We had a wonderful time visiting my family in Minnesota this summer. We decided to make the long trip to see family, let the boys explore more of my motherland, and have my sister's family FINALLY meet Clara. They weren't able to make it to Ohio and Clara was only a month old at Christmas, so we just hung out at home. Here is a look into our vacation.
Day 1:
We ended up leaving last morning to go to Indiana. We typically stop at Eric's parent's house when we go to Minnesota because it's only about 8 hours from their. Otherwise, it would around 12 hours, which is too long for the kids. The only problem, is this means 4 "travel" days to get there which puts a bit of a damper on the total vacation time at the final destination. We loved seeing the Grashorn family. The boys got to swim in the pool, jump on the trampoline, play with Mia, and hang out with grammy and grandpa. It was a nice relaxing evening prior to the long leg of our trip.
Day 2:
Despite being a Saturday, we got up early to try to make sure we beat traffic in Chicago. It feels like there is always traffic in Chicago, so we were trying not to make a long trip even longer. We ended up leaving at 6:18 am, which isn't too bad with 3 small kids. We had the boys eat breakfast in the car, while mom pumped and gave Clara a bottle. We made it through Chicago with almost no traffic. Right when we arrived in Gary, IN Nathaniel told us he had to go to the bathroom. We lovingly told him that we were not going to stop there or in Chicago proper. He more than anything wanted to get out of the car. He decided he didn't want to be in there anymore. We chatted with him and he forgot that he had to go and made it until we got past Chicago before he started to fuss again. We were able to make it to a little gas station and all was well. We next stopped for lunch about two hours outside of Minnesota in rural Wisconsin. We ended up at the midwest staple - Perkins. The boys had milkshakes and pancakes, while Clara had a Plum pouch and some puffs. It was a nice break from the driving. We then made it the last two hours to Minnesota! Brian and Laura came over with the twins because they were spending the night at their house. Kenzie loved holding the baby. They hung out for a bit and then went home. We took the kids down to the local park to play for a bit. Edmund and Nathaniel love the tractors to dig in the sand with. We then headed back for dinner. Becky and Sean came over with Kaylee and Kara after dinner so that they could meet Clara. We had fun hanging out with them for a little bit and catching up. It was then time for bed after what felt like a very long day.
Day 3:
Today, we skipped church. We almost never skip church, but we did because my parent's typically go at 7:30 and it would be so hard to get out of the house by 7 am with 3 kids in tow and expect them to be quiet during mass. We instead had a nice breakfast and hung out at home. We walked down to the local farmer's market where the boys picked out some potatoes and cucumbers and papa bought them cookies. We then went to the actual grocery store in the afternoon to pick up some food for our trip to Duluth and for dinner. It was then time for naps. While the kids slept, we ran a few errands. We went to Eric's favorite home brew store - Northern Brewer to pick up some grain. We also traveled over to Ikea to buy some picture frames and other random things we found. We, of course, got swedish fish and lingonberry jam. After we got back, gramma, papa, mom, and the boys went down to the community center to splash around in the water park. The boys had a blast running around, doing down the slide, spraying eachother with water, and jumping on the lilly pads. By the time we got back, the kids were exhausted. We fed them dinner and then it was time for bed.
ikea and northern brewer
Day 4:
Day 3:
Today, we skipped church. We almost never skip church, but we did because my parent's typically go at 7:30 and it would be so hard to get out of the house by 7 am with 3 kids in tow and expect them to be quiet during mass. We instead had a nice breakfast and hung out at home. We walked down to the local farmer's market where the boys picked out some potatoes and cucumbers and papa bought them cookies. We then went to the actual grocery store in the afternoon to pick up some food for our trip to Duluth and for dinner. It was then time for naps. While the kids slept, we ran a few errands. We went to Eric's favorite home brew store - Northern Brewer to pick up some grain. We also traveled over to Ikea to buy some picture frames and other random things we found. We, of course, got swedish fish and lingonberry jam. After we got back, gramma, papa, mom, and the boys went down to the community center to splash around in the water park. The boys had a blast running around, doing down the slide, spraying eachother with water, and jumping on the lilly pads. By the time we got back, the kids were exhausted. We fed them dinner and then it was time for bed.
ikea and northern brewer
Day 4:
While Kaylee and Kara had school, we met up with Aunt Becky, Kenzie, and Kellan at the St. Paul Children's Museum. Uncle Brian even came with. They had a blast playing in the market area, splashing around in the water table, pretending they were ants, and learning about green screens. We hit up one of our favorite places to eat, Cosetta's for lunch. We headed back to the house and hung out for the rest of the evening.
Day 5:
Day 5:
In order to get as much Auntie Becky time in as possible, we met up with Becky and mom's friend Jess to go to the splash pad. The kids had a blast playing in the water and at the brand new park next to it. It was fun to catch up with Jess and to see her two boys, Mason and Cole. While us girls were at the park with the kids, dad, papa, and Clara went to Total Wine to purchase some beer and wine. After we were sufficiently tired and hot, we went back to Becky's house and at lunch. Jess made us a huge salad and brought a bunch of snacks to share. We then went back home, naps, and getting everything packed up for Duluth the next day.
