It's time for what some would call a vacation!

[MamaJunebug]

People! People!!! They *are* calling it a vacation - and they're not correcting their fans' use of the term!!

Behold:

Jeanie on August 31, 2013 at 8:51 am said:

Hello,Sarah!

I love the wonderful pictures of the mountains y’all post and it looks like so much fun! I noticed even the ladies have on hiking shoes too – may I ask where y’all found them? Is there a specific brand you like over others? I googles hiking shoes and couldn’t find anything similar.

I hope y’all are having a blessed vacation with everyone. God bless everyone. Be safe.

>>>>>>>>>

Almost everyone’s shoes are Merrell’s. They are very reasonably priced and have performed well for us.

Thank you.

Lauren H. on August 31, 2013 at 9:06 am said:

Great pictures! Are the guys doing a beard growing challenge?

>>>>>>>

They were something different for vacation. We’ll see when they go away.

Johnna on August 31, 2013 at 10:53 am said:

Beautiful pics. As much as I would love to see it for myself I doubt I ever will so I will continue to live vicariosly through you all. Yes the pic of the shadow on the mountain is pretty. I also like the pic with the dark rain cloud above.

Praying for safe travels back home.

>>>>>>>

Thank you.

Amy on August 31, 2013 at 12:24 pm said:

Wonderful photos. I especially love the one with the hand holding onto Joshua’s dungarees to stop him leaping into danger! I have a 14 month old boy and so this pose is all to familiar.

Joe on August 31, 2013 at 12:51 pm said:

Been really enjoying keeping up with you all on the blog. Such wonderful pics!! We love you all and pray for you always!

>>>>>>

Thank you!

Lori on August 31, 2013 at 3:26 pm said:

I have really come to really enjoy your vacation posts each year. The mountains are just beautiful, and seeing the chipmunks at St. Elmo is such a treat. The little ones are really growing. The photo of your parents is just awesome!

Bolding, italicizing and underscoring are my additions.

I really think this is significant. I tell you, next year they'll be wiggling ba :pink-shock: re toes in mountain streams and barbequing.

[twin2]

^^^^

Clearly the Lord Jesus has spoken to Steve letting him know that rapture is nigh and they are allowed one taste of f-n since they know where they will go when they die

[ThatSnark]

I stand corrected, MamaJ-- thank you. As I've expressed multiple times in the 24 pages of this topic, this whole trip/vacation/adventure leaves me confused, with more questions than answers. Hopefully they've returned to Maxhell and the blog will resume its usual dullness, but I can't shake the feeling that something is up with these folks... a betrothal? Another Moody series? A new recipe? Only time will tell.

[nelliebelle1197]

You guys think they are loosening up????

[SPHASH]

From the pre-vacation blog post, by Sarah:

So it's a "trip to Colorado" with "special family times." Elsewhere on the blog it's "time in the mountains." I don't think we've seen "vacation" this year other than in the comments. As with the whole "adventure," it's very confusing. The best I can make of it is that they are doing the same old boring stuff, but with more hiking and a higher altitude.

Special family times- isn't that what they do at home? So this really isn't a vacation. They still get up before the asscrack of dawn, have personal bible time, spend the whole blessed day together, make supper cuz they are too cheap to eat out, more bible time then in bed 9 pm.

[Maggie Mae]

You know- their vacation is pretty close to mine, only with no bible time, I'm not married or related to my hiking/camping buddies, and there is a lot more drinking.

I don't fault them for rarely eating out, it's expensive and lately not very good. Every chain is the same cheap cut of meat with some sauce and some spices to make it tie into the "theme." The portion size is huge, service is usually indifferent, and overall it's just not worth it IMO. Local places I like, but it gets expensive and they are forced to cut corners to have competitive pricing.

I think the Maxwell food they make also sounds boring, but I'm not one to talk. We spent our last out of state vacation (no hiking that time) eating home made salads, because that is what we were used to and knew the caloric count on. It saved so much money and prevented wasted food.

[Myfanwy]

Special family times- isn't that what they do at home? So this really isn't a vacation. They still get up before the asscrack of dawn, have personal bible time, spend the whole blessed day together, make supper cuz they are too cheap to eat out, more bible time then in bed 9 pm.

Hill climbing instead of packing up books and fan cleaning makes it a holiday. Duh! :D

[kpmom]

Sarah has the final vacay post up.

John and Jesse have the wide stance thing down perfectly.

I guess Steve isn't worried about defrauding his readers with that jeans and t-shirt shot of John. I'm so lucky we women aren't turned on by visual stimulation. I'd be committing the sin of lust if we were.

Even Sarah realizes these trips are repeats year after year, as she says about the last picture;

"We have a similar picture from previous years."

[gardenvarietycitizen]

For me the weirdest thing about their vacations is how they go on and on and ON about how wonderful it is to have all this family time, to get away as a family, etc.

Which is fine.

But they're never apart!! Every moment of every day is spent in wonderful togetherness, even when they're just at home!

[Marian the Librarian]

Methinks the Maxwells doth protest too much...

[Sailing on Europa]

I have never seen pictures of the Maxwells in wholesome swimwear a la the Duggars. Do they get to swim EVER? I'm betting they don't.

