2021 Recap
When I sit down to do my year's end review, I generally have an idea of what we've been doing. As I picked up the computer and waited for it to power on, I realized I have absolutely no clue what we did this entire year. It's like anything before August is a complete blur. So, this blog will be just as informative for me as it will be for you. 😀
January
We started the year off with a New Year's Day hike. I'm constantly amazed that I live in a place where there are thousands of acres at our disposal to use for pretty much any form of recreation we can think of. We did a lot of hiking/snowshoeing/skiing during the winter so the following are just various pictures of the different spots we went:
Angleworm Portage/Trail
Sunset at Shagawa Lake
Skiing at Hidden Valley
Sledding on Big Dutch
Ice Skating on Miners Lake
Trapping at an undisclosed location in the Superior National Forest
Skiing on the Trezona Trail
Quick break from skiing
A couple of quick highlights, Santa brought an ice fishing hut so Caleb was able to catch a couple of nice fish to fry up.
February
February always seems to sneak up on us. I think we spend so much time playing in January that we don't notice the days flying by.
We finally got some cast iron put up
The morning view out the dining room window is always magnificent
Almost as magnificent as -25 degree hikes to Kawishiwi Falls
Pretty cold, right??
March
March brought our best friends to Ely. We were all SO excited because we always have the BEST time when we are all together!
We took a quick hike out to the Pictographs
Winter hiking out to the pictographs is THE BEST
Andrea and I slipped away one day for a quick hike around Dry Lake
But during their visit I wasn't feeling the best. Come to find out, I had a pretty significant gallstone that had to be removed immediately. UGH
We had a little bit more snow for which Curt was really excited because he could use his brand new snowblower.
Dude. Aren't the Northern Lights incredible??
March snow never lasts long and the kids were able to put together the trampoline they got for Christmas. Sadly, it wasn't quite as big as we thought so we will be passing it along to some friends that have toddlers. They'll get lots of use out of it.
Isn't my little man a handsome one?
With the warmer temps, the ice quickly rotted. This was our last time on the ice for spring 2021
Hiking with friends on a new trail near Fall Lake
More hiking on the Bass Lake Trail
April
April means open water and muddy trails.
Bass Lake Trail
Curt and Gabe had a little "jam" session. Curt was on his Native American Flute and Gabe grabbed his recorder while we sat around the fire.
We hit Little Long for the fist paddle of the season with our friend Desirae
Curt and Caleb were able to do some fishing on Johnson Lake
May
Warmer temperatures meant more outdoor activities. I was still battling my foot hurting and I wanted to be on it as much as I could, working out ways to better recover, so I hiked any chance I could.
Emily Came for a visit so we took a trip to the North Shore
Not sure what Caleb was doing here, but I'm sure it wasn't going to be nice for poor, unsuspecting Isabel...
Baseball started for the kids! The league does a great job of keeping siblings together on a team. Super thankful for that!
Curt performed a wedding at Kawishiwi Falls, in another "first" for us!
Both kids had the honor of being part of the Memorial Day service through Scouts. This was the most well done Memorial Day service I have ever seen.
June
By the time June got here, our temps started to soar! This was one of the hottest summers people can ever remember having in Ely.
Isabel's dance recital was held in the park. All the grandparents came up during this week so they were all able to sit outside in the heat with us. 😁
The last day they were all here we celebrated Isabel's birthday.
And the kids had their piano recital.
Baseball was still going strong.
And we went to Fenske Lake for some paddling,
And portaged in a couple times to our favorite swimming spot
Where Curt and the littles practiced dumping the canoe and getting back in.
Isabel celebrated her 12th birthday with her best friends at the North American Bear Center
Before Curt's folks left from their visit with us, friends took us all out on their pontoon boat for a tour of Burntside Lake. Back when Curt's dad was in his teens, he went into the Boundary Waters from a portage off of Burntside. This was a very nostalgic ride for him. 💗
Isabel, Caleb, and I hiked the Bass Lake Trail and decided to veer off on a connecting trail. It was obvious that this trail isn't used very often, but it was fun to explore a new area. Sadly, this forced us to take a road walk back to our vehicle, but thankfully the Echo Trail was being resurfaced so traffic was minimal.
Temps dropped off for a day or two and this blanket was a necessity for watching baseball!
But don't worry, temps rebounded and this bike ride to Semer's Beach was rewarded with a quick dip in Shagawa.
