The Kazel Imagination: Lakewalk Festival

Start with a perfectly gorgeous September afternoon. Throw in a dozen or so kid-focused games and activities. Set it against the backdrop of Lake Superior, and what do you get? Just possibly the most photos I've ever tried including in one blog post.

Saturday was the third annual Lakewalk Festival, and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day.Walking from hotel to hotel in Canal Park, we found a bean bag toss game and a fire pit with marshmallows to roast at one stop, followed by a bouncy house at the next. A little farther down the Lakewalk, the kids got twisty balloons - a sword (of course) for AJ and a flower for Sydney.

Next up was a playhouse made out of chalkboard, so kids were encouraged to draw on it. Big surprise - Sydney drew a princess.

AJ and Jeff skipped the chalk and headed for the Lake. Sydney and I joined them soon after. We couldn't, afterall, get this close to the shore without stopping to throw rocks.

AJ's shorts got pretty wet, but Sydney's dress amazingly stayed dry.The water was cold, but the kids didn't mind. There were rocks to throw, so who cares if your feet go numb? Ever since our impromptu visit to the Lake back in mid July, the kids have been begging to come back.

We finally got AJ to leave willingly with the promise of a cool surprise at the next stop. Thankfully I hadn't told him what that surprise was, because it turned out to be not what I'd expected. The Bulldog Hockey team was listed as being at Lakeplace Park. When we reached the park, we discovered it was the Lady Bulldogs who were there passing balls to kids so they could shoot them into the net.

AJ thought it was pretty neat just to have a chance to play.

Meanwhile, there was Zumba dancing just a few feet away. You can guess where Sydney wanted to be.

With Daddy and Sydney happily spinning around, AJ couldn't escape the boy genes pulsing through his veins. He accompanied the lively dance with a solo on an air guitar, followed by what looks like an air microphone.

As we walked away at last, Sydney whined that she still wanted to play hockey, so we promised her we'd stop on our way back.

The next stop on our path was the Veteran's Memorial where, appropriately, they had a station set up for kids to make cards to send to soldiers overseas. AJ excitedly decorated a card to send to the husband of his old daycare teacher who's currently serving in Kuwait. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the cards would be distributed at random, not to a specific soldier.

We made it as far as Fitger's, where the kids played a few more games. Then we turned around and headed back toward Canal Park. As promised, we stopped so Sydney could play hockey. And guess what! There'd been a line change and now three players from the men's team were on hand. Sydney needed help from Daddy to manage the large hockey stick.

And then it was AJ's turn. He was in awe! He told one of the players that he liked watching the championship game, and the guy graciously knelt down so AJ could see his ring.

I noticed some Sharpie markers sitting on a nearby table, and figured it wasn't a coincidence. When his turn shooting the ball was over, AJ cautiously approached the nearest player and asked for his autograph. Not only did the guy happily sign for him, he then walked with AJ over to the other players, so by the time we left, AJ had collected three Bulldog autographs. Which are now hanging on our refrigerator door next to the other two autographs he got last spring from the two players who showed up at his hockey banquet.

And then it was back to the Lake. Because really, for all the fun and games, could any of it compete with the simple joy of throwing rocks into our pristine inland sea.