Minnesota Vacation - Part 3, Last Day of Vacation

By Friday morning, our last day of vacation, the boys were wiped out. But, they had a little left in them for one more day!

Relaxing in bed watching SuperWhy while Mommy and Daddy got ready for the day.

Sweet boy and his monkey ready to pack up.

After packing up our van and checking out of our hotel, we went back to Breezy Point one last time. We spent a little time at Pelican Lake playing on the beach and in the shallow water.

What a beautiful Minnesota lake and sky! I think I could have sat by the lake all day - low 70s, sunny, puffy clouds, blue lake. It was perfect!

Jonah and Great Grandma basking in the sun

It was such an immense blessing to spend not quite a week and a half on vacation with our little family. It was a joy to see our boys having so much fun, to be so excited about everything we were doing. Vacations with little ones can be so much work, but this one wasn't. We had time to relax, time to see life through the eyes of our little ones, and time reflect on our gratefulness to the Lord for who He is and His constant faithfulness to us. There were so many random hugs from the boys this week and so many times Jonah would randomly say to one of us, "I like you." 

We headed home from Breezy Point. We left around 2:00pm and arrived home at 11:30pm. It has taken us a number of days to get back into routine. The boys are sleeping in longer in the morning. Silas is taking longer naps in the afternoon. And, Jonah, our non-napper, has taken naps 3 or 4 days since we have been home. While vacation is wonderful being home is very good, too!

Minnesota Vacation, Part 3 - Day 3

Thursday morning, we went to an arboretum in Brainerd for a little walk. However, we didn't stay for long as the mosquitos were terrible! No matter how much bug spray we put on, they just kept swarming around us. :(

After our walk, we went out for lunch before heading back to our hotel for naps before the rest of the family joined us for an afternoon in the Paul Bunyan themed waterpark at our hotel.

Here Jonah is going down the twisty slide.

Silas and Grandpa played some basketball.

The swimming group - Grandma took pictures and Great Grandma read at the poolside.

After being so timid about the waterslide at the other pool the day before, it was Jonah's idea to go down the 4 story high tube slide at the waterpark. Grandpa and Daddy took turns taking him down the slide. It moved fast! Jonah thought it was awesome, in his words. 

We needed a little snack break in the afternoon. Jonah wasn't out of the water for too long before wanting to head back in. Silas enjoyed the rest of our nachos & cheese snack.

At the end of the day, we all enjoyed a meal out to Applebee's. What a fun day!

Minnesota Vacation, Part 3 - Days 1 and 2

Tuesday morning, we packed up our suitcases again and headed up to Brainerd, Minnesota, for a few days at a hotel/waterpark. That evening, we enjoyed some Pizza Ranch for supper before spending a short time in the waterpark.

After baths, the boys hopped into bed for a bedtime story - "Goodnight, Minnesota." 

The next day (Wednesday) we headed about 20 miles north to Breezy Point Resort where my Grandma Nelson has a timeshare at a cabin. My parents and sister and her family were also there. 

Jonah enjoyed chatting with Great Grandma Nelson.

That afternoon, we went into Nisswa for their weekly Turtle Races, which Mike and I both participated in when we were little. 

Here we are with our turtles ready to start the race.

Go, turtles, GO!

Mike and Jonah threw some water on their turtle to try to move it along.

We got to participate in 4 or 5 races. Our turtles didn't win any of their races, but we had a lot of fun anyway!

Later that afternoon, we went swimming at the pool at the resort. Silas LOVED the waterslide and rode down with Mike too many times to count. Jonah was timid at first. Mike carried him up the stairs kicking and screaming, but after the first time down Jonah did admit that it was fun. After a few more times with Mike, he was ready to go down on his own. We were so proud of him for overcoming one of his fears!

Before our vacation, we got Jonah this Puddle Jumper floatie. It was perfect for him!

Jonah going down the slide and being caught by Grandpa and Uncle Paul. I couldn't even tell you how many times Jonah went down. His little legs just kept climbing the two flights of stairs over and over again!

It was so fun to watch Silas go down, too! Every time Mike set him on the side of the pool, he would reach his arms up and say, "Again! Again! Again" until Mike would pick him up and take him up the stairs again. And, of course, he cried when we had to leave.

After we returned to our hotel that night, we spent a few minutes in the arcade. The boys enjoyed the games that were appropriate for their ages, especially this little hoops basketball game. Jonah actually made a number of shots.

If you didn't already guess, the boys were worn out by the end of the day. I think wearing the boys out was a common theme throughout our vacation!

Minnesota Vacation, Part 2

The second leg of our Minnesota vacation was a visit to Mountain Lake during Pow Wow, the annual town celebration.

Right after we got to Mountain Lake, the boys wanted to head out to Grandpa's garden to pick raspberries. I think most of them went straight into their mouths! 

Sunday morning, we went to a church service in the city park. After the service, we went home and rested up for the big road race. 

Jonah has been talking about running in the road race ever since he watched the races last year. Mike and Jonah went out running a few times before our vacation so he would be ready for the 1/2 mile race. Mike was able to run the race with him.

Here he is coming into the finish line. Grandpa is the official at the race reading off times for everyone. So, Jonah was excited to run up to him at the end. He finished with a time of 6:59 - not bad for a 1/2 mile for a 3 1/2 year old! I think Jonah was the last one in, but I am guessing that he was also one of the youngest runners. We are just so glad that he wanted to run the race and that he had a great time doing it!

The Rue family after our races. Mike and I walked the fitness walk.

After the road race, we quickly headed back to Grandma & Grandpa's to get ready for the Kiddie Parade. Thankfully, these Minnesota Twins shirts from Grandma & Grandpa Rue made for a great theme for the parade.

Sunday evening after the kiddie parade, we enjoyed supper in the city park. We ate Laotian egg rolls and Pow Wow Pups (corn dogs) - our 2 Pow Wow favorites! Also, we got to catch up with some old friends and visit with people we hadn't seen for quite some time. Jonah loved playing on the playground and would have stayed there all night if he could have!

Monday morning we relaxed at my parents' house and rested up for the busy afternoon/evening. We again went up to the park for the boys to ride a few of the midway rides. Both boys LOVED the rides. In fact, Silas cried every time a ride ended. It made him so sad to have to be done! 

Jonah and Grandma rode the Ferris Wheel

Monday evening was the Grand Parade. Silas loved all of the trucks and tractors.

This small drum corps asked for a volunteer when they stopped to do a little routine in the area we were sitting. Since Jonah loves drums, he hopped up! One of the drummers gave up his drum for Jonah to play for a bit. It was so fun to watch him have a blast!

After the parade, we visited the park again as our favorite drum corps, SuFuDu, was performing there. Jonah was wiped out and sat most of the time, but Silas managed to get up and dance for most of it. 

By the time the evening was over, we had two TIRED boys!