First Family of Four Vacation

Whew! (I feel like I start every blog that way lately... ;) The day after Kendall's dedication, we left on our first official family-of-four vacation. It was fab-u-lous. This summer marks our 10th year living in the Minneapolis area and we had yet to venture "up north" - a most beloved place where most Minnesotans spend a big chunk of their summers at lake homes/cabins on the waters of our 10,000 lakes. Michael took the reins and booked this trip for us back in April and we were very much looking forward to it!

We drove up to Brainerd (about 2 hours northwest of Plymouth) and stayed at Cragun's Resort. We arrived on Monday and stayed until Friday. 

No work. No obligations. No agenda. Tons of scenery. Lots of fun. An abundance of sun. Sounds like a great week, wouldn't you say?! Here we are arriving at the resort - see Gull Lake through the trees? See the giddy girls? We were all super excited!

We wasted no time introducing ourselves to the pools! They had an indoor one (which we didn't use thanks all the sun), and two outdoor ones. We went to the pool every day at least once. On only one occasion did Michael put Katelyn's suit on Kendall. He was completely stumped as why it was so big. Ha! Bless his heart with all these girls!

Kendall enjoyed her floaty-boat, but also liked just being held in the water. She loves to kick, splash, and dip her lips in for a drink (ick!)

The kiddie pool was just 2 feet deep and perfect for both of our little fish. 

Kendall's naps and Katelyn's quiet times were all but thrown out the window for the week. Kendall did some snoozing "on the go" in her stroller with some nice lake winds lulling her to sleep :)

Every night, the resort hosted a bonfire to make s'mores. It was Katelyn's introduction to the delicious summer treat! She got the hang of it pretty quickly with Daddy as her coach.

The second night, I took her to the bonfire. I caught 3 marshmallows on fire right out of the gate. Oops. Katelyn instructed and said, "You're not supposed to do that!" We still got a couple keepers out of the bunch, as you can see...

On night #3, Katelyn passed up the s'more bonfire in lieu of snuggling and watching a show with Dad. They both loved it. And her tummy was probably happier too.

Every morning, we enjoyed the sunshine from our little deck. Beautiful. Peaceful. Radiant. Katelyn made herself comfortable...

We took many beach walks and documented with lots of pictures, as you can imagine.

There was a family of ducks that Katelyn followed around and fed. "Here duckies, I got FOOD for you! Come on over here! I got FOOD!" Quite alluring :)

Kendall, meet sand. Sand, this is your newest fan, Kendall.

In addition to a nice beach and dock, there was a great playground area as well. Definitely a family-friendly place!

Monkey see, monkey do!!

We spent hours on these swings. This was the spot of many "take-it-all-in," "remember-this-moment," "wish-we-could-stop-time" swinging sessions.

How's this for a funny face?! What a squirrel!

Katelyn and Michael did some special activities while Kendall attempted her nap a couple mornings. They rode (rowed?!) a rowboat and liked being out on the water.

And then another morning, Katelyn got in some biking. 

One evening we took a little trolley ride. It was pulled by two big, beautiful Clydesdale horses. A perfect night for a ride and the girls were wonderful little passengers - even our wiggly worm Kendall!

Midway through our week, we decided a change of scenery was in order. There's a small amusement park in Brainerd called Paul Bunyan Land. Perfect!

This HUGE, mechanical Paul is located upon entry into the park. He blinks, waves, and his mouth moves when he speaks. As guests arrive, he greets each child by name. When we entered, Paul said, "Hello Katelyn from Plymouth, Minnesota! Your favorite colors are pink and purple? That's great. I'm Paul. I'm a big lumberjack, but I'm a friendly lumberjack." Kate was a little shy, but eventually warmed up to ol' Paul. We were just glad she didn't run away asking to go back to the resort. Must've been all the rides she saw. This is a picture I took on our way out - see teeny, tiny Kendall at the bottom of the stairs? Shows how giant Paul is!

The Tilt-O-Whirl was a huge hit with Katelyn. Michael and I each took a turn riding with her and whew, that was all each of us could handle. And that used to be my all-time favorite ride! Kate could've ridden all day and kept saying, "We had the spin-iest car of all!"

It was a great day at the amusement park!

We spent many quiet, serene moments along the shores of Gull Lake. It was wonderful just being together and taking in the simplicity of a lake vacation - the sand, the water, the sunshine, the ducks, the trees, the sound of boats, and the sound of silence.

The Eagle Scout still has his fire-starting skills! Nice one, Michael! What's a lake trip without dinner over a fire? Hot dogs in this case. And charred roasted marshmallows.

Friday morning (the only cloudy day all week), we paid one last visit to the beach before departing for home. This picture pretty much sums up the crazy, fun, goofy, relaxed, wonderful time we had at Gull Lake.

We hope to make this trip (or one similar) an annual getaway. It was a blast! Michael, the economics major, is of the belief that spending money on making memories is always a sound investment. Isn't that the truth?

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! And if you ever get the chance to visit one of Minnesota's amazing lakes, do it. You'll be glad you did!