Camp-A-Lot

While the grime...oh, I mean the memories are still fresh I want to write about our camping expedition, truly an expedition like no other. Picture three unsuspecting adults and seven extremely enthusiastic kids ready for the over night camping experience they have been asking for all summer. Well, being the pleaser that I am, I was glad to be able to come through on my promise and lucky enough to have great neighbors who are fully equipped with gear.

The Scene: Lake Maria State Park, Monticello, MN - thankfully only 20 minutes from home

The Landscape: Hike-In Campsite, .75 miles from the parking lot - primitive I would come to find about after arriving to the site.

The Weather: 95 degrees and 70+ % humidity (deep in the dense forest, it felt like 107 degrees)

The List: 3 full coolers, 3 boxes of food/supplies, 1 wagon to haul our stuff, 2 tents, 4 chairs, firewood (2 bundles), 2 Dogs, 10 sleeping bags, 10 pillows

LOL - I am laughing aloud while I am writing this, it bring a smile to my face just picturing what we all looked like lugging our laundry list of gear. We made a pact when we set out on our journey, NO WHINING, or be on the mandatory return trip list for round 2 of "gettin' gear". With 7 kids, that was no small feat and the only one who complained was Morgan, although I never had to hear him because I was the second to the last person from the end of the conga line. Touting the wagon, loaded with wood, coolers, sleeping bags, pillows and the tent. Plus, I had our overnight clothes strapped to my back and another sleeping bag attached via a bungee cord on my front. While the children, adequately loaded with gear danced ahead, Tom and I held up the rear. Eventually finding our way to a very dense and primitive site -- trees, trees and no people. Oh yeah, there was a latrine.

The nearest bathroom with a flush toilet and running water, .75 miles from our site. We initially picked Lake Maria because we knew it would be hot and hence, LAKE -- so the big leap was made that Lake = swimming beach. That we found out to be simply not true. Although after a good 2 + mile hike we found that swimming at the boat landing near lily pads and what felt like quick sand wasn't so bad....even though the lake was so murky we couldn't see our toes.

Ahh, finally, at least we were cool, then we trekked back and made dinner, all the while the thunder clamored above us. We did luck out, no big thunderstorms or lightening, just some rain drops post dinner and clean-up. After a beer to take the edge off and the three littles kids sound asleep (9:15 pm I'd like to add) we cozied up by the fire and played games...thanks to Tom's daughter Sam for enlightening us on some games we'd never played before!

By 10:30 we were all tucked in, 8 in one tent, 2 in the other.....nothing between us and the owls, coyotes and stars but a thin sheath....I laid awake for what felt like half the night, evidently I should have had more liquor in order to get the rest that I needed.....after the longest night of my life, we all were awake and starting to stir by 6:30, our over night expedition came to a close quickly. After a delicious breakfast of sausage, eggs, donuts and OJ it was time to pack up.

Scroll all the way to the bottom for another great picture of the camping site.

Soccer Mom

As I reflect back on summer, realizing that the majority of it has passed my thoughts gravitate to the many nights we spend on the soccer field -- 4 per week to be exact for the first 8 weeks of the summer season.

This was Morgan's first year and clearly he has natural athletic ability and besides one of his teammates, Ty, he towered over the other kids by at least 6-10 inches. It was so fun to see him race up and down the field and score goals....many goals, success is such a thrill at that age. "The Wildcats" ended their season strong and enjoyed every minute of play!

This was Clare's second year of soccer and again, she was very lucky to play with a great group of talented and driven girls. The "Breakers" really learned how to work together as a team and play off of each others strengths. Clare is a small power house, she easily can weave in and around her opponents and is quick, although she did not score this year, she did have a part in many assists and shared the teams success.

Brendan found his passion in the pool, he took level 4 swimming this year and really enjoyed learning a variety of new strokes and basic diving techniques. He is interested in joining the St. Michael swim team, which will be a great esteem building activity and one that I think he will thrive on.
All the kids gained a great amount of confidence in the water this year, both Brendan and Clare learned how to water ski and Morgan and Liam gained comfort in jumping and swimming with their life jackets. I will save the suspense about Liam for the next entry!!

