Rock Lake Lodge, Part 1

Our summer get-away didn't take place until the last week of the summer.  This has it's pro's and con's.  It was a little difficult waiting and waiting for this time away when so many others were posting all their vacation pictures on Facebook.  But then they are all done their holidays and we got to end our summer with a bang :)

Quick family picture attempt while we were still in our Sunday attire.  The Bible Chapel where we usually attend is only a couple minutes drive away.  I find it's kind of hit and miss as far as the message goes.  They often have a guest speaker in the summer and the message they give isn't always what we've come to expect in a sermon.  But this year the speaker gave a sermon based on the first 2 beatitudes that was very good!

I honestly thought I had taken a picture of our brunch Sunday morning but apparently not because there is no such picture on my memory card.  Because church is fairly late (10:50), it has been our custom over the years to have a brunch with everyone.  As usual, it was quite tasty with a variety of bagels, scrambled eggs, sausages, hash-browns, monkey bread, and yogurt.

Early Monday morning Chris went to Baptiste Lake for some fishing and came home with this nice bass.  I just love Nathan's reaction in the background :)  Chris ended up releasing the fish into the lake at the lodge in hopes of maybe catching it again?

Nathan was very much into fishing this year.  He spent countless hours casting again and again off the dock and then finally mid week from the paddle boat.  His fingers were so dirty at the end of the day from digging out worms and putting them on his hook.

He caught this nice bass off the dock (no it was not the same one Chris caught as this happened before hand).  Nathan was pretty pumped but would not touch the thing!

This year we were joined by Mark & Jenny Bruining and their four kids, Zachery, Hailey, Jamie & Ryan.  They stayed in the lodge with my sister Andrea and her family until Wednesday.  It was nice to get to know them a little better and the kids all got along really well together, although I think their quiet kids were scared off by my loud and noisy ones, at least for the first couple days :P

These boys spent so much time out on the lake fishing, especially Nathan and Zachery.  They had a spot by some rocks where the water wasn't too deep and they could see the fish swimming.  I think we went through 5 or 6 dozen worms.

Erica told the kids a condensed version of the story about Capt. Bluebeard which my Uncle Klaas wrote.  The story and his beautiful artwork are in the lodge for all to enjoy.  It also happened to be Ryan's 5th birthday on the Tuesday so the treasure hunt was a fun way to celebrate!

 After the story, the kids were given a clue which lead to more clues, some written riddles and some pictures.  Thanks to Erica for making them all!  The kids love it :)

One clue led the kids up to the look-out spot, which is a bit of a climb not suitable for little kids.

 Jenna was quite upset she wasn't allowed to go up.  But Jessica comforted her :)

 Finally they found the X that marked the spot, which ended up being off by a foot or so.

 They finally found the box and raced to the picnic table to open it.  And of course I didn't take any pictures of what was inside :(  I was probably too busy trying to keep my kids from grabbing it all!

This year our family shared the 3 bedroom "black bear cottage" with my parents.  It was hard to know how it was going to go.  My parents like to have some space and they are not used to the noise that Chris and I hear on a daily basis.  But it went well and we are all still on speaking terms :)  We brought the majority of the food but of course my mom brought some too so we had way too much (mostly snacks).  I was so thankful for all the help they gave me and for being very patient with the kids.

Nathan and Mary Beth aren't very good with organized sports.  They have only played soccer on a team for one season.  But they really like to play with their cousins, who thankfully put up with all their crazy moves and missed plays. Baseball was probably the favorite but badminton was a close second. 

 I have always been told that the last week in August was the best week, weather wise, at RLL.  But that must only be for the Van Dyk's (my aunt & uncle) who have always been going to RLL the last week of August until this year because their family is to big for the 40 person limit.  We had rain for 12 straight hours on Tuesday, beginning at noon until around midnight.  The temperature dropped quite low at night, esp. Thursday night when it got down to 5*C.  But the cooler temps make it kind of cozy and I like to wear sweaters and jeans around the campfire :)

Luke

Jenna "reading" to Jessica

Lydia

Jessica

More to come....