More Swimming in Duluth

One of my favorite parts of camping is waking up and going out in the cool morning air. So when Sunday morning dawned, the kids and I headed outside ... and had to find a swimming towel to dry the dew off the picnic table ... and immediately began sweating. It seemed Sunday was taking its cues from Saturday's blistering weather.

By the time everyone was ready for the day, we were already melting. So off we went toward water again. With a couple Emilys in tow, we took a trip over to Enger Tower to let the the kids check out the views of Duluth (and eat some ice cream). We climbed the stairs all the way up and down and decided we officially earned a swim.

Mike brought us to Twin Ponds, where the beach was significantly smaller than the day before, but the water was just as refreshing! We ate a picnic lunch, the kids practiced swimming, and we said good bye to Enchilada (who had to head back to the cities). As long as we were in the water, we were comfortable - and every time we got out for too long, we started to sweat again.

When we finally pulled ourselves out of the lake and got back to the campground, Gma and Gpa J had also arrived. Everyone was excited to see them! We played around outside and entertained all the grandparents ... for a couple hours. Then I could see everyone starting to wilt again in the heat. I sent Quinn in to smile big at Gpa J so that we could use him and Gma for their hotel pool!

As we were driving to the hotel, I briefly wondered if I was "forcing fun." Then we got into the water (yet again) and you could almost physically see us returning to human form (from crabby melted blobs). We did a lot of swimming and jumping and standing on shoulders. No one was particularly happy when it was time to be done, but it was closing in on dinner time and we were all getting hungry! Back at the campsite, it was another night of dinner, fire, and s'mores.

Monday morning was hot and dewy again. We decided to forego drying off our picnic table and hopped up on Gpa V's "deck" for bagel breakfast. Then Auntie and I loaded up the kids and drove over to Gma and Gpa's hotel to give them all showers (it was definitely time for soap to hit their bodies!) - and to get out of Mike's hair while he packed us up.

Then we loaded Gma and Gpa's car with waaaay more stuff than they came with, including three small Vs. And off that crew headed to GR for a few days -without Mom and Dad. They were SO excited to go with Grandma and Grandpa (and probably weren't disappoint about Gpa's decidedly less strict rules around dessert consumption). Mike, Auntie, Yogi, and I packed our dirty, sweaty selves into our car (we needed some soap as well!) - because we had a Gala to attend that night!

Duluth Swimming Trip with a Side of Camping

Testing ... testing ... is this thing on? I warned you that our August is crazy and the blog is feeling the impact. I'll do my best to get you all caught up on the fun!

Two weekends ago, the kids started their nine-day vacation up north when we headed back to Duluth for our second camping trip there this summer. This trip included Mike's dad, Mike's mom and Bill, my sister, and her friend Enchilada. My parents joined the group on Sunday.

We were on the road shortly before 10am Saturday morning. Emmy and Enchilada hit the trail about the same time - but since Emmy lives on the north end of the cities, they had about a 45 minute head start. By the time we got to the north end of the cities, Mike's phone GPS rerouted us because of construction on the main freeway to Duluth. As we journeyed along our new route, I got a text from my sister that they had moved about a mile in the last 30 minutes. We said really nice things about Mike's phone.

SO HOT

We connected with the main road north of the construction and stopped for lunch - just about the same time that Em and Enchilada pulled into the same town! We got a potty break for everyone, got some nuggets and fries for the backseat passengers, got ourselves a tail (the Emilys followed us), and continued on our way.

Everyone was super confused when we pulled in to Duluth. It was like a million degrees out - WAY too hot for Duluth!! By the time Mike finished getting the camper set up, his clothes were dripping wet and he was definitely overheating. He wasn't the only one suffering. My sister and Fiona had the red-face look happening and even Enchilada was feeling the heat (and she's a native Texan!). The campground was on the St. Louis River, so we wandered down to the riverfront. But the water itself was pretty dirty. It was definitely not going to help us cope with the heat. And I honestly shuddered when Declan laid down on his belly in it. We needed a new plan. Badly!

As one of the only people who could still make a rational thought through the heat, I made the executive decision that we were going to the beach. We piled into our car with the Emilys and drove down to Park Point (a point of land out into Lake Superior with a lovely long sand beach). As we drove to the beach, the sign said that the lake temperature that day was 60 degrees. Strangely, we all swear that the walk from the car to the lake took 40 minutes ... and it was less than a 5 minute walk on the way back ... We dumped our stuff in the first random spot we could find, cursed as we picked our way across the blazing hot sand, and returned to humans as the cold water regulated our body temperature. It was exactly what we needed!

