Minnesota love

We are taking full advantage of our summer - and it's only the beginning of July!  I'm so thankful that my back has healed and I can ride in the car, hike, and actually enjoy things without being in pain.  Amen!  Jake started with a week of baseball camp (awesome), Scott is coaching his team again this year (they are having a blast), and we've spent a good amount of time up north already.

On our first road trip of the season we took the boys to the north shore.  It was so much fun.  We stayed at a hotel with a pool/waterslide so of course that was awesome but we also packed in all of the north shore favorites.  New Scenic Cafe, Betty's Pies, Gooseberry Falls (I was a little tense exploring these falls with the boys), Splitrock Lighthouse (both of my boys aren't big fans of heights...tall skinny staircases to be exact) and if you go there be sure to watch the 20 minute film... along with plenty of agate hunting and rock skipping.  We had one rainy day when we headed even further north to Naniboujou Lodge.  We had a terrific lunch, caught up with family,  found a cool agate (which I am having made into a necklace), and scored one of my Aunt Nancy's famous cinnamon rolls.

Jake then spent a week with Grandma and Grandpa Jake (and learned to ride the 4 wheeler) until Nathan and I joined him again for a long weekend.  Scott spent the weekend in Iowa helping Grandma and Grandpa Sinclair in the moving process while Nathan kept me on my toes in the north woods (he's got a lot of land to explore and this kid is fearless).  We stayed busy collecting and feeding monarch caterpillars (Jacob would make the milkweed runs thanks to his new 4 wheeling skills) and had a fun time exploring the Mississippi headwaters.  Scott joined us early week and got in a good workout bailing hay before we headed south to Sarah and Mike's cabin where we celebrated Lydia's 3rd birthday, enjoyed swimming, fishing, and paddle boating and took in a 4th of July parade before heading home.

The boys are having a blast this week at Vacation Bible School and we've got plenty of time in the next couple of weeks for trips to the outdoor pool and some local excursions before a week of swimming lessons and a week at Hidden Haven to round out July.  Man, summer rocks.

Thanks for checking and hope you are enjoying your summer!

This kid surprised me...normally very cautious he was determined and fearless moving across those rocks!  

Way too close to the edge of the falls in my opinion.  

He pretty much had this pool to himself.  I wonder how many times he went down this slide.  

Naniboujou Lodge

That's just Nathan sitting in the Mississippi.

One of the best things about hotels...watching cartoons in bed.  

Minnesota at it's finest.  

A trip to the MN zoo - we took the kids to watch Flight of the Butterflies at the IMAX theatre.  It was awesome.  

Jacob's got this one figured out.  

The field before.

On the way to bale hay.