A few more vacation highlights

We just spent a week on Minnesota's north shore. It was a great week. The thing I enjoyed most was the uninterrupted time I had with Amanda and the kids. We did some amazing hikes, saw some great Minnesota history and even ate some good food. The weather was typical North Shore weather (from what we've heard.) We were very thankful that we got the kids all rain coats before we left. It rained most days and some days the highs didn't get out of the 60's. It didn't dampen our time though.

We talked to a number of people about the places we should go while we were there. A special thanks to Scott Jamison, who put together maps of all of his favorite state park spots. He was right on with every recommendation. We will definitely be back. Lake Superior is a wonderful spot and feels like home. Amanda has commented often about how much she loves the great lakes.

Here are a few more pictures that just scratch the surface of the great time we had.

A photo a day for while we're away: day 7

A photo a day for while we're away: day 6

 

Quotes: waterfall

From the sixth day of vacation on the north shore, Lucy yelled,

"I don't want to go by another waterfall."

A photo a day for while we're away: day 4

A photo a day for while we're away: day 3

 

 

A photo a day for while we're away: day 2

A photo a day for while we're away: day 1

 

 

At the end of our driveway

This spring so far we have seen a lot of wildlife.  The other day we saw a painted turtle laying her eggs in our back yard.  Last night I was outside and Cal, the cat, came out of the woods batting a little duckling back and forth in her paws.  I grabbed the duckling and went in and showed the kids.  Our neighbors are planning on having ducks.  They are getting 10 in the mail in the a few weeks.  So we brought the little duckling over to them.  They were thrilled.  So we'll hope that they can keep it until the others arrive.

Then this morning on my way to work, I saw the below snapping turtle, right at the end of our driveway.  She was laying her eggs too.  It's fun to live in the country.

Caleb's Recital

Caleb had his end of the year violin recital last night.  It was a lot of fun.  We really like his teacher.  She knows just when to push and when to let off.  It's been amazing to watch his improvement this year under her tutelage.  She has some students that she teaches at home, some she teaches at a music school and some at an area college.  Last night was just her home students.  With all of the students playing, the whole thing lasted about an hour.  That's my kind of recital.  Caleb played three Bach minuets and did a great job.  Also, thanks to his accompanist.  She did a great job too.

A Busy Little Guy

Nathan is now ultra mobile.  He is getting around and getting into everything.  He is figuring out how to express more of his opinions as well.  He is still full of smiles and likes to pull out his tricks: waving hello, pointing at the basketball hoop, clapping and pat-a-cake.  He'll get a little taste of that from this video.

Art Week

Last week Amanda and Shirley did an Art Week with the kids and some of their neighbor friends.  It was a lot of fun.  They created a still life, mosaics, a bead sun catcher, paper mache and a few other things.  Then on Thursday night we had all of the parents over for a gallery night.  Amanda is amazing when it comes to organizing these things.  She takes care of every little detail.  The kids all had a good time.  It was fun for us to see all of their art aptitudes.