Everything Except Cooking: Lutsen 2014

This is probably my favorite post to write each year. Or one of my favorite, anyway. Probably because I'm fresh off of a relaxing weekend away with my besties.

Breakfast selfie!

This year was no different. The annual "Lutsen" trip certainly didn't disappoint.

We traveled southeast this time instead of northeast, to check out a little different area than we usually go. Yes, we still call it our Lutsen trip, even though it seems we don't actually go to Lutsen very often anymore.

A stop for a quick round of 18 was on the agenda on our way to our destination since the weather was going to be absolutely picture perfect.

Picture perfect it certainly was.

Dave organized a little scramble for us, with different games on each hole.

A few very serious strategy conversations were held.

In the end, it didn't really matter. Hit the ball if you can. That was my strategy.

Some shots were beautiful, and others... weren't.

ALL of the company was beautiful though.

Have you ever tried putting with a baseball bat? It's not easy.

Have you ever tried teeing up a water balloon? It doesn't go very far, but it sure is fun.

Water balloon golf! It's the next big thing. So is finding a level spot to take a timed picture from your phone. Clearly I didn't do so well on that level spot thing.

When golf was over, we pulled into our driveway lined with these trees,

and found this waiting for us to be our home away from home for the next three days.

The view of the house from the lake side was just as magnificent!

The leaves were absolutely in their prime, and the forecast was in the upper 70s for the next two days. We couldn't have ordered this up more perfectly if we had tried.

Nature was all around me, which was ideal for snapping some fun pictures. I know this is a very picture-heavy post, but trust me when I say I'm only sharing a tiny fraction of what I actually took.

I do think my photo skills are improving, but it's easy when you have this as your subject!

We decided that the weather was too perfect, so the next day we found a pontoon rental, and couldn't stop singing Little Big Town songs.

The obligatory knitting picture. Knitting, beer, pontoon, sunshine, friends. Nothin' better. Enjoying life right here, right now.

Safety first, peeps!

This was our FIFTEENTH annual trip. May we NEVER stop.

I may or may not have been shaking a little when I actually saw this magnificent bird, and actually had my camera with me. How cool that I was brought to that exact moment and I could record it.

The lake was beautiful, lined with some cute doll-house houses, and some much larger "cabins".

I got to capture this dad and his two boys reeling in a catch of the day. They let the littlest one man the net. He did a perfect job! I hope they made some great memories that day.

Seriously. Magnificent.

I might have been shaking a little when I took these two pictures also. Um yes.

What an opportunity!

The original! Right on our lake! Of course we had to stop in...

and make a toast!

To friendship and 15 years!

The ladies had to get new Saucy and Zesty shirts!

A little photo walk around the house led me to some mushrooms,

and more vibrant colors than I've seen in nature in a very long time.

I even went for a walk two out of the three mornings, which was very necessary when you have pizza rolls, tater tots, chicken wings, and cheese and crackers for dinner while on Weight Watchers. Oops. Walking through this forest was enough motivation to get me out of bed and moving though!