Colorado vacation #1

We're now on our way to Colorado for our second family vacation and family reunion. Already I'm wondering what we were thinking. We've left the comforts of home (where I can confine them to their rooms if necessary) and now have to deal with the younger two in a confined space. They've not exactly been ideal children on this trip so far and it's left me wondering what purpose the toddler years serve. Is it to develop more character? Don't I have enough? Where do they get the strong will from? Oh yeah, me. Too bad children don't come with an instruction book. It surely would make parenting much easier. Any ideas on how to deal with an otherwise-sweet 5-year-old with angry outbursts and a propensity to pout when he doesn't get his way would be welcome.

Anyway, back to our vacation. We left yesterday early morning and got to Lincoln around 12:30. We drove straight though to one of our favorite restaurants, Grisanti's. It is an Italian restaurant with the best garlic bread ever. After we were seated, the manager came over to our table to say hello and we told him that we had traveled all the way from MN to eat there. At first he didn't believe us, but then we told him that we were on our way to CO and that we used to live in Lincoln and that we loved Grisanti's. He had 5 children and said that his kids could survive on the garlic bread but that, unfortunately, he couldn't send us a supply of bread. So instead he gave us a bottle of the Italian dressing that they use on their salad. We ordered one entree and three kids meals to split between all of us. With the bread and the bowl of salad they brought to the table, it was plenty. The kids meals came with ice cream and they brought out 4 bowls of ice cream even though we only had ordered 3 kids meals. We managed to get out of there for only $28--pretty good I thought.

After lunch we ran down to Scheel's and did a little shopping in the clearance section. Dan got a jacket and a new pair of shorts and Ellie got a new pair of Keen shoes. By the time we were done shopping, it was time to check into the hotel. We had gotten The Cornhusker (a Marriott hotel) downtown on Priceline for only $50--a steal. We checked in and attempted to take a nap. Natalie and Darin decided they'd rather play with each other than lie down, and then Natalie threw a royal fit when she got in trouble. After our failed nap attempt, we walked down to a coffee shop that Dan used to frequent, but it was closed and was now and Iraqi restaurant.

Then we walked over to Lazlo's where we were going to eat supper. Since the kids were tired and not all that hungry, we only ordered one entree and two kids meals. They split our entree back in the kitchen onto two plates and gave us a very large amount of very yummy garlic mashed potatoes. They had forgotten to bring out the wild rice and ended up bringing us two servings of wild rice. Once again the kids meals came with ice cream and again they brought out four. So we got out of there for only $25!! Unfortunately Natalie was so tired that she had a meltdown at the end of the meal so she and I waited outside while the rest of the family finished their ice cream.

After supper, in the sweltering heat and humidity, we walked over to Hazel Abel Park where Dan and I had some of our wedding pictures taken. It has really fallen into disrepair and there was now a place with a slide, a merry-go-round and a swing. They are working on revitalizing according to a sign on the fence, but it was disappointing to see the current state of the park. It used to be a beautifully landscaped place. We were very happy to get back to the air conditioned hotel.

While we were in Lincoln we also drove by our old apartment. It was the top floor of a house and the main floor was an old doctor's office where the owner of the house (who was a retired, very odd physician) used to come and pretend he was still practicing medicine. We knew he had died about 6 months ago so we wondered what had become of the building. When we drove up to the house, we were appalled at the state of the house. It looks like it hasn't been mowed in 6 months and looks like it just needs to be torn down. It really was a dump. Thankfully we don't live there anymore--although the yard wouldn't be overgrown if we lived there.

We are now on our way to Colorado and are about half way there. We should arrive mid-afternoon and are looking forward to less humidity.

Duluth day 2 (or will we ever leave the parking lot?)

Saturday morning we left the cabin to go to the Duluth Air Show. We went to the air show 2 years ago when it was in Duluth the last time and have been looking forward to it for quite awhile--especially the kids. We stopped by the grocery store on the way to the airport to pick up some more snacks so we wouldn't have to buy any outrageously priced food at the air show.

When we got to the airport there was quite a line to get in, but they had people directing the vehicles where to park and it didn't take to long to get parked, the stroller unloaded and into the air show. They had several exhibits of planes, military equipment, etc. We walked around for awhile and the kids looked for the free stuff that they were handing out. We stopped at the NASA display and the kids got their pictures taken as an astronaut. They also toured a FedEx plane.

The planes started flying at 11 and flew till 3:30 when it was called off due to rain. There were several types of planes that did all sorts of tricks and the Navy's Blue Angels were present.

Here is an F-16 flying sideways. It was really cool to see the clouds of condensation over the plane.
A P-38 Lightening.

They day started off cool and sunny, warmed up, then got cloudy. Then it started to sprinkle. Then the sprinkling got a bit heavier and eventually it was really raining. At that point they called off the flying and there was a mass exodus to the parking lot (which was just a grassy, now muddy, field).

