Maren's Cabin Weekend

We enjoyed our 6th annual trip up to Maren's cabin this weekend.  This has become a tradition ever since my dad passed away.  We've gone from me being pregnant, carrying Anna, having Docia with us, carrying Alex, having Chris join us, carrying Colten to now have Docia with baby #2 on the way!  And, we actually packed for the trip without our stroller (a first for us!)  But, we did have to include the miniature potty as Alex is very into potty training right now!  Bad news for me was I was just diagnosed with a stress fracture before the trip.  So, the boot had to come with and I was pretty restricted on what I could do. 

Paul, Maren the kids & I headed up north Friday morning.  I wanted to get some good time on the north shore while the sun was still out.  We stopped for lunch at Tobie's and got to meet up with Pastor Benson who was on his way home from the cabin.  Stopped at Two Harbors for ice cream and Gooseberry for some good quality outdoor time.  The kids loved hiking, climbing up and down rocks, skipping over the water and even made it up over 100 steps by themselves!  Thankfully, we had Maren to man one of our kids as I couldn't participate in every activity.  Dinner was at a tiny cafe in Shroeder.  Got to Maren's cabin and watched the sun set and got the kids down for bed.  We waited for Docia, Chris and Colten and all quickly went to bed. 

Saturday morning, everyone was up bright and early!  Had breakfast and headed out for the day.  We hiked Cascade Park (where the root beer falls are).  Kids did a great job hiking again!  Alex was a super star, and even stayed dry & used the little potty whenever he needed to.  We went up to Grand Marais to explore, have donuts, and had lunch at Sven & Ole's.  Kids loved going to the water.  We had each kid pick out their favorite rock to put in their backpacks to remember their families if they ever felt lonely at school.  We picked up food for dinner and headed back to Maren's cabin that afternoon.  Kids played at the cabin while Colten got a rest.  Anna enjoyed picking raspberries.  She was a crazy picker and always out in her straw hat looking for me.  The kids also got dipped into the water and thought that was a fun game.  We grilled out for dinner that night with hot dogs and smores.  Unfortunately, the bugs didn't cooperate and we had to actually eat inside.  The kids loved playing with Colten and following him around.  Such good buds!  Once we got the kids to bed, we played some cards and dominoes.  Docia and Maren were the big winners of the night.

Sunday, Paul & I had to head out early to get home for my mom's birthday.  We were able to stop in Duluth for lunch and enjoyed the sunshine day for a bit before heading on our way home.  Avoided traffic and made it back home in the nick of time!

Another fun year at Maren's cabin.  Always enjoy time with our friends :)