After a couple hours of swimming and playing in the sand, we started gathering our stuff. About that exact time, the wind shifted and started coming off the lake. There was the "lake effect" weather we know and love in Duluth. The temperature immediately dropped 15 degrees, the waves got much bigger, and you could see people abandoning the water. The campground felt so much cooler when we got back and I even had to grab a long-sleeve shirt as we made dinner.

We enjoyed a colorful fire that night (Mike had brought rainbow flames for the evenings), complete with s'mores. Then it was to bed to prepare for another day of hot day of camping - which ended up needing a lot of the same coping skills as day one.

Let's Flamingle

Last Tuesday night was our annual neighborhood part for Night to Unite. I think it’s our eighth year doing it and it is always so much fun. My friend Katie and I ended up being more in charge of it this year – so we kept things pretty simple. My favorite part was delivering the reminder flyer (always put the marketing person in charge of the flyer. It was a beach theme and my flyer had flamingos and said "let's flamingle". Katie thought it was great. Mike rolled his eyes at me!). I collected some extra children and had three pairs of deliverers. They did such a great job and we had so much fun. I also could not have paired the teams better. I had a hyper-focused group (yes, Quinn was half that team), a not in a hurry group, and a slightly shy group. 

As always at our parties, there was tons of delicious food. We did it at the end of the cul-de-sac, so we let the kids bring the electric dune buggy and gator down. They did a great job sharing and the cars were in motion almost constantly. The neighborhood kids had the best time playing and entertained each other the whole time. Dec really liked that the big girls helped him ride his bike and practice those new “no training wheels” skills. Quinn loved driving around the cars with various friends. And honestly, I have no idea what Fiona was doing. She was independent and delightfully happy.

Since the party was a beach theme, our neighbor Skip was spraying the kids with the hose, there was a beach ball volleyball game, and lots of leis being worn. We had visits from both a fire truck and a police car. The policewomen even stayed and played volleyball with the kids for a while. It was yet another night with a late bedtime. And we weren’t at all sorry.

No Plans Weekend

Last weekend was our only open weekend in August. It’s basically “buckle up and hold on” mode from now until school starts. We have camping, cabin, a birthday (and birthday parties. Plural), Newsies, a Twins game, several doctor appointments, a trip to Texas (for mom), and a gala to fit in before the month ends. So if you need us … quite honestly, who knows where we’ll be. That said, we are SUPER pumped about everything on that list. Except maybe the doctor appointments.

We made the most of our only “no plans” weekend. By making plans. And it was so good. Sunday evening, I texted my sister and said “Kids went to bed at 9:45 last night because we were having too much fun with friends. It’s now 7:15 and we are just getting dinner because we were at the waterslides. Who am I?” And that pretty much sums up the weekend. Friends. Outside. Waterslides. Schedule out the window. [Also out the window … apparently my ability to use a camera. Photographic evidence of the fun is sparse.]

Saturday found us outside eating dinner on the deck with our Pilchers. Then the kids ran wild around the yard while the adults played “name that tune” on the deck. Eventually Ev, Jonah, and Katie joined and went to the respective kid/adult areas. The bigs even convinced me to join them for a moonlight walk around the block with flashlights to look for bats! We are loving that our kids are getting old enough that we can occasionally say “it’s a Saturday in the summer. Bedtime isn’t a thing tonight.”

Sunday was gloomy and overcast. And quite honestly, we would all benefit from leaving the house (Saturday had been rainy too). So we decided to check out the waterpark at ValleyFair. We’ve determined that if the park was not included in our season pass, it would not be worth it for our family yet. We had all the short people problems. The kids could only really use the splash pad (which they found quite dull), the wave pool (which they loved, but Fiona was ticked because they made her wear a life jacket. 48 inches can’t come soon enough), and the lazy river. We had a fun time, but they have more fun just doing the regular park stuff. 

We ordered Jimmy Johns for dinner because we needed freaky fast food (and JJ delivers!). Probably won’t be our last “eat dinner and head to bed because it’s late” summer night.

