Relaxation and vacationing!

Vacations are wonderful! But the return to reality itsn't. Joe and I were on vacation for 10 days and even though we didn't go too far, it was still a blessing and we actually enjoyed every minute of it! It all started off with us stopping at Cold Fusion in Duluth, a new store for utilizing Herbalife as a weight loss basis. Anyways, the store is fun and you get to try different drinks and mixes and loss weight! Now who wouldn't wante to try that! After that, we decided to head up the North Shore to the Tettegoochie State Park, just north of Silver Bay, MN. I had never been there before so this was fun and great to be outside! We just walked around for awhile, got lost because of bad directions and signs in the park. Who could imagine bad signage in the middle of the woods in a state park. We didn't, that's for sure! So we added about a two-mile hike extra onto our ventures! It was fun, but tiring. Worth while though.
And of course we have to have pictures of us!! It just wouldn't be a vacation without those!

Here's a cute one of me, too!! Joe, of course, has all of those great ideas for pictures, even in the woods!

After our outdoor adventure in Northern MN, we decided to head on down to the Minnesota State Zoo and the Como Zoo in St. Paul, MN. It was great! I was like a little kid running around seeing different animals and hearing different noises! It was awesome! Here are a couple of picuters from those trips to the zoos. And, as you all remember the Two-Can nickname I acquired during school, Joe thought this would be a good picture to go with the theme of the vacation!

Here are a couple of cute and fun picture throughout our trips at the zoos!

Me having fun on the turtle! And as soon as we entered this facility, the monkeys started making monkey noises!! It was great! I almost got a the best picture, but then they moved! Their arms were around each other like "Hey Buddy!"

This one was perfect too!! If only the moose looked up too!

And don't forget the lions, tigers and bears! Oh my! Okay, there isn't any bears here, and the tigers were actually hiding, but here's a lion!! He was roaring loudly! It was just amazing to hear the noises they produce! It was amazing!

Don't forget Joe likes to play and have fun too! Smile for the camera!

These lilies were at the Como Zoo. The lily pads were seriously HUGE! I had never seen anything quite like them! And the colors were beautiful! Something we don't see up here all too often! And during the vacation, I almost forgot to tell you all! I, missy who hates to garden, decided to make a garden, flower one, in my back yard! It was a lot of work, and my mom came up and helped a lot as well! There is over 800 pounds of extra top soil sitting in the corner of my back yard, but it was worth it! I have lilys, a rose bush in the corner and a couple of other flowers, ones I don't really konw what they are! But it turned out great and looks nice! The true test is to see what happens next year, in pray they will return again! Man, this was a lot of work! I never expected it to be that much but it was worth it. And I got to spend good time with my mom!

And to finish it all off, Joe and I decided to make a purchase for the both of us! We have been talking about getting a canoe for awhile, but just haven't found something in our ranges. Low and behold, our last day turned out great! We called a couple of places and were able to find this Old Towne Canoe, 160 series, about 84 pounds! We got it on sale, and it is brand new! This of course is our birthdays, anniversary, and christmas presents to ourselves. We thought instead of buying multiple gifts, we'd go this route and get something out of a gift we'll both enjoy! Our first outing is going to be this weekend traveling down the Brule River in WI. Wish us luck!! I'll get pictures from there as well!