What we have been up to

This post has been overdue for a few weekends now. Currently I am sitting in bed with Brendan next to me, drinking our coffee and just enjoying our Saturday morning. In a few hours we are going to our first rock climbing class which we are so excited about. Another fun, adventurous hobby. Then we might go camping tonight, with our friends Andy and Lexi. It is getting colder here and camping will not always be an option in a few weeks.
Labor day vacation to Michigan was so much fun. We started our trip with a wonderful meal at an Italian restaurant with Brendan's Aunt and Uncle Mike and Laura. They were kind enough to lend us a car to drive up north to Canada Creek. We are so lucky we have such awesome family both in Minnesota and Michigan. I could hardly believe when we arrived up at Canada Creek at midnight that Brendan's grandparents had waited up for us. What a wonderful welcome and how special did we feel! The next morning we just enjoyed everything Canada Creek, swimming in the lake, a hike, driving out to Little Joe and just enjoying it all. We had a great dinner, popped some champagne and just enjoyed. Afterwards we went out with Papa to spot some elk which we found like always.
The next day the weather rained, but sleeping in on a cozy bed and hearing the rain outside was wonderful. After finally getting moving we started our day of eating. It was Papa's idea to go to Mackinac City and enjoy some good meals. We ate lunch at the Rusty Anchor then headed to Mackinac City for some shopping and ice cream. For dinner we went to the Hakmatac, this is the same restaurant we went after we got engaged. Funny enough the picture above is almost the same picture we took three years ago! It was a wonderful trip, Brendan's grandparents and Aunt and Uncle made it so awesome for us both. We are looking forward to some fall activities now and some Utes football!
Love
Brendan and Alyssa

We love Canada Creek, it is a special place to Brendan and I for so many wonderful reasons. We had a great weekend up there over labor day that was just exactly what we wanted and needed. I wanted to post these pictures because they remind me of certain Canada Creek rituals we have. One of those is breakfast at the ranch house, I don't have this pictured but every time we go there Bren orders the same skillet. We enjoy breakfast with coffee with a fantastic view of the lake and delicious food. The walk there and back always is nice as well.
Another tradition that Grandma Barb always seems to do at some point through the weekend is invite her best friend Marilyn over for either tea or wine usually around 3 to 5pm. I love this, I hope someday I have a best friend who lives near me that we can do this together. Barb always invites me to be apart of this and it always makes me feel so special. Marilyn has become a great friend of mine as well, she even attended our wedding in Minnesota.
I love the picture of Bren and Papa, this is what they do on a comfortable afternoon! I love it!

The Cottage

After we got left Canada Creek we drove down to Brendan's Aunt and Uncles house to enjoy some lake activities and good times. They have a cottage on the water that always makes me feel like summertime. Some fun things we always do are waterskiing, wake boarding, an evening pontoon boat ride and good meals. Laura and Mike are great cooks and made an awesome beef tenderloin and vegetables with parmesian. I love the picture looking out on the water because it just feels like the perfect end to a great weekend. The other picture is our lovely table with our delicious meal just about ready to eat. You can tell fall was in the air and it was one of the last gasps of summer!

Alyssa Wakeboarding

This is a video of me wakeboarding, I am not terribly good at it but I enjoy giving it a go in the summer months when I can't be snowboarding.

Video of Brendan Waterskiing

This is a video of Brendan waterskiing at the Puff's cottage. It was a really choppy day and this was one the last runs he did. I still think he is fantastic and I wanted to post it.