Last Labor Day Weekend we took the boys camping for the first time. It was a big success and all summer we've wanted to at least get the big boys out for another tenting adventure. Well, we just barely made it, but indeed it happened in Summer 2015 thanks to our friends, Deborah and Grant, and their invitation for us to join them on a Labor Day weekend camping trip. It's quite a group of us (6 couples with 16 kids all together I think (hard to keep track!)). Most couples went up for part of Saturday and then camped on Saturday night, but we weren't able to do that evening, so Deborah and Grant graciously let us come up on Friday night for just a two family campout. Since we were driving up in rush hour and after school time, Deborah had the fantastic idea of going to this amazing spot for brick oven pizzas for dinner just minutes from the final destination of their family cottage on the lake. We were so impressed by the pizza spot, Lago Winery. It's a beautiful estate and there's lots of outdoor seating and live, pleasant, fun music and tons of lovely space for the kids to run around. Not to mention, the pizzas are fantastic!! Penn was thrilled to be with his buddy, Hazel ("Haybull" in Penn speak).
Jansen was in great spirits despite the long drive and his off-schedule afternoon. He was even friendly with Deborah and let her hold him for quite awhile.
There's a creek at the estate and the kids had a blast playing there. That made the wait for dinner go quickly for them and gave the adults some time to sit and enjoy the music. Ahhhh...
Here's a neat view of the cool old barn and silo they've turned into the restaurant and brick oven. Such a great spot! If you are ever up near Pymatuning Lake, you've got to check it out!
The sun was quickly setting, so after dinner we headed over to the cottage to get the tent set up. I was on little kid duty getting the rooms set up for Jansen and I and Penn. Doug had the fun job of setting up the big tent with Koen and Tavin running circles around him "helping." Finally by 9pm all the kids were down (Penn and Janse inside, Koen and Tavin outside) and Deborah, Grant, Doug and I got to hang out on the breezy, screened-in porch for awhile. Koen took forever to fall asleep (he visited us about 8 times!). He and Miles were in our tent with Doug and Tav got to sleep with Grant and Claire and Hazel in their tent. Everyone slept great in and out and no one woke before 6:30am, so that was a relief. Here's Koen and Miles heading out of their tent.
We had breakfast around 8am and then everyone was eager to get out in the boats and fish! Here they are suiting up and gearing up!
Koen practicing with his rod away from the others!
Grant and Doug took all the kids except for Jansen out on their fishing voyage! The kids were so excited to fish (and to be together on the water, they are such a sweet bunch!).
While they were gone, Deborah and I got some stuff done and then enjoyed a lovely chat in the shade at the end of the dock for 20 minutes or so. Delightful. We spotted an osprey hunting for fish. We watched it the whole time. He gave us a beautiful show!
Doug rowed back with Penn and Hazel, Claire and Tavin. They were the merriest row boaters I'd ever seen. They'd just found an apple tree and were munching on the fresh fruit.
The point of the return of the boat was to drop off Penn and Hazel, then Doug set back out with Claire and Tav to do some more fishing. Penn and Hazel got sunscreened and then had some fun in the hammock.
Then Deborah set up the baby pool and these two buddies were in it pronto!!
Doug and Grant rowed back a little before lunch. The kids ran around the yard and Doug took our tent with the help of Penn. He was so proud of himself...I had to grab a pic.
Around lunchtime, lots of friends started to arrive. Then after lunch it was time to get in the lake!! The boys were so excited to go out in the boats and jump in the lake. Tav had been apprehensive about this, but also really wanted to go swimming. He came up and told me, "Claire's a little nervous about swimming in the lake off the boat, so I'm going to encourage her." Love that kid. You go, Tav. And he did. He totally attacked it and was so proud of himself. Penn even jumped off the boat too and was a happy little swimmer as usual. Here's a glimpse of a bunch (but not all, if you can get a sense of how large this whole group is!) of the crew!
Koen was amazing with the kayak Uncle Nate brought up. He was so confident and jumped in and experimented (more than listened to instruction because that's his style) and figured it out in no time. He was giving younger kids rides and maneuvering all through the swimmers. Very impressive. Later he hopped in a rowboat and taught himself how to row that essentially. It was a great experience for him.
Jansen and I watched from a swing on the shore before his afternoon nap. We took some Mommy/Janse pics of course. He's such a cutie!
As soon as I got Jansen laid down for his nap, I was out in the water too. It was delightful. Classic, simple, gorgeous summer. The water temp was perfect, the company wonderful...my boys, Doug and lots of my friends and the boys' friends. Life is wonderful when shared with those you love. It's also wonderful when you can just soak up and enjoy God's creation. I love being in the water and under the sunny skies. I just didn't want the swimming time to end. It did indeed need to though because we had to clean up, pack up and head out back to what would now be our busy Fall. It was a perfect end to summer though, being with friends, being outdoors, being together. Thanks so much to Deborah and Grant for inviting us to join. We loved being at your special family spot and loved sharing this final summer 2015 experience with you all. Here's to a great Fall!!
No comments:
Post a Comment