We had been planning this since we had to miss last year's celebration. Drew and I were going to meet the Nagel's up north at the annual Nagel weekend in Lake Eva! We had the luxury of flying up to Houghton from Pittsburgh which saved us many miles on the road. We flew into Chicago and got on the plane for Houghton. We were 10 minutes away from being on the ground in Houghton when the pilot came overhead to tell us that it was cloudy over the landing strip and we were prohibited from landing. I figured he was kidding. Turns out he was not. He turned the plane around and we flew back to Chicago. I was amazed. Was this real?

A bunch of people on the plane started with ideas of how we could get up north quickly. There are only two flights per day that go to Houghton, so our odds were looking pretty grim. I was seated next an undergraduate student and the women in front of us, Isabelle, and I were trying to figure out the best way to wait out the time until our next flight. The people that travel to Houghton are generally home grown, upper Michigan locals. I would blindly trust most of the people on the plane. So, Isabelle and I decided to save some cash by splitting a hotel room. When we checked in, I didn't have enough cash - and she said to pay me at the airport the next morning - that's the U-P for ya. It was outside of my character, but I had a good feeling - so Drew and I packed up and shared the room. We had a divider and Drew and I camped out for the night for a few hours of good sleep. We were shortly back on the bus to the airport and made it up to Houghton around 10AM.

The next day Mom and I went shopping in Calumet to see some of the adorable shops up there. Curty and Deb splurged and bought Drew a baby Stormy Kromer - Ahhhh yeah. It was seriously the most adorable thing in baby history. I also got a U-P jacket which I wear religiously.

The rest of the weekend was much smoother. We spent time with Andrea, Dan, the boys, Matt, Leeanna, and their son. We fished and swam. I introduced the boys to the infamous "fish dive". One of my favorite dives that I learned at Onaway Island. You flap and flop around like a fish out of water before hitting the water with a smack. When done correctly, it's pretty awesome if I can admit this myself. The boys loved it and each took their turn diving into the freezing cold water. We then swam from the middle of the lake back to the house. It felt so good to soak up the sun on the pontoon boat and spend some time putting our toes in the water. I have some adorable videos of Drew dipping his tiny toes into the lake. He was a little small for his swimming trunks and they were falling off his pale buns.

It was so nice to be able to spend the weekend with the Nagel family. Even Aunt Sue drove up for an evening. We really appreciated the many miles that was required for everyone to spend time together at Lake Eva. Such a great weekend. We definitely have the calendar booked for next year to make this an annual event!

Drew continued his streak of being an awesome traveler. We didn't have any problems on the way home!! I am so grateful for the opportunity show Drew the U-P and Keewenaw Brewing Company so early in his life. His Uncle Joel would sure be proud of us brining him up Joel's old stomping grounds. Joel and I created many great memories with Tech friends up in Houghton. College goes by so fast. What a great time in our lives. Sure are fortunate to have those memories.

Maybe I should go back to college... Oh wait, I'm still in school for at least another 5 years. But really, I am still a little jealous of the MTU experience. Guess we need to raise up the next generation of Huskies!

Labor Day in Lake Eva!

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