When A Lake Is An Ocean

When I hear "Great Lakes" I think that I don't quite understand that concept.

Yes, I am smart enough to admit that...;)

And, it's because of this naivete that I couldn't stop calling them oceans upon my first sighting of two of these beautiful representatives.

On our trip back from New York, we stopped to watch the sunset on Lake Michigan. It was so breath taking that I think it made it easier to confuse me. There were waves, seagulls, and sand. So, I had decided that this is when a lake was indeed an ocean.

Here is a picture of Dominic and I with the sun setting behind us...it's pretty bright on the water.Here is Dom, Jr and Gianni on the trail that lead out on the lake.
Me and the boys sitting on a "small" piece of drift wood on the beach.

In June, we visited the second and largest Great Lake of all. Lake Superior, from Duluth. Here's a few interesting facts, for those of you not familiar.

Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,820 square miles (82,413 km2)[1] — which is larger than South Carolina. It has a maximum length of 350 miles (563 km) and maximum breadth of 160 miles (257 km). Its average depth is 482 feet (147 m) with a maximum depth of 1,332 feet (406 m).[1] Lake Superior contains 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 km³) of water. There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North and South America with 1 foot (30 cm) of water.[citation needed] The shoreline of the lake stretches 2,726 miles (4,387 km) (including islands). (Courtesy of Wikipedia).

Here is the Duluth Lighthouse, located on the pier that also crosses the lift bridge that allows the boats to pass.

Here are the boys modelling on an antique anchor on the shores of Lake Superior.

WOW! What a world!

Go Twins!

Many of you may not know, but in June, we received a letter in the mail, that Dominic Jr. was recruited to become a Minnesota Twin!
As you can imagine, like any other parent of a sport playing child, we had the millions spent, college first!
Ummm...yeah...maybe not...BUT he was a Twin and he really enjoyed his first baseball experience. Here are a few pictures from his stellar season.

Here he is waiting patiently to run the bases.

A goofy smile while waiting to bat...And bringing in the run! He liked baseball very much and is incredibly disappointed that he has to wait until next year to play again (not like AZ, where you can play year round..bummer)...but hopefully, flag football is next up.

The Schrenk's Come to Town

When Shawna Moreno and I became friends in 1992, I never imagined the above picture. Two best friends pushing their babies in their strollers together. Although for many people we knew...this actually happened in the 90's...but I digress...I must admit that I got a little choked up by the thought.
Of course, now, she is a Schrenk and their little family "late checked" into a Southwest flight in June and came out to see what Minnesota was all about! I was so happy they did because I had yet to meet the little lover baby that they brought into the world last August. Mr. Landon was a treat to meet and spend time with....Oh yeah...Mom and Dad were kinda fun too!
While they were here we explored everyday and saw some really cool things that a lot of Minnesotans take for granted.
Here are the Schrenk's at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It was a great place for beautiful picture taking like this...
Another day we ventured out to the Sculpture Garden to get pictures with the famous spoon and cherry. Here are Shawna and Landon....followed by Auntie Shawna, Dominic and Gianni.Of course there are too many pictures to share on this posting...but our "final" excursion was an adults only date night on a dinner cruise around Lake Minnetonka. Although Shawna tried to put a stop to the fun by spraining her ankle....long story and another reason why I love her so....she was a real champ and dressed up pretty so we could enjoy the cruise. It was hard to say goodbye, but I know that we will be seeing each other again soon. I want to thank you Schrenk's for making the trip and sharing your little family with us!

Our Peeps In NY

It just wouldn't be right if I didn't sum up the rest of our New York trip in a few more pictures.

I always love going to New York and partaking in the "backyard party". This year was a blast. To further continue the partying from the day before at Ken's 60th, Aunt Sharon pulled out the speedies and set the table with lots of yummies for our tummies. I must say that one of the chefs of the speedies this year...was a visitor from the South...and boy...speedies must be in the blood line because Robert grilled them up like a pro!

While he was hard at work, I caught a picture of the fam just hanging around and enjoying the sunny day. What a good reason for a homecoming!I think these girls had the right idea...make the boys do all the work!Another favorite photo that I couldn't let get by. Unfortunately, Aunt Kim had already gone home to South Carolina and I don't know how to photo shop her in...but I will figure it out!Our boys and Grace, before she loaded up with Mommy and Daddy to go back to Baltimore!One of our final destinations in New York was to go and celebrate 90 years early with Grandma Purple. Of course they spoiled us while we were there and for that I am completely appreciative! We felt very lucky to have gotten to spend that afternoon with this amazing family!I just want to say Thank you for such a wonderful vacation and see you again next year! Love and Kisses....