Fort Wayne

Lindsey leads the way...I told the boys they had to grab a hand because we were coming to a busy road. I lost my job because the twins both ran to Lindsey. We went to Fort Wayne for the weekend to spend time with Sean and Lindsey and go to the zoo.

A pose at the zoo entrance.

We got to walk through the new 'Africa' area of the zoo. The 'chair ride' was temporarily out of order and that was all they wanted to do. We would see an animal and then they would ask 'Can we go on the chair ride now?

Along the path was a set of drums that the kids could play.

The boys all wanted to walk with Lindsey.

We finally got to go on the chair ride. It freaks me out. I especially didn't want to be on it right after it was being worked on. There's not a lot of safety features.

The ride kept pausing for some unknown reason and it made me hyper ventilate. Apparently that's the last time Lindsey will ride with me on it :)

Climbing in some dino eggs.

We didn't get to feed the goats this time. We got to brush them. Jack wasn't too interested, but the twins dove in.

Luke would have chosen to stay awhile longer.

Lindsey gave Jack a piggy back ride and it was too cute to pass up. They color coordinated very well.

We also got to go on the log ride. Not much to see on it, but still different and fun.

Saturday night we got out the Wii. The boys had a great time trying the game Punch Out. Listen for Luke taunting Logan by saying 'I'm dying you! I'm dying you!' Kind of appalling, but I thought it was funny.

Great weekend! Thanks Sean and Lindsey!

Marquette with Mom- The Drive Up

Mom came up with the answer for the 'Are we there yet?' question. This map. It was a great idea! Each kid got their own map taped, folded, and marked. When they wondered where we were we told them the number. It worked very well.

Very excited that grandma was joining us for the drive. We can't wait to see Aunt Sandy!

We made a stop in St. Ignace to stretch our legs. It was a beautiful day! We couldn't get a good picture because the sun was in our eyes.

The boys enjoyed throwing rocks into the lake....only 3 more hours to go now!

Marquette with Mom-Day 1- Part 1

We started our first morning in Marquette by heading to Presque Isle. It's a park next to the dock where freighters come in to load up. The pictures of the freighter closer to the dock are on my mom's camera.

The boys loved picking up rocks and throwing them in the water while waiting for the freighter to get closer.

Here we are at Presque Isle. Very beautiful spot. Glad to have railings to hold the kids back from the steep drop.

Posing with the kids at another spot in Presque Isle.

Mom trying to find a stone to skip.

Mom and Sandy posing.

Sandy with the boys.

The boys loved this area. They called it rock climbing. They ran in circles for almost an hour.

...more running...

We headed to Burger King for lunch and then to this large park next to the marina downtown. Here's Luke demonstrating his strength.

Logan didn't want to be left out so he copied Luke.

Sandy showed Jack how the pulley worked.

Loved this bench! It's Luke, Jack, and Logan....FISH!

Marquette with Mom- Day 1-Part 2

I took so many pictures the first day, I needed to split them up. In the afternoon we went to the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum. I highly recommend this to anyone traveling up there! Here the kids are checking out a large model railroad. Their response to it "Mom, we want to buy that!" Save your pennies!

They had an area where kids could 'dig' for fossils.

They had the front half of a large dump truck with toy trucks to play with. The kids could get up in the driver's seat.

Here's Luke modeling the hard hats they could wear.

An apple harves simulator.

They had one room that was a grocery store. The kids could go shopping with carts. There were items to 'buy' that were real packaging.

Luke going 'shopping'.

Jack worked the cash register and they conveyor belt really worked to move the items down. At the end someone could really 'bag' the groceries.

Luke as the cashier. I guess this is a plus to having three children. They all took turns playing the parts.

They had a whole rescue personnel area which was a big hit. The kids could try on different uniforms. Here's Logan modeling.

This was the real back end of an ambulance with a fake front on it. It did have working lights though. This was Logan's favorite spot. He stayed here for quite a while.

Jack enjoyed it as well. He had me in the back as his 'patient'. He's checking out the real monitor to see how I'm doing.

This was Jack's favorite. This was a real front half to an airplane. Jack was the pilot and he let Luke and Logan be his copilots.

Jack at the controls. Whenever I asked where we were going he told me 'Disney'.

Jack played weatherman. There was a real screen that you could see yourself on tv as you talked about the weather.

This was the human body area.

The boys climbed into the eyes and realized that the eyelids moved up and down.

These were stairs to climb up the intestines and slide down the end. No, as Brad asked too, there was no butt at the end :)

And here we are finishing up the day out cold. We ran them into the ground, but they loved it. They got the Burger King crowns at lunch and wore them everytime we were in the car. Can't wait until tomorrow!

Marquette with Mom-Day 2

Wow did we pack a lot into these two days! We began our second day by stopping at the air base by Aunt Sandy's house. The boys were very impressed with the big planes.

Unfortunately they were most impressed with the giant disarmed bomb sticking out of the ground.

Next it was on to Reany Falls. The boys enjoyed the short hike to get there.

The waterfall fascinated them. Here they are watching where the water was flowing to.

Next, it was another stop at Presque Isle and the rocks that they could run over. They kept begging to go back again. I'm glad we took so many pictures the first day. The air got so hot and the water was so cold that there was a constant fog over the shore the whole day.

Here are Luke and Logan in their soccer jerseys. This is a bit deceiving. It is a good drop onto the rocky shore, but not quite the cliff that it appears to be.

This was the view atop 'Meatloaf Mountain'. That's how Luke referred to it. It's really Sugar Loaf Mountain.

There were great views in all directions. Up here we did make sure to hold hands so that noone took a tumble off the edge.

Beautiful views!

Long hikes up many sets of stairs helped to really wear out the kids. They loved it though. They called it an 'Adventure'.

We wrapped up our day at the beach. Even though inland it was 80 + degrees, with the mist at the lakeshore it was only about 70. The boys mostly ran up and down the shore, but got in a few times.

They made a city of rescue buildings to drive around. They were slowly wearing down.

The cold finally won out and we called it a day.

The Burger King crowns are back! Here Logan is clutching the car he got his kids meal in the night before and he's out cold.

Luke barely got his crown on and he was out.

It was finally back to Aunt Sandy's and a long, hot shower. Here are Luke and Logan all clean and snuggly with Grandma. The end of a long day 2!