Minnesota/World's most picture heavy post-I know you love it!

We just got back from Minnesota where we visited Tim's whole family (his mom's side). We were gone 7 days and slept in 5 different places which proved to be a little much with baby in tow, but we still had a great time. And James came home with a good souvenier: his first tooth!!! Despite cutting his first tooth and being in a new environment every couple of days, James was an excellent traveller. We feel very lucky that he adapts so well to new people and new situations.

We spent the 4th at Nanny's country club and James even stayed awake for the fireworks. He stayed bundled in his wrap with me covering his ears and actually was very enthralled by the fireworks and wasn't scared by them at all.

The next day we headed up north to Gull Lake where Tim and Polly have a house. It was gorgeous and we got to stay in their guest house with Amberly and Taylor. We hung out by the lake and went out on the boat a few times.

The whole Conroy clan:

Swimming with Kenzie, Amberly, and Taylor:

Testing out the water in Gull Lake:James liked chewing on his new life vest:Nap time with Dad, Kenzie and Taylor:Next we went to a smaller lake where Tim's Grandpa Joe has his lake house. He has 130 acres and it was beautiful as well. Very full of mosquitos, but still very pretty.

James LOVED Kenzie. Seriously LOVED her. This is a video of her and Amberly making James laugh: (best video yet)

All smiles with Kenzie and Betsy AKA Gabby:

Kenzie loved the babies and they loved her too:We ended the trip in the cities again where I met up with my friends from Semester at Sea, Erin and Elizabeth.

And somewhere along the way we saw this random pirate cut-out we obviously had to take James' picture in:Things I learned on our trip to Minnesota:

1. Who needs toys when you have a bottle of sunscreen to chew on? Seriously, I could have save a lot of room in the luggage had I known this.

2. James will only sleep attached to me when away from home.

3. Minnesota-ins (?) put hazelnuts in their margaritas.

4. Hyland's Teething Tablets are pure baby crack. Seriously, immediate calmness ensues when ingested by an irritable baby.

5. I think that James is at least 50% Conroy after this trip. He gets his chin dimple from the Conroy side as well as a lot of his other features. The big eyes and big head are still all me though.