Category: Vacation

  • Trip To Duluth

    Trip To Duluth

    Alissa has been wanting to go up to Duluth for a weekend getaway with the kids for quite some time. I have always been hesitant because there is just not that much to do. However, her friend convinced us to head up to….. another train ride!  This time, it would be to a pumpkin patch so we could pick out our halloween pumpkins and haul them home.

    While we were deciding on where to eat dinner Saturday evening, Endion Station Public House was rated well and the menu looked pretty solid. There was only one problem – it was a lot smaller then we anticipated. As we walked in (all 11 of us), it felt as though the place went silent and all eyes were on us.  We looked around, and left.  We decided it was not the most appropriate place for us to eat. So we decided to go to Grandmas.  The food was good, the service was good, and the kids had a blast looking at all the stuff hanging on the walls and ceiling. Alayna was obsessed with the stroller that was on the ceiling and was pretty scared of the quarter pony ride they had (See video below).

    The next day, we had a brief morning swim and some breakfast at the hotel, then hopped on the train for our adventure off to the pumpkin patch.

    After the train ride was over, we decided to head north to Gooseberry Falls where we went on a fun hike and were able to take some fantastic pictures of the scenery and of the family! We topped it off with a stop at the world famous Betty’s Pies.  Delish.

    What an absolutely great family weekend getaway. We had a blast!

  • Thanksgiving 2011- CALI!!

    We decided again this year to go out to sunny San Diego and visit Gpa R and Carly for Thanksgiving. We think its important to spend time with family, especially during the Holidays but also to bring Sophia to see where Gpa R lives and enjoy time out there. We boarded a plane Nov 19th- me beyond nervous as Sophia is now 2 and cant sit on my lap, she needs her own seat. And if any of you know flying with a toddler can be especially difficult when it comes to a car seat. The airlines require only specific car seats that are compatible with airplanes and cars and we don’t have one and aren’t going to purchase one. So Sophia flew in a seat ALL by herself and she couldn’t have been more proud!

    coloring on the plane..

    Given the circumstances, Soph did amazingly well on the plane! Once we landed we were greeted by Gpa R & Carly and we made our way to Gpa R house to settle in for the night, as it was way past Soph bed time. Plus we had fun festivities planned with Gpa R!

    Going to California and spending time with Gpa R and Carly is always such a joy. Watching Sophia take in different environments, interacting with her Gpa and Carly makes our hearts swell with love. Soph always has such a good time experiencing new things, and I am so glad that she can acclimate to new places so well. We were fortunate enough to bring Soph to the Wild Animal Park and she had such a good time pointing out each animal, making sure to let us know each noise they make.

    Soph watching the ducks & flamingos
    Riding the trolley through the Wild Animal Safari

    We also took many walks along the coast, pointing out the waves, surfers, birds and many other different scenic views. If anything this was our beautiful “go to” for Soph to burn off some energy!

    Love!

    Gpa R took us on “adventures” as well, through different parks and trails. Sophia got to run up and down hills, talking with Gpa- great memories!

    Picked some flowers for Carly
    LOVE!!

    We also had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner that was prepared by Gpa, Carly and Esteff and it was delicious! I don’t have any pictures to share from that, other then our girl wearing her Thanksgiving shirt- and let me tell you how true that shirt is! We couldn’t be more THANKFUL for her, she is such a blessing in our life.

    "Everyone is Thankful for me"

    We are so thankful to be have the opportunity to go on vacation, yet spend quality family time. Family is so important and I know I have said this a few times, but it is so important to show and share love with those around you! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

    A few misc pictures from our vacation.. Enjoy!

    Our Beautiful girl!
    Enjoying lunch at Gpa R work!

    Oh I almost forgot, the night we got home Sophia was BEYOND tired and we tried to feed her dinner, only to turn around and find this…

    First time Soph has ever fallen asleep at the table..

    She looks so precious and peaceful, we let her sleep! 🙂

  • Mid week mini vacation..

    Grandpa Russ & Carly are in town for the week to spend some much needed time with family and friends. We were lucky enough to take a few days off of work and head up North to Cross Lake to hang out at the cabin they rented. What a nice break from the day to day grind of things and have some relaxation on the lake, and let me tell you it was beautiful! The added bonus was Sophia spending some quality time with Gpa R, Carly and Great Gpa Jake! 
    View from our cabin 🙂

    Sophia had a great time with staying up late gazing at the stars, swinging in the fun chairs that hang from the ceiling to riding in a speed boat! She even got to swim in the lake 🙂

    Swinging in the fun chair that hangs from the ceiling
    Mommy & Sophia on the speed boat
    Gpa Russ, Carly & Sophia having fun on the boat
    Sophia helping Gpa drive the boat, she LOVED honking the horn!
    Gpa, Daddy & Sophia swimming in the lake

    Spending time with family is like adding money to your bank account; more money deposited-bigger bank account. The more time spent with family-more love deposited into. We love teaching our girl the importance of family.