Day 6:
This was our favorite part of the trip. We LOVE Duluth and northern Minnesota. We all got up early and met up at Becky's house. We left her house by 9 am and headed up north. The air changes and gets cooler as you go and more and more lakes appear. We love seeing Lake Superior show up over the bluffs as you travel into Duluth. We stopped for lunch when we got there and then headed to the hotel for naps. At least we tried. Clara would not go down so mom walked along the lake walk with her in the stroller until she finally fell asleep. It was blissful and so peaceful walking along the like. It's not often that mom gets to be in such beautiful scenery almost by herself. (A sleeping baby doesn't require much attention.) Dad took a nap with the boys in the hotel room. Nobody else naps, so they hung out and walked around Canal Park. When the kids finally got up, it was time for dinner. We went to the brew house next door. After, the kids all jumped into the lake and gathered rocks. We ended up with quiet a few that they wanted to take home with them. We then went back and got our swimsuits on and all jumped into the pool, even Clara. It was then time for bed, which went pretty smoothly considering we had three kids in a hotel room.
Day 7:
Since we only spent one night at the hotel, we got up and ate breakfast out on the patio of our hotel. It was quiet and beautiful since our hotel was right on the lake. We all packed up our things and checked out of the hotel. We next headed over to the train museum. The boys loved seeing all of the old trains, especially the snow plow. The history portion of the museum was really interesting as well. It was amazing to see how people used to log in the area. Everyone else headed home, but we headed over to Canal Park to get some popcorn and feed the seagulls for a few minutes. Clara was sleeping, so dad stayed in the car with her. We next headed back to gramma and papa's house to eat dinner and get to bed since the next day we would head back to Indiana.
Day 8:
We got up early and packed the kids up in the car to head back to Indiana. The trip was going really well until we hit Chicago. We stopped at the Belvedere Oasis to get some lunch and move around a little bit. We then hit traffic around 1 pm. We took the tri-state around the city, but still between it and I80, we added two extra hours to our trip! The kids did really well, although they started saying they wanted to play dad cookie and dead bacon, where you apparently jump on a trampoline around someone and yell dead cookie or dead bacon. They also insisted on calling Clara baby cookie the entire trip home. We finally made it to grammy and grandpa's house and hustled the boys into their swimsuits so that they could gets some wiggles out before we ate supper. The whole family came over because it was uncle Shawn's birthday. The boys were excited to get cake and to be there to celebrate, because there isn't much better than birthdays when you are a kid. We then had baths and headed to bed.
Day 9:
We started the day with a late breakfast with everyone. It was nice to hang out with just grammy and grandpa since the uncles were sleeping and Uncle Ryan was out of town. We then got back in the car for the final time and drove home. The kids did so great in the car the entire trip. Enough so, that it makes me want to go on another vacation.
We were so glad to be able to see everyone and have such a wonderful trip. We were especially grateful for gramma and papa's hospitality and that the Peterson's could finally meet Clara.
Here is a video of some of the highlights of our trip.Day 6:
This was our favorite part of the trip. We LOVE Duluth and northern Minnesota. We all got up early and met up at Becky's house. We left her house by 9 am and headed up north. The air changes and gets cooler as you go and more and more lakes appear. We love seeing Lake Superior show up over the bluffs as you travel into Duluth. We stopped for lunch when we got there and then headed to the hotel for naps. At least we tried. Clara would not go down so mom walked along the lake walk with her in the stroller until she finally fell asleep. It was blissful and so peaceful walking along the like. It's not often that mom gets to be in such beautiful scenery almost by herself. (A sleeping baby doesn't require much attention.) Dad took a nap with the boys in the hotel room. Nobody else naps, so they hung out and walked around Canal Park. When the kids finally got up, it was time for dinner. We went to the brew house next door. After, the kids all jumped into the lake and gathered rocks. We ended up with quiet a few that they wanted to take home with them. We then went back and got our swimsuits on and all jumped into the pool, even Clara. It was then time for bed, which went pretty smoothly considering we had three kids in a hotel room.
Day 7:
Since we only spent one night at the hotel, we got up and ate breakfast out on the patio of our hotel. It was quiet and beautiful since our hotel was right on the lake. We all packed up our things and checked out of the hotel. We next headed over to the train museum. The boys loved seeing all of the old trains, especially the snow plow. The history portion of the museum was really interesting as well. It was amazing to see how people used to log in the area. Everyone else headed home, but we headed over to Canal Park to get some popcorn and feed the seagulls for a few minutes. Clara was sleeping, so dad stayed in the car with her. We next headed back to gramma and papa's house to eat dinner and get to bed since the next day we would head back to Indiana.
Day 8:
We got up early and packed the kids up in the car to head back to Indiana. The trip was going really well until we hit Chicago. We stopped at the Belvedere Oasis to get some lunch and move around a little bit. We then hit traffic around 1 pm. We took the tri-state around the city, but still between it and I80, we added two extra hours to our trip! The kids did really well, although they started saying they wanted to play dad cookie and dead bacon, where you apparently jump on a trampoline around someone and yell dead cookie or dead bacon. They also insisted on calling Clara baby cookie the entire trip home. We finally made it to grammy and grandpa's house and hustled the boys into their swimsuits so that they could gets some wiggles out before we ate supper. The whole family came over because it was uncle Shawn's birthday. The boys were excited to get cake and to be there to celebrate, because there isn't much better than birthdays when you are a kid. We then had baths and headed to bed.
Day 9:
We started the day with a late breakfast with everyone. It was nice to hang out with just grammy and grandpa since the uncles were sleeping and Uncle Ryan was out of town. We then got back in the car for the final time and drove home. The kids did so great in the car the entire trip. Enough so, that it makes me want to go on another vacation.
We were so glad to be able to see everyone and have such a wonderful trip. We were especially grateful for gramma and papa's hospitality and that the Peterson's could finally meet Clara.
