Vacation!

The past few weeks have been crazy. Nothing particular to speak of... just the regular day-in, day-out stuff that keeps everyone so busy. So when last week rolled around, I couldn't have been happier. You see, it was MEA week!

MEA is the teachers' union here in Minnesota. (Actually, they renamed themselves Education Minnesota a number of years ago, but everyone still calls it "MEA.") Every year in mid-October, Minnesota public schools close down for a few days. The first conferences are held, and then the teachers' union has its annual convention.

This year, I took those days off work, and made us a reservation at Edgewater, a hotel/waterpark in Duluth. (It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Minneapolis.) On Wednesday morning we met with Maisie's teacher, and then hit the road!

We got to Duluth around lunch time. We went to the Lake Avenue Restaurant, where Aaron & I had delicious whitefish and the girls split a pizza. (The first of many pizzas on this trip, as it turns out! The hotel rooms came with a 16" cheese pizza each night, so that's what we had, both days.) The cafe is located in this cute little mall. The girls and I walked around a bit while waiting for our food to arrive.

We found this cute carousel-looking horse and went for a ride.

After that, we went to the Great Lakes Aquarium, which I really enjoyed. The girls were less impressed.

This is what happens when I say "Say cheese!"

Navigating the locks and dams in the Great Lakes.

Finally, FINALLY! It was time to go swimming. The water park is not huge, but it was plenty of fun for all of us. There were slides big and small, a hot tub, activity pools, and a whirlpool that was Ella's favorite - she wore a life jacket and bobbed around like a little cork, swirling around and around.

The water park was open from 8:00 - noon, and then again from 4:00 - 9:00 on the days we were there. We'd get there early and play, and then had a nice break in the middle of the day. On Thursday during the break, we went back down to Canal Park to see the lift bridge go up and a big ship come in.

One-handed attempt at a family picture (with penguin)

After that, it was time to eat. Since we were right there, I took them to Grandma's.


Ella has monster teeth!



Maisie hard at work...

Ella can't find whole words yet in the word find, but she likes to find letters.

I was so happy to be inside! It was cold and rainy out there.

After lunch it was back to the hotel for more swimming. Then an early bedtime, followed by an early morning and even MORE SWIMMING. By the time we got home, Aaron & I were both totally waterlogged and didn't think we'd dry out for a week! The girls, on the other hand, want to go back there this weekend. Ha ha!

Even though it was a lot of fun, everyone was glad to get home on Friday.

Maisie was SO annoyed that Ella kept walking through her leaf piles!

It was a very fun vacation and one we'll definitely repeat.