Duluth Day 5: Hiking, Take 2!

Thursday dawned bright and beautiful for the second day in a row, which was great because we had our second day of hiking planned, this time up near the Split Rock Lighthouse and nearby hiking trails. We once again donned the backpack carrier and front carrier, but this time thanks to the cooler weather and a shady tree we could park under, we were able to leave the doggie behind this time until we returned to the picnic area for our lunch. We love Ginger, but not having her with this time made the hike a little more pleasant!


As you can see below, you can't stop Luke from clambering around on rocks, even with a 24 pound toddler strapped to his back! :) Hope these photos don't give the grandmas heart attacks...they were really very safe the whole time, Mommy saw to that!

All this rock climbing made Isabel very tired, so she decided to rest with her head on Daddy's neck...how adorable is that?!?

Josiah, as usual, followed suit with the resting (napping) idea. He has definitely taken a liking to being worn. In the carrier he goes, and almost always he is out like a light!

Isabel perked back up again when we got back to our car and settled in at a picnic table for our lunch. Here she is enjoying a whole grain Pringles chip...mmmm.

Our vacation was good for our family, despite some of the minor challenges along the way. What else would you expect traveling with children this young and a golden retriever to boot? Luke commented on the way home that he feels like he knows Isabel better after this trip too. As you all know, he is a very involved (and GREAT) daddy to begin with, but he commented that spending 24 hours a day with her for a week straight gave him even more insight into her personality and what makes her tick. He also told me this evening that this trip really reinforced what a good baby Josiah is. As long as he is fed and has a dry diaper, he is really just content to go with the flow whatever we are doing, and if he is sleepy, he will fall asleep just about anywhere. His temperament is very refreshing and it allowed us to have the kind of flexibility we needed in our day in order to have more fun on our vacation!

Hope our blog updates were enjoyable for those of you who are following our blog. And, on that note, would our newest follower, Tiki Tom, please identify yourself?? :)

Duluth Day 4: Canal Park

Wednesday we stuck a little closer to "home" and spent the day walking around at Canal Park in the heart of Duluth, on the edge of Lake Superior. Luke and I have vacationed to the North Shore nearly every year since we have been married, and always during the busy season (June through August). We have enjoyed being here during the slow season for a change, because crowds have been much smaller than we have been used to on our past visits. This has made it easier to be here with Ginger, and also made it easier to keep an eye on our very curious toddler!

In Canal Park, Isabel enjoyed...

...splashing in a water fountain,


...once again throwing rocks into Lake Superior with Daddy,

...and feasting on some of Grandma's famous spaghetti (the same kind served to the runners after Grandma's Marathon),

All of this exploration made her VERY tired! She is fiercely independent these days and always likes to walk, but here she was glad to be carried and in went the fingers...a clear indication of her fatigue!

Josiah just pretty much hung out happily in his stroller all day, which was pretty much the only way we could keep him out of the hot sun (I got a nasty sunburn by the way). He is even finding his thumb more and more often as opposed to the paci. Way to go Josiah!

After some good naps back at our room, we again ventured down to the waterpark, where Josiah had his first experience in the swimming pool. He enjoyed it a lot, no crying ever, and I had him in there for nearly half an hour! Everyone thought he was just the cutest thing.

After her tiring day and general apprehension about the waterpark, Isabel wanted nothing to do with the pools this time around. So, she and Daddy ordered dinner and sat at a nearby table while Josiah and I played in the water. Here she is hanging out with (and imitating) the mascots of the resort, Tiki Tom and Tiki Tina.

Duluth Day 3: Hiking with two under 3

Tuesday morning we set out on a very adventurous outing to Gooseberry Falls. Hiking is adventurous in and of itself, but this particular hike was made even more adventurous by the fact that we had two children under the age of 3 strapped to our bodies, plus a golden retriever who is, shall we say, lacking in her leash manners! If we were looking for adventure, we certainly found it!

Getting Isabel all situated in the backpack carrier

As you can see, she likes it!

Josiah rode in the front carrier for this hike and slept most of the time, as long as we were moving.

We stopped for a snack and to nurse Josiah at a little lakeside beach with a picnic table. Luke was trying valiantly to get all four of us in a photo and could usually only get three of the four to look at the camera. But, the one above is the closest we got, with me holding desperately to Ginger's collar keeping her from dragging me and Josiah down to the lakeshore with her to do more exploring!

Isabel learned that throwing rocks into the lake is an OK thing to do, and was having the time of her life! I love the stance!

All in all, we managed to hike a mile, which we considered an accomplishment! We figure our distance will improve when the kids are older on future vacations!

Duluth: Day 2 - Waterpark!

Monday morning around 10:30 we took Isabel to the waterpark here in our hotel (the Edgewater Resort in Duluth). It is the slow season, so the waterpark actually shuts down every day from 12pm-4pm, but we figured an hour was plenty of time to introduce her to the waterpark for the first time! She was, of course, excited to go in the water, and they have a great kiddie play area that is only 6-8 inches deep, and she waded right in with Daddy (I had Josiah in the Moby wrap and was walking around taking photos of them).

Unfortunately about 30 seconds after she waded in, a GIANT bucket of water at the very top of the kiddie area turned over, dumping gallons of water on top of many screaming children. Most children were screaming excitedly, but Isabel was screaming in sheer terror, even though the water barely splashed her at all. That is our timid little girl for you! We tried valiantly to warm her up to the kiddie area after that, but the cause was lost at least for that day. So, she donned a life jacket (very willingly I might add, which surprised me), and off to the lazy river they went.

