Family Vacatiaon Day 2... creative titles are my strong point

What a view, right!

Unfortunately, I can not take photographic credit here as I did not take the trek up this massive hill.

Neither did my brothers.  Though they did race up to a certain point and then came back down again. No, no.  Us young, spry kids decided to turn back about a third of the way into our walk and let our parents go the rest of the way leading them to the view that you see above.  Nice, huh?

My siblings and I were hungry.  And we wanted to go swimming.  And we knew we could see the best parts in pictures later.  Without the snakes, ticks, spiders and bears.

So, really my parents have the strength and we have the smarts.

Yeah.  That's it.  Anyways, we left Biwabik this morning after our 2 night stay at Giant's Ridge.

After two days of family fun out in nature, we enjoyed 5 hours of family bonding in the car.

Nature is more fun than the car.

We took a detour to Brainerd to visit my grandparents which was well worth the extra hour and a half of driving. 

Our family vacation was a major success.

Such fun memories that will stick with us a long time :)

Thanks for the FUN, family <3

Family Vacation Day 1

My Dad and I found a Groupon for Giants Ridge a while back and we are using them this week for a family vacation!

Everyone (except for Ryan and including my brother's girlfriend Ashley) is enjoying time together in Biwabik, MN.

We drove up yesterday and settled into our rooms before going swimming, hiking, and exploring.

On our hike (really more of a walk) we splashed, ruined our shoes, and knocked down dead trees.

Great bonding times were had by all.

We have a couple more days here... and we plan on enjoying every second. 

Unless you are Peyton, Joseph, Isaac, or Micah.  In which case you will sleep until 11:30 and then enjoy the time here.

We practiced our planking skills...

Took some awkward family photos...

And played at the park.

Today, we're off to find some hiking trails and more trees to push over.

It's Nice to Have Some Help

Today we went to the beach with some help that happened to be family.  Nana, Uncle Isaac, and Uncle Micah.  Not only was it more fun this way... but it was also very helpful.

When your at a busy beach and your baby will only be in the water for 10 minutes and then wants to sleep in his car seat... it's helpful to have 6 additional eyes watching him.

When your toddler wants to play in the sand and do really exciting things like scoop sand into a bucket over and over again, it's helpful to have 3 additional people to enjoy that with her.

And even though one of those people might be crazy and want to have a duck and starfish tan line on his body... 

He can still be helpful when it comes to lunch time.

When your toddler who wont sleep anywhere but her crib starts to get tired...

I mean really tired...

It's helpful to have 6 additional arms hauling stuff to the van.

Thanks family for coming to the beach with us today!  You were helpful and fun!