Duluth or bust...You Betcha!

This weekend, we had the opportunity to take a road trip to Duluth Minnesota. Duluth? Yep, Duluth, where Matt's parents are serving a Mormon mission for the Church Education System. They are really enjoying the work that they are doing and I think Wanda, Matt's mom, is in her kind of heaven having the opportunity to learn, meet lots of new people and serve others. I know Ferrin, Matt's dad, is enjoying the opportunity to learn, study and serve others, as well.

It was also Wanda's birthday weekend and we were happy to be able to share it with her! We started off Friday morning, after Matt and I wrapped up a few loose ends with work stuff, for our 8 hour trip north. We went to Duluth by way of Milwaukee, Madison and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is really pretty country, even with trees not having any leaves. Matt took this incredible picture of the rainbow from the car! It turned out very well.

Quinton was a trooper the whole way! He was very patient with us while he watched a movie, played with Matt and ran around at every rest stop!

We stopped at one rest stop that had this giant deer statue...

...and this GINORMOUS orange moose...cause moose are orange, right? I think, since we were in Wisconsin, the moose was supposed to look like it was made of cheese or something. But even that is a weird shade of orange for cheese!

Quinton was funny, he wouldn't go up and touch the moose! Can you blame him?

Friday night, we stayed at a fun hotel that featured and indoor water park. We arrived so late Friday night, we weren't able to take advantage of the water park until Saturday morning. Matt's parents came over to the hotel and joined us in the aquatic fun. The place was PACKED with other families with the same idea, but Quinton couldn't have cared less. He LOVED the water and the water features.

One of Quinton's favorites parts of the water park was this kids water feature. At the top of this water jungle gym was a big bucket that would fill up with water. Just before it was going to tip over, a little bell would go off and everyone knew the waterfall was coming! Quinton became like one of Pavlov's dogs every time the bell started sounding. He would stop whatever he was doing and watch the bucket tip over. The picture above is the BEFORE picture and below, is the AFTER picture as the water started its descent. We must have watched the thing dump over a hundred times from a dozen different angles!

Quinton also loved the lazy river. After spending 2 hours and 45 minutes playing in the water, the lazy river was his favorite place to sit and relax!

Later that afternoon, we were able to drive around Duluth and go to the "beach". Lake Superior was pretty cold, although we hear it's thawed out quite a bit. It was a nice sunny day to enjoy the sights, though.

Quinton still a little tired from swimming, hangs on to Grandma for warmth and comfort.

Quinton is holding what's best described as an 'ice cube' from Lake Superior.

I took a close up of the 'ice cube' because it's form was so interesting. Cool picture, eh?

This is a view of the city of Duluth from a little island across the bridge.

Ferrin, Wanda, Matt, Me and Quinton enjoying our visit to Duluth!

Quinton trying to warm up on the beach. He's used to the beaches in Florida where I grew up but not this beach that had ice cubes floating around!

Matt enjoying some time with his parents.

Quinton and his Grandma enjoying time together.

Wanda and Ferrin's digs while they live in Duluth.

This was such a fun weekend!

We were sad to go on Sunday morning, but we were worried about a snow storm on it's way into Duluth. We had an uneventful ride back to Chicago (but we did stop at the Outlet Malls at the Wisconsin Dells...to stretch our feet and get some exercise, of course!). Lucky for us, the weather held up and we made very good time getting back home.

I was lucky enough to grow up near my mom's parents in Florida. I was also very fortunate to visit my dad's parents in Idaho often and spend great summers camping in McCall, Idaho with them. I love that Quinton loves his grandparents so much!

They are a wonderful blessing in our lives.