We have just returned from a family trip in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. We didn't get home until 1130pm west coast time and somehow E and H managed to rise at 430am and 6am. Sigh! Despite our exhaustion it was FUN. These annual trips were dubbed by Auntie Laura as Forced Family Fun. Mostly fun but I think we are all fine to admit that at times the smiles might be just a bit forced. Oh the love of a family. Nothing beats it!
This year we had a house right on a lake with a great beach and access to a kayak just out the back door. The proximity was perfection. Even led to a few after dinner impromptu fully clothed swim sessions. Elizabeth started the summer as a still cautious swimmer but by the end of this week was doing head stands under water and swimming the length of the pool. This was actually a dare from James which earned her his serving of pie at dinner.
During the day we all go in various directions. Some together, some times separate depending on ages and interests. A highlight this trip was the paddle boarding and kayaking. I think the paddle boarders spent more time in the water than on the board which was partially caused by our attempts to leap from one board to another. Not easy! At night we all come together for dinner as is the tradition. Nothing fancy but lots of laughs and recounting our favorite times of the day.
Henry spent much of the vacation identifying all the relatives. He had a lot of folks to keep track of and roll call was complicated at times. I think his most interesting subject was James... better known of teeth. James's braces were a fascinating addition and anytime Henry saw James he would just say 'teeth' with a big old smile. He knew it was funny.
Our holiday spot actually was quite close to Jeff's childhood summer camp, Pinemere. He spent seven summers of his youth at this camp and we spent a morning visiting.
It was quite surreal for him to have his kids and family walking through the bunk houses of his youth.
Some of the adult leaders at the camp actually remembered Jeff and were his camp mates back in the day. Fun to see them recount stories.
We toasted our last night celebrating that there were no melt downs from either the kids OR the adults. Success as far as we are concerned.
Till next time!
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