One Big Happy Family

Here is a picture of my mom's family on vacation. We all went to a local restaurant for their pizza buffet for one of our meals. They graciously seated us in their back room so we had it all to ourselves. I'm sure they appreciated having us contained in one room, too. The noise level was high at times. :) The food was delicious, the service was excellent and it was a nice change of pace.

I think it's pretty amazing that a group of this size (42 on the average for the week) actually gets along so well and really wants to spend a week together. Most of us don't see each other except for a couple times a year but because of our heritage, we recognize what an important thing family is.

I should also note that we're not crammed in tiny spaces together - we do recognize that having some personal space is important and perhaps vital to getting along together for a week. But being with people who genuinely care about each other helps, too. :)

-photo taken by Lee Rhodes

Water, Sand and Sun

Here are some pictures of Rachel and Owen in Lake Huron. They loved it. Owen was a little more cautious at first than I expected but after he got over the waves (I think it perplexed him that they'd come and go on their own), then he plunged right in. His favorite thing to do was fall over face first in the water so he'd splash himself. Unfortunately, a few times he was a little too deep and the water was so shocking that he took a deep breath and inhaled a big mouthful. He choked and spluttered and then did it again.

Rachel would walk into the water but not go very far unless holding someone's hand. And she did not want to fall into the water. She'd walk very carefully to avoid it. So funny how different they are.

As you can see, the water was clean and clear, except for the occasional fish head floating around (gross!). But the beach was really nice and was shallow for a long way out. They really enjoyed the time at the beach, although Rachel did protest (quite loudly) when it was time to rinse off.

We were able to reserve the same place for next year - yea! It's so nice to know the tradition can continue for another year.

-pictures taken by Lee Rhodes - thanks, dad! :)

Finishing projects

This is one of our crafts we did on vacation. Several relatives are extremely gifted in the craft department and love stamping and scrapbooking. My cousin Tammy came up with this idea of a desktop calendar. She made these 4x6 calendar pages on white cardstock and left the top blank. Then she cut out squares of colored cardstock and smaller squares of white cardstock. We stamped different designs on the white squares to coordinate with each month.





It was fun to embellish the designs with brads or use different color inks to stamp or color the stamped image. It was enough creative license to make you feel proud of what you did but not too much where you felt overwhelmed and no idea where to begin. The current month sits in a clear plastic frame and the rest wait to be showcased. After each month is over, I'm going to save them for my scrapbooks - how cool is that?

The other project was one we did in my mom's group at church. Several in our family are very good at sewing (I have a very talented family) so I passed along this sewing project. You start with a rectangular placemat and add some grommets, fold it in half and sew the sides up and add some ribbon and you have a bag! The really cool part was that I actually sewed my own bag myself! And it was really neat seeing what everyone came up with. The bags looked so good. I wish I had taken pictures of others but here are my two so you can see what the finished project looks like. The pink one is the one I sewed myself and the brown one is the one I had made at mom's group. I'm planning on trying my hand at sewing some more soon.

Speaking of finished projects, our living room ceiling is finally done! Josh ripped out the old, ugly tiles around the end of April. He bought the boards and my mom and I stained them in early May. Josh's dad came down to help put up the drywall but the beams weren't put up until a couple weeks ago, again with the help of Josh's dad. Yesterday, Josh installed the ceiling fan. Ta-da! Our old ceiling fan didn't have lights and wasn't installed very well - it swayed and wobbled the whole time and I was always worried that it would fall down when someone was standing under it. It was also very noisy and almost too powerful - you couldn't have it on when you were reading the paper or it would fly everywhere. This one is whisper quiet and so secure. It's just lovely.

So now where are we in the scheme of moving? Well, I can't decide. I've started listening to Dave Ramsey and I think that what I want right now would make us "house poor", as he calls it, which means that the house payment would be so high it would make us poor. I have also started thinking it'd be really nice to get new windows in the rest of the house. We've already gotten new windows upstairs, in the dining room, bathroom and kitchen so there is just our bedroom, the living room and the office left. The windows are pretty old and in bad shape so it'd make a huge difference. I think that would give us time to save up more money and finish other little projects without stressing too much and then we could list early next spring. But I could change my mind later today. :) The thing is, I really want to move but I also want to be smart. I'd rather not potty-train two toddlers with this tiny bathroom but there are worse things that could happen.

