The big highlight of his week was our annual trip "up north", to Duluth. It's always such an amazing, relaxing weekend. Never easy to come back home, that's for sure.
Monday is a loss. Tuesday is pretty much a loss. I do know that the girls and I started showing signs of a summer cold coming on. NOT COOL! Just in time for vacation, of course. And I swear, summer colds are 10 times worse than winter, for some reason. I checked on the robin's nest tonight, and there are 4 eggs, now. SO pretty! And, our pumpkin patch is getting CRAZY.
On Wednesday, the colds really started getting us down. Amelia could not fall asleep at all, she kept crying out for me and was just miserable. I asked her if she wanted to sleep with me...typically, she would NEVER sleep anywhere but her own bed, so when she said "yes please", I knew she wasn't feeling well. So, she an I cuddled in for the night. Poor thing...she did finally get some sleep though, so, she just needed mama!
On Thursday, Christian and I marked 12 years together. 12 years ago this day, we went on our very first date...to the Mall of America. We didn't arrive until they were just starting to close, so we ended up walking around a pretty much empty mall. Very romantic! But, it all worked out for the best. There were many, many more dates that followed, and it's been so amazing growing up with him. From Senior Prom, to our wedding, to buying a house and having kids. I can't imagine going on this journey with anybody else. In present day...my cold was getting much worse. On top of it, I think I have some allergies going on. I don't have regular allergies - they are just random, and come out of nowhere. I think they're related to the sun - and I'm pretty sure Amelia as the same issue. I took some cold medicine, but they didn't even touch my sinuses, so I took some sudafed. Ugh. Christian appears to be coming down with a cold now too, so we're pretty much going to be a mess for our vacation. Good Lord!
Friday was the big day....VACATION DAY! It did not start out well at all though. Christian was all blocked up and miserable. The girls were doing better, so that's the one plus. I, was a COMPLETE mess. My head was pounding, I was completely stuffed up, and I literally could not open my eyes without water gushing out from my allergies. I was thisclose to canceling our trip, but I didn't want to miss out, and lose all of that money. So, I finally got up, got us all packed up, fed the girls and we got ready to go. I stopped at the pharmacy and got some allergy meds and took some right away. We dropped the dog off at my dad's, and I pretty much slept the entire 3 hour drive up north. I felt bad leaving Christian to entertain himself, but it was the only hope I had of actually surviving the night. Olivia slept most of the ride as well, but Amelia was wide eyed and bushy tailed the whole way up. We turned her carseat forward facing for the ride...and it will stay that way. I'm sad - it makes me sad. I'm not ready for my baby to be forward facing. I think I'll hold off until after her birthday to turn her chair in my car (which is where she travels the most)...then I'll REALLY be sad! By the time we arrived, I was feeling much better. I could finally open my eyes (with sunglasses), and we were doing much better all around. We were able to check in right away, so we unloaded the truck and got settled in. We were off to dinner at a Mexican restaurant downtown, and stopped at our usual Ice Cream parlor - SO YUMMY! We took a little stroll down the lakewalk to the water...it was pretty warm out, but the water of course was pretty cold. It didn't stop the girls though, especially Olivia who fell right in and was soaking wet. Oops! We ran back to the room quick to get the girls changed, and made our way back down to feed the birds and visit the lighthouse. We took a quick dip in the hotel pool - OMG, the girls had the time of their life. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we got back to the room and everybody slept pretty soundly. Great first day!
Saturday started off MUCH better, and was a fantastic day. We were all feeling much better. We started the day off with breakfast, a little play time in the room and got ready for the day. Our first stop of the day was Enger Tower - a new stop for us. We climbed the stairs to the top and took in the amazing views. The girls loved it. The looked over the edge like it was nothing - it's crazy. We spent some time walking around the park area, taking everything in before taking off. We grabbed lunch on our way back, and stopped in the room to rest for a while. Amelia took a little nap with Christian while Olivia and I watched some TV. Next up, we were off for a family bike ride...they rent out all kinds of different bikes, we rented a 2 adult/2 child bike. It was a much more difficult ride than we anticipated, but it was a fun little adventure. We took a walk through town, and made our way over for the next item on our agenda...our boat tour around the city. Last year we took a train ride, so this year we thought we'd try the boats out...and it was the girls' first time on a boat, so they were pretty excited. It was such a relaxing ride...so relaxing, Amelia passed out! We grabbed some dinner after and headed back to the hotel for some more swimming fun. These girls seriously love the water, it's unbelievable. Again, we were all more than ready to pass out once we settled back into the room.
Sunday was the dreaded day we say goodbye, and head back home. But, not before a little more fun. Again, we had a little breakfast...the girls played while we packed up and got ready to go. We checked out, loaded up the truck and made our way back down to the lake before hitting the road. We skipped some rocks and relaxed for a while. We fed the birds again and said goodbye to the lake. We stopped at a rose garden on our way out of town to check out the flowers and hang out for a little while. That marked the end of our vacation. We picked up the dog and got home around 3:30. The girls slept pretty much the entire drive home. I started unpacking, did a little cleaning and got some laundry done. Christian and the girls were off to his parents house for dinner, so I had the house to myself to get everything done. It's hard to believe the weekend, and our vacation, is over already. Always goes way too fast!
With that, another week came to an end. I already can't wait for next year! We've been having such amazing weather - but we're set to hit a really hot, humid patch in the coming week, so we'll see what happens!
Until next week!
