Vacation 2008!

So it's been over a week since we got home from our vacation to the northwoods of Minnesota and this is our first post. But it seems as though we're still on vacation. Not really, it's just an excuse for why we haven't posted. So here are some of the highlights of the week we spent in our home state. By the way, we really miss our home state. There are actually trees there. And no constant 40mph winds every day. And there are lakes. And relatives we love. It's pretty great really.
We started out the week by going to visit my grandmother up in Hibbing, MN. My brother (who now doesn't look as much like me anymore...because he's gotten so dang skinny!) and his family came up too. We had a good time hanging out up there!
Here's most of the fam at Carrie's parent's house. We had a little bonfire, roasted some hot dogs and had a great time catching up with everybody. Carrie's little brother Nate and his wife Alissa came home from Chicago, and Carrie's Aunt Marianne came in from the lake to visit too.

The 4 generation picture with Carrie's grandparents. Stay tuned, because there's another picture of Grandma Eiesland that is hilarious...trust me. We had some marshmallows by the fire of course. Ellie loved to eat them...but you can see she had more fun squishing them in her hands. It was a joy to clean up too...let me tell ya... Alex gets some love from Great-Grandpa Eiesland. They grew to be pretty good friends in the few days we were home. But there was one little problem Alex pointed out... "Sorry Grandpa, I have a bit of a drooling problem. Mom and Dad say it's teething, and I should grow out of it. Hope I didn't get any on ya..." Ellie decided she needed to pick some flowers for the ladies at the bonfire. And they all had to put them in their hair... But Grandma Alice couldn't quite get hers to her ear in time for the group picture...

What's a trip to Brainerd, Minnesota, without a stop at Paul Bunyan Land? This is about as close as Ellie would get to "Tall Bunyan" as she called him. She was a bit nervous, especially because his eyes moved, and he knew her name...weird.But she had a blast riding the rides at Paul Bunyan. This is the merry-go-round, but she said the Tilt-A-Whirl and Rollercoaster were her favorites. Seriously...she loved that Tilt-A-Whirl. She went twice and was begging to go again. She's a little daredevil.
This was a little boat ride, and Ellie wanted me to come with. My big rear couldn't fit in the little thing, and I nearly sank it...for real. It was a little scary for everyone involved I think...
Nate and Alissa recently got this dog. His name is Doug. Maybe the funniest name for a dog ever. But he's a nice little dog. He was great with the kids. But he left this behind at the park one day...Just a little treat. Carrie didn't want me to put this one on...but I couldn't resist. A picture of dog doody is always funny...always.We got to spend part of the vacation at the beach. Ellie's favorite pastime is digging in the dirt and throwing it in the water. She could do it for hours... Grammie and Papa with the fellas at the beach. Maguire's melon is so big, his hat barely fits him anymore. But he still looks pretty stylin' if you ask me. The spoon is a good accessory too.
This was a little field trip Ellie got to take to Papa's new job. He loads and directs wildfire suppression planes. It's pretty cool. She got to climb in the big plane, and sit in the cockpit. She was pretty pumped about the whole thing.
Papa's work had a real helicopter and everything. But Ellie covered her ears even though the chopper wasn't on. She thought for sure they were going to turn it on and it was going to be loud. She wouldn't take her fingers from her ears the whole time...

Here's me staring deep in to the eyes of my beautiful bride. We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on our vacation by taking a romantic pontoon ride on the Mississippi River. Oh yeah, my in-laws, my kids, and a dog were all on the boat too...REAL romantic...let me tell ya...I don't know how comfortable Ellie's pontoon ride ending up being. The life jacket had a little strap in a very unfortunate and uncomfortable place. But Ellie got the chance to drive the pontoon with Papa...a job that she thoroughly enjoyed as you can tell. So the strap didn't bother her too much.Papa set up the tent in the backyard because for weeks he and Ellie had talked about sleeping in the backyard together sometime. So we decided this was the time.
And here they are packing in for the night. Ellie said the next morning, "Papa snored..." And when asked what he sounded like? "A Bear," she replied. But Papa said Ellie talked in her sleep the whole night...so they were even.We met my dad in Aitkin (half way from Brainerd to where he works these days) for a little supper and a trip to the park to play. Maguire loves looking upside down in Grandma's arms. And Alex is saying, "Man Grandpa, do we ever look alike...I wish I could grow a mustache..."
The boys got to try out the swing for the first time in Aitkin with my parents too. But as with most things in their lives now, and in the future, they had to go together...but they don't seem like they mind.
We ended the trip with a special stop in Minneapolis to spend some time with Carrie's cousins. Her cousin Sarah (far right) just got home from a couple year stint in Japan, so we celebrated with some time at the park with all 36 of our children combined!! (That's maybe a bit much, but seriously between these girls there are 12 kids...yeah...12. It's crazy!!)
And finally, here's a shot of Ellie's entertainment on the long road home. She's getting pretty good at taking pictures on her own, and as you can see she's trying to take some of herself. We didn't know she was taking them of herself until we went back and looked at the pictures. I'm guessing this will be Ellie's myspace profile pic soon. Should a 3 year-old have a myspace? (she doesn't really...it's just a joke...don't worry mom!!)

Overall we had a wonderful time with our family who we all love so very much. This was just a taste (a really long taste) of our little vacation. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.