Last weekend we went on our first camping trip with all three kids! Shawn did the Lutsen 39er mountainbike race and we decided to make a family weekend out of it.
We left Friday morning, stopping in Duluth for lunch at Canal Park Brewing and to let the kids throw rocks in the water. This is by far their favorite north shore activity :) We love the patio at CPB in particular because of the large boulders the kids climb on, allowing us to eat in peace :)
Stop at Palisade Head on our way north of Duluth
We made it to Lutsen with plenty of time for packet pick up at the mountain and to set up the campsite at Lamb's resort.
Podium shot at packet pick up :)
I loved that I got to pour myself a glass of wine while the boys all set up the tent :)
I haven't decided if I would do this again later this summer, because some parts were definitely tough with a baby, but in general, it was an awesome family weekend.
One of the tough parts was that it was only 55 degrees in the middle of the night, so Brecken didn't sleep great. And I didn't sleep great because I was worried about him being cold. I don't think he ever opened his eyes in the middle of the night, but he wanted to be snuggled. Even thought we put him in a baby hat, two onesies, fleece pj's and a sleep sack, it didn't seem to be enough to keep him warm. Between both nights, I ended up bouncing him for hours in the tent. Honestly, I kind of enjoyed the quiet snuggles (since I knew I could have good coffee in the morning!) and I think my legs got a better workout from the weekend than Shawn's did from his bike ride ;)
Keeping warm in the morning.
The other inconvenient part was heating bottles. We gave most of them cold, but he wasn't crazy about that. One night we went to bed early, and I crawled out of the tent while everyone was sleeping to fire up the Jet Boil and heat water for Breck's last bottle of the day. These things made camping more work - but our family is used to associating work with fun (like long, hard mountainbike rides just for fun or like biking 20 miles to dinner). So it was worth it.
The awesome things about having all three kids camping way offset the tough things. Brecken was super easy going during the days. He'd just sit and play in his pack.n.play while we hung out at the camp. He did great out to eat for lunch and dinner. He loved our walks in the stroller and Bjorn throughout the campground. He napped on the go and did great with less sleep than usual. I think my favorite part was how he would giggle and giggle when he'd see the boys throwing rocks into the water. The other awesome part was how much the boys loved the waves. Saturday was a little stormy, which meant the waves were huge! There were actually 3 or 4 sets of surf-able waves. I loved letting the boys run down by the waves and play 'ninja warrior' on the big boulders on the beach.
Chillin at the campground
Making dinner on the fire
Practicing standing at the campground playground. The big boys spent so much time on the slide here.
Soaking up the sun with my littlest hiking buddy
Playing checkers in the tent before bed
I also loved letting them watch Shawn's bike race. I always appreciate teaching them about combining fun and fitness. We were able to watch the start and the finish of the race and played at the campground playground for a bit inbetween. We were so proud of Shawn for finishing so much faster than he expected.
The big boys slept great in the tent. All the kids slept in past 7 each morning, too - which is huge progress from previous trips.
On the way home, we stopped in Duluth again. We had a picnic lunch in Lief Erickson Park, ice cream at Coney Island, hung out by the water in Canal Park, and had a beer at the new Endion Station (which has apparetnly been there for 3 years already. It's an off-chute of Fitgers Brewhouse).
Throwing rocks into the water....
Throwing Logi's into the water...
Can you spot Ry and Logan rolling down a black diamond at Spirit?!
Tons of fun. Can't wait to do it again next year.
