Memorial Day Weekend

Julia, Megan and Emma
Getting ice cream at the ferry- Isaac loves eating real ice cream now!
Getting the boat out
Uncle Tim, Julia and Caleb
Isaac's fishing form has improved since last summer
Reading a book with Aunt Anne and Emma

This past weekend we headed to Lake Wisconsin to put out the pier and boats. This year was a little different in that my grandparents were not there. My Grandma was in CA for my cousin's graduation and my Grandpa stayed home because of radiation treatments. It was odd to walk into the cottage and not have my Grandma greet us at the door with a hug. :) But, like always, we had a great time with the extended family. I laughed alot while we were putting the pier out- just good-natured ribbing going on. The water was cold, but thankfully none of the women had to get in!

The worst part of the weekend was Saturday night. Julia woke up around midnight and was up til 4:30 am!! She just couldn't seem to let herself relax and go back to sleep. I tried numerous things to get her to fall asleep, but nothing worked. And I felt horrible because she was keeping everyone else awake too. Nate took over at 4:30 and fell asleep with her on the couch. I am so glad he got her to sleep because by that point both Julia and I were crying. I have never experienced a night like that with Julia. Thankfully she slept great the next night.

One of the best parts of the weekend was watching my kids have fun. Caleb and my cousin Ian got along great and spent time playing soccer and trying to catch frogs. Julia enjoyed following my cousin Emma and Isaac loved fishing. Caleb has gained confidence since last summer. There are alot of dogs at the cottage and he just walked around them and wasn't bothered. He also went on a boat ride and enjoyed it. Julia was nervous on the boat last summer, but also had fun this time. Isaac loved Aunt Sandy's dog, Molly (a Boston Terrier). He called her, "the nice dog." At one point he yelled, "Grandpa get your dog, he's bothering the nice dog!" Isaac also saw me reading a book and asked, "How are you reading if you're not talking?" He calls poison ivy, "poisey ivy" and will very seriously tell you to look out for poisey ivy. When we were getting ready for bed one night Isaac said, "I want to go home. I miss Cardale." I think he was missing Cardale because we had been talking about what the two of them used to do at the cottage. It was very sweet. Everyone was very impressed with Julia's vocabulary and thinks she is adorable- I agree. :)

While at the cottage I read the book, Heaven is for Real. A very intriguing book. The part that struck me was when the little boy met his sister who had miscarried. This little boy did not know that his parents had a miscarriage. He told them that his sister was so happy to see him and she couldn't wait for their parents to get to heaven. He told his parents she didn't have a name because they hadn't named her- which was true. He also told his parents to not worry because God had adopted her. That part just made me teary. I don't often think about our babies who have miscarried, but that brought it all back. It is a bittersweet feeling to think about our children sitting in their Abba's arms and waiting for our arrival. Ok, enough of the tears now. :)

We didn't have great weather at the cottage and of course it was beautiful the day we left. But, I am so grateful for the opportunities we have to spend time with our extended family. God has richly blessed us!