I haven't forgotten about Owen and Rachel and the big lake - I just don't have pictures so that will have to come tomorrow.

Vacation Highlights

We stayed at a resort in Cedarville, MI called Island View Resort. It's right on Lake Huron and was just beautiful. To be able to wake up every morning and see this view all day long was amazing. I would love to be able to rent a place on a lake for a month sometime. Honestly, I'd love to live there year-round but I'll go for realistic.

There was a family softball game one night, a variety show one night and lots of games and laughs every night. Tori did pieces of her ballet recital without any music. She did so good at remembering all the steps - I don't know where she gets the desire to perform from.

There was also an incident with the paddleboat. On it's 2nd run of the week, some boys took it out too far and needed help getting back in. Somehow the rope got wound around something, making it difficult to peddle and when they tried to force the peddles to go, it broke. A boat was sent out to rescue the paddleboat but the boys were on their own. :)

Another highlight was frog-catching. That is one of the best parts about a vacation like this. For a whole week, my kids get to do things like catch frogs and worms and parts of crayfish. I like that they get those experiences but I also like that it only happens a few times a year.

Some other highlights is that there were no major injuries (unless you count the time I bit my tongue really hard, which did affect my ability to read books out loud to Owen and Rachel clearly for a day) and no major sunburns (except for a stupid spot on my knee and also my toes - and I used sunscreen!) All in all, it was a great vacation. And I haven't even talked about our craft projects yet! I'll post about that next and how Owen and Rachel did in a big lake.

Comments

I recently discovered I had comments! How fun! There are people reading this out there. :) I thought I had it set up to email me when there was a comment to publish but apparently not. It has been so great to see some other blogs out there from people I went to college with. Now they're all grown-up! Isn't that funny how that happens?

We're back from vacation and I wish we weren't. :) It was an awesome week. Now I have loads of laundry to catch up on. I'm with you on the laundry, Judy!

There will be lots of pictures soon but not tonight.

Almost There!

We made it to my parents house and have everything all packed. So far, I've only forgotten one thing - bug spray. My sister and her husband arrived here around 4:30 this afternoon. My brother and his girlfriend were here for supper - it was nice to all be together. I just love my family. They are funny and kind and helpful and supportive. I feel so blessed that the people I like to be around the best are the ones I get to spend holidays with.


Getting things ready for vacation was a little stressful. I like to be prepared for anything so our truck was packed to the limit. I sometimes think of myself as a minimalist but then the truth comes out. I like to have stuff. I think "stuff" will make rainy days or long trips better. I don't like to spend a lot of money on stuff, which is why I love garage sales. But all the stuff in the world can't make a 16-month-old stop crying when buckled in her car seat. If the short trip today is any indication of the trip tomorrow, it will be a long day for Rachel and all those riding with her. How I wish I knew what would make her happy!



I keep wondering how this vacation will be different from last year with Rachel and Owen being older. They are definitely more active, which means that I will have to be more active. Thank goodness for naptime and bedtime. It will be so much fun watching them get to know cousins and aunts and uncles, playing in the lake, and just being able to run around more. Whew - I'm getting tired just thinking about it. Did I mention that I appreciate naptime and bedtime? :)

Vacation

We are leaving tomorrow for vacation. My mom's family rents a bunch of cabins for a week in northern Michigan and vacations together on a lake. The location has changed several times over the years but the main idea is the same - a place that we can have all to ourselves on a lake. We take turns making meals and play lots of games together. The younger cousins play together and the older ones get re-acquainted and share stories from younger years. There are boat rides, songs around the campfire and delicious snacks. My grandma generously paid for the vacation until she passed away last year. Now it is uncertain if the tradition can continue. Life is always uncertain so we will enjoy our time together on a beautiful lake and make new memories. I am already anticipating good conversation and lots of laughs. :)

We've decided to drive up to my parents tomorrow to make the trip on Saturday a little shorter. Because of that, we started packing up the truck tonight. Because of that, I didn't get much done as far as emptying the house today. And when we get back, Josh will work midnights the next week for a project at work. I can't really guess how that will go and what I will be able to get done and if I'll even end up staying here. I'm trying to be flexible - but that goes completely against my planner personality. I want to know what's going on! A deep breath - and I'm okay. I just have to remember to do that several times throughout the day. A deep breath and a prayer and I'm good to go - for another 10 minutes. :)