7/14/12

Another day in paradise! Woke up, turned over to look out the window, and saw this…

Can’t beat it. The girls and I spent a little time on the balcony while Christian got some coffee in him. Then, we made our way down for breakfast. Nothing like a hotel continental breakfast to get you going!

We had a pretty relaxing morning. It was already pretty hot early on, so we made our way down to the beach right away. The girls had a blast throwing rocks in the late and hanging out. We walked around Canal Park and just took it easy.

We stopped into the little Mexican Restaurant across from the hotel for lunch, then went back to our room for some rest before tonights events. Christian and I were worn out, and the girls ran around the room for a while playing with each other. They FINALLY crashed for a little nap before we had to head out. Tonight, Pizza Train!!!!

The train was supposed to leave at 6:30, and arrive back at the station at 8:30. I thought that was perfect…enough time to hold their attention, we’d get back at a decent time, and we could still do s’mores on the beach at our hotel afterwards. Well, when we checked in, they said the train was behind schedule, 15-20 minutes. OK, no big deal. It was hot and humid, and the girls were crabby from being woken up, so we were getting a little worried. Finally, around 7:00, they said we could board the train, but we wouldn’t be leaving for a while. Apparently somebody on one of the other trains pulled the emergency brake, so everything was delayed while they got that track cleared. We got in our seats, and shortly after they handed out everybody’s pizza. This kept the girls distracted for a while, and they finally started waking up. We FINALLY took off around 7:40. Ugh, I was already tired, and not sure how the girls were going to survive the night. They ended up doing well though. We hung out in the open car most of the night. The girls LOVE the train horn, so every time we passed a street and the horn went off they would scream and laugh like it was the best thing they’d ever heard. It was fun. It was pitch black by the end of the ride, so we went back to our seats. Amelia played peek-a-boo with a bunch of the other riders, and we finally got back to the station around 9:45. Our meter was about an hour expired, but thankfully we didn’t have a ticket. That’s all I could think about the whole train ride…I’m guessing they knew the train left late so they don’t ticket.

By the time we unloaded and got back to the hotel, s’mores were over and the girls were exhausted. They all relaxed for a while, and I started packing up the stuff we wouldn’t need in the morning, and we went to bed. Packing up is no fun at all! So sad.

7/13/12

DULUTH DAY! DULUTH DAY!! So excited!!!

First of all, it’s Friday, so weigh in day. I lost 5lbs this week…FIVE POUNDS! I don’t know how that’s even possible, but it feels amazing! I passed the 30lbs lost mark, for a total of 31.8 lost to date. I’m already gearing myself up for a bad week next week – that’s a HUGE loss, and we’re going on vacation, so I need to think realistically, but it feels so great. I’m so anxious to hit the halfway point – 35lbs. Then I’ll feel like I’m heading downhill on this journey, instead of fighting my way uphill. So close!

We were up bright and early today. Christian was off to get an oil change on the truck. The girls and I ate some breakfast, and I started packing up. I got them ready, showered and got ready and got everything ready to go. Christian ate quick when he arrived home, got ready and started packing up the truck. We stopped for some gas and ice, and were on our way. YAY, we’ve been waiting for this day for a year! We got to Duluth around 2:00. We ate some lunch while they finished getting our room ready, checked in and unloaded the truck

We made our way down the boardwalk to the lighthouse, fed the birds and relaxed for a little while.

It started sprinkling a little bit, so we hopped in the truck and drove up to the little ice cream shop that we love. It stopped raining by the time we got there, so we sat out on the bench and ate our ice cream together. So relaxing, and so yummy!

After dessert, we dropped off the truck, walked around Canal Park, including a fun horse drawn carriage ride around the park, and finally made our way to Grandma’s for dinner. I splurged on a big, delicious, horrible-for-my-diet Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, and man did that taste good. I haven’t eaten something like that in a LONG time.

After dinner we made our way back to the hotel. The girls had been asking ALL DAY to go swimming, so we hit up the hotel pool for a while, and they had a blast.

 

The hotel we are staying at does s’mores on the beach every night. The girls were so tired by the time we finished swimming, so we decided to do that tomorrow night instead. We made our way back to the room, the girls fell asleep pretty well on their own, Christian and I watched a little TV together, and then called it a night. Looking forward to a fun filled day tomorrow!