Duluth Camping Trip #1

Eeeks! I’m currently making a grocery list and packing for our camping trip this weekend. And thought … hmmm, maybe I should blog the last camping trip. So here goes …

A couple weekends ago, we headed up to Duluth for Mike’s high school reunion. We chose to celebrate that momentous occasion by camping. And getting ready for your significant other’s reunion in a campground bathroom … Because of the reunion timing, we left around 3pm on Friday and very quickly remembered why we never leave town on a Friday afternoon in the summer to head north. Once we got out of the traffic snarls, all we had left was road construction. While towing a camper. Good times.

The kids were excellent, the new Sea-bands I got for both Dec and Quinn did the trick for carsickness, and we arrived at our campsite shortly before 7pm. Gpa V met us there and had a great time exploring with the kids while Mike and I set up camp. Once we got ourselves settled, Mike’s friend Luke, his wife, and their little guy stopped by for a quick visit. The kids had a blast playing with Isaac and it was a great way to wind down the evening.

After the kids went to bed, Mike headed out for a classmates-only gathering at a nearby bar. Gpa V stayed to hang out with me around the fire for a bit and then we called it a night. However, shortly before midnight, I texted Mike to come back because it was freezing in the camper and I didn’t know what our heater situation was. Never thought I would have to send a text like that while camping in July but it got down to 51 degrees that night!

Saturday morning, we headed over to Luke’s house to spend more time with them. The kids ate donuts and enjoyed playing with the toys, the dog, the duck, the horses, the barn kitties, and the trampoline. We had a blast catching up with some old friends. It was lovely out and everyone was happy to be outside. We took Skyline on our way back to the campground and showed the kids the views of Duluth and the “big lake” (Lake Superior).

After lunch and some necessary down time for two of the three, we found Gpa V and Gma and Gpa N sitting outside at the fire. We convinced Gma and Gpa N to join us down at the lakewalk, so the kids could stick their toes in Lake Superior. We’ve been talking a lot about the Great Lakes at home and how cold (and big) Lake Superior is. They could not wait to see if we were telling the truth (spoiler alert: we were).

We walked through the maritime museum and learned about ore boats, some of us walked out to the lighthouse, we watched the lift bridge go up and down a couple times, and we froze our toes in the lake. Then we promised we’d be back in a couple weeks (or now, like two days) and headed up to Gpa V’s, so Mike and I could shower and get ready for the reunion. The kids ate dinner there and then it was back to the campground. If you are reading it like a whirlwind, that’s pretty accurate.

Brave Grandpa stayed with the kids and handled bedtime while we went to the official reunion. Mike and I both agree it was not as much fun as the 10 year (lots more kids in the equation this time and WAY fewer spouses in attendance), but it was still a great evening. Mike enjoyed catching up with lots of old friends and I visited with the few I knew, Luke’s wife, and my college roommate Brianne (who happens to have graduated with Mike). We were back to the campground before midnight to release Grandpa … who was glad to see us because he had just put the last log on the fire!

Sunday morning, we explored the campground and had donuts with Grandpa while we packed up. We were out of there by late morning and Declan emphatically proclaimed that the trip was too short. He’s not wrong. It was a quick, but fun, adventure.

Third Babies Grow Up Fast

After all our bike riding adventures over my birthday, Dec is finally feeling motivated to drop his training wheels and keep up with the big kids. On his way home today, he told Mike that he was finally ready to take our neighbor up on his offer of his old bike. To be honest, we have been surprised that he hasn't wanted the bike to this point ... as it is a Hot Wheels bike!

It took him a few hours of staring at it to work up the courage to try it. When he finally did, he impressed us all. He needs someone to steady him when he gets started and his stopping skills could use a bit of polish. But the boy is on his way to life free of training wheels. I suspect he will be just like his sisters and flying around the cul-de-sac in no time flat.

Spider Quinn

I'm going to predict what will happen next. You'll see a video below and will click to watch it. You will see Quinn jumping in a bounce house and be like "Yep, bouncing child. Been there. Seen that." You'll be tempted to move on, but will hang in there because you figure I posted it for a reason.

Then Q will go full on Spiderman and you'll be like "Holy crap! Did that really just happen?!?!" You will watch again because you won't believe your eyes. During the bouncing, you'll convince yourself that it wasn't that cool. Then it will happen and you will think "Holy crap" again. You may even watch it a third time.

Try it. I dare you.