Just to make our home a little more chaotic, we decide to....

get a puppy!! Yikes! Yep... a little golden retriever. His full name is not decided yet, but Jack is part of it. Short for Jackie Chan (Henry's choice) and preferred by Charles. And... gulp... we're going to try to have a Korean dog and teach him his commands in Korean. Thank goodness my Korean teacher has a dog. All he knows is Korean. We'll see how it goes.

Day 2 continued

We headed back to the beach this evening. Everyone was hot from hiking around and needed to relax. Went to a different beach this evening.

The great thrill was on the way home. We were very close to the aerial bridge when we had to stop so that it could go up. That means only one thing... a ship is going under. We saw some other people hop out of their cars and run over to the bridge. So... being the tourists that we are. We did the same... except Travis who, as the driver of the car, thought he should stay with it. Never mind that we were all dressed in only swimming suits (I did have a pair of shorts) and no shoes...except Min who was sandy leaving the beach that Travis took his trunks off and wrapped him in a towel. So the boys and I (carrying the naked, towel-clad 3 year old) ran down the sidewalk to the canal. And luck was with us... the ship wasn't just some sailboat or tourist carrying boat but a real cargo ship. The Edwin A. Gott. And it was spectacular. There is something about being 15 yards away from a 1000 foot cargo ship going under an elevated bridge. The boys were speechless! And, then it was gone and we had to sprint back down the sidewalk...barefooted in swimming suits to jump back in the truck before we had to drive. I try not to think about what a sight we were but feel much better that I wasn't the only mother racing her kids back to the car.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow so we will plan to go to the ship museum and..I'm not sure what else.

Family Vacation Day 2... The Road Less Travelled

We made it up to Split Rock Lighthouse and State Park this morning. We'd never toured the lighthouse before so we did that today. The majority of our time was spent hiking around. You'll see the purpose of my title a little later in today's blog. It is a favorite poem of mine and was pretty suitable for the days hiking. Charles and Min walking down the path. They were absolutely nuts. We made it through the lighthouse but no other buildings because the boys couldn't quite control themselves. Scary when you're in a historic house full of antiques. So... off we went.

Min and I on the trail. He was the only who would agree to actually looking at the camera...but he couldn't do it with a straight face.

It was nearly lunchtime so we decided to have a picnic on this little island. This was the start of a bumpy road. Not only did we have to make it over Pebble Beach. Think.... a beach of fist-sized rocks, 3 boys, and lots of throwing. No...no one got hit by rocks.

Then we had to make it over this cliff. We were happy to see that the boys are pretty good climbers. No one fell off the cliff into the lake. Min and Travis had a great conversation going over. Min...'Dad, what's this?' Dad...'I think it's poop.' Min...'No. I think it's marshmallow.' Dad...'That's bird poop, Min.' Min...'Oh.. gross!!'

Min with his collection of favorite, beautiful rocks. Yes, we carried them all the way back to the truck in the cooler.

Once we made it over Pebble Beach we had to cross these rocks to make it the island.

On the island trying to find a place to eat.

Charles and Min.

2010 Duluth Family Vacation

We headed up to Duluth for a long weekend and a family vacation. The day started out with swimming lessons at the Y for Henry and Charles and then we left. I must say that taking long trips back to North Dakota has certainly paid off. The boys have gotten to be pretty good travellers. We made it all the way up here without movies. Yes, Henry played his DS and the other looked at books and Min took a nap, but...hey... there was hardly any fighting or anything. Charles didn't even ask how many days it was going to take us to get there. It was hot and we didn't have time to do much else on Wednesday so we headed to the beach. Yes... the beach at Lake Superior. It wasn't even that cold. And... where else can you drive to Northern Minnesota and feel a little like you're at ocean. We went to a beach close to the downtown area. A ship in the distance.

I wish I knew how to edit my pictures a little better on the blog. I don't have Photoshop on this computer. But, Charles has the great smile!! What a water boy.

Min is loving the lake!! His first comment.... 'It's so shivery!.' Didn't take him...or anyone.. long to get wet.

I think w'e'll head up to Split Rock Lighthouse and Park tomorrow. Charles should love it. He's such a little ship fanatic. More to come!!