As you can see, she really enjoyed floating in the middle of the innertube while being pushed by Daddy, and also liked riding on top of it with Daddy for awhile. Her recent swimming lessons have made her much more comfortable in the deeper water.

Next, it was on to the vortex pool, where the water pushed them around in fast circles and she chased floating balls around.

And then to show off her skills as a future WNBA player? (Maybe not, but she sure had fun dunking the pink ball with the help of Daddy! The below photo shows her expression right after she made a shot).

After a shower, lunch, and a much-needed nap for everyone, we all set off on a walk down the Lakeview Path, with Isabel in the backpack carrier and Josiah in the stroller. Couldn't see much for scenery because of the dense fog in Duluth right now, but it was fun all the same.

Sleeping beauty and sleeping handsome

Photos from the "sleeping chamber" I mentioned in my post yesterday! :)

Arrival day: Duluth

Today we embarked on our first vacation as a family of four (five if you count our furry companion who is joining us on this particular vacation) - to Duluth, MN! We figured our first one we would stay a little closer to home. No airplanes for us this year!

We have encountered a few minor obstacles as our journey began today, including mysteriously missing baby boy shoes, a co-sleeper that was fighting desperately to not be broken down and packed into the car, and a couple of poopy diapers moments before we were heading out the door this morning, but hey - what can you expect for a family with two kiddos under the age of 2 1/2? We took it all in stride and were out the door just after 10 a.m.

When we got here we had a tired and hungry toddler (no nap in the car for her and we had pushed through lunch, just having snacks in the car) and were looking forward to getting some food in her tummy and getting her down for a nap ASAP upon arrival to our room at the Edgewater Resort. Luke got our room keys from the lobby, and we headed to our room, flung open the door, and discovered...luggage in our room. Odd, seeing as we had not unpacked our car yet! Back to the front desk we trudged, increasingly-overtired-and-starving girl in tow. Half an hour later, the confusion was cleared up and we were in our new room (complete with no luggage except for ours!)

Now Luke is out exploring the immediate vicinity of Duluth and I am in a sleeping chamber with two children with full tummies and hopefully happy dreams. I would be sleeping myself if it were not for my beloved golden retriever who is pacing the room and whining/barking under her breath at all the strange sounds in the hallway. Oh well, that is another story...

Stay tuned for updates from Duluth this week and adorable photos of a little miss Isabel in her brand-new swimming suits from Grandma Beach!

Last day of preschool for this year

Remember what Isabel looked like on her first day of school last September? Looking back now, she looks like such a tiny baby in these photos to me!

Well, look how much she has grown up in the past 8 months! This is a photo of Isabel and her teacher, Miss Debbie, from the half-day Christian preschool program that she attends one day a week. As you know, Isabel is actually now in school every day, instead of cared for in our home, but it has been important to Luke and I to keep her in this faith-based program one day a week instead of having her in her regular school every day. She will continue in this program next year along with her best friend, Camille. The girls' two little brothers, Josiah and Levi, will likely follow the year after that. The two girls will also be attending a program this summer one day a week at Miss Debbie's house, which they are very much looking forward to! Thank you, staff and teachers of the Children's Praise 'N Rainbows program. It has been a great year!

Girls AND boys just wanna have fun!

Today we had a playdate at our house with three mommies who all have two-year-old daughters and pretty new sons! Susan came over with Kyla and Isaac, and Jenna came over with Levi (Camille was spending some time with her grandma, so she missed the playdate this time around!)

After chatting inside for awhile where the girls played nicely with baby dolls, Isabel and Kyla were wanting to go outside (note that Isabel was the child who repeatedly vocalized this request, so she must have been designated the spokesgirl for the group!) So, we headed out to the absolutely beautiful day, where the girls played on the climber and ran around the backyard, and we seized the opportunity to take some cute photos of the three boys, who we soon saw are all about the same size despite their different ages!

Isabel Noelle, 2 years 5 months

Kyla Carrie, 2 years

Josiah David, 3 1/2 months, born 1/29/10, weighing 4lbs 9oz at birth

Isaac Steven, 6 1/2 weeks, born 4/2/10, weighing 5lbs 10oz at birth

Levi Thomas, 2 weeks, born 5/2/10, weighing 8lbs 8oz at birth

The boys...

And the mommies...

I am so proud to be a mommy of two wonderful children!

First haircut

All week, I have been talking to Isabel about her first haircut. The plan was to go to the hair salon after swimming today, and if she seemed OK with it, to get her hair cut. If she was totally freaked out, we were going to just watch another little girl or boy get their hair cut, then talk about it for another week or so and then go back. When we got there, she was in good spirits, and they had an appointment available, so I decided to just go for it! She chose a book, and up into the big red chair she went. Serious, but not crying :)

Luckily, they were playing her favorite show, Dora the Explorer, on the TV right in front of her! She sat quite still and attentively while the stylist wet down and began trimming her hair.

As I had suspected, as soon as the hair dryer came out, she got scared, but all she did was ask for lovey, and once she had it, her fingers went into her mouth, and still no crying! My brave girl!

All dry! Now she got to choose a lollipop, just as Mommy had promised her. She chose, of course, a pink one (well, pink wrapper anyway), and got right down to unwrapping it.

Thanks, Mommy!

Back view of the new 'do! Much more even than the ragged look she was wearing before! So pretty!

Static electricity

What can you do about static electricity?

Grin and bear it!