July
July brought warmer temps and anticipation of summer camp, visits to grandma and grandpa's house, and my big hike.
Isabel and Caleb won some cash prizes for participating in the 4th of July parade.
Pretty sure all of Ely was here for this beautiful day!
Games in the park were an absolute blast!
I was prepping for the SHT hike I was doing at the end of the month. Unlike the AT, the SHT is remote, meaning mailing boxes ahead is almost a necessity. Could you do it without? Yep. But who wants to try and find an open store/gas station/hole-in-the-wall when you've been hiking for days on end?
Some of my prep included practicing setting up Curt's Duplex tent
And apparently taking selfies...
Our friends came to visit again! We LOVE when people come to visit. Not only does it give us a chance to show off everything Ely has to offer, but we get to catch up extensively because we are the only available tour guides. 😊
Finally the day came to start my hike!
The SHT is gorgeous.
It was happy to see me lol
Mornings are always my favorite time to hike
Views are pretty incredible along the shoreline, but I hate hiking up to them. Just leave me up there or keep me down low!
Lake Superior
August
But, my hike ended almost as quickly as it began. I had a little bit of heart trouble related to days of hard, cardiovascular exercise. Having to stop my hike put me into a major slump. I don't think I've yet to recover from it. I do have a new plan of attack for long distance hiking and I'll keep you updated on how that goes. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat wondering...
Gooseberry Falls State Park. This was my last day on trail.
BUT
Coming home meant I was able to see the baptism service at Shagawa!
This was the summer of fires. We had fires to the north, south, east and west of us. Smoke was in the air for weeks on end. The plus side was our kids were able to learn a lot about wildfires and what a firestorm is, which is what you see pictured here.
This wasn't even the worst day of smoke.
September
VBS was the last day of August and the first week of September. School began the week of Labor Day and summer was officially over.
Caleb and one of his best friends
UGH. This was a tough day. Caleb had been playing at the playground and knocked his head on an unprotected bolt. We were half a mile from home and we had walked there. He was so calm.
For such a small wound it sure bled a lot. Because of the location, he wasn't given any numbing agent for the staples. He was incredibly brave, right up until the doctor had to take one out and put it in again because it wasn't in enough. Then he lost it.
Sandy, Danielle, and I took a trip out to Utah. It as the 20th anniversary of our Dad's death. Being in a place he loved so much meant a lot. We went to his grave, visited our Grandma and aunt, and did some fun things together.
We shot trap
and hiked. We also ate. A ton. It was a great trip and I don't know why we don't do this more often.
Back at home, we learned more about wild rice and was able to take part in parching our harvest.
And we can't forget the beginning of hunting season! Someone was extremely excited...
Isabel began sewing lessons, Caleb played football, and life was very relaxed as we began school and the temperatures cooled off.
I checked another bucket list item off by hiking to the highest point in Minnesota. I'm very thankful for friends that love to hike with me.
Caleb and Isabel participated in the Kid's Marathon. Throughout the month of September they ran a total of 25 miles. The final 1.2 was run the day of famous Ely Marathon.
Caleb placed 2nd for boys, behind a 12 year old.
October
October is my birthday month! I've always loved October. October means jeans, sweatshirts, hot dogs over a fire, and s'mores in my tummy. This October was extra special:
We went to our first Octoberfest Party. Isabel dressed the part, of course...
Curt had the honor of baptizing several guys from the VCC Football team and a couple girls from the basketball team. Major kudos to these young adults. The weather was not very warm and that water was cold! brrrrrrrr
There was a television crew there doing a story on the coach. You can see it on KARE Land of 10,000 stories.
We attended the Jake Forsman Memorial Car Show and Burnout Competition. This was super cool. Caleb now wants me to drift around every single corner we take. <sigh>
After a long summer of burning restrictions, we finally had a fire.
And another one
AND another. This one was for Caleb's birthday
He had a couple friends over and we let them drink as much soda as they wanted. We are now everyone's favorite parents. 🤣
Gabe came up for Caleb's final football game. It was under the lights on the high school field. The mud was an added bonus.
We participated in the annual Rock Find. A local artist paints 100 rocks over the year and hides them all on one day for the kids to go find. This year, the kids had to fight several adults for the artistic rocks.
And we bought a house. To answer the most frequently asked questions:
Yes, we still live in Ely.
Yes, we were living in a parsonage before.
Yes, we could have stayed there.
Yes, we LOVED the parsonage.
