North Shore: Cascade River State Park

On vacation, we took a tour of the state parks along Lake Superior.  Cascade State Park was our first stop since we stayed in a cabin adjacent to the park. 

View from Lookout Mountain:

Cascade River:

Even Sophia got in on the wading fun…

North Shore Vacation: The Lake

So…we went on vacation almost 2 months ago, and I’ve never posted pictures.  Oh well, I’m determined not to let documenting life get in the way of living life. 

We loved our time along Minnesota’s North Shore—exploring Lake Superior’s shoreline, hiking trails, throwing rocks, wading across rivers, and enjoying time together.

Some highlights from the lake itself:

Sunrise along Lake Superior with my early bird

Throwing rocks into the lake

Breakfast on the shore one morning

The first part of our vacation we spent in a cabin just across the highway from the lake, so it was easy to walk down to the short and play when we have a bit of time. 

Zoo Favorites

This one is more for Caleb and Sophia’s friends than anyone else!

#1 Favorite: Cats
Since the weather was cool during our visit to the zoo, we had the opportunity to see the big cats up and moving.  After touring the cat complex, Caleb could tell you the difference between tigers, jaguars, lions, and pumas. 

#2 Favorite: Sharks
The aquarium at Henry Doorly Zoo is fabulous.  It probably helps that we had Sophia singing the Jaws theme song.  It started several years ago when Caleb was learning different actions for various animals.  Somehow sharks evolved into tickle monsters at our house and the tickling kind of sharks stuck around.  Two years later, Caleb still screeches and runs when he hears the Jaws theme song because he knows tickling is coming.  Now that Sophia pretending to be different animals, there’s not much cuter than a one-year old pretending to be a shark and going to tickle her daddy or big brother.

Honorable Mention: Giraffes

Ostrich. 

Penguins.

Big Orange Fish.  (That’s the official, scientific name, I’m sure.)

Aggressive bird from Africa. (Another scientific name)

Rhinos.

Polar Bears.

Gorillas.

Starfish.

And more cats.  Puma.

Tiger.

Jaguar.

Omaha Zoo

We had the opportunity to visit the Omaha Zoo recently.  It was cool and a bit rainy, so we didn’t have to push our way through too many crowds. 

Here are a few pictures of our little monkeys during our visit to the zoo:

Enjoying the aquarium.

Caleb braving the rope bridge on his own. 

I don’t really understand why gorilla statues make for good photo opportunities.  Oh well, my little girl’s beautiful even if there’s a weird gorilla and daddy’s arms in the background.

Sophia Snapshot

As Sophia is talking more and more, I’m realizing how little Caleb communicated with words.  He made his opinion known, but not usually with words.  Sophia, on the other hand, is beginning to be a little chatterbox.  Some of my favorite words that she says include “smoothie” (moo-ieee!) and “pajamas” (JJJamma).

She continues to be a regular houdini.  This is how I found her one morning in her crib:

Reminded me of this:

She also has a mild obsession with shoes, which is just fine until she wants to wear her church shoes in the sandbox or Caleb sees his shoes on her feet.

Sophia continues to be a world-class snuggler and would prefer to be close to mama in new or overwhelming situations. But put her in a shopping cart (familiar) and she starts waving and saying “hi” to everyone she sees.

It works!

Did you know green onions will re-grow if you put the roots and some of the white part in water? 

I didn’t either until someone in the grocery store shared this insider information with a friend, who then posted the news on Facebook.  I proceeded to try it out after adding some green onion to a stir-fry, and it works! 

Not only will it save fifty cents at the grocery store, it’s also a great project for little kids because they can see growth in just a few days.  Caleb kept looking over at the glass of green onions and exclaiming, “Look!  They’re growing!!” 

If I can’t enjoy the little things, what can I enjoy?

Seasons

I love living where I get to enjoy all the seasons!