Cottage 2009

One of our favorite summer activities is heading to the lake. Each year my parents rent a cottage and invite all of the kids and grandkids to come out to stay and play. We stayed...and we played!

Here's a few stats from the 3 weeks that they were out there, just 'cause it's fun:

• Number of siblings I shared a bedroom with: 2 (and 2 siblings-in-law), but not all at the same time
  
• Most people that slept in one bedroom: 6
• Max people that could be found at the cottage at one time: too many to count, 15 maybe?
• Number of tube rides that I went on: 1
• Years since I've been on a tube ride: 15+
• Times I fell off said tube: 2 (I think my brother was being nice)
• Times Ethan went tubing: 3 or more? More than his mother!
• Kayak rides: sadly, only 1
• Fish caught: One for each of the kids! Enough to keep them fishing!
  
• Times I was thrown in the lake: only once, and this year it wasn't in my clothes!
• Number of ice cream bars I ate: not telling
• Cans of pop I drank: not telling
• Pounds I gained: again, not telling
• Hours/days of fun with family: too many to count!

Now, on to the fun part, the pictures! Enjoy!

Ethan's first tube ride...

We hung out in the hammock...

Read lots of books...

Zoned out in front of the television...(don't they look exhausted!)

Took naps...

Micah was proud of the fish he caught...

Took endless jumps off the dock...

Spent some more time fishing...

Took lots of boat rides (Micah loved to drive)...

Celebrated birthdays...

Played on the water trampoline...

Wrestled...and yes, it appears Charlie is winning!

And finally, we played in the water...then played in the water some more! This video shows how brave Micah finally was in the water (and yes, he has a shirt on. He liked it). The boys were tossing balls back and forth and he kept going out deeper. Make sure you're paying attention to Micah at the end of the video. :)



Overall, we had an awesome time with family and I can't wait to go again next year!

4th of July

I still have pictures from July that I wanted to post, so let's step back in time!

We've developed a family tradition where we invite all of our family over to breakfast on the 4th of July. It works out great to have breakfast and visit while we wait for the parade to come. Since it comes right by our house we don't have the hassle of searching for a spot--we can just walk out the front door (also convenient for bathroom breaks and children who are scared of loud noises!). This year my grandma, our parents, our siblings, nieces, nephews, and a few friends came over. A total of 28 people, and we managed to feed them all (it helps that it's potluck style).

Once we're full, we head outside to wait for my favorite part of the day. I love watching the parade with the kids (and of course eating the candy), but the best part of the day for me is the flyover. I love watching the planes fly overhead...and I love how noisy they are. I managed to catch a picture this year. Well, a picture of the power lines with two planes in the lower part of the picture. :)


Since we're at the end of the parade route we occupy our time by posing children for pictures and playing with the empty candy collection bags. This was Ethan, Micah, and Colin's turn:


During the parade we managed to gather this crew of cousins (and a few adults thrown in for supervision). Rachel, Charlie, Evan, Kathleen, Micah, and Ethan. They are obviously distracted by the parade rather than the mother/aunt shooting pictures. Also, we've had such a cool summer that my sister felt the need to wrap up in a blanket during the parade. Crazy!


Later in the day Grandma pulled out sparklers for the boys. Ethan was familiar with them and had fun making designs and writing his name. On a side note, do you notice my potted plant in the background? Isn't it lovely? It looks like it could be filled with nice herbs. It's not though. If you don't fill a pot with flowers the weeds grow. And if you let them be, they fill in just like flowers! The weeds were tall enough to disguise a pop can that someone left in there after the festivities. Small tangent.


Micah was a little unsure of the sparklers...once he warmed up to them he enjoyed them! We just had to keep reminding him of where to hold it so he wouldn't get burned.

Jason, Ethan, and a few other family members finished the day at the fireworks. I stayed home since Micah was in bed and I needed to pack for the cottage. Pictures of the cottage are coming soon!

Way to go!

I have more catch-up blogging I want to do (also known as all the pictures from July), but I had to take a break from that to show everyone what Ethan learned how to do over the last week or so:


He's perfectly content to ride around in the parking lot for now, but he's getting braver! His legs are getting stronger and the parking lot has a little hill so that's helping him practice pedaling harder and faster.


I took a little video because he loves to watch videos of himself. It's also perfect for a blog posting! Way to go, Ethan!