Late Summer Vacation

We returned last night from 11 days away from home. We've been all over the upper Midwest!

We started on Saturday, Aug 16th by heading over to the cabin in Galena. We enjoyed some time with Grandma and Papa Luther. The weather was beautiful, we went for a few walks, swimming and relaxed.

Diane helped me complete a little project. Dylan was very proud to display his new crayon/coloring book tote bag.

Brody enjoyed sitting outside on the deck in the beautiful evening weather.

Monday, August 18th we drove the scenic route along the Mississippi River from Galena, IL up to the Twin Cities. We drove along the western side of Wisconsin, it was very pretty.

Tuesday we went to the Mall of America, and Dylan was able to go on a few rides. In the past, we've thought he was a little too afraid, but not this year. Once he saw the rides, he was very excited. He rode the Blues Clues Skidoo with Daddy, and the Blue Train with Mommy.

Little B had a cold, and wasn't in the best of moods, but he did a good job putting up with the noise and commotion.

Tuesday evening my mom and I met two of my girlfriends from high school and their children at a park. We had a really nice time. Erica picked out a great park, the kids all got along well and burned a little energy before bed time!

Brody, Lola, Brighton, Bennett, Cooper and Dylan.

I just love the way Dylan is looking at Cooper, like they are sharing a secret. Dylan just about got upset when I told him to sit down for pictures, but was calmed down when I asked him to sit next to the "boy with Bucky Badger on his shirt." Yesterday, as we were driving home, we talked about all the fun things we did on vacation. Dylan kept repeating "Bennett and Cooper." He couldn't seem to get all three of the boys' names, but obviously seeing the boys was one of his favorite parts of our trip!

And here's a picture with all the mom's. Me, Erica and Katie.

Oma with the boys

Oma, reading bed time stories.

The next morning we were up and on the road again...

Orr Trip, Part 2

After the Bear Sanctuary, we headed back to our hotel that had a "Water Park." It was a big slide that went really fast, and this little froggie slide for the tots. The big slide was a lot of fun, and even Dylan enjoyed riding down on an adult's lap.

Here he is, enjoying the Frog Slide

Thursday morning we got up and headed south, back to the Twin Cities. But first, we had to stop and see the Giant Blue Gill in Orr. 

This part of MN is known as the Iron Range for it's rich history of Iron Mining. Just south of Virginia, MN we stopped at Mine View in the Sky. It is an old Iron Ore mine that has been filled with water. You can overlook the old mine, and also see the giant trucks that are used in Iron Ore mining.  

Here is one such truck. Can you see Dylan near the back tire?

A picture of the mine and town of Virginia in the background.

Our next stop was in Eveleth, MN at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Oma took the boys to a playground while Brian and I went through the museum. It was a neat place, with lots to see. It was fun to read about some people we know, from UW-Madison and other places.

Brian got to test the speed of his slap shot.

Here is a very old Wisconsin jersey. There was also an Eagan High School jersey in the Hall of Fame, which was kind of fun. The younger sister of one of my classmates holds a record or two, and plays on the U.S. Women's Hockey Team.

Our last stop of the day was at Jay Cook State Park. We ate our lunch then went hiking for a bit. We walked across the swinging bridge, over the river, and up big rocks. Dylan is quite a little climber. Brody rode in the front pack. We forgot our borrowed back pack, but he did just fine in this one.

We had a really fun time. It was a lot of driving in two days, but well worth it for all the neat things we got to see and experience.

More to come on our MN trip.

Orr Trip, Part 1

We started off for Orr, MN on Wednesday morning. Our goal was to reach the Bear Sanctuary outside of Orr for the evening. They are open from 5-8 p.m., because that is when the bears are fed and most active.

On our way, we stopped in Eveleth, MN to see the World's Largest Hockey Stick and Puck! The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame is also in Eveleth, and we decided to stop there on our way home the next day.

It was a long day of driving, but we reached our hotel in Orr around 3:30 p.m. We stayed at a hotel right on Pelican Lake. The views were beautiful, and the smell...it smelled like Up North. Pine needles, lake water, fresh air.

Don't let go!

