Up North w/Grandpa & Grandma S
Another long weekend called for Trek's second road trip. It was another good one and mom and dad were both very happy with how he did. We had made plans to spend the long weekend visiting my sister and kids and then spending a good portion of time at my dad's cabin in Mountain, WI. For the last few years we have been taking these holiday weekends to go up and help with the building process. So now with my wife and son this time we went to not roof the cabin or put on siding, but rather relax and enjoy the work from years previous. As you can see from the photo above Trek was fascinated with seeing fire for the first time. He stared at it for a long time trying to figure out what it was. It was really great to take in some Mountain air. 
We loved hanging out on the deck that overlooks the whole yard and you can see down to the river that they are on. I had planned on bringing some rented kayaks up with us to enjoy some trips down river, but due to some neck issues that Heather had right before we left as well as other things it did not work out this time, so hopefully next year. It was kind of nice as well as we then were able to take the car and probably save quite a bit on gas. Not sure Maiah enjoyed the back seat as much as we know she enjoys the back of the truck, but she survived. We are still praying for a miraculous intervention with Maiah as it is hard to find people to watch her when we think of going places. She is such a sweety with people and so beautiful as a dog, but for some reason thinks it is time to rumble with every other K9 she meets. So it is always another fun challenge to keep dogs separate. So needless to say my sister Bill (aka Melanie) was also in town with their new dog and then my parents also have a dog. Saturday all the troops of my sister's came up in the bus and we did do some tubing down the river. Thank the Lord I was able to take advantage of sitting in the raft with the twins as the water was, leave you numb for hours, cold!! However we did manage to stick it out and make the 30 minute float. So much fun to command the raft as Josh aggressively paddled the whole time while Jared just wanted to sit quietly and observe nature. So close to a representation of their different personalities. Spent some more time together and the troops headed back home. We then made our trip to the local ice cream shop and Trek was so wiped he fell asleep on the 5 min trip there and did not wake up even when we stopped and slammed the doors a number of times. Ezra also stayed behind to hang out with us one more day. He was such a great addition to the remainder of our stay. 
Sunday came and we all had a lazy morning, and dad and I shot the bow a bit at the target. After about 10 tries I finally started hitting the target. I think the sights were off for me though as well, and dad told me the wrong pin to sight in. I think he was worried about me making him look bad with my Robin Hood skills. Okay not really but dad is a pretty good shot. Would be fun to actually hunt that way some time. We then packed up and took a hike to Bagley rapids which is further down river. Would have been great to kayak to there, but again next year maybe. We then waited for Great Grandma to come and visit and Trek spent some quality time drooling on his favorite great grandma. Heather and I then decided that perhaps it would be best to head back to Mpls directly from up north and so we made the trip that night rather than staying over Sunday night. it was a late drive but nice as Trek slept soundly and there was no traffic. So we rolled in about midnight and had all day Monday to unwind, unpack (which man we have a lot more stuff now with the little guy), and get ready for another work week. 
We gave Trek a bath when we were up there and it was the first time he really noticed he was in water and started splashing and playing in the water. So cute to see him splashing and laughing. We have a video I will have to post of this as well. He loved sitting in Grandma's sink and having everyone literally sit and stare at him and make all kinds of noises as we watched him play. It is always amazing to me how you can get full grown adults to act or what they say, all to make a baby smile or laugh. So Fun!!!!!! On Sunday he then actually had another impromptu bath as he had a bit of a blow out as he was playing on the floor. He had tipped over and we asked poor Ezra to sit him back up. When he went to push his back up all we heard was eeewwww!!! Sorry Ezra!!! He got himself a handful of green slimy poop courtesy of Trek. So back into the sink right away for some more playing time and the easiest way to clean up after those big blow outs.
Well okay stay tuned for more adventures as we come into mine and Heather's favorite season. We are hoping for many hikes, bike rides, and camping trips. Hmm, I wonder if Trek is old enough to carry his own backpack yet. Okay maybe not, I guess I will still carry his stuff in.
