Vacation Photos - Part 3

Almost done with our vacation pictures. I have one more day to post and then I will move on to other things.

Curt and I at Split Rock Light House. We were the only ones there. It was kind of nice since the kids were a little wired at this point.

First hike of the day, actually our only hike since we got off on the wrong trail and went 2 miles further than we had to. Note*** Hiking trails stink in Minnesota, you go forever until they finally give you a sign that tells you where you are at. By that point it is too frickin late. Ugh. BTW, this is the Cascade River Falls above.

Our entire hike this day was in the rain. It really wasn't too bad and kind of nice to have the trails to ourselves. But towards the end of our hike the trails were VERY muddy and slippery.

See, Riley doesn't mind the rain at all!!!!

Jordan doesn't seem to mind either. Actually he was loving it.

Zach and Gavin on one of the MANY steps we climbed during vacation.

You can't quite see it in this picture, but we were all filthy at the end of our hike. Bottom of our legs and our shoes were caked in mud. And poor Gavin wiped out and the back of him was coated in mud. Try consoling a 4 year old out in the middle of a heavy rain and 2 miles from our vehicle. Not fun.

I gave up on the poncho hoodie. So decided I will just get soaked, why not?

Fresh and dry for our trip to the Split Rock Light House. As I mentioned before, we had it all to ourselves and it was awesome.

View of the lake by the lighthouse.

Love this pic of the kids. Happiness all around.

Vacation Photo - Part 2

Grand Portage, Minnesota. We started the day off with an hour and a half trip up to the border of these Great United States of America. We never had any plans to cross over on to Canadian soil, but it was kind of cool to be so close to another country. Grand Portage is all an Indian reservation so our trip up here was all about the Indian culture, the traders, and voyageurs of this area. I won't go into all the details of the history, but I found it very interesting and it was nice to see the kids intrigued by all the information.

Curt and the kids at the visitor center at Grand Portage, it was also a small museum of Indian life of 200 years ago.
Animal skins, such an interest for the kids. The bear skin was pretty cool, the claws are massive.

A small traditional Ojibwe Village from years ago. Beautiful views of the Lake.

Jordan going to work for us. This place had people engaged in everyday skills and they would let us take part in their work and explain to us what life was like 200 years ago.

Beautiful attire for my handsome hubby. :o)

Zach looked like my very own Leprechaun. He loved this outfit.

Riley and Gavin couldn't miss out in the fashion show.

Gavin loved this bear rug. I couldn't get him out of this room and we had to come and visit the bear again before we left.

The trading post. Every trade was measured in beaver pelts. This was some of the stuff they could trade for.

The dock off of the village.

High Falls at Grand Portage State Park, Minnesota's highest waterfall.

Riley and the waterfall. Canada was just off to the right of these falls.

Scenic view off of HWY 61. So pretty.

Judge CR Magney State Park. Upper Falls. We could sit here forever just watching the waterfalls.

Jordan and Zach's favorite Falls, Devil's Kettle (also at the Judge CR Magney State Park). It was so cool to see part of the waterfall split off and run into a deep hole. Not sure where the water came out.

Vacation Photos - Part 1

Vacation! Doesn't that word bring a smile to your face? For me it does because this last vacation was our very first family vacation all by ourselves. We have always gone on vacations with other people but this one was just the 6 of us and it was so much fun. The kids were incredible, scenery was so beautiful, and our time together was priceless. We couldn't have asked for a better vacation and we are very thankful for having this opportunity to go on one of our very own.

Duluth. We just got to the canal park and the aerial lift bridge just as a massive ship was coming through. It was so awesome to see.
Zach off the shore of Lake Superior in Duluth.

Jordan off the shore.

A pic of the aerial lift bridge in the background.

These stinking seagulls were everywhere. Not a highlight of my day.

Love this pic. A view of the streets as they leave the shore. They were all inclined like this. Would stink to keep these clear in the winter when this area of Minnesota gets an average of 50+ inches of snow a year.

One of my favorite pics, Riley and Gavin. A perfect example of how our week was, we all got along perfectly.

Curt and I, it was nice having two older boys who could also take pictures.

The kiddos.

The kids and I along the lake walk. A nice little stroll and so pretty.

Gavin was so stoked to see Bumblebee in Duluth. And for those of you who don't know who Bumblebee is, it is a transformer from the Transformers movie, Gavin's favorite Autobot. (This really isn't the real car, but he sure thought so)

Gavin playing on the frog slide at our hotel.

Riley going down the huge water slide also in our hotel. Every night was spent in the pool, a nice ending to every day.

Jordan along the shore in Silver Bay. This area was only about a quarter of a mile from our hotel. Was awesome to look out our hotel room every morning and see Lake Superior.

Zach along the shore as well. Kids had so much fun here throwing rocks and exploring.