We spent Labor Day weekend camping. Friday we drove up to Duluth and stayed in a hotel. Bishop loved throwing rocks in the water and swimming in the pool. He was literally so excited he was out of control! The pool was perfect because there was a kiddie pool and he would go back and forth from the big pool to the kiddie pool.
Bishop throwing rocks with his cheetos in his hand!
Bishop hiked down to the lake for our picnic and back....he did awesome! There were a ton of stairs and he did awesome hiking and never complained!
Saturday night we met our friends, the Hennum's, out for dinner at the Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais. The kids all had a great time together....here's a picture of Maia and Bishop dancing together!
Maia and Bishop watching the movie Annie in the car at the campsite. Bishop still doesn't have an attention span to watch movies for very long.
One of the highlights from the weekend was playing in the cars! Bishop and Maia LOVED playing in the 2 cars!
Maia and Bishop running around the campground
Sunday we hiked at Grand Portage State Park.
We are standing in front of High Falls. We took Bishop on this hike when he was just 5 weeks old...it was his first hike ever!
Siena joined us for a picture!
Bishop loves the backpack, but he also loves to hike. He ran along the trail and didn't want any help!! He was quite the trooper and hiked for over a mile total....and he did awesome! He didn't complain and he got so excited to hike!
The Hennum's having lunch at Middle Falls
Siena was using a hiking stick and all of a sudden I turned around and Bishop found his own hiking stick and was using it....it was the cutest thing! All three kids had their own and were proud to hike with their own sticks!
Bishop and Maia
Siena, Bishop and Maia...holding hands and hiking
Tim, Siena, Maia, Bishop and Luke
There's always a reward after hiking.....Bishop got his favorite...icecream!
Making s'mores around the campfire Sunday night
Siena making her own s'more
It was a very fun trip, but a lot of work....Luke and I were tested many times, but quickly reminded of how much fun Bishop was having and what a great experience it was for him! Going out to eat is tough with him at this age and we did it 3 nights in a row....something I would have changed, had I known it would have been that difficult. He doesn't like to sit still...he loves to MOVE and EXPLORE and be a boy and I love that, even as exhausting as it is! Sleeping was the other difficult area....we bought a new tent (sleeps 4), so we were able to get his pack and play up in it. It got pretty cold at night. Saturday night he did fine. It took him awhile to get to sleep (9:40) and we heard him a couple of times in the middle of the night, but as soon as I rubbed his back he was fine. He woke up at 5:30 and woke up the Hennum's (along with other campers, I'm sure). Sunday night was a different story. He refused to go to sleep and was fussing and crying quite loudly. I finally put him in the car and drove around until he fell asleep....I brought him back and we put him in the tent and he started screaming again! This was around 9:30-10. I took him out and both Luke and I drove around with him again....we brought him back, put him down and he slept until 3am! At 3am he woke up SCREAMING!!! We immediately put him in the car, so he wouldn't wake up the campground, drove around for quite awhile...came back and I slept in the car with him and Luke slept in the tent (so he could sleep well so he could drive home). Bishop woke up at 5:30 and we played in the car for awhile until Luke got up. We took down the tent and took off for home!
Like I said, all in all, it was a good time, just exhausting! I want him to have the experience of camping so he will enjoy it and he loves it, so hopefully next summer will be easier!
