One Last Day at Franklin

I promise this vacation is almost over. How many times can we go to the beach, the pool, tubing, swimming, kayaking, eating? Today we were back at our favorite lake to do a little last chance tubing. Claire and Ben leave today with their boat. Before we tied the tube up to the boat, Ellie, Addie, Owen and Evan used it as a trampoline.

Then they hopped in the boat to watch their dads do a little skiing. Must be like riding a bike because both Tom and Jim seemed to have no problem getting up and dropping a ski right away.

After the big boys had their turn, the little kids had some fun... with some big kids along for the ride.

Even Grandma Connie got in on the fun!

The boat was always filled with spectators,

but somebody had to stay on shore. Luckily Shelley came prepared with big golf umbrellas. It sprinkled on and off the whole time.

There was lots of fun things to do on shore. Evan attacked Grandpa Neil with his water shooter, so Grandpa stole away and gave it a shot himself.

And I found somebody to build sandcastles with me!

Tomorrow we head back to St. Paul.

Only in Eagle River

As we are winding down our trip, Jim's siblings are just showing up. They both run businesses and have a hard time getting away. Gina and Adam came last night and are already feeling the energy of this vaca. Looks like today is going to be a two cup day. Although, I rarely see Adam without a caffeinated beverage in his hand. He needed it today for what he was about to do.

Keeping up with my sister-in-law is a lot of work.Luckily she went a little easy on my kid. This time Evan was semi-excited about going, but he demanded that Ben went slow. We barely got the boat going and when he decided that was enough. I was proud of him for going again.

This video is not for those who get motion sick easily. It was like he was trying to flip himself.

This is more Evan's speed.

Only in Eagle River can you thoroughly enjoy two very different lakes in one day. I love this photo. I. love. this. lake.

This was Mia's first time to Franklin Lake. She played in the sand at the water's edge and welcomed her cousins from St. Peter. Jim's brother, Tom's family, just pulled into town this afternoon. They have to leave the day after us.

Mia's favorite part of Franklin Lake, and the reunion in general, was the foil dinners, made by Grandma Connie in the tradition of Great-Grandma Helen. She almost ate an entire dinner herself!

Poolside Northwoods Style

Today we hung out at Eagle Waters for most of the day. Some of the adults got a game of bocce ball going. Mia went with Jim to cheer him on. Meanwhile, Linda and I played at the pool with Lilly and Evan.

Owen sat inside with Abbey and Rosie, watching a video while Charlie napped. When it was over, Owen practiced all his new swimming skills.

Jim taught him to doggy paddle. It frustrates him that they don't teach that at FOSS. Seeing the improvements my child has made in swimming in the past year, it's not really a big deal to me. I personally don't think he'd be doing the dog paddle with Jim after one little lesson, if he hadn't spent the last year in the intensive swim program at FOSS.
After Mia's moral support was no longer needed on the bocce ball field, she was promptly dumped under a table at poolside. There she found the remains of a juice box, presumably left by one of her brothers. Of course she's mostly just interested in chewing on the straw.
Soon Charlie was also dumped off under the table and he too found that the most interesting "toy" was the juice box. After Charlie snagged this juice box from her, she attempted hugging him to death and eating his shoulder.

When the babies weren't busy chewing on leftovers, they practiced what they do best: being cute! Mia and Maya are pros.

We enjoyed a BBQ together on the lawns of Eagle Waters.

During the set up, Jim filmed "scenes" for the next family movie.

Pretty nice view. This is how they do "poolside" in the Northwoods.

Next up: Tubing

When I got back from Mia's afternoon nap, we decided to give tubing a go. Even though the water was warm, I had lost my bravery. Jim insisted I give it a try. "Lean back," they said. Well. Easier said than done, I guess. About 10 seconds after this picture, Evan and I went head first off the front of the tube and into the water. I panicked like never before. My first thought was that Evan was going to go under and I wouldn't be able to get him. I frantically grabbed for him. Then I remembered we had life jackets on. I think he sensed my initial terror because he started bawling at that point. I tried to calm him and explain what happened, but the damage was done. Jim tried to convince me to get back on, but there is no way I'm ever going to be towed by a boat while holding onto one of my children again.

So as to not have Evan be as terrified of water sports as I am, Jim convinced Evan to try it again. He's trying so hard to be brave here. They got going, but the ride was short. Evan was just too scared. He road in the boat the rest of the night and was perfectly happy there.Owen was a different story. This is him right after Evan's turn. Think he's excited? I've never seen the kid so happy...

until a minute later. I didn't even know the kid could smile that big...

until the next minute.

And such it was the whole ride!
Owen has tubed once before, but it was about 3 years ago and he was pulled behind a giant pontoon carrying most of the Letts clan. That was pre-blog, so I can't remember how he felt about it.

While we played in the water, Neil kept tabs on Mia. I took a variety of cute shots of her sitting with him near the dock, but I just love her facial expression on this one.

Abbey and Paul were the last to go tonight. The apple does not fall far from the tree here. Abbey loved the thrill and speed just as much as Paul. She kept giving the thumbs up and yelling, "Faster! FASTER!"

Meanwhile in the boat, this group of rugrats kept yelling, "Rock & Roll!" over and over again while flashing horns.
What a spectacular (and exhausting) day. Nobody has had trouble falling asleep during this vacation.