The boys, already climbing trees.

We drove 14 miles outside of Orr to the Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary. You park about a mile from the actual feeding area, and ride a school bus to the observation deck. They put food out, and 30-40 bears come each night to eat. They are very active now, as they are bulking up for winter hibernation.

They also had workers there, educating us about the bears. The average black bear is just 10 ounces when it is born! She then told Dylan to give back the little bear, and that he could buy one in the gift shop. :)

We were up on a deck, and the bears just started coming out of the woods to be fed.

A Momma and her Cubs

Dylan managed to lose his shoe over the edge. The bears are very used to humans however, and one of the employees just walked down the steps, unlatched the gate and retrieved his shoe.

More to come on our visit to Orr!

Late Summer Vacation

We returned last night from 11 days away from home. We've been all over the upper Midwest!

We started on Saturday, Aug 16th by heading over to the cabin in Galena. We enjoyed some time with Grandma and Papa Luther. The weather was beautiful, we went for a few walks, swimming and relaxed.  

Diane helped me complete a little project. Dylan was very proud to display his new crayon/coloring book tote bag.

Brody enjoyed sitting outside on the deck in the beautiful evening weather.

Monday, August 18th we drove the scenic route along the Mississippi River from Galena, IL up to the Twin Cities. We drove along the western side of Wisconsin, it was very pretty.

Tuesday we went to the Mall of America, and Dylan was able to go on a few rides. In the past, we've thought he was a little too afraid, but not this year. Once he saw the rides, he was very excited. He rode the Blues Clues Skidoo with Daddy, and the Blue Train with Mommy.

Little B had a cold, and wasn't in the best of moods, but he did a good job putting up with the noise and commotion.

Tuesday evening my mom and I met two of my girlfriends from high school and their children at a park. We had a really nice time. Erica picked out a great park, the kids all got along well and burned a little energy before bed time! 

Brody, Lola, Brighton, Bennett, Cooper and Dylan. 

I just love the way Dylan is looking at Cooper, like they are sharing a secret. Dylan just about got upset when I told him to sit down for pictures, but was calmed down when I asked him to sit next to the "boy with Bucky Badger on his shirt." Yesterday, as we were driving home, we talked about all the fun things we did on vacation. Dylan kept repeating "Bennett and Cooper." He couldn't seem to get all three of the boys' names, but obviously seeing the boys was one of his favorite parts of our trip!

And here's a picture with all the mom's. Me, Erica and Katie.

Oma with the boys

Oma, reading bed time stories.

The next morning we were up and on the road again...

Just Hangin' Out

We've been hanging out, having fun at home the last few days. Here are some updates.


Brody: He is doing a little army crawl. If he sees something he really wants, he'll get one leg under his body, and push with it. His other leg just kind of drags along. It looks very funny, and I hope to get it on video soon. Otherwise, he rolls all over the living room and ends up across the room from where I left him.

He is teething again. The poor little guy has been waking up in the middle of naps and in the night, crying out in pain. It seems just when he gets through the pain and trouble of a tooth finally popping through, he starts the process all over again.

This morning I decided to give him prunes with his cereal. He hasn't been pooping well lately, and I thought I'd help it along. I put the bowl of food on top of a paper towel on the table, and walked to the sink to get the washcloth. By the time I got back to Brody (who was sitting in his high chair), this is what I saw:

Do you see the prunes on the floor? And on his arm? And on his face? He grabbed the edge of the paper towel, and tried to pull it over onto his tray. He had such a sweet smile, I had to take a picture.

And in the picture below, it reminded me of a kid licking a cookie dough spoon. He acted like it was a great treat!

Dylan: We've had some good days lately. He's still a little sassafrass, but it's been better. He's said and done some funny things lately. Funny in the sense that I expect to hear comments like these from an older child.

Yesterday, we were playing outside at our neighbor's house. Dylan and Addie were being sneaky, and ran around to the front of the house, and almost ran into the street. Tracey yelled at them to get in the backyard or play time was over. Tracey told me Dylan walked past her and said "We're Going!"

Yesterday I asked Dylan if he needed a clean diaper. His response: "No Mom, I'm fine."

