Park Review: Lebanon Hills/Shultz Lake Beach

We are so lucky to live in an area that has A LOT of parks. There are very nice trails just blocks from our house that we go to almost daily. This particular day, however, we decided to go to a park a little further away so we packed up the stroller, the leash and the "kids" and drove to Lebanon Hills Park in Eagan. Specifically, we stopped at Schulze Lake Beach, where our church has their annual picnic. 

This is a fantastic park to visit year-round. The visitors center is really nice and you can rent canoes and kayaks there, or even camp!

There is a VERY nice, sandy beach with big umbrellas for shade. Just watch that you don't get there after all the geese, if you know what I mean.

I hope you get the chance to explore some of your own neighborhood parks this summer!

Cousins (and my poor parents)

Haley is blessed to have MANY cousins! She is slowly getting to know them all and they have had such a good time meeting her.

In fact, 6 days after Haley was born she got ANOTHER cousin! Yes, as you saw in the bump photos I posted previously, my sister Holly and I were due exactly 7 days apart. She was due first (9/16) and I was due second (9/23). It was so fun to be pregnant together, but even more fun to play with the kids together.

So...onto my funny story about my parents (I swear this is all related)...

My parents knew I had an ultrasound the morning of the 5th and were actually on their was from Duluth to Lincoln, NE to visit my oldest sister and her family and celebrate my niece's 1st birthday (9/8). After my ultrasound I called my mom to tell her that the doctor might want to see me that day, but that I didn't think would be a huge deal so don't worry about changing plans yet. Then the nurse called and told me I had to go the hospital for additional tests, so I called my parents and told them that they should just keep on going until we have a little more data.

Long story short, but the time the doctors finally decided that Haley would need to enter the world that day and scheduled my c-section, my parents were almost to my sister's house. After talking with them more we all decided that since it is such a long trip that they should just stay there as planned unless something is wrong and then they would visit the following Sunday and Monday.

So...they were able to celebrate Kinsey's 1st birthday and then drive back up to see us at the hospital and meet Haley! They visited again on Monday and then headed back up to Duluth.

Meanwhile...

My sister Holly had a routine appointment on Monday (9/10) and her doctor noticed she was a little further along than she would like to see 4 days before her scheduled c-section (set for 9/14), so her c-section was moved up to the very next day (9/11)! She called my parents and they were literally in downtown Duluth when she broke the news that their grandson was also making an early appearance. So, my sweet parents went home, did laundry, repacked the car and headed back to the Twin Cities the next morning to meet Max.

Wow! Talk about being devoted to your family! My parents are amazing (and are troopers) and are also lucky they are retired so their schedule allows for all this craziness!

Now for the pictures!

With cousin Andrew (8)! 

With Auntie Mysie!

With cousins Channing (almost 4) and Maxwell (born 9/11/12). 

Max's foot and Haley's foot...too funny!

Tummy time for all!

Welcome to the world, Haley!

Sorry I have been MIA for a while...we've had our hands pretty full trying to get ready for our new addition, which turned out to be a really good thing because she arrive 2 1/2 weeks earlier than we thought she would!

Here is Haley Mae's story...

About a month ago I talked to my doctor because I was concerned/worried/nervous I would have a BIG baby! I was measuring right on but two of my sisters had babies that were on the larger side for people of our stature (we are all around 5 feet tall) and one of them had a pretty hard time delivering so I just wanted to make sure the same thing wouldn't happen to me. So, we set up an ultrasound for week 37 just to get a good look. Also, my second oldest sister, Holly, and I were due a week apart and her little one was measuring to be not quite so little. :)

So, the morning of the 5th we went over to get the ultrasound and it revealed just the opposite of what we were thinking...our baby was small...very small, but looking healthy. AND...I had almost no amniotic fluid left. So, the ultrasound tech sent us home and said they would have the doctor give us a call and that they would probably want us to go in later in the day just to check things out.

Jesse dropped me off and home and headed up to work. He was almost there when I got off the phone with the nurse, who had told me the doctor wanted us to go the hospital (to triage) for some additional tests (non-stress and biophysical profile) and that we should bring our hospital bags "just in case there is a delivery today". Woah!

So, I called Jesse and he turned right back around. We finished packing up the last minute things in our bags. Took some time to snap ONE last picture of my pregger belly (just in case!) and headed up to the hospital.

