I'm a Quarter of a Century Old!

Yesterday I turned the big 2-5! It was the best birthday ever! I met mom and dad in Crystal Falls, MI for breakfast at a little cafe. We then all drove together to Wallace, MI to the DeYoung Family Zoo. It was more like an animal educational rescue center than a zoo. This guy just started making a zoo in his backyard in the middle of nowhere U.P.! It was so awesome. They take animals that other zoos can't take anymore and give them homes here. When we got there, we got to watch the "Big Cat Feeding". It was cool to watch the zoo keeper chuck huge chickens over the fence and watch the lions and tigets jump in the air to catch them. This zoo has the biggest Wild Cat exhibit in the midwest. There is even a dad tiger who is helping to raise his cubs, which is the first time to ever happen in the world!! Animanl Planet is coming to film it soon! After the cat feeding mom and I got to go into the fawn pen with all the orphan fawns. They were so cute! One sucked on our fingers! Then we went to the Baby Animal Show. Mom and I got to hold baby bobcats, cougars, and a joey (baby kangaroo). We also got to see a baby grizzly wrestle with the zoo keeper and pet a coyote pup. It was amazing!! We ended the day with a picnic of grilled chicken, potatoe salad, and strawberry shortcake! What a wonderful birthday!!

4th of July Weekend in Duluth, MN

Megs and I spent all day Saturday and Sunday laying on the beach. It was wonderful!! It was so relaxing and felt like summer! I jumped in Lake Superior quite a few times. The weather has been pretty chilly this summer, so the lake hasn't warmed up at all (not that it ever gets warm), but it still felt good to cool off quick. Sat. night we went down to Canal Park and watch the fireworks by one of the tall ships in the harbor. Afterwards we went to "Grandma's", which is a popular place to dance. It was so much fun!!! I love dancing!! Megan and I danced until the place closed. It was a perfect weekend!

Rose Garden in Duluth

I took Wed, Thurs, and Fri, of last week off for the 4th of July. Wednesday night I drove to Duluth to meet up with my friend Megan. She is leaving to head off to grad school in Denver next month, so this was our last big bang girls weekend before she leaves. We then drove up to her family's cabin on the North Shore of Minnesota, near Tofte. We got in really late on Wednesday night. Thursday morning I woke up and was able to see the view for the first time. It was gorgeous!! The cabin overlooks a little cove on Lake Superior with wild lupine growing all over. It was breathtaking! I am so often amazed by how blessed I am to live in such a gorgeous place and to have the opportunities to see the things I do! Thursday we relaxed at the cabin and wondered around to some of the other beaches. We even saw a little fawn on the way. Friday morning we got up to a gorgeous day and headed to Duluth for the rest of the weekend.

Pics from Meg's Cabin in Tofte, MN

Ashland Sunset

Pics from Mom's Garden

Mom's garden is gorgeous, as always. So I had to sneak a few pictures of the garden in while I was home!