UP Hikes

While in the UP, Aaron and I got to enjoy some alone time, thanks to Grandpa and Grandma!  We took full advantage and went hiking, stayed in a lodge, went out to eat, found the best ice cream (Jilbert's, of course!), tried several micro brews, visited one of my dear friends from college ('sup Heather & Finn!!), and basically had an all around great time.

You've got to stop and smell the daisies every once in a while, right?

Here's Aaron at Montreal Falls.  It was a gorgeous hike along the bluffs of Lake Superior to get to the falls.

And there's Aaron at the top of the falls.

I enjoyed climbing up the face of the falls.

We stopped for a few photos together.

But it was getting pretty hot out and we still had to hike back out.

Here's the path.  Not too shabby!

Using my muscles to bend a tree in two!

We also hiked at Estivant Pines.  It's the only virgin White Pine stand left in the UP.  That means really old, really big trees.

Here's Aaron at the base of a tree.

And here I am between two.

Same trees, still can't see the tops.  They're REALLY tall!

It's official.  We're tree huggers!

And after all that hiking, we worked up an appetite, so we stopped by the Gay Bar for dinner.

Here's Aaron in the town of Gay.  It's a really out of the way town in the middle of nowhere.  Even though I grew up in the UP, this was the first time I ever made it here!

UP North

We spent a week in August with my parents at their cabin up north (and I know what you're thinking... YES, there is more north of their regular house!).  We were near Copper Harbor (google it!) and the kids had a smashing good time all week.  The ride there and back was a little long for all of us, especially since the kids chose not to sleep at all, but besides that, it was tons of fun!  Above is Ansel playing with a flag at one of our stops along the way.

Amita really enjoyed the "mean cat" on the flag at another gas station.

And here we are walking off a little energy at a gas station in the UP.

The first thing the kids did when we got to the cabin was head straight for the water.  They played "splashy" until their clothes were completely soaked!  Good thing it was time to head inside and put on PJ's.

Ansel was definitely the splashy champion.  He soaked all of us!

Here's my boys up early one morning.

Amita was excited to wear a life vest...

... because it meant she got to go for a canoe ride!

This is one of the last times that Ansel walked on his knees, since he started actually walking while at Grandpa and Grandma's!

Both kids were fascinated by the chickens that my parents have.  They loved checking on them to see if there were any "gifts" (aka eggs)!

Amita and Grandma danced to the music.

And both kids helped play the accordion too!

Amita got to go for a boat ride with Grandpa.

And here's the whole gang after a day at the lake.

When we were inside (which wasn't often since the weather was great!), the kids got to enjoy a bunch of retro books from my childhood.

Amita got a fancy princess fishing pole.

She even caught her very first fish!

Ansel got to play splashy in a mini tub.

He didn't care if he was in the lake or the tub... he just loved to splash until the water was all gone!

Here's the kids testing out Daddy's mattress pad.

And helping to wake Mama up one morning.

The loved bouncing on me!

In case anyone is looking for this service...

Aaron had to stand next to the snow thermometer.  The arrow up near the top shows how much snow they got in the UP last year.

Here's the whole gang near a small waterfall on the lake.

And a fire pit.  We enjoyed tons of s'mores while we were at Grandpa and Grandma's!

August and Everything After

I can't believe how quickly August flew by!  It seems like I blinked and missed it!  Here's some photos of the kids from the month as we raced around to pack in as much summer fun as possible!  Above is Amita showing off her official certificate from gymnastics class.  She had a lot of fun... we may sign her up for a class again sometime soon.

This is Ansel modeling a hat that used to belong to Daddy.  It seems custom-made for a large Bubb head!

This is what happens when you let a toddler fill their own snack bowl.

Amita got several dresses from a friend (thanks June!) and she was thrilled to be wearing them on the warm days of August!

Here's Amita showing off her "clown shoes" (Daddy's shoes!).

Ansel was thrilled to get sunglasses just like "Sissy".

Here's Amita eating some corn on the cob.  What could be more summer than that?!?!?!