My parents invited us to come up north the last weekend in August. Erik wasn't able to take any more time off work over the summer and was planning to join us for the weekend but I decided to brave driving the boys up by myself during the week.

Unfortunately, Erik ended up getting sick and was not able to join us at all so I enjoyed some quality time with my 2 handsome little men while Erik recovered at home. We were all sad he couldn't be with us and missed him but we still had a great time with my parents and the rest of my family.

The boys and I shared a room and in an effort to keep them occupied in the morning when everyone else was still asleep I used a well known tool in the parents' handbook. An iPad loaded with Baby Einstein movies and Disney's Cars. I'm not sure if Will is snuggling John or just trying to wrestle him out of the way but either way it makes for a cute picture.



Will thought fishing for snails in the lake was pretty cool. Playing with them in Grandpa's minnow bucket was even cooler.






Boat rides are the best, but babies just never seem to like life jackets.



This was Will's first time tubing. Despite the goofy look on his face he had a really fun time!



Another early morning snuggle session with these cute little monkeys. Life sure is rough sometimes.




I looked up and saw Will with his arm around Grandma's neck. And then my heart exploded.



This is tweedle dee, tweedle dumb and tweedle dumbest. Stella is not tweedle dumbest. Neither is Murphy. Ha!




Another boat ride! This time we went all the way to the pirate ship. The boys had Superman  ice cream and thought it was the best thing ever. Will went and played in the water by a little beach area with Grandpa & Mara and had lots of fun digging in the sand and wading in the water.

Hanging with momma on the boat

Me and my boys

Will driving the boat- with his feet

John's 1st taste of Superman ice cream

Will & his blue goatee

The boys thought they'd like to go for a swim. John may have been naked under that tube.




The tube was a little small for Will but it didn't stop him from trying it!




Who needs a pack n play when you can put your kids in the Big Bertha tube?





Snuggling with my John John




This was Will's first bonfire up north. We put John to bed and let him stay up so that he could sit by the fire and roast marshmallows. He thought it was the best night ever.

Sitting next to Grandpa Joe

Trying out Grandpa's head lamp

Grandma bought glow necklaces, too

Roasting marshmallows!

John experienced his first ever steak dinner while we were there. By the look on his face I'd say he enjoyed it very much. Also, there's really nothing cuter than a baby in a diaper gnawing on steak!







And here's one last morning with our daddy stand-in, the iPad. I love this picture so much because not only were they sharing the movie nicely but Will also shared one of his most prized possessions with John, "Baby Catnap". These 2 sure can be sweet to one another in between all the wrestling matches.




We had a really fun trip up north and can't wait to do it again next summer! Hopefully Erik will be well enough to join us.