Catching Up

So I've been bad about blogging this summer, but I have a really good excuse. I haven't been feeling so hot basically all summer, but here is a recap of what we've been up to.

In July I went up north to Lake Superior for a girls weekend with my college friends. We stayed at a cute little cabin near Tofte.































































































































We also spent some time with Jon's high school friends this summer.

4th of July in Wisconsin

For 4th of July, we decided to meet Beth and Mike in Iron River, Wisconsin for camping and exploring the CAMBA mountain biking trails - billed as "the premier system of off-road bike trails in the Midwest." We arrived at Twin Bear campground sometime Friday afternoon. It was an interesting place. There were so many RVs crammed into such a small place that you could barely turn around. Our little tent site was right next to the lake and probably the best site in the whole place. Our first (and for some of us, last) ride was an official disaster. The trail was poorly marked and grown over. The mosquitoes and ticks were awful. Jon fell off his bike and hurt his knee right away and I wasn't feeling that good to start with. We got quite lost but we were finally rescued by some friendly young ATV riders who showed us back to the main road. Beth and Mike spend the rest of the evening picking hundreds of ticks off the dogs. The campground had a nice fireworks show and we had a prime spot for watching. Saturday we decided to take it a little easier and explore the nearby town of Bayfield. It was a cute little town. We walked around by the water and found a small dog friendly cafe where we had a nice lunch (or in Beth's case, ice cream) outside. Beth and Mike went biking again when we got back and the second trail was just as poorly marked and the bugs were even worse. I'm not sure we will go back again, but it was nice to spend the weekend with Beth and Mike.

When Will It Stop?

Yesterday, when I got home from class, I had a letter waiting for me. My personal information may have been stolen again. This is the fifth company in less than a year to lose my information. I'm really not exaggerating. Memorial Blood Centers, the Military Officers Association, Administaff, the MN Department of Commerce and now BNY Mellon Shareholder Services. I've never even heard of this latest company, but apparently they do something for someone who has my information. So far I haven't noticed anyone using my information, but it is still pretty scary that so many companies apparently do not have proper practices in place to avoid these kinds of issues.

While I'm on the issue of identity, I would just like to point out that I passed through security at the Mpls St. Paul airport and the Missoula International (that part makes Jon laugh) Airport with my maiden name on my boarding pass and my married name on my identification. I didn't even notice the discrepancy until we were on our way back. I hadn't really paid much attention to my name since I thought by now all my stuff had been changed. In fact, I specifically remember changing my name with Northwest and have flown several times since I've been married.

Saturday

I accidentally slept until 10:30 this morning. I think my body is still on vacation and on Mountain Time!

Helena

These are some pictures from Helena. The first ones are from my cousin's wedding, the second set is of Jon and I at the top of Mount Helena and the last pictures are from a little hike we took with my parents at Hauser Dam.

The New Place

Here are a few pictures of my parent's new place in Helena. I think they have their work cut out for them!

The Hills

Well, we are back from vacation. I think I will post pictures in a couple posts. Here are some pictures from the Sweetgrass Hills. It was Jon's first time visiting my great grandma McDermott's place and the first time I'd been up there in summer for a quite a while.