Summer Snapshots

Tomorrow is the first day of school and just like that, our summer comes to a close.  I don't really like heat, more specifically humidity, so summer hasn't ever been my favorite season.  This year was different.  We got out.  We explored.  We relaxed.  We enjoyed summer.  I enjoyed summer.  Maybe it's the ages the kids are at or maybe it's the fact that we now have our own backyard? Whatever it was, I'm happy to have finally enjoyed summer, despite the heat ;)

I didn't get on the actual computer much this summer so here is a glimpse of our adventures the past few months!

Enjoying having our very own backyard!

Our private island in the Apple River!  Our elderly neighbor has been gracious enough to allow us to use his yard (which is riverfront property) to access this little island and explore whenever we want!

We went to three library programs this summer!  Touch-a-Truck, the MN ZOOmobile and "The Frog Guy!"

Boating on Pipe Lake!

Backyard camping over the fourth of July!

Fawn-Doe-Rosa

Hiking and exploring the falls at Willow River State Park!

Wildlife!

Polk County Fair!

Polk County Fair!

Amelia LOVES catching all the critters she can find and I LOVE that about her :)

Shot for Hope and meeting/chatting with Donnie Vincent!!!

Minnesota State Fair

Minnesota State Fair

Minnesota State Fair

We enjoyed our summer but we are ready for fall!  We are ready to fall back into the routines that come with having a child in school.  We thrive on routine but it is just so darn hard for us to adhere to even a loose schedule during the summer!  Tomorrow the schedule returns and we will spend a few weeks figuring out our new routines for the academic year.  And I suppose it won't be long before we are all longing for summer 2016 to arrive :)

Fun Winter Weekend

Well, somehow I missed all of February on here!  Oops!  We have been sick pretty much since the end of January :(  

Joe eventually got over Fifth's Disease but was never 100%, then he got an incredible sinus infection where crud was coming out his eyes (yuck), Amelia had pink eye in both eyes for her birthday, Jackson had broncho-pneumonia and now I am fighting a raging ear infection in which I have found no relief yet.  Hopefully this is it for us and sickness for awhile!

Before my ear infection hit we took advantage of the wonderful weather this past weekend and got outside!  Saturday, I took Amelia to Willow River State Park to try out her new skis.  

2026 Olympic hopeful!

She made it about a quarter-mile and then quit out of frustration of slipping/sliding/falling.  Poor girl, she just wanted to keep up with the others on the trail and be as fast as the people she watched on the Olympics, ha!  She's excited to give it another shot and keep practicing!  After skiing she wanted to hike to the waterfall - so we did!  

It's thawing!

Sunday morning Amelia, my mom, sister and I went snowshoeing at Afton State Park.

We went a mile and a half!  I wish we had tried this sooner in the winter - it was a lot of fun!

You'll notice the boys are missing from all these activities/pictures...  Jackson went along with Amelia and I (in a carrier) skiing/hiking and during snowshoeing my dad watched both boys!  

Amelia begged to take Jackson out in the infant sled at my parent's house despite the snow nearly as deep as she is tall!  She pulled him back and forth on the path they use to fill their bird feeders!

As for dad, he has been skiing in Aspen since Friday!

We are picking him up tonight and the kids (Amelia in particular) are excited to see him!

As much as I love winter, I am ready for spring this year!  Between all the sickness that has plagued our home the past month and a half and the sub-zero temperatures that have kept us cooped up inside  - I'm over it!  Winter is no fun when you can't get out and enjoy it! 

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend we had a little vacation to the north shore!  We left Friday morning and headed to Hayward and the National Fishing Hall of Fame!  Jason has been wanting to go for awhile and this trip was a great opportunity - it broke up our drive for the kids :)

Giant musky statue with 2 kids in it's mouth! (click to enlarge)

After looking around and letting the kids explore we got back on the road stopping only to picnic for lunch!

Our first night we decided to hang out at the hotel and swim, order pizza and explore the rocky beach.  The pool wasn't a huge hit but eventually both kids somewhat warmed up to it.

Watching Amelia and Joe run on the beach, throw rocks in the water and wade in the freezing water (their feet turned pink!) was seriously the highlight of the trip for me - they were so happy and free!  We went out both nights and it was the most relaxed I felt all weekend.   

Bath time was fun on the trip because we had a whirlpool tub in our room!  

Amelia begged us to come in the "big bath" with them and on night two daddy obliged.  They thought it was great!  

And now, the reason for our trip...A Day Out With Thomas!  Thomas the Tank Engine made his way to Duluth, MN and we went to see him and take a ride on him!

