Following the trip to Colorado we had a very relaxing week up at the lake. Lots of laughs with family and friends all around.
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‘Merica!
Silky smooth
Setup for the week
Quality time with Gramps
Exposure fun
We took a trip west with the Lenzen family again this summer with our campers. We were there from Friday to Friday and went on many hikes and saw many beautiful places. This trip was another one that hopefully leaves a lot of memories with all of the kids 🙂
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On the second day of driving everyone surprised me with wearing Delta shirts 🙂
Our camp setup in Colorado
Geocaching!
Apparently the kids started a business and did not inform Mom and Dad
One of many beautiful falls
That’s some deep snow
Our traveling buds
At 12,000 feet
My favorite wildlife shot from the trip
The Continental Divide
Having fun with exposures and the waterfalls
The weather was a little unpredictable but we still had a great time. Mom and Joe enjoyed their new camper, Joey got in the cold water, Elizabeth enjoyed hanging out, Pat, Mike, and Linsey shared lots of laughs, and Carolyn and I relaxed.
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Another great start to the camping season this year. I did not get near as many pictures as I should have but we had beautiful weather and a nice time.
We took a trip with Grandma & Grandpa to Washington DC this year. We had a few things that we wanted to do including visiting the Holocaust Museum, a Smithsonian Museum, the White House, the Washington Monument, Arlington Cemetery, and many of the memorials that the city had to offer. We had a lot of laughs, some being at the expense of others such as Grandma getting her bag caught in the door of the Metro train and everyone freaking out 🙂 It was a great trip filled with fun memories.
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Day 1 – The White House – We had a short day to make a quick visit into town and visited the White House
Dinner time
Day 2 – Visits to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, the George Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, MLK Memorial, FDR Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. Needless to say, our feet were sore at the end of the day.
Some Delta history, Northwest Airlines represented 🙂
I was loving the space section!!
We met a WWII vet and his name happened to be Joe (three guys named Joe here)
Mom and Joe found some loved ones that did not make it home from Vietnam
Joe really wanted to see Lincoln
Korean War Memorial
MLK Memorial
Two of my favorite photos from this trip
Day 3 – Carolyn got up early and was able to get us tickets to the Holocaust Museum, then we were off to Arlington Cemetery, and Iwo Jima Memorial.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Kenndey Eternal Flame
Iwo Jima Memorial
Day 4 –Â Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, National Museum of Natural History, and the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial.
What are the chances? Right next to each other are each of their names
We met the Pope!
The Hope Diamond
All of these beautiful gems and minerals on display
Joey spotted this one – it is from where our family cabin is!
Pentagon 9/11 Memorial
We enjoyed a dads and kids weekend in Lanesboro with the Lenzen’s this year for our final camping trip of the season. Lots of fall chill and sun accompanied by bike rides and other fun.
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Before the big bike ride
The reward was a lunch at a wonderful cafe
You cannot ride by the pie shop without eating some pie 🙂
Day 1 with the kids
An awesome fall stew
It has been a fun fall so far. Post Memorial Day weekend at the lake we enjoyed the first day of school, Elizabeth’s volleyball season, and Joey’s football season. Joey also attended his first Vikings game on a beautiful sunny day.
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Elizabeth’s volleyball season was a lot of fun to watch. The girls progressed with each game
Joey’s football season was also very exciting. Joey and his team had a rough start but rose to the top of their division before the playoffs started 
Joey attended his first Vikings game with his ‘old man’ 🙂 It was a joy to see the experience through his eyes
We spent a week in the Itasca State Park area this summer with the Lenzen family. It was a much shorter drive compared to last year. We had all kinds of weather from heat indexes well over 90 to seeing our breath and rain. It made for a fun variety of activities including hiking, biking, fishing, outdoor Sunday Mass, shuffleboard, swimming, watching movies and hanging out in the campers, geocaching, Viking’s pre-season football, outdoor cooking, shopping, go carts, laser tag, and of course walking across the headwaters of the Mississippi River. I would recommend this trip to anyone as there is something to do for all.
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At the head waters
Attended Sunday Mass outside at a beautiful grotto @ St. Mary’s
Geocaching 
Hiking adventures
At a fire tower  
Our home for the week
Harry and the Henderson’s night during rain fall 
Earlier this year we planned a trip with my parents to join us camping in Duluth. This was a special trip for us because Duluth was our summer trip as kids with Mom and Joe. It was a lot of fun to return there with them and share the Superior experience with the kids.
We visited the Glensheen Mansion, Gooseberry Falls, Duluth, and explored the scenic route of the shores on highway 61. It was foggy and overcast for parts of the weekend but it really cleared up when we needed the sun 🙂
Check out this view from our camp ground 
Picking agates – Elizabeth was having fun with the rocks
Joey loved the shore 
The shore was beautiful in Two Harbors
A visit to the mansion 
The kayak festival was right at the bottom of the hill from us. Pretty foggy for one of their races, they simply disappeared into the fog…
On our second cabin gathering for the summer along with many others (23 in total at the cabin!) we had a great time. On a windy day we had fun playing mini golf and driving carts. The following day the wind cut down and we spent a BEAUTIFUL day on the lake. We used every flotation device to get all 23 of us over to ‘Florida Point’. Kyle and I used a two person floaty with the help of the good Captain powering us over. We also sat on the lake with no wind for over an hour under the bright moon which was an absolute treat.
Kyle and I debated leaving them… 
A little racing action – the boys enjoyed it a lot
The girls, not so much once we were done – ‘scary’. It probably didn’t help that I was doing my best impression of Rick Flair when passing them, ‘Woooo!!!’ 
