THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Wow! We have been busy! Even though we have had a bout of HUMID weather and swarms of MOSQUITOES we ( mostly Carter and I ) have had a ton of fun OUTDOORS! After much debate on where to find the perfect camping spot ( thanks to all who offered their opinions) we decided on good ol' Lake Anita. It is about 10 miles from my parents house and a good spot in case we ( I) chickened out! Darcie and Jill are pro's at camping thankfully and let Carter and I along with my mom tag along a couple of weekends ago. The weather was perfect, the beach was nice, we ate a TON of good food and best of all, there was a FLUSH toilet about 100 yards away! Carter told some amazing campfire stories, beat everyone in the yard toss game, roasted some mean marshmallows and wienies, and thought it was cool to pee outside any chance he got!

I was able to get some much needed time off work last week so Carter, mom and I headed up to see my aunt and uncle, Jim and Corinne Beals at their lakefront home in Ely, MN. We were able to make stops both ways in Minneapolis to see my cousin Patty and her family. It was a nice way to break up the 8 hour car ride with a 4 year old! Getting there was a little challenging as we drove through a pounding thunderstorm, the bladder of a 4 year old boy, being eaten alive by mosquitoes at every rest stop in Minnesota, getting pulled over for speeding, and road construction. We finally made it to Ely and were able to enjoy the paradise that is northern Minnesota. Some people think my aunt and uncle are crazy as they retired up there but if you have every visited this part of the country you can see why people love it so much. The water is CRYSTAL clear, the temperature is perfect in the summer, and the lull of the water and songs of the loons put you into a deep sleep each night.



We had an action packed week! The first night Jim made us a fire and we sat by the lake watching all the ducks he feeds daily come in while we roasted wienies.The second night we drove to Orr, MN to the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. This is an amazing place where trained volunteers feed black bears in the wild. The bears are free to come and go as the please, no cages, etc. We got there at the perfect time, seeing close to 30 bears come in to feed. This one bear climbed up on the steps to the overlook deck and just checked us all out.



Jim took us to his "lucky" fishing spot and sure enough it was prosperous! Now, by no means are these QUALITY fish, but the QUANTITY is amazing! The first night we went out, Carter caught 25 fish in 45 minutes, the second night about 30 fish in an hour. I didn't get much fishing in as I was baiting hooks the entire time! Carter had so much fun putting his line down and actually watching the fish take his bait as you can see down about 10 feet into the water it is that clear! As a special treat, he got to help Jim drive the boat back to the dock!

We also visited the Sudan underground mine, the International Wolf Center in Ely and took a hike to a waterfall the last day we were there. We had such an amazing time and hated to leave! They have tempted us to come back in the winter and try our hand at snowmobiling with them!





In his down time, Carter learned to ride his bike WITHOUT training wheels! I took them off and away he went. He is still perfecting his starting and stopping but he has the in between part down!

In between all of his adventures, Carter took swimming lessons from an amazing teacher and in 5 short sessions learned to jump in the deep end of the pool and swim to the side, learned to back float and the American crawl! I am so proud of him!




Although Claire had to stay home with daddy during our outdoor adventures, she wants everyone to know she loves the outdoors too and maybe next year she'll be able to go with us on our outdoor adventures!