Brodd Family Fun Time: 2016

North Shore

Our 2nd annual late summer trip to the North Shore was filled with fantastic weather and family fun!

We stopped at Spirit Mountain on the way up to do the alpine slide and the zip line. The girls really enjoy the slide, but I don't think we will do the zip line again. The line is too long for the 15 seconds of excitement.

We met up with the extended family at the cottages. While Adam spent the day fishing on Lake Superior, the rest of the crew headed up to the Falls.

The water was even warm enough to wade in... We did see some people swimming, but no one in our group was brave (stupid?) enough to do that!

We even had time to stop at Tom's Logging Camp on the way back home. Blake and the girls had a great time finding the hidden horseshoes and also feeding the critters...

We can't wait until next summer, when we attend the 3rd annual north shore trip!

State Fair

Catching up (again) on some older posts that we never published.

The girls joined Grandma for the annual State Fair day. The weather was perfect and the girls had plenty of energy to last all day long.

Corn on the cob - Violet's new summer favorite!

Sylvia is the corn in the cob!

one of the many places to hang (literally) at the fair

enjoying an afternoon treat (one of many!)

I think the tattoos finally are off her arms, about 2 months later!

I am sure when State Fair time rolls around again in 2017, the girls will once again venture out and dad will enjoy a nice day away from the crowds!

Happy 8th Birthday Sylvia!

Sylvia turned 8 this year! While summer birthdays can be tough to schedule with friends, we were able to get a few to come over to celebrate this day with her. This year's theme - Sushi!

Quick photo shoot with sister prior to the friends showing up

Crafting time - this craft was origami

and making jewelry

Minnie Mouse was the special guest at the lunch table!

Birthday cupcakes - everyone gets to blow out the candles

The crazy kids group photo!

Happy birthday Sylvia! May this year be your best year yet!

Dunphy Family Fun Time

This summer seems to be filled with many of the annual traditions as well as some new ones. In mid-July we headed down to Dan and Kelley's place for a family reunion of sorts. It was an opportunity for brothers and sisters to catch up on all the details of life, and the cousins a great time to run around and get tired!

Dinner time!

Kids running - honestly, this was all day, so not sure if this was before or after dinner.

Dillon gave us a ride in his Jeep - sans doors!

The "little" bonfire is started

The entire gang (with fire in background)

It was another great visit with the extended Dunphy group!

14th Annual 4th of July Celbration

The 4th of July means our annual celbration! This year marked the 14th year in a row that our great groups of friends gets together to celbrate!

The banner continues to be modified each year. Maybe something special for the 15th next year?

We couldn't have asked for a better day! The water was perfect, not a cloud in the sky, and not too many mosquitoes.

Some sort of "tub train" going on here...

Dads are overseeing the operation

Getting out grub on!

eatin' and playing with the fire - sounds like a perfect day!

Sylvia's 8th birthday - wearing her red, white, and blue!

Smiles...

The newest addition to the celbration!

All in all, it was a great party again. We did have some struggles with the jet-ski and the four-wheeler was in the shop, but we will be back in business next year!

Can't wait for the 15th Annual 4th of July Celbration - let the planning begin!

Family Fun Time-4th of July

For the past ~6 years we have celebrated the 4th of July at the cabin. Generally, we spend 1-2 days leading up to the party working and prepping for the big day.

This year was similar, except for the fact we did a bit of playing as well!

The old white picnic table is now a festive red!

All the ladies chillin' on the raft

Crazy Sylvia and her squirt gun

Look at mommy!

Water balloons - catch Grandpa!

Now it's Grandmas turn!!!

Crazy Violet is gonna get you!

Out lovely family... Lucy is pulling away, Violet isn't looking, and Sylvia is trying to hide. Sounds about right!!!

Up next - pictures from the 4th of July Celbration...

New Family Tradition

With the end of the school year comes family vacations. Our new tradition is heading up the North Shore for a couple days.

First we stop at Spirit Mountain to ride the alpine twister. Looks like it will be a couple more years until Sylvia can ride by herself!

The hike back up to the top of the mountain is also a fun ride...

Most of our time is spent on the beaches sorting rocks and looking for agates. I think one of these years we will actually find one!

While the sun was out, the wind was howling and most days were in the 50's / 60's, so the girls were a bit disappointed that they had to be bundled up the whole time.

Tom's Logging Cabin was a new destination this year. We were surprised with the quality of the exhibits and found them to be very educational.

While at Tettagouche State Park, we tried geocaching... it took us a couple miles into the woods, but we were able to find the cache!

We didn't see any ships at the lift bridge in Canal Park, but we did come across this 1,000 footer while in Two Harbors.

Another new destination this year was to Ben and Bonnie's house in Hayward, WI. As you can see the change in local brought with it new temperatures. It was nice to be in shorts again!

We stopped at the local wildlife park. It was pretty amazing, but the coolest part was how the goats would pull up the buckets of corn by themselves! The girls really got a kick out of them..

Violet's best friend was Butterscotch the bunny.

Following dinner, we also were able to celebrate the girls' birthdays. There were streamers, ballons, and party favors all over the house!

The two girls may have gotten a bit "sugared up" and starting banging Ben in the head was the balloons. I am pretty sure he didn't mind ;-)

The next day we headed back home to start our "normal" summer of day camp and trips to the cabin. However with Grandma Chicken retired, the girls have a few more trips planned this summer. More to come!