Name: Falen Gotler
Falen's Summer Essay
This was a summer unlike any other. We spent summer 2020 indoors with a new baby wishing we could be traveling and visiting with family and friends, so this summer we made up for lost time. I've narrowed down some of my favorite memories from this summer to share with you.
In June, my family came to visit us in Minnesota. My sister and her husband plus my niece and nephew have been to Minnesota many times now, but they seem to only visit during the colder months. I was determined to show them how beautiful our state is in the summer. We decided to rent a boat on Lake Minnetonka, and it was the perfect choice. I was the boat DJ, and we set up a Lilypad on the water where we all hung out, had wrestling matches and conducted flip competitions. Other highlights from the trip included a trip to Como Zoo where Olive got to show off her spectacular animal sounds and wowed the whole family.
In July, we had another set of visitors. This time it was my two college roommates, Heidi and Abby plus Heidi's family. When we were in college we all got star tattoos on our feet. Very unique! LOL We decided it was time to add some new ink on this trip, so we all got tiny tattoos. My tattoo is of a little olive branch. The three of us have been on many trips and have stories that can easily bring us to tears. We begin laughing so hard we can't breathe, so while consuming Boludo pizza, which I insisted they try to change their lives, we reminisced about the time in college when we were watching the Notebook in a huge forum with the entire student body. Heidi got up to go to the bathroom and fell down ALL of the stairs and hit a trash can at the bottom. To this day, it is one of the funniest things I've ever experienced.
The summer would not be complete without a trip of our own though, and this year we chose to experience Glacier National Park. We planned it over Jake's birthday because it's his dream vacation, and we invited his entire family to share an Airbnb with us. A few took us up on the offer, and this trip is what made my summer unlike any other. I didn't grow up hiking or going to National Parks, so it was a first time experience for me, and I'm so thankful it was with our little and extended family. The highlight, other than getting matching shirts with everyone on the trip and seeing some amazing sights was our hike to avalanche lake. It challenged me and provided and amazing reward. I felt like I accomplished something, took in a stunning view and provided some amazing memories for Olive.
It was nice having a little bit more normal this summer and finding time to truly be outdoors.