The big outing in June was strawberry picking at Berry Hill Farm. The girls had a blast, and I'm afraid Madisen ate more than she put in her bucket! I tried my hand at making strawberry jam, and it actually went better than expected so we will be "enjoying" jam for many months to come.
In July, we went camping over the 4th of July weekend at our friends' property near Backus. This was my fourth time sleeping in a tent, and I can't say that I liked it any better than the three previous times :) The girls had a blast, though, and we were able to ride on the 4-wheeler, go for boat rides on the pontoon, swim in the lake and make smores in the evenings. The weather turned out to be beautiful-not too hot and no rain, so I was very thankful for that! We were also able to visit the Claypool's, and it was great seeing them again. The girls fell in love with Megan, especially after she took them for a ride on her horse-Cochise. (We had a hard time convincing Morgan when we got home that we would not be able to keep a horse in our backyard, too.)
Morgan, Megan & Cochise
Madisen waiting for her turn on Cochise
Since David's teacher in service began August 15th, he took Monday and Tuesday off for one more family outing. We were able to go to Duluth for an overnight and even stay at the Sheraton, a new hotel in downtown Duluth. Thank-you, priceline : ) Most of the time there was spent at Canal Park, where the girls fed the sea gulls, "skipped" rocks into Superior, and watched some big ships go under the lift bridge.
Morgan climbed this big anchor and that couldn't get down!
After Duluth, we took the girls to the Children's Museum, which I highly recommend. There is so much to do there, and they are always chaging around the exhibits. Morgan's favorite part was getting to mop the porch in the outdoor play area, and Madisen's was catching rubber fish in her net.
Having fun at the sand table.
We are looking forward to going to the State Fair this Friday; it is always one of the highlights of the summer for us. I may even do a blog about our fair experience, but I'm not making any promises : )
