Heaven in 2011 - CousinFest & Duluth

This time of year usually finds us reliving the haze of WE Fest activities, but 2011 was different for us thanks to the little guy, whose needs preclude his parents running off to Detroit Lakes for the weekend.  We also have him to thank for a somewhat impromptu visit from Grandpa Allen, Auntie Wendi, Lily & Tessa, who trekked out from the west coast to meet the new addition.  And are we ever glad they did!  Luca is positively in love with his cousins, and Julian quickly copped on and spent lots of time happily being doted on by his family.

The mutual admiration society of Auntie Wendi & Julian

 Our 2nd visit to the MOA - this time for mini golf . FYI, Luca is making this face on purpose.

Grandpa, discovering his baby whisperer side

The girls, getting goofy

The single, solitary problem with a visit from my family is saying goodbye and enduring the couple of days it takes to return to normal afterwards.  Just as we were about to give in to the post-cousin doldrums, T came home and we headed up to Duluth for the weekend.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, especially because Luca has recently developed an interest in lighthouses.   We had to hot-foot it out to this one because of the black sky over Lake Superior, but made it without incident.

Another perfect (for 3-year-old boys) feature of Duluth is their historic railroad, which was serendipitously putting on a Thomas the train event on the day we chose to visit.  Luca was over the moon to ride on a real train, and we even found an old train car that was appropriately named after the lake nearest our house.

On our last night in Duluth we ate dinner at a local Italian restaurant, where Luca made the most of the opportunity to draw his first family portrait.  Look closely.  From left to right, there's T, Julian, Luca, then me.  Yes, that red devil bat person is me.  And we didn't even get a picture after he added my extra legs.