Desi & Becky's Wedding

My friend, Desi, and her fiancé, Becky, were married on August 18th. I was honored to be included in the festivities as Desi's "Best Lady". We have been close friends since we were in high school. The day was perfect. We began the preperations at 8:00am. They definitely took longer than we thought so we had just enough time to go get ready and come back. The ceremony was at 1:00pm under a pavilion. It was short and sweet but wonderfully officiated by another Desi. The party was excellent with chicken, beans, and potato salad. The cake was so lovely I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to cut it.

 

We saw multiple signs throughout the day. First, a heart leaf was found on the ground right near where the arbor was going to be for the ceremony. Secondly, an eagle was soaring above the pavilion while we were decorating (unfortunately I wasn't able to capture it). And last, two deer decided to wander through the park by the pavilion during the party. It was quite amazing.

 

Overall, it was memorable day full of love and friendship. I'm glad I was a part of it.

 

The Set-Up

 

 

The Pre-Ceremony

 

The Ceremony

 

The Cake

 

 

 

The Party

 

 

 

 

 

The "Signs"

 

Grand Marias - Day 4

We packed up and headed for one last time at the donut shop. After filling our tummies we headed south. We decided to make another stop at Cutface Creek rest area for some rock beach time. We spent about an hour taking it all in before getting back on the road to Duluth. We ate lunch at the Duluth Grill then went to Spirit Mountain where the kids and I went on the Timber Twister.

 

 The Timber Twister is a roller coaster you ride/drive in a cart like an alpine slide. It is permanently mounted to the track so you can't fall off (so they said). You fly down the hill at up to 26 miles per hour. At the bottom a tow rope pulls you in the cart back to the top. I took both kids twice, a perk of Julie not wanting to participate.

 

After we finished our rides we decided we needed to head back to an ice cream shop we saw on the other end of town. PortLand ice cream is a walk up window place on the lake. We walked down the stairs, across the bike path and down the boulders with our ice cream to reach the shore. It was really windy so we didn't stay long. After getting them all sugared up we got back in the car for the trip back home.

 

 

This is how Leo looked for a lot of the trip

 

And she always had her shoes off, the cold water didn't bother her

 

 

 

Leo and I at the end of the ride back up

 

 

I think he liked it!!

 

Dru and I at the end of the ride back up

 

 

This time we knew where the camera was :)

 

 

Messy but good!

Grand Marais - Day 3

We started the day with donuts again. They are good, so why not. We spent a little while skipping rocks on the harbor beach. Julie is the champion, without question. After that we headed to Lutsen to try the alpine slide. We decided to also do the mountain tram. Julie opted out of the alpine slide due to the heights and was not happy about the tram ride. I took the kids 4 times each up the mountain on the chair lift and down on the slide. It was so much fun. While we had lunch at the bar it rained and luckily the slide was dry for us to go again. On our way home we stopped at Cutface Creek rest area. It has a great rock beach with very few people. The kids were exhausted from such a fun filled day!

 

 

Skipping rocks 



 

Dru always with her feet in the water

 

On the mountain tram, Julie smiling still

 

On the mountain

 

Leo wanted to walk in the woods

 

 

On the way back down

 

At the bar for lunch

 

On the chairlift, it was such sweet alone time with each of them

 

 

On the chairlift, I really thought he'd be scared, nope he loved it!

 

 

 

At the top

 

 

 

At the bottom

 

 

Big boulders at Cutface Creek rest area

 

So serene

 

We wore them out!

Grand Marias - Day 2

We started day two at the donut shop, of course! The World's Best Donut Shop is what the kids most remember from last year. We then took a walk on Artist's Point and out to the lighthouse.  The kids really enjoyed climbing on the rocks. I remember loving that myself as a child so I don't blame them. After lunch and a nap we went to Caribou River to throw more rocks. Leo got his first experience with a leech, gross, but he didn't even flinch when I took it off. It was a really nice relaxing day.

 

 

The view from our window

 

Donuts!

 

Ha! Dru and Julie

 

East Bay was so calm in the morning

 

Crazy kids ready to walk/climb

 

Out at the lighthouse

 

More kisses

 

My girl

 

My boy

 

I did it!!

 

This made me so nervous

 

Who doesn't look good this hat

 

Caribou River

Grand Marais - Day 1

Our second summer vacation brought us back to Grand Marais, MN. The four of us all packed in the car with lots of stuff to entertain the kids and headed out on Friday morning, August 9th. We arrived in Duluth for some rock throwing and to see the bridge. We followed that with t a quick stop at Gooseberry Falls (and an annual family selfie) and arrived at our final destination by dinner time. We stayed in town in a cute little apartment above a jewelry store next to Ben Franklin, called the Artist's Loft. It was very nice but not really great for kids. We had to keep an eye on their every move since there were so many fragile items around. It has a marvelous view out the front, a courtyard full of signs and other items and the proximity to everything couldn't be beat.

 

 

Duluth, just missed a big ship leaving port

 

Gooseberry Falls

 

Our annual selfie

 

Kisses

 

We made it!