Is family vacation an oxymoron?

Is family vacation an oxymoron? We just got back from our first real family vacation. Read: not to the grandparents.

This also means no doting aunties and uncles to run interference. No pack of cousins to run with. We were on kid patrol 100 percent of the time.

We went "up North" as good Minnesotans do. There were requisite stops for photos by large fish in small towns along the way.

There were the many vacation dangers that kept us on our toes: "Stay away from the fire pit!" "Don't jump off the top of the rockpile!" "Ack! Please stop squishing the frog."

And then there was our son's first incident with a leech. We were out of our element.

It was constant lifeguarding. Yes, there was some anxiety. Yes, there was constant attentiveness. But we loved it.

KAY KRHIN, CRIBSHEET An excerpt from our blog: startribune.com/cribsheet