Turtle Lake (Warning: Photo Overload!)

We had a wonderful time up at Turtle Lake. We went up on Friday, July 27th and left on Thursday August 2. Dan came up for the weekend, although of course it would have been nice if he could have stayed the whole time!

Our visit was so relaxing; lots of swimming, reading, relaxing on the deck with the beautiful view, and just enjoying each others' company. Kate loved the water, as always; the three of us spent hours in there just floating and talking. And of course we hit up our favorite restaurant, The Five O'Clock Club (twice!) We love that place; it's on our list of places to go every time we're up north. During the week, we also took a boat ride tour of the St. Croix River. That was so pretty; Kate loved being on the boat, and my mom and I really enjoyed seeing all the rock formations, etc. It was very interesting; the guide pointed out a bunch of rocks that looked like certain things (George Washington, an old man, a lion, etc.) and the rocks totally did look just like that! (Maybe it was the power of suggestion, too, though... hmmm). Anyway, we had a blast our whole trip and can't wait to go up north again!

 Enjoying the beautiful view during breakfast... although Kate doesn't look too happy!

 Such a good helper to clear her plate!

She looks like she's plotting something, haha.

 I love her funny faces!

 Peek-a-boo!

 We got to have dinner with Uncle Fred and Aunt Kathryn on Sunday night, which was fun.

 Kate found this raccoon in the cabin and became attached to it the whole week we were there.

 Doing dishes became her new favorite chore, apparently!

 

 On the St. Croix boat tour

She loved playing with this 15-month old boy who was on the boat ride; I think his name was Elijah. She wanted to do whatever he did; if he fell down, she fell down. If he was walking funny (with that new-toddler waddle), she did that too. So funny to see!

Here's the old man in the rock. You can see it quite well in this picture, I think, but it was even more clear in person. The guide said it was featured on Ripley's Believe It or Not as one of the most realistic, natural-made rock formations.

 The view from our dock

 Ready to swim!

 Noodles, anyone? (Or, as Kate calls them, noonles)

 

 "I drive wheel?" No, honey, you can't drive that wheel!

 Our beautiful room

Kate's first movie

On Wednesday July 25, I was car-less, since my mom had the car to go to her music seminar in Waukesha. So Kate & I decided we'd walk to the movie theater and see a movie--her very first one in the theater! All during the summer, our theater has kids' films at 10 am on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (they show the same film all three days); and the best part is, it's only $2.00! And since Kate is under three, she was free; can't beat that! The film they were showing this week was Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. It wasn't a film I'd choose to see myself, but it was very fun to see it with Kate! She was so good and sat so still and quiet throughout the whole movie; she was transfixed. The next kids' movie we'll be able to see is the new Snow White with Julia Roberts, and Kate is already talking about how we're going to go to the movies again to see a "different Snow White." Ha!

 Giving me her cheesy grin

All ready to go to the movie!

Fun at the Zoo

On Friday July 20th, we went to the zoo with Meghan and Adelaide before heading to the nearby park. As always, the girls had so much fun together!

 They always love to hold hands

 Trying to see the lions (they weren't out, unfortunately)