Home Again

We got back from our two week trip this past weekend. As Claire says, “We were gone for 15 sleeps!” It was a long time to be away from home, but our vacation was awesome, and it was so fun to spend lots of time with family. The first week we spent at Jerry’s parents house, and the second week just the five of us stayed at the cottage. Our trip back, however, took longer than anticipated (3 hours longer) so at the border Jerry and I came up with a synopsis of our trip from A to Z. We thought this way we could highlight some of the key or more memorable moments.
Arts and Crafts. My girls could do “projects” all day long, so they were thrilled that Jerry’s mom had lots of ideas for crafts. As long as it involved glue or paint they were happy. Also, under the sand the beach was loaded with clay. Jerry made a pig’s head which impressed the girls.
Baptism. We were able to witness the baptism of our beautiful niece Julianna who was a perfect angel that day and never cried.
Crocs. Imagine my delight at finding a pair of abandoned purple Crocs (the real deal) for Erin only to lose them in high tide four days later.
Dvd’s. More accurately this would be lack of dvd’s. We were on the road for 15 minutes when we realized we forgot all our movies. Thus began the 1st of 5,489 “Are we almost there?”
Ears. My nephew Jordan had ear surgery the first week we were there so he wasn’t able to play in the water, but he was a trooper! He also looks adorable in his bandages!
Family get together. Jerry’s mom has two sisters, and all of us put together (with a few missing) equaled 46 people and a great time. It was fun reconnecting with cousins who we don’t see that often.
Games. The week at the cottage could be called game week because we played hours of Blokus and Yahtzee and raced at Sodoku.
High school friends. Two of Jerry’s high school friends came up for a day at the cottage with their families. All the kids played great together and the grown-ups were able talk and have fun.
Ice cream. A vacation isn’t complete without ice cream EVERY day!!
John Deere tractor. Ben’s favorite toy, a John Deere tractor, given to him by his grandparents was sadly left behind at the cottage. Ben will have to wait four weeks before he gets it back.
Kids. As I’m sure you can tell from the pictures, kids were in abundance throughout our vacation. Our kids love playing with their cousins who they don’t see that often!
Lake Erie. This is the location of Jerry’s parents cottage. “L” could also stand for lack of bathing over the past few weeks. Swimming in a lake counts for a bath, right?
Marshmallows. Mmmm, mmmm. We toasted lots of them, and Claire enjoyed her first s’more.
No kids time. The girls and the guys each had a day with no kids. It was great to sit back, relax, and not worry about anyone in the water…although Kim and Lisa on the boogy boards were a little scary.
Overeating. Just read “I”, “M” or “T” if you need more clarification
Park picnic. During the first week we visited a park with a beach and splash pad which the kids loved. This is where I scored on the purple Crocs.
Quality Time. There’s nothing like family. There’s probably not too many people who love hanging out with their in-laws for two weeks. I’m pretty lucky…and I’m not just saying that because they read my blog!
Rock. We tried for our 2nd annual rock picture featuring Jerry’s parents and all 10 grandkids. The lighting wasn’t the greatest, but there’s bound to be one half decent picture from the 27 that Jerry took in a span of 45 seconds.
Surfing. We had some pretty good waves on some of the days, and the girls loved riding the boogy boards. I think Claire will be a surfer. She has amazing balance.
Timbits. For those of you who don’t speak Canadian, these are donut holes from Tim Hortons. It was a rare day that we didn’t drive to Tim’s for 10 of these and 2 coffees.
UV rays. Great weather, lots of sun. My kids probably wouldn’t look Caucasian if it weren’t for the blond hair.
Watch. This is actually pronounced “atch” by Ben and it means that you need to stop what you’re doing and watch him perform some marvelous feat such as jumping down a 2 inch step or holding a spoon in his mouth without his hands. We heard this at least 500 times a day.
X-ing the Bridge. Crossing the bridge took us about three hours. We got out at the Duty Free store for a break, and there was an employee making balloon animals. Back in the car Claire and Erin used their balloon flowers for swords, and Jerry had to threaten to pull over and pop their balloons.
Yellow. This is the color that my mother-in-laws bruise turned after being dark purple. She fell and pulled her hamstring and thus developed the biggest bruise I have ever seen. Don’t worry mom, I won’t post pictures (although I did take one).
Zoo. One of our outings the first week was to the zoo. It was an extremely hot day and the mosquitos were the size of hummingbirds, but the kids loved seeing the lions, bears, and monkeys.