Mother's Day 2007

A highlight of early Spring was the second annual girls trip to Florida -- my mom, aunts and Grandma spent 2 great days on the beach sharing stories, playing Blockus, drinking wine and relaxing.

One evening we gathered at the beach at sunset, arranged all of the beach chairs in a circle around one another and talked about the legacy of the families and women of our past. Stories of being strong and persevering through challenging times, marriages and moments that test our ability to with stand more than we thought we were capable of.

Mostly the trip was about taking care of Grandma -- a time for her to be herself at her most favorite spot in the world, the beach. The 5 of us being there together was a rare and wonderful treat that I hope we repeat over and over again.

Where does time go?

It is difficult to fathom that 2 full months have passed since my last entry, I thought it would be simple to find the time to blog! But, unfortunately, it has fallen to the bottom of the list of daily/weekly tasks that need attention.

So, I will attempt to recap the wonderful events that have happened since May!

A FISH STORY

Grandpa Gary fared the waters of Serpent Lake to take all of his grandkids out fishing. As time passed I started to wonder if the fishing could possibly be THAT GOOD or if someone had fallen in the lake! But sure enough, after about an hour and a half, they came home beaming and telling tall tales, Liam claims the sunfish he caught was about 16" long!

Brendan carried the net filled with 11 fish up to the deck like he'd just won the lottery. A mix of sunfish and rock bass, which after some negotiating Brendan convinced Grandpa to cook one up. The other 4 rock bass were thrown back and the rest of the catch ended up as lunch.

Each of the kids caught at least one fish, Clare caught 5, Brendan caught 1, Morgan caught 3, Liam 2. Sweet success (and no injuries).

Elvis has left the building.....

We said goodbye to our family pet this weekend, a tragic loss for all of us and certainly one that is difficult to explain or comprehend. While we all went out for an evening treat and a drive, Elvis, locked in the garage pushed through the screen door and escaped; he wandered to close to the road and was hit by oncoming traffic. Although we did not arrive home in time to accompany him during his last breath, he was not alone -- our neighbors son held him until he passed, then placed him on the edge of the woods and covered him with a blanket.

For some reason, Elvis dying hit me hard, I don't even know that I can explain why, I just like having a pet around, it is comforting for me -- even though he was a stubborn coon hound and sometimes naughty (his first Christmas with us, he ate a whole pan of fudge), but he was always gentle and kind. The kind of dog that you know will always be there to greet you at the door wagging his tail. Elvis spent most of his last 2 years with us curled up in a sunny spot, or in the kids beds cuddling. I like to think he was soaking up the love of our family and healing his heart after being in the Buffalo animal shelter prior to Saturday, October 29th, 2005. We all fell in love with him at the apple orchard that Saturday and by Monday night he was home with us.

Elvis did almost everything with us, last summer he even rode in the kayak on Serpent Lake, he was becoming a good running partner too. On Saturday, Elvis took his first ride in the back of a truck, the wind blowing in his face seemed liberating. The next day he paraded around the yard, checked out the fish the kids had caught, laid in the sun and slept on the dock, he even got a little piece of steak after dinner. Little did any of us know what was to come. Maybe if we did, we would have given him a proper farewell, full of big hugs and kisses.

Elvis and Morgan were inseparable, Morgan referred to Elvis as "his dog". The napped together, ate together, slept and played together. Truly, a man's best friend. The first words out of Morgan's mouth after the news was, next time I am getting a cat, they can't open doors, and this evening after dinner sang a tune to the effect..."My special dog is gone".

The saga continues....

We reached a major milestone this week on the basement project, Mike completed laying the wood floors!!! Yippeee!

Brendan is extremely happy, this means he is one step closer to the freedom of having his own room and leaving the clutch of his little brothers. Morgan will go through withdrawls once Brendan moves to the basement, they snuggle up to each other every night, even though the top bunk is almost always vacant!