We got up to the hospital 45 minutes later, got all checked into triage and immediately began the non-stress test. Haley passed with flying colors! Then they sent me off to another ultrasound to get a biophysical profile of the little squirt. Again, she passed with flying colors. My amniotic fluid, however, did not. I was at a dangerously low 2 cm...at this point in my pregnancy I should've had 10-11cm. (Just in case you were wondering there was NO indication of this at any of my previous check ups. I always measured right on with the exception of the Friday before when my fundal height measured 1 cm short.)

The doctor came in and explained that he had spoken with his neo-natal associates and they said that even if they kept me on the IV they had already started (again...just in case) for a few days there would still not be enough fluid and the chance of cord collapse and stillbirth was too great. Since little miss was doing so well, we decided she just needed to come out. I just praise God that He gave the doctors the knowledge to know how to take care of my little girl!

Oh, yeah...she was also breech and with almost no fluid, turning her was not even an option. So, we schedule a c-section for 5pm and I wasn't allowed to eat anything else for the day (good thing we stopped at Panera for bagels on the way home from the ultrasound!). 5 pm would've been fine...but then 6 rolled around...then 7...then we got word that someone else "needed" a c-section first. OK...I get that, but I was REALLY hungry...really.

Finally, just after 8 pm they brought be back to get prepped and had Jesse wait in the room and change into his scrubs. The next 30 minutes seem like such a blur. First the spinal, then Jesse came in, then suddenly the doctor was holding a crying, tiny baby in my face and it hardly registered that she was all mine.

Jesse went with the nurses to take pictures and soon brought her back to meet me. She was just perfect...small, but perfect...weighing in at 3 pounds, 8 ounces.

Hey! It is REALLY bright out here!

First family photo! She even smiled AND looked at the camera!

They stitched me up and brought me up to recovery where I spent the next several hours waiting to be able to feel my legs enough to get into a wheel chair and see my little girl. Jesse, being an awesome dad right from the start, went with Haley to the Special Care nursery, taking MANY pictures along the way and then kept coming back down the hallway to show me how great she was doing.

At 11 pm, I was finally able to wiggle my toes and got to go snuggle Haley. Amazing.

Haley was so small they were very concerned about her ability to eat, gain weight and hold her own temp. We were told she would be in Special Care (a level II nursery) for 2-3 weeks. She had to prove she could gain weight and get out of her isolette before she would be in the clear.

Since I had a c-section I was able to stay in the hospital for 4 days, so we spent each day welcoming visitors, heading down to Special Care every 3 hours to feed her and between just to snuggle. The first night going home without her was horrible, but when we walked in the door we found this:

Jesse's mom had cleaned our room and done laundry and Jesse's sister had made two delicious meals for us. And our neighbor had a "Welcome Home" cake, pink champagne, balloons and a whole bag of preemie outfits waiting for us in the kitchen. Talk about feeling loved and blessed!

See how small she is compared to Daddy?

After just 8 days of growing and lot snuggle, Haley blew all the doctors away and when she was 3 pounds 12 ounces they let us bring her home. It was the best day ever! Five days later at her first doctors appointment she is already 4 pounds 5 ounces!! Amazing! 

We are getting settled in at home and there will be MANY more stories to come. Stay tuned...

Babymoon

So this past weekend we went on a Babymoon! We wanted one last weekend away before our lives are flipped upside down (in a good way!) by our little girl. We had such a nice time taking in the scenic North Shore of Minnesota. For me, it was so fun to go back to all of the places I loved when I was a little girl (and a few new places) and for Jesse there was more new than old.

Our first stop, of course, was Betty's Pies for breakfast on Saturday morning before taking off to Split Rock Lighthouse. It was delish! A great way to get energy for, what turned out to be a more adventurous day than we had planned!

Next, Split Rock. Yes, the movie they play there is STILL the exact same movie as they played 20 years ago, but it was fun to watch and it was great to walk around and take in the beautiful views.

The light inside the top of the lighthouse.

Jesse and the lighthouse.

Next, we took a pit stop at Palisade Head for another view of the lake. Jesse freaked me out a little when he walked fearlessly right up to the edge, while I watched him from a distance. However, it was totally worth going up there.

The view of Shovel Point from Palisade Head.

Then, we drove up Highway 61 a little further to Tettegouche State Park, where the real adventure began. It seems we have a habit of hiking in the pouring rain. A few years ago we were hiking on a sheer cliff in Glacier National Park when we were caught in a hail storm. While this wasn't nearly as treacherous, there were A LOT of hills and stairs and at 35 weeks pregnant I am super proud that I a) made it through the day and b) didn't complain one bit. It was actually pretty refreshing! 

