Vacation, what fresh new hell is this?

Last weekend we took a vacation.
The first since Morgan was 4 months old (that would be approximately 5 years ago give or take).

Duluth, Minnesota!

Will is totally into Thomas the Train and the "Day Out with Thomas" was going to be up there this year and make a long weekend out of it. 4 Days in a hotel with no escape.

The Hotel:
We stayed at a hotel a little bit out of town before you get to Duluth and it was nice enough. If I had to gripe I can only come up with 2 of them. (and no they are not named Morgan and Will)
1. It had the type of bathroom that the sink is on the outside of the door.
2. We were all in the same room all the time.

I don't know about you, but my kids and I need a "brain break" for a time each day....from each other.
Nothing personal, we just need some time to be excited to see each other. Too much "all up in your Kool-Aid" does not make for happy people.

Thursday we rolled in and had a fantastic time at a rest stop while we waited for our check in.

Kind of overcast, but pretty

This is the only pic of me the whole weekend. No that is not a swimming device around my waist!

Danger! Drop off!

This rest stop had some cool paths and climb-y places. It felt so good to walk after the 4 hour drive.

That night Lee's cousin Jolene and her boyfriend grilled and awesome dinner for us. They have chickens, the kids got to chase them around, then we ate chicken for dinner. Hmmmmm.

This was my crafty project for the weekend. I worked on Finn's "Like Like" sweater.

PS: Finn is from a Cartoon Network show called Adventure Time and I am currently knitting a doll in his likeness (or his AWESOMENESS!)

Friday we had a good time feeding the seagulls at the lakefront. We got to see a boat pass under the aerial bridge and played in some fountains.

and MOST EXCITING for Morgan...she got to have wind up her skirt at the lighthouse!

Saturday: THOMAS DAY!

Things got off to a great start (this beginning sentence is meant to set you up, right? right.)

Everyone was super excited and got to play with toy thomas sets...

We got to see the #1 engine himself!



Here's where it fell apart. You see, Will was under the impression he would be DRIVING Thomas, not just sitting back and enjoying the ride....there was no enjoying the ride.

Will was pretty snarky with everyone except Lee for the rest of the time, Morgan broke out on her arms from a store brand sunblock (Aveeno, always Aveeno with her from now on!) and we had not the best lunch of hot dogs.

We did get to see some cool trains as the event was held in the Duluth Railroad Museum.

 And yes, Will did finally get to "drive" a train.

HOORAY!!!!

That was pretty much it for the family vacay. Every day we took the kids to the indoor pool. It was nice because we would do it right in the middle of the afternoon when everyone is out of the hotel. No crowds!!!

It was so nice to come back and sleep in my own bed.