We wanted our own place.
We are beyond thrilled to have a place to call our own. We don't want to ever leave Ely (unless God calls us away) and planting roots is really important to us. We are closer to the church, closer to friends, and can walk to the grocery store whenever we want quite easily.
I've never known a town to do Halloween the way Ely does. The kids had a blast going around with their friends.
Truthfully, November was all about our new house. It seems like there was a holiday thrown in, but I barely remember.
We got our first snow on November 1st
Now you're just going to see a series of pictures that show the work we've been doing. I thought about labeling each one with what room you're looking at and what we've done to it, but I'm tired just thinking about it. The fact of the matter is, whatever the room was before, it's not anymore. A TV room is now a dining room. Two bedrooms are now our master bedroom with a walk in closet. The main floor bathroom is now part of the master bedroom. The office is now our laundry/utility room. A storage room is now a bathroom for the kids. And the dining room is now part of our family room that I'm tempted to call a great room. Below you'll see some of the demolition, along with the beginning of rebuilding.
This is where the washer and dryer were. They were in the kitchen. After making some changes, this area is now one of my favorite spots in the whole house. Pictures are further down the page.
Making way for an open concept kitchen/dining room
This was the only closet on the main floor. Now we have none-lol
This was the entry into one of the bedrooms, we took the door out and closed in the wall.
View from the kitchen into the dining room. You can see where the door to the bedroom was.
View from the dining room into the kitchen
I just stepped out the front door for a better view.
I'm not going to lie. When we were at this stage I was a little freaked out. This is the view from one bedroom into the one next to it. The bedroom I am standing in did not have a closet. The bedroom you can see became the closet.
With a new furnace, the original plan was to take out the chimney and close it in. We loved the look of the chimney so much that we decided to leave it exposed.
Header going in
Maggie and Donna did a lot of the painting. This is Caleb's room upstairs. Yes, he picked the color.
Header is in!
Caleb's finished room
My laundry room
More tearing out. This is the original bathroom entry.
This was a storage room. It became a bathroom
The beginnings of our walk in closet. You can see the new opening to the bathroom on the left.
Bob made this sign. Apparently he needed to eat?? 🙄
Dry wall up for the closet!
New entry created for the master bedroom
Somewhere in the midst of remodeling, we managed to stop for Thanksgiving. I am SO incredibly thankful and blessed that my folks and grandparents came up.
Even if they weren't always the best at conversation...
This was a great Thanksgiving. We celebrated Gabe's birthday while he was here.
They all were able to hear ice being made on Fall Lake. Mom stood outside for hours listening for it. It's quite the experience and I highly recommend coming up during the ice making season!
LOOK! mud going on!
This wall is one of the coolest things we have done.
Here's a look at where the washer and dryer used to be. On the right is Curt's coffee bar. You can see the dining room behind Curt.
Somehow we made it to December. Again, this month has been pretty much dedicated to the house.
Working out how we wanted this to look took some time.
More mudding!
The previous door to the bathroom is completely closed in
Done!
I love the contrast with the black hooks we put up. Great idea, Donna!
Paul is a master at mudding
Bob worked hard turning this room into a bathroom for the kids
We added a coat hook with the leftover barn siding and black coat hooks
Getting closer to completion
We had wood delivered for our woodstove. We are storing it at the parsonage until we have a better set up at our new house.
Added a lantern
View from the master bedroom towards the bathroom and closet
Coming along!
Almost done
When completed, there will be trim, a storage cabinet on the left, and a sliding barn door on the right.
We took a break to do some trapping
Dry wall completed, primed, and ready for paint
A friend gave this as a housewarming gift. Isn't it beautiful?
First fire!
Christmas came and along with it came sickness. Poor Isabel started feeling sick Christmas Eve. Covid negative, but she felt pretty bad for a couple days.
Caleb, however, didn't.
Even Silas got a present from a friend.
LOOK! The dining room got painted!
A covering was made for the header to resemble a beam
Our bathroom started getting some finishing touches
The kids got kicksleds for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa
They are a blast!
Not sure how much snow we have on the ground, but it's getting to be a respectable amount. We don't have to shovel the roof yet.
More getting done in our bathroom
New Year's Eve Curt and I relaxed at the house for awhile
Because this was going on back at the parsonage...
I'm looking forward to what 2022 will bring; whether it is good or some bad, and I am hoping to make each day special and worth living. God has been so incredibly good to us. 💓
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