After mountain climbing all day I would want to do some serious stretching. There's no way I could do it in a skirt.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I wonder what they talk about every day. Theres not really much to discuss. They cant talk about what they did during the day because none of them have lives outside of the family-they spend every second of the day together and dont have any hobbies or a social life. They cant talk about current events as they dont read newspapers or magazines or anything. They cant discuss what books theyve been reading, or what shows or movies they have seen as they dont watch TV and the only book they read is the Bible and books they have made themselves. They can discuss religion, but they cant have any meaningful discussions about it as they are all required to have the same opinion of it-what Steve says is the correct opinion.

[HoneyBunny]

A few years ago I had an email discussion with Steve about swimming. They only do it with the same gender (family included) and enough to learn the basics so as to save themselves if they are at risk of drowning.

Which is to say, no, they really don't swim. And I suspect hot tubs, which are the only way I could do that much climbing, are strictly verboten, as they are for pure pleasure.

[sparkles]

My family had a vacation home in Vermont for many years, starting when I was about 16 (I have two younger sibs). Even in the beginning, when we all lived in the same house, we still always had a blast together because not only was it someplace different to be, but we had different things to do as well. We skied in winter, maintained a large garden in summer, traveled around the region and so on. As adults, especially after we were living apart, were married and had kids of our own and, getting together as a family was even more enjoyable. We did stuff we'd never do at home, which at that point meant mainly just relaxing. But we loved each other's company, had all kinds of things to talk about, did goofy stuff like play volleyball and softball (we are NOT an athletically gifted bunch so there was a lot more laughing than playing involved) and in the evening or during bad weather we played board games (years later, we still talk about the epic Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit battles we had). My parents reluctantly sold the house about 10 years ago--the five hour trip from Long Island was just too much--and we miss it terribly. But even though we visited the same place year after year, as the Maxwells do, we always had new experiences to share, UNlike the Maxwells. And also unlike the Maxwells, our time together as a family really WAS special because it wasn't the same daily routine and people, just moved to a different location. So really, apart from their 14er and chipmunk adventures, what DO they do? We know sports are out but what about board games? Too competitive as well? Surely there must be a Trivial Pursuit bible edition? I just can't imagine how they fill their time.

[DrPusey]

So really, apart from their 14er and chipmunk adventures, what DO they do? We know sports are out but what about board games? Too competitive as well? Surely there must be a Trivial Pursuit bible edition? I just can't imagine how they fill their time.

Last year there were a few pictures of them playing Jenga. I guess that's more of a neutral game somehow, maybe because it's sort of a skill-based game?

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I love Jenga. Completely apart from anything to do with the Maxwells, it's a good game to play when you have a group of people who aren't all proficient in the same language.

The Maxwells are okay with board games, not sure which ones. I can imagine Jenga being a safe bet for them - nothing controversial about it has it has no theme, it's not gendered, there is no play money involved, and no trump cards. (I'm not sure how the Maxwells feel about money and cards, but there are a lot of religious people who will reject games over money and cards, so if you ever have a large group of completely unknown people, it's a safe way to go.)

[ladyamylynn]

I love Jenga. Completely apart from anything to do with the Maxwells, it's a good game to play when you have a group of people who aren't all proficient in the same language.

The Maxwells are okay with board games, not sure which ones. I can imagine Jenga being a safe bet for them - nothing controversial about it has it has no theme, it's not gendered, there is no play money involved, and no trump cards. (I'm not sure how the Maxwells feel about money and cards, but there are a lot of religious people who will reject games over money and cards, so if you ever have a large group of completely unknown people, it's a safe way to go.)

I wonder if they allow scrabble? We definitely know twister is out! :lol:

[lizziesmom]

I wonder if they allow scrabble? We definitely know twister is out! :lol:

Maybe this version

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Wait... why would you need a Bible edition of scrabble? Are the letter frequency values adjusted to match those in the King James or what? Because I would have thought English is English.

...when I play Scrabble with friends we like to use swears and innuendo - not for any extra actual game points but just to have fun with it and get "kudos," but we just use the standard edition, y'know?

[WonderingInWA]

I would think the Maxwells may also allow themselves to do jigsaw puzzles. Those seem non-threatening enough and most of them depict God's beauty in nature.

[Maggie Mae]

They probably only play games on vacation though, lest a game become an idol.

[nelliebelle1197]

We have 25 page discussing the Maxwell time of sweet family fellowship in a different altitude. Threads about them are like an extended episode of Seinfeld - nothing really happening but an awful lot of FUN to observe :)

[Jinderella]

I would think the Maxwells may also allow themselves to do jigsaw puzzles. Those seem non-threatening enough and most of them depict God's beauty in nature.

But wouldn't that be fun? :naughty:

[terranova]

They'd spend a significant amount of time cleaning the cabin. Taking the shutters off, cleaning behind the couches, the fridge etc. Just incase they were actually starting to relax and enjoy themselves.

[uber frau]

They probably only play games on vacation though, lest a game become an idol.

Before the BuckHale blog went private they had a series of posts detailing their family adventure across the States. One of the places they stopped off was Leavenworth, KS, and guess which family they fellowshipped with? One of the pictures they posted was a non-posed picture if the it evening with the Maxwell family and there were ppl playing a game in the background. So clearly, it's okay to

play games while enjoying sweet relationship while making great conversation.