Wilderness Explorers

Back in June, the boys did a Wilderness Explorer Camp. They learned fishing techniques, made noise makers to scare bears, learned to put up a tent and such. Each day they got a badge to show what they had achieved. Of course it rained all week, which made them really committed Wilderness Explorers.

Anyway, after our tennis lesson, Jim and his dad took the boys for a hike into the woods of their own childhoods to explore nature. I wasn't there, but I found these awesome photos on my camera when we got home. What a treat.
I wish I could have been there to climb this amazing tree...

or to tiptoe lightly into this brook...

to balance carefully on the slippery rocks...

to be overcome by the warmness of the clear, shallow water...

to succumb...

and to gaze up in awe at the magic that is nature.

The Tennis Lesson

This morning we planned on heading over to 7-mile to play tennis, swim at the beach and go tubing. Jim left at 9 a.m. with Evan to go set up our tent at Franklin Lake so we could secure a good campsite for the next few days. I stayed back at the cabin to put Mia down for her morning nap. Morning nap came and went. We made and ate lunch, still no Jim. He didn't come back until 1:00! I actually asked his dad to drive over to the campground to go looking for him.

Turned out there was a forest ranger that was slumped over and unresponsive in his truck. A lady came by the campsite looking for a paramedic. Jim and Evan hopped in her* car. When they found the guy, he was drooling, but able to talk to Jim. He claimed he was bitten by a wolf spider and thought he was having a reaction. We'll never know for sure, but Jim doesn't think that was the case. He never did find any bite mark. Anyway, an ambulance came and took him to the hospital and finally Jim and Evan found their way back to the cabin safe and sound.

It was almost 2:00 by the time we got to the courts at 7-mile. The courts, as you can see, are in very rough shape. They are littered with pine cones, there are no lines really, unless you count the cracks in the asphalt, which are bursting at their seams with weeds. A thick moss carpet grows near the net, just in case you wipe out while diving for a drop shot. But, on the bright side, the courts are always open and never occupied by other guests of the resort.

Evan anxiously listened to some instructions from Bumpa before he was finally set loose. He has pretty good form for a beginner. He set up his shot and has his feet placed pretty well.

A very nice cross over follow through.

I think he forgot he can move his feet, but he's not going to give up on a shot... well, at least for the 5 minutes he played before he took off to join the other kids at the playground.

Owen lasted about as long even though he has played before. He insisted on using two hands and swinging at it like a baseball.

After packing and dragging 4 rackets, 3 training balls, a can of regular balls, all of our tennis shoes, plus socks, I was hoping for more than 15 minutes on the courts, but what can I say. Such is life. The kids headed off to play and I headed back to the other cabin to sit while Mia took her afternoon nap. The day would not be lost, though, so stay tuned.

*Even if Neil had gone over there, he would have found our van, but no Evan or Jim. That would have made me more upset. Not to mention the lack of thought for safety of my 3 year old riding in this stranger's car without a car seat.

The ONE Rainy Night

"It's raining." "We're bored." "What can we do?"

OK So these ones aren't really old enough to do that yet. Tonight Connie and Neil hosted the second family dinner at their cabin. The plan was to have baked potatoes and s'mores on the campfire. Well, as you can tell from the title of this post, it rained. Rain really isn't the right word for what happened. Torrential downpour is more like it. It was hot and humid and we couldn't open the windows because rain was blowing in from every direction. The guests had a hard time even getting into the cabin. But we didn't let the rain and heat spoil our fun. 27 of us packed into Connie and Neil's little cabin and had ourselves a family dinner. But reunions aren't the same now with all the kiddos, so we had to get creative in our entertainment.



The Letts's love to read.








My kids are great at getting people to read to them. Owen hit up Grandma.





Then when she got busy, he hit up Grandpa to read another chapter. I think they read him The Wizard of Oz twice while we were there!

Tonight's kids' table. I think Evan had fruit and juice again. Owen was a bit overwhelmed by all of the hullabaloo and retreated to Grandma's lap and the bedrooms. I'm sure he did not eat a baked potato, but they were awesome! There were fresh chives, bacon bits (real bacon, not the crunchy fake stuff), sour cream, salsa, cheese, tuna (for the Brits), broccoli and chili*.

This crew is not one to give up on S'mores, either. The grandparents diligently pulled through with an oven-baked version.

The babies kept themselves entertained weaving amongst the chairs and feet. Charlie and Mia chased me down through this obstacle course. I think Mia wanted Mama and Charlie wanted Mia.

Evan and Hank were rarely seen. They sat in the toy room and played most of the night.

Those who can't crawl, kick. And Maya can kick like no baby I've ever seen!

Neil started up a game of Uno with a group of big kids. Lilly nestled herself on his lap. She is so sweet.

She and I started singing some songs. Soon the whole family was gathered around.
Years ago, before babies and even before most of the weddings, Cali came for Christmas. A month before she told us each to bring our favorite song. We played a game where she would play a song and we had to guess who's it was. Cali comes from a large family and knows how to make a gathering fun. After Lilly and I sang, she try to get the group to do Tootie Ta. I was the only one who knew it, but neither of us could remember the whole thing. It doesn't matter, though. Tootie Ta always can make you laugh.

Despite the rain, we had a really fun night.

*Thanks Mom!