There were lots of activities set up at the site including bounce houses, bubbles, train tables, story time, meetings with Sir Topham Hat, entrance to the Lake Superior Railway Museum and more!  We got there several hours before our train time and it was the best thing we could have done!  We got to do everything without the crowds and long, long lines :)

Amelia loved the inflatable slide!

Joey could have played at the train tables ALL day!

We took our ride on Thomas at noon!

Excited boy waiting in line :)

It was a short twenty minute ride through the depot and to the edge of Canal Park but both kids had a blast!  It was their first real train ride and who better to give it to them than one of their favorite engines?!  Joe was so overwhelmed he passed right out on that twenty minute train ride:

Little buddy was out cold!

Once again we spent the evening at our hotel :)  

Family photo on Lake Superior

Joe brought his "wormy" with and for some reason kept throwing him in the lake and then he would panic and Amelia would scream, "I'm coming!  To the rescue!"  It was pretty cute :)

 

Jason took Amelia to rent a movie from the front desk and they had a little movie night while I got into bed early.  I hadn't slept well the night before because I had two kiddos right up against me nearly pushing me out of bed!  *we had a king suite so we all shared the king bed!

My morning view :)

Sunday morning we got checked out and headed to Canal Park in Duluth.  We got there just in time to see the lift bridge go up for a ship to go into the harbor.

Waving at the ship's crew!

While Joe pushed the stroller around Amelia chased seagulls - which Jason said was one of his favorite parts of the weekend.

She just could not slow down and kept running back and forth!

On our way home we stopped at Pattison State Park to check out Little and Big Manitou Falls.

We lucked out and there were parking lots nearby both falls so we didn't have to hike (which helped us get home earlier!)  

The ride home was a bit rough with restless kids but there were times where they were both happy.  Proof:

Once we got home they wanted to play trains since they each got a new wooden Thomas character train Saturday.  I was too wiped out to want to drag out our wooden train sets and help them set something up etc so I offered the road rug and (luckily) they Amelia was fine with it!

Overall we had a wonderful weekend.  No matter how wonderful it was I can't deny that it was stressful.  We were out of the (loose) routines we hold at home and we were stuck in the car a lot!  I can also tell you we were quickly reminded of why we rarely go out to eat as a family...can you say stress?  The kids and I eat fast food on Thursday because with speech it just works out better time-wise.  Fast food vs. a sit down, we found out, are two very different ball games!  Joe is just not at a good age for eating out and it doesn't help that we have two very high energy children that feed off of each other, ha!  

We are off to a strange start this week because Jason got called up for jury duty so the kids are spending some time at my parent's house so my sister can watch them and I don't have to miss work!  I suppose we will settle back into things at home later this week :)

Hiking and Biking

This past Saturday we ventured out to Interstate Park for a picnic and hiking!  We got eaten alive by mosquitoes while we ate so we left and quickly ran to the store for some bug spray!  I can't believe we didn't have any up until this weekend but now we are set!

Amelia and Joe are good little hikers - they definitely have the energy for it!  Amelia calls hiking "hunting."  I think she does it because we are always on the lookout for animals, especially deer, so in a sense we are "hunting" for them.

Beautiful views!

When we got home we grilled out hot dogs for supper and practiced bike riding.  We received a bike from a co-worker of mine and Amelia loves it but she is scared of it.  This weekend we cracked down and told her it was time - she needed to learn to ride!

Her reaction when she realized I was no longer holding on!

We went on a walk and she really got pedaling down but still really struggled with steering.

Concentrating hard!

Sunday we went out again and it was slow going but she basically did all the steering herself - with lots of verbal cues from mom and dad!  Pretty soon she will be zooming around like a bullet from a gun!

Mother's Day Adventure

This Mother's Day we had most of the day to ourselves since we had celebrated with my family on Saturday night.  We decided to go to a state park for a picnic and hiking to the waterfall.  It turned out to be an adventure! 

Jason found a "shortcut"...which was a bit treacherous!  We had the kids in the wagon because the path I thought we were taking is level and wide.  The path we actually took was winding, narrow, uneven and down the side of the valley.  Oh, and there were downed trees blocking the path in several places!  By the end of this "death trail" as Jason starting calling it we had two crying kids who had started hitting and kicking each other because they were both upset they couldn't get out.  Then when we finally stumbled out on the main path we ran into two park rangers who laughed while asking if we brought the kids down that trail in that buggy.  Oh yes, we did.  Yep - it was an adventure!

Family shot before we set out!

Willow Falls

They were mesmerized.

Two of our deer friends we met along the way :)

A state park volunteer we met along the way showed us this mother hen on her nest!

Amelia helped pull Joe the last leg of the trek :)

We stopped at a park on our way to have dinner (KFC) with Jason's family.

We got home late, bathed crying kids and got them to bed.  I went to bed right after that - I was wiped out after our long day outside!