This morning I called Dylan to breakfast, and reminded him to bring his coffee cup with him. He said "Oh, yeah" and went to get it.

The pictures below are of Dylan and Brody respectively. I just had to look up that picture of Dylan, because the picture of Brody on his belly looking at me reminded me so much of Dylan at that stage.

As Brody gets a little older, I think the differences in their appearance are starting to show. Brody's eyes are a little farther apart than Dylan's, and his coloring is just a bit darker. I love this baby stage!

Just Hangin' Out

We've been hanging out, having fun at home the last few days.  Here are some updates.

Brody: He is doing a little army crawl. If he sees something he really wants, he'll get one leg under his body, and push with it. His other leg just kind of drags along. It looks very funny, and I hope to get it on video soon. Otherwise, he rolls all over the living room and ends up across the room from where I left him. 

He is teething again. The poor little guy has been waking up in the middle of naps and in the night, crying out in pain. It seems just when he gets through the pain and trouble of a tooth finally popping through, he starts the process all over again. 

This morning I decided to give him prunes with his cereal. He hasn't been pooping well lately, and I thought I'd help it along. I put the bowl of food on top of a paper towel on the table, and walked to the sink to get the washcloth. By the time I got back to Brody (who was sitting in his high chair), this is what I saw:

Do you see the prunes on the floor? And on his arm? And on his face? He grabbed the edge of the paper towel, and tried to pull it over onto his tray. He had such a sweet smile, I had to take a picture. 

And in the picture below, it reminded me of a kid licking a cookie dough spoon. He acted like it was a great treat!

Dylan: We've had some good days lately. He's still a little sassafrass, but it's been better. He's said and done some funny things lately. Funny in the sense that I expect to hear comments like these from an older child.

Yesterday, we were playing outside at our neighbor's house. Dylan and Addie were being sneaky, and ran around to the front of the house, and almost ran into the street. Tracey yelled at them to get in the backyard or play time was over. Tracey told me Dylan walked past her and said "We're Going!"

Yesterday I asked Dylan if he needed a clean diaper. His response: "No Mom, I'm fine."

This morning I called Dylan to breakfast, and reminded him to bring his coffee cup with him. He said "Oh, yeah" and went to get it. 

The pictures below are of Dylan and Brody respectively. I just had to look up that picture of Dylan, because the picture of Brody on his belly looking at me reminded me so much of Dylan at that stage.

As Brody gets a little older, I think the differences in their appearance are starting to show. Brody's eyes are a little farther apart than Dylan's, and his coloring is just a bit darker. I love this baby stage!

County Fair

We almost didn't make it to the County Fair this year, but at the last minute, Brian was able to take time off from work and we went late on Friday afternoon.

Dylan played his first carnival game, and he won a small stuffed dog. It's a red wiener dog, and he calls it Clifford! :)

Dylan had another first - his first mini donut! These little rings of sugary deliciousness aren't as well known or popular outside of MN, but there is one vendor at this fair that sells them - they sell so few, they wait to make them until you order them. They don't compare to Tiny Tom's, but you have to take what you can get. Since trying his donut, Dylan has been asking for one on a daily basis. He also told me he wanted donut's as his weekly choice of a snack item from the grocery store. He usually chooses Teddy Grahams or Goldfish, but this week, he wanted donuts. I thought that was pretty funny.

Brody enjoyed all the sights and sounds. Well, the sights he could see, that is. His floppy hat obscured his vision for most of the time. We stopped at a store on the way home and bought him a different hat!

Dylan went into the petting zoo with Brian, but he was frightened by the animals. The sheep were right at his face level, and they were pretty aggressive. They had a feed machine that took quarters, and one of the sheep was sticking it's long tongue under the flap, lifting it up and trying to get food out! Brian carried Dylan inside the petting zoo area, but Dylan was none too impressed and wanted to leave pretty quickly. He is getting so brave this summer, and I bet next year he'll love getting in there to pet the animals. 

We asked Dylan what he wanted to eat for dinner - a hot dog, corn dog, corn on the cob? No, he wanted ice cream!