  • 4th of July BIG beach post!

    Over the 4th of July at our stay at Grandview, we took the kids out everyday most times twice a day to play at the beach and boy did they LOVE that! Like i stated in my last post, last year Sophia did NOT like standing, walking or sitting in the sand. However, this year she conquered that! She was hesitant at first, but then overcame that after seeing how much fun her cousins were having. In fact, it became a struggle just to get her to leave the beach, they had a blast as you will see in the pictures.
    Cousins playing at the beach
    Sophia & Cole playing in the water
    Squirt gun fight!!
    Sophia & Daddy building sand castles

    Having fun on the tire swing..
    Almost everyday she wanted to wear this lifejacket out to the beach..

    In between playing at the beach, we also played on the playground. Sophia loved being able to swing in a “big girl” swing all by herself 🙂

    As you can see the kids had a fabulous time and so did we!

  • California.. So much to be THANKFUL for!

    We are back!! And we had a blast!!

    First off, Sophia handled the flight to San Diego and back like a rockstar! She was up for a little bit during take off and landing, other then that she slept. It was such a relief and Nate and I were both happy that she got a nap in.

    When we landed in San Diego we were immediately greeted by Russ and Sophia went right to him! She was so happy-it was the cutest thing ever. We loaded up everything in the truck and went back to Gpa Russ’ house where we relaxed for the evening since it was late, and Russ was going out with Carly for her birthday- (Happy Birthday again Carly!). Sophia also made sure to chase Gee & Malikeye. Nate, Sophia and I settled in for the night-excited for the weeks adventures and family time. The next day we had breakfast, and went on a family walk around the neighborhood- the weather was fantastic! We then went to lunch and went to 57 degrees so Nate could help his dad out with a few things. We made plans for the week which included: going to Legoland to see the Aquarium, Sea World, San Diego zoo and walks on the beach. Without going into every detail of our week-we accomplished all those things AND more. It was fantastic!

    Our first adventure was to Catalina Island, where we had lunch at the Catalina Island hotel and went for a walk on the beach. Sophia was skeptical of the sand at first, but after Gpa Russ found her a sea shell she was in LOVE! She ran and walked up and down the beach and was mesmerized by the ocean waters.

        

    The next day we drove out to Legoland and went to the Sea Aquarium. Sophia was able to stand next to and watch the fish. She was also able to touch some sea life, which she did with NO hesitations! She is so outgoing and loves trying new things. She liked watching the fish next to the tanks best!

     

     

    A few days later we made our way to San Diego Zoo. Sophia loves animals so we knew this would be a treat for her. We saw the giraffes, elephants, monkeys, tigers and a few others. It didn’t take too long for her to get tired out and she fell asleep. Nate and I walked around for a little bit longer before we headed home.

     

    Our next adventure was to Sea world. We weren’t to sure Sophia would be able to keep up with the dolphins and Shamu swimming around, but she was beyond thrilled with the dolphin show. She would get so excited when the would jump and swim around. On the other hand, for Shamu-she wasn’t excited at all and wanted to move on. This was probably a combination of no nap and that Shamu really didn’t swim much-Nate and I were disappointed as well. We went to the Shark exhibit as well-but Sophia fell asleep here too. Our little girl was tuckered out!

    In between our adventures we went on walks on the beach and the boardwalk-San Diego is so pretty and the weather was great most days. While walking on the Boardwalk we were able to bring Sophia on the Merry go Round which she loved as well. Sophia also had a favorite restaurant (as well as Nate and mine too! ) which is Old Town Mexico-its DELICIOUS! We were also able to spend some quality time with Gpa Russ and Carly. Our hearts are full from all the family time we got and we are blessed that we had this opportunity to spend some time with Gpa Russ. Nate and I both feel its important for Sophia to spend time with all of her family. We cant wait to come back again soon!

     

     

    Last, but not least, for Thanksgiving this year we got to celebrate with Grandpa Russ and Carly! We decided to stay in and have a home cooked meal. Russ and Nate cooked the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries and more and we all sat down and had a family dinner! We have so much to be thankful for and we feel so blessed to be able to spend time with Russ and Carly and celebrate some holidays here- since we aren’t able to for all of them!