Duluth 08

This past week has been a very, very busy one. I feel like it's been go-go-go since Tuesday afternoon, with not much of a break but lots of fun. So here's what's been going on:

Tuesday was Lilly's birthday, of course, and that night we also had Alayna's first parent-teacher conference for the year. Andy and I met with her teacher and had a great conversation about Alayna and her schooling. She's doing very well and her teacher had no complaints, except that she's maybe a little too chatty sometimes. Imagine that...

Wednesday was Alayna's first day of the next three that she didn't have school! We hung out at home a bit, then went to the dentist for check-ups for Alayna and Lilly. Both girls were yet again members of the No Cavity Club! Then we headed to the library before coming home to rest up. While the girls rested, I got ready to host our monthly Bunco group. I cleaned up the house and made this:


Nice, huh? I actually adapted this from an idea I had seen at Wal-Mart. It turned out uber-cute and tasted so good. Just a simple french vanilla cake mix baked in 2 - 8" square pans, but it was really moist and yummy.

Thursday was supposed to be a normal day, but it wasn't at all. First off, Alayna didn't have school. That in itself is difference enough, but then when it came time for my daycare kids to arrive, I found out that my one daycare mom was in labor! I was so excited and anxious all day to hear how things were going. So while I waited to hear, I entertained myself with my own kids, my one extra daycare kid and packing. Why? Because as soon as Andy got home from work we were headed to Duluth for the rest of the weekend. So needless to say, I kept pretty busy. I don't know how many times I was asked "Is it time for Daddy to be home from work yet?!"

Once Daddy got home, away we went! We went to Duluth and stayed at the Edgewater Resort and Waterpark with our friends Nick and Andrea, and their 2 girls Roz and Clara. The girls had so much fun playing in the water and swimming, sliding and having general water fun. Alayna finally mastered her swimming and not only figured out a good doggy paddle, but also learned how to dead-man float and swim underwater! We were so proud of her! She also lost a tooth on Thursday afternoon, so the tooth-fairy made her 5th visit while we were in Duluth!



I also got the call I'd been waiting for all day. My friend Missy, whose son Alex comes here for daycare, had her baby. Their little girl, Katherine, was born Thursday afternoon about 5:00. I was so excited to hear that she was here safe and sound and that she was a GIRL! We were all thinking another boy was in store for them. Congrats Missy, Dale and Alex!

Friday afternoon the older girls, Nick, Andy and I went to Canal Park so the girls could see all there is to take in down there. We walked the pier, went to the lighthouse, and visited the Lake Superior Marine Museum. We also were there in time to see a ship, the Canadian Navigator, come into port. In the words of Lilly, it was "huuuuuuuuuge!" The girls thought that was so neat to see. They couldn't believe the size of the ship, but they were also enthralled with the lift bridge and how high it went to accommodate the huge ships.





Saturday morning, after a beautiful sunrise out of our motel window...

...we packed up and left the motel. We drove through Duluth, up the hill and to Enger Tower. Enger Tower is an old watch tower that sits way up on the hill overlooking Duluth and Lake Superior. The view from the tower is breath-taking, especially with the beautiful fall colors.

See the ship coming into port?

On our way home, we stopped at Pattison State Park and did some hiking with the girls. Pattison is home to Wisconsin's highest waterfall, Big Manitou Falls. The girls were so excited to see the waterfall and the leaves were just gorgeous for a hike through the woods. It was also a lot warmer at Pattison than it was at Enger, being a lower elevation and further away from the lake.

It was a great weekend and so much fun on many accounts. We love Duluth and though Andy and I have been there many times, this was the first time for the girls. We plan to go back many times as a family, as there were still lots of things we didn't get to do or see. But we have lots of time and hopefully we can get up there every year from now on out.