Fun around the house

 While we were 'out and about' in Minnesota the main reason we went was to enjoy family! We had fun playing in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard, going to the park just down the road, playing with the old toys in the basement and just making memories with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Carrie, and Logan and Lily!

 Playing in the backyard and shucking corn for dinner!

 Helping grandpa with the grill. The kids were very impressed with the charcoal grill.

 Chilling out! Whew , it was hot while we were there!

 Craft time! Grandma watched the kids while I went for one of my runs. I didn't stick with my training and I am paying for it this week! Oh, well! We did indulge in our share of treats! Ella & Carter went bowling with Grandma and Grandpa while I stayed home with Christian so he could catch a nap before we went to Ryan and Carries. He woke up and we met the rest of the gang for ice cream! YUM!

On Thursday we left Willmar and headed to Ryan and Carries house. We sure had lots of fun there with them. Logan and Lily were so entertaining. We loved our time with them.

 Playing in the kitchen.

 A little rough housing for the boys

 Loving up Lily before she went to bed. Seriously, she is THE BEST BABY ever!

 Bedtime stories.

 Ella helped Lily practice her developing walking skills. I bet she will be walking before we see them again in August. Ella was in her glory with all the time she got to spend taking care of Lily! How is Lily turning ONE???

Red Wood Falls

 One of our days in Minnesota was spent at Red Wood Falls. We have been here before but this year the kids could explore and appreciate it in new ways. It was a warm day but luckily we spent much of the time in the shade (or the water).

 Exploring the river

 Walking sticks are important with all the rocks around!

 Cooling off

 LUNCH TIME:

Grandpa made a fire and we made lunch over the campfire.

 Our picnic

 Cheers...with hot diggity dogs!

 Marshmallows + Fudge Stripe Cookies + a little roasting = a really yummy MN SMORE!

 Deliciousness!

 Gooeyiness

 Suits on and we are ready to explore the river

 We stopped by this little dam and the kids tried to make one of their own.

 A little rock climbing

 We hiked to the falls. How beautiful!

 Some pictures from different angles.

 We hiked out onto the rock that overlooks the falls. Exciting (and nerve racking)

 If you look at this picture we are standing on the "platform" to the direct left of the falls. I took this picture looking back at the falls as we left.

 The hike was complete with a creeky suspension bridge! Thrilling!

 We took LOTS of time just to explore the river. The kids loved it. My little river rats~!

 After all that hiking we had to stop at Dairy Queen for a "famour" Dilly Bar. YummY!

 Dinner out that night at AppleBees. They clean up pretty well!

The Start of Our MN Adventure

 On Monday morning we woke up bright and early and set off on a MAJOR adventure. The kids and I loaded up the van and trekked from our house to Willmar, MN. We have made the trip many times before, this time we were missing Dad. It was fun to try something new! I wasn't used to doing all the driving myself. Usually when we make the trip I will take a leg or two of the 12 hour trip. But this time I did it all myself! I was pretty tickled with myself. I was dependent on the GPS as my co-pilot and the kids did a great job of "helping" out. We split the first day up by stopping in Chicago for a few hours to explore the Lincoln Park Zoo! We got there right when the zoo opened and saw so many animals. They knew it would be hot so they were out and about bright and early.

 The Lions

 Lazy Tigers

 The ant exhibit

 Meerkats were a favorite this year!

 Up close to the giraffes during feeding time {awesome!}

 The laziest seal EVER!

 One of the monkeys escaped...oh wait that's one of mine!

Climbing in one of the cool "kid zones"

 Serously so cool....the black bear was sitting right next to us in the log....

 Elle wanted to get a picture with me in it, too!

 The map reader, telling us where to go next!

It was such a fun morning! Then we were off to Portage, WI. We spent the night in a hotel there to break up the trip. We got Subway for dinner and took it to our hotel room. Then hung out at the hotel pool until bedtime! We woke up early, had breakfast and hit the road. We had a smooth trip through Wisconsin through the Twin Cities and hit our only glitch when one of the roads was closed. Fear not, I managed through the detour and we were back on track! We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's around 2:00. We played at Grandma's and were ready for our adventures at Redwood Falls for Tuesday!