home from the cabin....now I need a vacation, ha.

Paul and I went out on the boat, all by our lonesomes, on Sunday morning. It was lovely.


Paul loves fishing. I think after all our super busy years of having babies and little children, he is now more free to do these things, and he is certainly enjoying it. All week long, he took different kids fishing.




The kids started arriving on Sunday...Benjamin and Ashley came with five pizzas and six dozen chicken wings. Everyone brought food, snacks, drinks. On Tuesday, Grandma came with Abigail, and brought 16 quarts of strawberries! And, steak and burgers and sausages.


Margaret, Mariel, Emily, Abigail, and Mali.


Grandma with Lydia and Evelyn Joy.


The neighbor's dog came to visit...


We had a few nice campfires...marshmallows: yes. One night, I just said YES.


We had rainy weather too, so sometimes we were elbow to elbow in the cabin. Fires in the fireplace warmed us up when we came in from jumping into the cold lake...I went in at least three times a day. We had too much fun in that water.




Miss Camille...she's getting so grown up. Even with my two granddaughters there at the cabin, Miss Cam was a nice little Aunty. Somehow, along the way, she stopped needing all the attention.


Lydia and Anya, cousins, from opposite coasts...:)


One day we went for ice cream...see the small child in the background? Miss Lydia.


No one loved it more than Lydia did.


We went to town for ice cream on Friday afternoon...Emily had already left, along with Benjamin and Ashley and little Anya. (Ben had a job interview...rumor has it that he and his family may indeed be moving back to the east coast!!!!) Paul was out in the boat with Adrian, Aaron, Samuel, and Jonathan. And Joseph was back at the cabin with Grandma.


We walked over to the beach for a few minutes, this is Mali with her little Lydia.


I love the cabin....right on the water.


Miss Sonja K.


Paul and I the before we went to the cabin, at our church feast.


:)

Samuel and Benjamin (with Emily and Suzanne peeking from behind). With Sam out of the Army, and Benjamin hopefully moving back "home", these two will be able to spend some time together, finally, after all these years...my two Army sons.

Anyway. It was great fun...I absolutely love being with all my kids. They get along very well, and the goodness I see in them makes my heart overflow with gladness and thankfulness. Grandma was there for most of the week too, and it was just a blessing. We laughed and we cooked tons of food...I ate too many snacks and had some wine too.

But...it's nice to be home. The puppies were glad to see us, and I was glad to see them. Kim, thank you for taking such good care of them!!!

Laundry in, coolers emptied, loads and loads of stuff carried into the house...coming home from a vacation is not nearly as fun for leaving for one.

My girls are three different places already, and Evelyn Joy is gone for the whole month, to California with her brother. (and Kathryn is leaving tomorrow to go to Washington state for a week with Benjamin). So it's just Paul and I and three of the boys, Joseph, Samuel, and Jonathan, home tonight. They are watching Lord Of The Rings.

And here I am...taking a quiet break, after such a busy week...yes, it WAS vacation, but ahhh....