By the time we got back to the van, we were all completely soaked and cold. We climbed into the van and anticipated that it would be awhile till we were actually out of the parking lot but figured it shouldn't take more than 45 minutes or so. After all, when we were there 2 years ago leaving the parking lot wasn't too bad and was pretty organized. Not so this year. It took us 2 hours (!!!!) to get out of the parking lot. There was no traffic control. That's right. No police to direct the traffic. No airport security to direct traffic. No air show personnel to direct traffic. It was a complete mess. And it didn't help that it was muddy. People were trying to drive up the embankment to get on the road and would slide all over the place. Plus people were getting angry. Finally 4 guys volunteered to direct traffic and things started to move along. These were just guys who saw a need and filled it. I'm very thankful that they were directing traffic as were the many, many other drivers who just wanted to get home. Several people tipped them on the way out.

Lutsen day 5/Duluth day 1

Friday morning we packed up and drove down to Duluth. We made a stop at the laundromat before we went out to the cabin. We only washed the clothes, not dried them, since it was a gorgeous day and I figured we could air dry them. We got out to the cabin a little after one, unpacked, and had lunch. I hung up the clothes on the clothesline and the kids changed into their swimming suits and went swimming. The cabin we stayed in was on Schultz Lake--a private lake about 10 miles north of Duluth. It was definitely nothing fancy (the carpet in the living/dining room was a yellow and black patter) but was very clean and situated right on the water. There was a nice little beach in front of the cabin and the water was incredibly clean. They also had a paddleboat there and the owners let us use their canoe as well (they live right next door). The cabin also had the best-stocked kitchen of any cabin I've ever stayed in.



Ellie's having some issues getting onto the dock. Can you believe how long her legs are?



The cabin only had a shower so Natalie took a bath in the sink.
After they were done swimming we had a fire--a successful one even. There was a stack of wood there for us to use and lighter fluid to help get the fire started. We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. It was a much better experience than our last attempt.

Lutsen day 4

Thursday morning was a foggy and cool morning. We sat around for awhile after having egg burritos for breakfast and then decided to take a walk up the hill to the Lutsen Ski Resort.

Here is a one of the views on the way up the hill:

We were thinking it was only about a 1/2 mile up the road. Um, no. More like 1 1/2 miles of a very steep incline. The girls took their bikes and we put Darin and Natalie in the jogger. We knew it'd be uphill but figured the girls could at least ride back down. We were naive in how much work it would be and totally not dressed appropriately. I was wearing jeans, a tank top and a fleece sweatshirt. It was, after all, quite a chilly morning. About halfway up the hill, I was ready to strip down to my skivvies, but I refrained. I did take off my sweatshirt and was just wearing a tank top (with spaghetti straps, not the wider straps that I make the girls wear). Ellie looked at me and said, "Mom, you're not exactly the most modestly dressed person." At least I know she's been listening to what I say. :-)

Once we got to the top, we looked around the gift shop for awhile and watched a few people go down the alpine slide. Then we ran/walked back down the hill--a much easier feat.

After nap time we drove back into Grand Marais to have supper at Sven and Ole's. We had a pizza with wild rice on it and it was delicious. Then we headed back over to Beth's Fudge and Gifts and picked up some more fudge--more praline pecan and some mint chocolate. We just might have to have them ship us some more since our stash is almost gone.

Lutsen day 3

Today after having strawberry cheesecake muffins for breakfast (yum, yum) we drove to Cascade State Park to do some hiking. On the way there we stopped at a gas station in Lutsen to pick up some more bug spray. The mosquitoes are huge and the flies numerous. We picked up the bug spray with the highest amount of DEET (I know, not great for the kids but they've had enough bug bites).
This was the first sight on our hike this morning--the Cascade Falls.

Here is Dan helping the kids across part of the trail where the bridge had been washed out. Thankfully the water level was relatively low so that we could cross on the rocks; otherwise we would have had to take a detour which was almost a mile long.
After we saw the falls we continued on the trail to the lookout. It was quite a climb and the kids were definitely tired by the time we got to the top, especially Darin. But the view was worth the hike (and listening to "I'm so tired Mommy" and "Can we rest now?"). We could see Lake Superior and miles of forest. Thankfully there were benches at the lookout so we could all rest before hiking back down.

Here is Natalie consoling Kara after she fell about the 5th time.
Natalie was a great trooper. She was in the Kelty for the whole way up but pretty much walked the whole way down (about 1.5 miles or so). She didn't complain and has a great sense of balance. More than once she tripped and we were sure she was going to fall, but she didn't. And several times she raced past all of us.

After we were done hiking, we drove up to Naniboujou Lodge for lunch. The last time that we were there was when I was pregnant with Ellie and we've always wanted to go back there with the kids. I've got their cookbook and all the recipes have been delicious and the painting on the inside of the building is pretty cool. It menu prices were a little more expensive than I remember (of course it was almost 11 years ago that we were there) but we all shared a few meals and the food was delicious. We had a Danish custard with blackberry sauce for dessert which was quite heavenly.

