The Last of the MEA Pictures

Feels like I've been writing about this little trip forever but there were a lot of pictures to post from it!!  

We spent a few hours at the Jay Cooke State Park.  Again, rock ledges along with swirling, rushing waters and 2 young boys does not make for a relaxing time for me.  At one point I looked over and saw Erik calmly and gently take Mason by both shoulders and steer him in another direction.  After Mason had moved on, I walked over to the spot he was at to see what Erik was steering him away from.  Yep, a sheer cliff with a 20 foot drop into swirling, black waters.  My heart dropped into my stomach and I moved on quickly!

Thankfully we found some side water pools that were even bigger (and safer) than the previous day!! The boys spent hours exploring, skipping rocks and chasing crayfish.  

There was also a large swinging bridge that was super awesome (and enclosed).  It was only a little unnerving crossing it but mainly it was gorgeous.

These pictures were taken in the calmer area of the water.

Behind this one you can see a bit of the falls.

Pictures of Erik, Mason and Grandpa and Grandma C on the swinging bridge.

Crayfish hunters

The swinging bridge in the background

More Vacation Pictures

We spent a day at Gooseberry Falls, the boys LOVED it.  That place is every kid's dream and every parent's nightmare.  There's no railings or fences, no signs telling people to stay out and plenty of opportunities to trip and fall off the ledge.  I'm quite certain I gained more than a few gray hairs that day!!  I put Erik in charge of Mason, our not-quite-coordinated dare devil who has no fear and zero concept of danger.  Although I'm not painting a very pretty picture for a nervous mother, it is an absolutely gorgeous state park and it's perfect for little boys who love to explore and don't mind getting their feet wet!

The boys found crayfish in the side waters.  That captivated their attention and would've kept them busy for hours if we would've let them determine the timeline.  

The boys played a few round of bean bags.  

Our campground neighbors had a bunch of boys in their group and they let Kade and Mason play football with them.  I didn't get any pictures but it was pretty funny to watch!  

The older boys caught on quickly that Mason is a tough little dude and Kade is an athletic kid.  So they kept telling Mason to tackle his brother.  It was pretty funny to watch Kade trying to play football while trying to evade Mason, who was bound and determined to take him down.

Making new fishing buddies.

Meanwhile, I did my best to embarrass Kade and Erik!

It's just so easy to do and hey! a girl's gotta keep warm!

Mason wasn't too embarrassed to join me!

Part 2

On Day 2 of our Duluth trip, we went to the Great Lakes Aquarium.  As you can imagine, Mason was overwhelmed and out-of-his-mind excited!  Kade was too but he plays it a lot cooler than his little brother.  I'm not going to lie, it was pretty awesome!  I didn't take many pictures because I was too busy watching their excitement.  There were a few touch pools where they got to touch sharks, jellyfish and, both boy's favorite, sturgeon!  I would HIGHLY recommend a trip there and I know we'll be back!

I didn't get a picture but it should come as no surprise that Erik surpassed the eagle's wingspan.

Pretend fishing?

Right up Mason's alley!

Mason's favorite fish of all time is posing in the background.

The long nose gar fish.

Although this is a great picture of the boys, the main reason I took it is because in the background you can see 2 ladies walking animals on a leash.  

What are those animals you ask?  

Skunks.  

Yep.  

Skunks on a leash.

After the aquarium we went to Grandma's restaurant down by Canal Park.

It was an hour and half wait but it worked out well because then we got to explore the beach and visit the lighthouse!

I swear Mason is in this picture too.

Look hard, you'll find him.

Kade could've spent hours climbing these rocks and skipping stones.

He made maneuvering over the boulders look easy.  

He LOVED visiting Canal Park.

This is a weird picture but Kade really had to pee.

So this was his bathroom.

Mason was his lookout man.

It was funny.

My friend, Melissa, photoshopped "Where's Waldo" on Mason.

School Pictures and MEA weekend: Part 1

3rd grade

Kindergarten

The boys had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off for MEA this year.  Erik and I took work off as well and we packed up the camper for some fall camping in Duluth!  Grandpa and Grandma C joined us with their camper as well.  

We got super lucky with the weather!  The week before, in Duluth, it was snowing and the week after we were there, it was flooding!!  While we were there it was 50's and 60's and sunny every day.  We knew we were taking a chance camping that far up north that late in the fall but we were excited to try it and it worked out well!

It was past peak colors but they were still pretty darn spectacular.  

This was the view off the fishing dock (where we spent A LOT of time) in the campground we stayed at.

Can you spot Mason in the picture below?

When nature calls, while you're in nature, you gotta do what you gotta do.

This was the one and only fish of the entire trip.

We knew we wouldn't catch many but I kinda thought we'd get more than 1!

The boys with G&G C

We took lots of family pictures this trip.

This was the first one.

On that note, I'll put more pictures on the next post!