**This is a really long post, so feel free to just browse the pictures. You'll get the idea!!***
Last Tuesday night, we loaded up the mini van and started our vacation! With myself, Kai, Wendy, Ella, and Ava in my van and Tyson, Darren, my dad, Josh, and Marley (Josh's dog) in the Tahoe, we began our 8 hour journey north. (My mom headed up the day before us with my cousins.) We decided it was best to drive through the night so all the littles would sleep. Sleep they did not. Well, sort of. We left Dumont just before 8:30pm and both babies were out by 9:30. However, we made a pit stop for gas an hour later and woke up the whole car! Dang it. It then took Kai 2 hours to fall back sleep, putting us after midnight!! He was waking up Ella and Ava in the process as well. He was tired but his body just would not let him sleep!! Anyway, after yet another stop and kiddos waking again, we finally made it to Sleepy Hollow Resort in Northome, Minnesota at 4:00am! My mom greeted us at the door and we quickly transferred kids into their beds.
Kai (our alarm clock) woke us up at 8:00am Wednesday morning. So after 4 hours of sleep, we ate a pancake breakfast by the late and got ready to spend the day in the water! (Side note: Sleepy Hollow Resort is owned by my aunt and uncle) Kai "swam" in the lake for the first time but would only let mommy hold him! He didn't really know what to think. The water was a little chilly when we first got in but is really the perfect temperature once you've taken the plunge and gotten all the way in. He cruised around in a floaty until lunch and nap time. While Kai and Ella slept, we jumped on the trampoline, tried out the water bike, paddle boats, and kayaks. They had so many funs things to do at their resort! After a day in the water, we ate a big supper, went fishing, and struggled to get kids to sleep. They didn't want the day to end!
Lake-side breakfast Papa's babies!
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| Don't let these sweet faces fool you!! They are partners in crime! |
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| Biker boy! |
Love these three!! Nana's boy!
On Thursday (Happy 4th of July!!) we woke up a little later, ate brunch, dressed in patriotic colors, and took Kai on his first boat ride!! He didn't love the life jacket but I was prepared with snacks! About 10 minutes into the ride, he fell asleep on Nana's lap. Just before reaching the dock, we slipped his life jacket off and Nana carried him inside to sleep. This time while Kai napped, the girls went tubing! We ate an early supper this night so we could all go out fishing (guys on one boat, girls and kids on the other). This time, Kai wore a different life jacket and REALLY hated it!! When we got to a fishing spot and stopped, enough was enough and I just took the jacket off. I didn't do any fishing because I decided not to get a license, but it was exciting enough to watch! The girls were definitely catching more fish than the guys. While all of this action was going on, Kai was content playing with the leeches that were being used for bait. I know...total boy right?! We ended the night in the Rec Room playing games after the mosquitos were too bad during our campfire.
First boat ride!
Ava loves her Joshie!
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| Leeches! |
Friday was another beautiful day! Ava didn't want to go swimming and Ella hadn't really loved the lake water, so Mari (my aunt) set up a baby pool that we filled with half hot water and half lake water. It was the perfect temperature! The guys were out
trying to fish again. When they got back, we handed off the kids and the girls loaded up the pontoon with drinks and books and went out on the lake. We found a spot out of the wind, tied up our floaties to the the boat and each other, and laid out. After realizing we were all probably burnt, we called it a day after about 3 hours! We spent another night in the Rec Room after supper.
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| Attempting some cousin pictures..... |
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| ....now we've lost Ava... |
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| Snack time in the jammies |
On Saturday, we woke up to colder weather and off & on rain. This was our last day at Sleepy Hollow so we ended up doing a lot of reading, napping, and packing anyway. A perfect day to catch up on sleep! We had decided to try driving at night again, so after an early supper, we loaded up the two vehicles and trailer and headed for Minneapolis. We weren't feeling brave enough to try the 8 hour drive again. We arrived at our hotel around 11:30pm and Kai was WOUND up!! As soon as we got in our room, he started running around and checking out everything! When I was trying to get him to go to sleep, he kept laughing nonstop. Silly boy. It took about an hour to get him settled down and to sleep.
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| Oh look!! Tyson was on vacation with us! |
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| Family pic! |
Sunday morning came bright and early but we were excited to take the kids to the Como Zoo. It's a zoo in St. Paul that is free will donation (they recommend $3/adult & $2/kid). It took us just under 2 hours to get through it all. Tyson and I agree that this zoo is the perfect size for Kai right now and probably even next summer. He loved all of the animals, although most he called puppies or roared at them. Attached to the zoo is an amusement park that we might have to try out next summer. It would be a perfect weekend getaway! We stopped for a quick lunch after leaving the zoo and then headed back home, arriving in Cedar Falls at about 6:00pm.
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| Fishies!! |
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| My favorite guys! |
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| Burton family of 4? |
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| An attempt at Nana & Papa w/ grandkids picture.... |
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| Waving at the tiger! |
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| Standing right next to the lion |
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| Mommy & Kai....the best picture we could get |
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| Love this loud little girl! :) |
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| Nana & Kai with his souvenir monkey |
Even though Kai didn't sleep great or really want anything to do with anyone but mommy, we still had a GREAT time!! He is at a perfect age for fun getaways like this and it doesn't take much to keep him entertained!
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