After lunch we drove back to Grand Marais and walked out onto Artist's Point. The kids had fun climbing on the rocks and exploring.

After they were done playing on the rocks, we stopped for fudge. We bought two different kinds and had them for dessert tonight. I highly recommend the praline fudge. I think we might stop back there tomorrow after supper and pick up some more. :-)

Lutsen day 2

We've had a relaxing time so far during our time here in Lutsen. The weather has been perfect during the day--about 70 or so and it has rained every evening so far. Thankfully it isn't humid during the day.
Yesterday morning we walked down the road about 3/4 of a mile to the Lutsen Resort that is on Lake Superior. They have a nice flat, rocky beach with several sets of Adirondack chairs. Dan and I sat in them while the kids had a blast playing on the beach. Darin was entertained for a very long time throwing driftwood and rocks into the water while the rest of the kids looked for interesting rocks or just ran around.

Natalie in the Kelty on the way to the beach.
Ellie after tripping on the beach.




After supper last night we attempted to have a campfire. I say attempted because we weren't all that successful and it wasn't nearly as relaxing as we had anticipated. I had the kids collect some small twigs with which to get the fire going since there was a pile of larger pieces of birch near the fire ring. The fire didn't go as planned. I think the wood was a bit wet yet since it had rained the night before. Dan did even go and get some drier wood from a nearby gas station but we still didn't have much luck unless I kept blowing on the fire to keep it going (yeah, I can hear all the comments already about how I'm filled with hot air). Then to make matters worse, there was a plague of flies that kept attacking us. And there was the very friendly chipmunk who kept trying to eat our s'more ingredients. So everyone else went inside while I quickly roasted the marshmallows. And as soon as I got inside, it started to rain.

Lutsen vacation

It's a beautiful morning here in Lutsen--currently 50 degrees. I was just checking the weather for Rochester and Des Moines and it is supposed to be swelteringly hot there. It's going to be gorgeous here--a high of 73. Yesterday's trip here was fairly uneventful save for a few outbursts from Natalie who is very much 3 years old. We had to stop once for some discipline and considered Emily's offer to ship her back (well, not really but I was highly tempted at one point).


We arrived in Duluth a little before 1pm and stopped at Grandma's (Ellie's request) for lunch. Then we stopped by a t-shirt store and picked up a few cheap t-shirts for the 2 older girls and then ran by Amazing Grace for a loaf of bread (only $3.85 for a large loaf of cheddar garlic bread--what a deal!). Darin and Dan saw a ship come through under the lift bridge but Ellie and Kara were taking too long in the bathroom so they missed it. Dan said it must have been empty as it was traveling quite fast.


Then we were off to Lutsen. Mandatory nap time in the van and all was well. Natalie and Kara even fell asleep. We arrived at our cabin in Lutsen around 4:30 and the kids immediately went exploring. Today we plan to just hang out and walk down to the lake.

Here is the view off the back deck.



Here is Natalie standing on the back deck proudly wearing her new tennis shoes which are incredibly cute.
Here is a VERY friendly critter who came out while we were grilling burgers last night. He is definitely not afraid of humans.
Darin and I snuggling on the deck this morning and Ellie eating breakfast on the screened-in porch (although there is not screen under the floorboards so not completely bug-proof).

Today's storm

We had a thunderstorm move through this afternoon and the clouds were really cool. Here are a few pics of them that I took.

Our first monarch

We've been watching monarch caterpillars become monarchs and the transformation has been amazing to watch. We've been feeding the caterpillars milkweed leaves and have been amazed at how much they eat!! And did you know that caterpillars poop? A lot?

Our first caterpillar formed its chrysalis almost 2 weeks ago and waited to emerge until Dan and the kids were back home. We let it fly away yesterday.

July 4th weekend

Dan took the kids to his parent's house for the weekend of the 4th since they always have lots of festivities for kids. The kids all had a blast and Dan survived being a single parent for the weekend. Sunday Dan took the kids to a coworker's twinhome in Okoboji. Here are some pics of the weekend.


At the Little Crow Water Ski show, Ellie got picked to participate in a dance competition. I'm not sure what she was thinking here, but the look on her face is priceless!



Apparently I forgot to pack Natalie's swimsuit. She made do and didn't seem to mind.

Kara's first time trying to water ski. She wasn't successful.


Ellie's first time trying to water ski.
As you can see, she wasn't successful either. :-)

Dan's coworker's husband took the kids fishing. Kara was the only one that caught any fish.

A bullhead Kara caught that she didn't want anything to do with.

Kara's best fish.

My Hulk Hogan son flexing his muscles. :-)

Bathtub

Here is a pic Dan took of the two younger munchkins the other day. Gotta love the looks on their faces. :-)