Ely, Minnesota '09

We had another great Black family vacation in Ely, Minnesota. Dennis' family has been going there for many many years, and I joined in 14 years ago. This year was especially exciting as it was Ty's first time on vacation (as well as our first vacation with a kids). I went into it with low expectations, thinking I'd be overwhelmed trying to keep Ty happy most of the time. But to my surprise, it was a very peaceful and relaxing time :)

The drive to Ely is approx 14hrs, so we usually stop in Black River Falls, WI to stay the night at a hotel. Ty was so excited and ran straight to pick his bed.

...then he decided to jump on the bed. LOL
The hotel we were at had an indoor pool. Ty was cautious at first. There were lots of kids playing and splashing. But he warmed up and eventually got in with his daddy.

A short few minutes later, Ty wanted to get a drink from the water fountain. When he did, he slipped and hit his mouth on the tile floor. Needless to say, he sported a big fat blue lip for half the trip.

Finally in Ely!!!!

Ty's first boat ride.

Chill'n with daddy on the boat.

We took a boat ride to the end of the lake at Shig Wak Resort. This is where we have all stayed for the past 5 years or so.

Unfortunately over the winter, the cabin Dennis' family usually rents burnt down. You can see in the picture that straight ahead behind the cars is where our cabin used to be.

This is the cement slab where they are going to place a new cabin for the resort managers.

Ty, taking a stroll through the woods.Back at our new cabin, my nephews Griffin & Brayton were eager to go fishing!

...I was eager to sit and relax :)

But in a cabin full of 5 adults and 4 kids, there's lots of excitement! Like Dennis wrestling with all the little ones.

At the end of each day, there were some peaceful moments. Dennis enjoyed escaping to the screened-in porch to read.

In the morning, we headed down to the dock again to enjoy the lake.

Ty enjoyed learning how to steer the boat.

My cutie-pa-tootie nephew Brayton.

Griffin was quite the fisherman. He was pulling 'em out left and right off the dock. Ty wanted to touch this one!

"Little Red Riding Hood"

Or Black Riding Hood

My sister-in-law Denise.

Dennis catching a little more reading time.

...and later some quality Mother-Son time.

That night, we stayed up late playing cards. The card situation was a bit goofy. We had one deck that Dennis swore smelt like metal and he couldn't stand it. So our other two options were great big heart-shaped cards or these very Oversized deck of cards. Let's just say it was good for a few laughs!

Back at the dock, we had to keep our eye on Ty at all times. If it were up to him, he walk right off the dock into the water. So he had to settle for sitting and putting his feet in.

On our way back up to the cabin. There were over 50 stairs we had to climb.

My ADORABLE boys.

Dennis showing Ty around.

Ty has picked up on quite a few sign language signs. This one here is, "All done".

I love his "I just woke up" sleepy eyes.

Time to play!

We took Ty to the park in town to run off some energy. And BOY did he!

Digging in the dirt.

Oh yes...just wait...it gets messier...

Ty wanted so badly to play in the puddles. We thought, "what the heck, he's on vacation too".

The puddle aftermath.

Time for a bath.

On Wednesday, the Shig Wak resort invited us to a "Pot Luck". The people there thought it was funny when I called it a "Pitch-in". They'd never heard it called that.

Taking a dip.

LOTS of memories on this lake. This is also where Dennis proposed to me 7 years ago. Now we are here with our handsome and healthy son :)

Bonfire Time!

Just like his daddy, Ty wanted to play with it.

...so I had to show him what Bonfires are REALLY for...

SMORES!

Ty got the hang of the marshmallow thing real quick and decided to stuff the entire thing in his mouth.

Ahhh...just another day on the lake.

The humming of the motor and rocking of the waves put Ty to sleep.

Back awake again! And wanting to touch the water as it splashes by. Don't worry...I have a death grip on his life jacket.

Ty joined us on one of our late night runs to town for a blizzard at Dairy Queen :)

Montana & Ty were buddies all week.

Mmmm...funnel cake at the Blueberry Festival.

Back down to the dock for our late evening in Ely.

Ty found this tree and stood there for what seemed like forever just picking the bark off.

Feeding the fish our left-over worms & leeches.

Ahhh...now this is how you end a great vacation!

Back in the car, on our way home. I was worried about the 14 hr drive. We weren't stopping overnight anywhere this time. But Ty did wonderful! My mother-in-law Kathy was in the back seat to keep him happy. As well as lots of snacks and videos. He especially loved wearing Grandma's headphones and listening to music.

Ah...Finally asleep.