MN Zoo Playdate

Last Friday afternoon, I had the opportunity to treat our children and two of their favorite friends, all soon to be 1st graders, to a playdate at the MN Zoo. We spent the entire afternoon enjoying the gorgeous weather and just "playing and giggling". The biggest hit of the day was the penguins. The children each had a large lollipop and were pressed closely to the glass watching the funny birds swim and waddle. What we found is that the penguins really wanted those lollipops, BADLY! The children had the hugest belly laughs watching the penguins go after their lollipops as they raised them up and down close to the glass. It was hysterical! It was a perfect day and we all had lots of fun. I truly enjoy spending time watching children play, laugh and share their love of animals with each other. Priceless!

Enjoying a picnic lunch

Climbing the giant mosquito

BFF's (L and M)

BFF's (D and E)

Girl Power

Digging for dinosaur bones

Leopard "talking" to the gang

Always on the run

Cooled off by the sprinklers

Soaked but sweet

Penguins LOVE lollipops!

Calling it a day

Leech Lake Vacation

Our summer vacation with the Brigham family on Leech Lake was nothing short of spectacular! The resort and our log cabin were perfect, the hospitality was fantastic, the weather was phenomenal, the lake was super clean (and HUGE) and fun times were had by all. We stayed at Anderson's Northland Lodge on the south shore just 8 miles outside of Walker. The Anderson family does such a great job of hosting daily activities for children including turtle races, minnow races, hula hoop contests, sand castle contests, bubble gum hikes, scavenger hunts, water skiing lessons, arts & crafts, barrel train rides, ice cream socials, homemade doughnuts, evening bonfires, LOTS of water toys, a playground and sand volleyball court, horse shoes, AND a pet furry bunny which the kids fed until it was ready to burst. Needless to say, we had a blast. We went boating, tubing, water skiing, fishing, kayaking, and relaxed on the sandy beach. It was everything one could want in a relaxing summer getaway. At night, we had bonfires and the adults played board and card games when the kiddos went to bed.

Too bad our luck was a bit down on the fishing front. It doesn't help when you have children jumping off the pontoon while you are trying to fish. So Dave and Derek got serious and took out the fishing boat one day and got ONE whole fish thanks to Taylor. Check out her fish on the photos below (click on our Kodak Gallery Link for MANY more photos)!

The kiddos all received water skiing lessons by Alicia, the activities director. Asa and LTD all got up their first time; Ava and Cousin Cole did a great job too. We have a video we will make sure to post which is a riot! Dave and I decided to ski too which was alot of fun. Neither one of us wiped out which is always a bonus in avoiding a trip to the ER.

Lynn's sister, Luanne and her son Cole, joined us for the week all the way from Rhode Island. We also met some really nice people from North Dakota (of course), the Cities and Chicago and the kiddos made new friends. Bottom line, we had fun from sunrise to sunset. The sunsets were spectacular and we had a full moon almost every night which was something to behold.

We have already decided we are going back next year except now we know a little bit more about the lake which will definitely help when it comes to actually catching fish. See you next year, Andersons!

The boys showing off on the tube

Girl time (and Dylan too)

Look out boys, Lindsey is Captain Turtle Races - ready, get set, GO!

Taylor learning to ski

Dylan's Turn

Sand Castle Team

Kayak King

Taylor's Whopper

Hula Hoop Contest

Lindsey's Turn Skiing

Bonfire Babes

Camp Clark

Team Trouble (Clarks, Cousin Cole, Brighams)

Mama bear and her cubs

Dancing Queens

Our Very First Helicopter Ride

This weekend Dad was out of town so LTD and I headed over to Lakefront Days in Prior Lake. The parade was a lot of fun and they collected LOTS of candy and got to see some of their classmates too. We headed over to the fest grounds afterwards for the inflatables, food, music AND a helicopter ride!

That's right - our very first helicopter ride! We had seen them flying over our home earlier in the day and saw the ads for it too. LTD grabbed their coin purses/wallet and filled them with money and said "let's get on that helicopter". They each had about $10 worth of bills and coins. I had to forewarn them that it may be too much money and we may not be able to do it. We walked up and chatted with the owners of the helicopter who were amazed by "triplets" and were very nice. I asked them how much and unfortunately it was $80/person for up to 3 total passengers. Bummer. Too much $ and not enough room. But the kiddos were relentless, spilled their money on the table (coins and all) and begged if we could go. The people laughed and were so taken in by LTD and asked how much I had. I told them I would give them $100 total in cash for all 4 of us to go together. They gave in and it was a deal! L & T had to share a seat but they were big seats so it worked out great.

It was an experience we will never forget! We got a complete tour of Prior Lake and the surrounding area which was gorgeous. We even flew over our home we are renting and the kiddos were giggling the whole time. The pilot was so funny and he gave us a long ride and even pulled a few stunts for the kiddos that brought out the belly laughs big time. I wished I would have had our video camera or my regular camera with since my cell phone photos are average at best. Regardless, it was so AMAZING! The only downfall is that dad couldn't be there with us to experience it. The kiddos said, "we have never been on a helicopter before". Guess what - neither have I in the 47 years of my life! It is an experience I can't wait to share with Dave sometime soon as well as a hot air ballon ride. That is also on my bucket list :)