summer snapshot - week 9

we went up to my dear friend, lori's cabin this week.

she and i have been going every summer with our kids for the last seven years.

we only missed one summer due to scheduling conflicts.

we were bound and determined to make it up there and keep the tradition going.

the kids have gotten along so well over the years, they are all great friends.

they do so much outside when we're there, which is wonderful since it's so hot at home.

we brought a bead kit and the girls got going on it right away.

and the boys and juliana got into the tripoly game right away.
they had so much fun with it last year on our last days there, they couldn't wait to play.

there is always a lot of game playing that goes on between everyone.
lori and i get in on it a bit too, when we're not busy cooking for everyone!
actually, it's the first time i've been able to sit and read a book in a long time.

i brought the diary of anne frank, ella asked to read it when we came across at home.
so, i thought i should read it again first.
my mom had given it to me when i was 10, can't believe i've had it that long.
she still has a couple years to go.
it's really a great book, amazing story -  it's so incredible what people have gone through.

so, back to the game playing - a lot of it always goes on at the cabin...

meal time - lori and i take turns making dinner and make breakfast and lunch together.

all the kids can fit at the big table out on the front porch, barely!

we always go on walks and hikes together, always making it to 'frog pond'.
we can walk there from the cabin and the kids have so much fun there every year.

 this year, they found a cool cave they were pretty excited about...

john and paolo kept hiking around a pretty tough part over and over.
it made me a little nervous but john made it across every single time.
and that made him so proud and happy, and me too.

we seem to get some good storms every year.
playing out in the rain is so much fun, no matter how old you are.
the kids (can i still call the jr. high ones that?:) all played a 'lord of the rings' game.
they played it everyday -
they would collect sticks and pretend they were different characters in the story...

we went to 'woody's pizza' on one of the nights it rained.
this has also become a tradition, usually on the last night. this year it was the 2nd to last.
it was raining so hard we couldn't sit on the porch like we normally do.
but luckily we got there early enough to get a seat inside, it's super tiny in there.

the olympics started while we were there.
so, there was a lot of watching swimming and gymnastics together.

i just love how cozy they are with each other, pretty sweet.

we always spend an afternoon at the playground by the country club.
it's beautiful and the kids always have a good time there.

this summer, this group started digging while sitting in a circle together.
which led to more digging and then burring of arms.
and then asking the moms to burry their legs too (no picture of that).

they had many races along the perimeter of the big grassy area of the park.
it was really fun to watch them all race together and cheer on the little ones.
they would give them a head start, but of course they always got passed by.

new this summer was their creation of their own 'american ninja warrior' obstacle course.
they had made one up at the cabin too - complete with push ups, running up/down stairs.
they each got timed, and the fasted one was the winner.
they made one up at the park too, here they are all doing it together...

and these two, i'm happy to report are still the sweetest best friends around.
who like to dress alike just as i did with my best friend at that age.

and here are their moms, in all of our 'al natural' beauty of being at the cabin.
i am so happy we made this trip happen during this crazy summer -
and that our children will have another year of summer memories together to look back on.

here is our crew- all 9 of them in our annual picture on the front porch steps on the last day.
another great summer with our good friends,
and a big thank you to them for sharing their wonderful cabin with us,
and inviting us year after year.

to see the post on last year's trip to the cabin click here.

at the end of that post is a link to see the year before that :)