream sundaes). We then got down to some serious shopping.

In the meantime, Tom, Leah & Jared rode the Mi-Gi-Zi trail again, this time starting from our cabin, making it a 17 mile bike ride. They later reported that Leah did a great job keeping up the pace. Seth opted to stay home and finish his book. In the evening, Leah & Seth headed out fishing with Tom to Strawberry Bar, where they were able to catch 16 more perch to add to our numbers. We all came together again quite late and by the time the fish were cleaned and supper was ready it was REALLY late (10:30!), but we (the kids and I) had a special meal planned. We had a mini-early birthday dinner for Tom, since I had gotten him some gifts while out shopping that I knew he'd want before his birthday next week (a life vest, a fishing rod tube, and a tub for his fishing stuff). We had steak on the grill with sautéed mushrooms, baked potatoes, and tossed salad. Yum! It was worth the wait.