beautiful baker

 

 

 

 

 

When I was in Palm Springs my parents came down to help out with the kids. On the week end Dale took everyone up to check out the beautiful scenery, weather and lil bit of snow on Mt.Baker. They enjoyed a picnic lunch, a hike and a snowball fight.

leavenworth

I wanted to squeeze one more trip before summer vacation ended for the kids so we went for a quick overnight to Leavenworth. We went with a hotel that had come recommended by a few different people and really enjoyed ourselves. The daytime temperatures were very warm and cooling off in the hotel pool was definitely a highlight. Strolling through the stores, trying on crazy hats and taking in the Bavarian culture was a great way to end our summer fun.

family time

Our visit to the Midwest was most importantly to visit and reconnect with family. It was wonderful to see how quick and close our children are with their cousins. Dale and I were able to spend a lot of time with his siblings, spouses and parents. There was even a 'mini' family reunion of about 70 people at his parents house. After 17 years I am still meeting more family members!

mississippi mayhem

Not really. When I found out we were going to Minneapolis this summer I did some research for fun family activites. A riverboat tour of the Mississippi River was suggested. I thought this would be a fun event for the family but it was really a 90 minute tour of a muddy brown river in 90 degree weather! At least we can all say we've been on a riverboat on the Mississippi River.

sea life aquarium

The Mall Of America also had a fabulous aquarium for us to explore. Almost the entire aquarium was a walk through tunnel which made walking through the shark tank very cool.