We left very, very, very early last Thursday morning and although it was a bit hard to wake up just 4-5 hours after going to bed, it was quite nice to arrive mid-afternoon to Custer State Park.
We checked in, unpacked, and headed to the beach. We hadn't spent hardly any time in the Legion Lake area of the park before so we weren't sure exactly what to expect for a beach. To our delight it was quite nice and added bonus was a little playground! Even better, the beach and playground was a very short walk from the cabin.
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| Conrad and Tim |
Tim was thrilled for an opportunity to play on his paddle board and after a short round himself started taking passengers.
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| Tim with Norrie |
Norrie started out on her tummy but apparently gained confidence rather quickly and moved to her feet.
After a little wobble though, she grabbed for daddy's legs! :)
Day two (or first full day) was climbing in the morning and more time at the beach for the afternoon. To the right is Tim setting up a top rope. We met and stayed in the cabin with some friends from Rochester who have never climbed so it was a great opportunity to introduce them to the sport.
Mike and Alexis have children of the four-legged variety so climbing as a group worked quite well. There was always at least two adults able to look after the little ones, but really they did a good job of watching each other.
After seeing dad and Mike take their turns, Conrad was eager to give it a go.
That evening Norrie discovered that her brother's MP3 player had more function to it than just a pretend phone. She turned into a dancing fool as she sang "I found a cow! I found a cow!" That's not exactly the lyrics, but if you've ever listened to Cow Tunes (Brent Holmes) you would understand where it was coming from.
DAY 3 (or second full day)
Saturday was ideal hiking weather. Sunny, 70's, beautiful. We packed our lunch and set off for a relatively easy but long day hike. It included several water crossings which we deemed would be perfect for a five year old's attention span for walking AND for two furry dogs that liked to swim, drink often, and stay cool.
Although it looks like Tim is doing a lot of work, don't be fooled. The bag was mostly empty (especially after lunch) and he only carried Norrie for some of the creek crossings. She did A LOT of walking and spent a fair amount of time on my back in the ERGO (including over an hour nap).
family photo
Group photo
We had our last meal as a group Sunday morning (Day 4) and then sent Mike and Alexis off to get a head start home. (she was the only one that had to report for work early the next morning) While I packed the last few things, Tim took the kids down to the playground. We had hoped to squeeze in one more little hike before leaving but Conrad took a doesy of a digger and gashed his knee. They returned to the cabin as I was finishing and we spent the next 30 minutes cleaning and bandaging the wound before checking out. Poor kiddo was in so much pain he wouldn't walk so we skipped our hike and headed home as well. Despite that last hour, we had a wonderful vacation!!
Monday, August 27 Conrad turned the big 6. This may have been his best birthday ever. We started the morning with breakfast of his choice (as we always do for birthdays). Next we went to daycare for no other reason than to have a birthday party. Our daycare lady hosts a party for every child and since we had already decided Conrad wouldn't go to daycare on his birthday, we opted to have a morning party so he could still have his special time with daycare friends. We took blueberry muffins from Otto's bakery (yummy!), and bananas and OJ. The birthday snack was a hit (and more nutritious than cake). It was a bit shocking to arrive and see the kids table full of gifts for Conrad. Fun for him to open though and fun for us to see the pure joy on his face. 
After the party we went home to regroup and get ready for the rest of the day. We took Norrie to daycare at our normal time, then Tim and I took Conrad to lunch at McDonald's (birthday boy pick). The rest of the afternoon was spent fishing at Oxbow Park, just the three of us. It was strange not to have Norrie along, but Conrad seemed to really enjoy how special it was to have Tim and I all to himself.
That evening we picked up Norrie at regular time and had a picnic supper at the park. While the kids ate, Tim and I decorated the park shelter and prepared for a party. We had a wonderful turnout and Conrad was one very happy Birthday Dude. And very tired by the end of the day. Good tired though. 