There aren't as many pictures from that part of our day as I would've liked, but it was still great. We hiked about 3 miles, which does not sound like a lot, but you have to remember that in Northern Minnesota that meant 3 miles of straight up and straight down, slippery dirt, rock and tree root paths, combined with literally HUNDREDS of wooden stairs. Of course, what goes up, must come down and vice versa, so hiking to the bottom of 2 waterfalls also meant hiking back up them. By the end, we were soaked, tired, hungry, but still smiling!

We were planning on heading to Shovel Point for one more hike, but at that point we didn't see an end to the rain so we went to our resort to check in. We stayed at Cove Point Lodge and got a really good deal through Crowd Cut (why pay full price, right) that included dinner, breakfast, our room, chocolate and champagne. When Jesse checked us in he refused the champagne and the actually had a bottle of alcohol free champagne for us to share instead...so nice!

We went down to the hot tub for a while before dinner (I sat on the edge, but it still felt GREAT on my tired legs) and then enjoyed a view of the lake, Norwegian chicken, steak and walleye. Yum! The resort was on a cove (hence, the name) and we were able to take another (very) short hike out onto the other side of the cove, which was a very cool, rocky point and get some great photos of the sun reflecting off the clouds.

You'd never know there was a resort right behind me!

View from the cove.

Our resort from the other side of the cove.

North shore rocks!

The storm was still there...heading north.

Then we found some nice chairs and shared our "champagne" outside before the bugs chased us away.

The next morning, we were able to make one more stop for a (very easy) 1-mile hike on the Silver Creek Cliff trail that runs along the old Highway 61 next to the Silver Cliff Tunnel. I remember driving along that exact spot when I was little, so it was weird to be walking on it now. Next year, we are planning on bringing our little girl up for a bike ride (or several) on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail. We can hardly wait to share a place we love so much with her!

It was a wonderful weekend...hard to be back in the car going back to chores, work and dishes, but we are so thankful for the great time we had to spend together!

Watermelon Smuggler

Last weekend we took a short trip to Nebraska to visit family and were blessed to become the Godparents of our niece and nephew! It was HOT, but we had a great time!

We had a picnic and when I noticed the watermelon we picked up was the same size as my expanding belly, I couldn't help but ask my family to help out with a few pictures!

The little boys splashed in the pool until after dark! They had so much fun and didn't want to get out for bedtime.

The bigger boys grilled. Yummy!

I snapped this HILARIOUS picture of my 10-month-old niece with her face up against the glass door looking for her mommy!

I couldn't help snapping a cool picture of the neighbor's pear tree, too. So cool!

Caterpillar Rescue

Jesse rescued a caterpillar the other day and I HAD to take pictures and share. It is crazy looking. Some birds in our front yard were trying to eat it and dropped it on the driveway when Jesse went outside.

It reminded me of this guy from Alice in Wonderland:

Those "eyes" on the back of his head were just markings to ward off predators, it was pretty huge and will grow up to be this (thanks to Jesse!):

Maybe we will see him flying around our yard some day!

Farmer's Market

Last night we were FINALLY able to check out the Farmington Farmer's Market! It was fantastic. For $20 we got so much great produce:

• Eggs
• Beats
• Carrots
• Green Beans
• Potatoes
• Green Onions
• Tomatoes
• and Corn

And it wasn't just a few of each item...there is enough of everything for Jesse and I to have for dinner 2-3 times! Hopefully, we can eat it all up by next week!

Farm fresh eggs! And I LOVE that one is blue. :)

Beats! Anyone else think they taste like corn?

A whole counter full of fresh produce!

 Next time I might bring a little extra cash to pick up some homemade bread from Jane Dough Bakery and some raspberry salsa, too!

Vacation: Part 3 (Final)

The final part of our vacation took us up to Ely, MN for the day! It was HOT, but fun to do some shopping and eat some ice cream.

We've been to Ely many times, but this was the first time we noticed this really cool building off the main road. We stopped by to take some pictures of it and learned from the lady who lived across the street that it was the hospital. Beautiful! It was built in 1903 and is now for sale! Cool!

After we headed back up to the lake we indulged in another MN tradition...a good ol' fashioned Smelt Fry! Yes, you eat the WHOLE THING...tail and all. And yes, it tastes good...like a fish stick!

Next up was a little fishing and more photos of the beautiful sunset. The following day it rained all day so I really just read a book and slept/relaxed. Here are some final photos to enjoy!

My dad made those canoe paddles by hand! So pretty... and they work great, too!

We can't wait to share one of our favorite places with our little girl next year! 10 weeks until we meet her!