Our week off and my quest for a family photo

We headed west towards Lake Sakakawea to spend the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of July with our families.  My parents spend many weekends at the lake, so that was our first stop.  The lake itself is massive, and within the Fort Stevenson campground, there are tons of places for kids to play.

Nora can't be left out.  If Gus isn't wearing a shirt, then she isn't either.  I figure we only have about 1 more year of allowing this phase to continue before it gets weird.

She liked hiking on all of the hidden trails.

I decided at one point on the drive out to the lake that we should get a good family photo while we were on vaca.  Like a really nice photo that we could use for something.  But for what exactly?, A Christmas card?, Portrait for the house?, Facebook?.  I didn't even have a purpose, but I began my quest on day 2 of vacation.

I started with Nora. 

She was easy.  She would do anything I asked.  Gus would be the challenge.  Does anyone know how long the geeky-dork-cheese-smile phase lasts for little boys?  Gus is in the middle of that phase now. Clearly. (But bless his heart, he still smiles for the camera so I'll take it.)

Nora, copying Gus.

Meanwhile, Gma Vickie and Gpa Dave made the trip down to the lake on the 4th so the kids were in heaven.  2 sets of grandparents were right there - all day.  Their agenda pretty much looked like this:

• Ask a grandparent for a treat (and get one)
• Get a grandpa to play cars or baseball with me
• Go for a walk with my grandmas (pictured below).  Ask one of them to carry me if my legs get tired. 
• Take a boat ride
• Request another treat (and get one)
• Go fishing my grandpas and dad
• Eat dinner.  
• Treat, again (duh)
• Stay up super late
• S'mores

In heaven!

The next day, we hiked down to a rocky beach on the east side of the lake.  It was beautiful!

Gus spotted a frog and was determined to catch it.

When he finally caught it, he was so excited he squeezed the molasses out of it.  I'm pretty sure I heard the thing growl.  But no fear, I followed the little guy after Gus released him to make sure his legs were in working order.  And they were.  So for next time, we'll work on gentle/soft hands with Gus.

Our first shot at the group family portrait featuring our son, Gus, the pirate.

On our hike up from the waterfront, Gus found a perfect climbing tree.  He shimmied right up and was waiting for us when we passed by on the trail.

Wait, how is it that our tots smiled perfectly for their photo with Grandma and Grandpa?  Of course. 

Later that afternoon, my cousins Lindsey and Laura showed up with their mom and dad.  Ready to tube!

They were pros but were a little unsure of the temperature right before we took off. 

Speaking of unsure, (or shall I say inappropriate) here's Nora in her cousin Laura's bikini.  She saw it hanging out to dry and immediately took it down and started to try it on.  We couldn't stop her, c'mon, this is adorable, people.

Obviously Ross and Gpa Steve were not present during this photo-taking session. They would not be proud. (But Nora loved it.)

After our time at the lake was over, we headed to Minot to stay with Gpa Dave and Gma Vickie.  The sandbox is a for-sure hit with the kiddos everytime.

The only thing better than the sandbox is the riding lawn tractor.  Gus must have gone through 3 tanks of gas while he was there. 

 We also hit up a very neat splash-pad and playground at Minot's Oak Park.  They've recently re-opened the park after an intense post-flood clean up and it looked great.

Milestone alert: Gus mastered the monkeybars this weekend.  He has the blisters to prove it.

While he was monkeying on the monkey bars, us gals including Great-Gma Betty relaxed and cheered him on from a bench nearby. 

And not to miss out on any Grandma-ing (when in Minot, we never do!), we had a few meals with Great-Gma Ethel and the whole Vangsness crew at her house. It was great!  Just like Gus' clowny grin in this shot (it continues).

Outtakes

Towards the end I actually administered the "hand-squeeze" on Gus to show him how serious I was.  I'm going to smile like I'm the happiest person ever while smooshing your hand like a stressball so you know I'm serious.  Now smile.

Here's what I learned: Odds are a family photo is never going to be what you thought, so I need to just go with it.  Why else do they have thousands of blogs out there dedicated strictly to awkward/bad family photos? Well, because there are so many of them.  Makes me wonder if all my former photography clients thought the same thing while I was snapping their family portraits?  Yikes. Oh well, no looking back now.  This family photo quest was just another thing my kids have taught me.  Here's to parenthood!