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I love love love this picture of my mother!

MorMor made it a point to have her and MorFar come visit right away. She had to see our new home. Good thing, because I had to have her see it. So, my parents came for the weekend. It now feels like our True Home — somehow I needed to have them here before I could really feel settled. We had planned for them to stay at a nearby hotel. But at the last minute I caved and couldn’t stand the thought of it, so they stayed with us. All 7 of us in our little dorm apartment for 3 nights. It was good.

I feel so much better now, knowing my parents understand — fully — what this whole endeavor is all about for us. I think they really get it now. I didn’t need their approval, but I sure wanted it. I wanted to know they understood what we’re doing here. Now they do. And I’m so happy about that.

And they always seem to be here for our biggest parties! We hosted an Open House for about 60 faculty, staff, and students on Friday afternoon. Coincidentally, my parents were here to help (they are always such a huge help with our parties!!!). I have zero pictures of it. But it is locked in my memory as a GREAT house-warming party that allowed Lehigh folks from the whole spectrum to get a firsthand glimpse into our new life as a ‘Family in Residence.’ And now that we’ve thrown a party, it really feels like home.

So, between that, and my parents’ visit, I’m beginning to feel really really settled in after this weekend.

* * *

Also, while my parents were here — another coincidence — their God-daughter (I guess she’s my God-Sister??? and the bambinos’ God-Aunt??), Betsey, who is on the UNH Cycling Team, had a mountain biking race at Lehigh. I had known about this, and had planned with Betsey in advance for us to go to her race on Saturday, and then to have her team over for pizza/dinner on Saturday night. With my parents here it was even more fun and Betsey had surely never had such an enthusiastic (and large! all 7 of us!) fan club at one of her races!!!

Turns out Betsey is quite an extraordinary athlete! I had no idea that competitive mountain biking was such a male-dominated sport. Out of the 150 or so racers this weekend, only a handful were women. And Betsey was one of them. I have so much respect for her going for it the way she does! We had so much fun watching and getting to know much more about this sport!

So, we’ve now had a couple gatherings and a visit from my parents. And so now it feels like home.

Yesterday was Meera’s first day of “real school” (i.e., “not daycare”), at United Friends School, with her brothers. These three have been waiting forever to all go to school at the same place. The year has come! Meera will be going to school three days a week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays a fabulous student/babysitter (my first choice pick! who — lucky for us — could fit it into her schedule this semester!) will be hanging out with Meera at home on campus.

A very happy and “super super excited” (her words) Meera started pre-K yesterday. She headed off with her brothers…

…on the school bus (!!!!). She did not bat an eye. She was nothing but smiles from start to finish. She had a great day! She was pure Meera.

(and yay!!! we got a new camera! as you can tell from these photos!)

(and yes! Meera picked out her own back-to-school outfit!)

First Day of School 2012, Owen & Kyle age 8 {don’t they look huge and old?! they wear size 10-12, and I swear they look like they are 10 or 12 too}

*

Yesterday was Kyle and Owen’s first day of 2nd Grade.

We are trying separate classes this year. Any twin, or parent of twins, or grandparent of twins, or sibling/friend/relative of twins (!), knows what a big deal this is. I could write about 500 blog posts on the topic of “To Separate or Not To Separate, That Is The Question.” I have read more about this topic, spoken with more people about this topic, and spent more hours awake at night dwelling on this topic, than I’d ever care to admit. The bottom line, it seems, is this: The determination of whether or not to separate, and at what age, really depends on the specific twins, the specific school, and the specific circumstances of the specific situation that any specific individual(s) are in. For a whole host of reasons Braydon and I, and Kyle and Owen’s teacher from 1st Grade, really felt strongly that K & O should try separate classes this year.

It took the entire summer for me to get buy in on this from K & O. They started the summer 100% opposed. Gradually and painstakingly we managed to move ourselves through all the conversations, emotions, and baring-our-souls-in-heart-to-heart-conversations that were required to come through this decision. For Kyle and Owen (and for me, especially in the beginning, I’ll admit), this decision felt like a big huge one. By mid-July Kyle was ready to go for it. It took Owen until 5 days before school started to be fully on board. But then, after a major breakthrough in a soul-searching conversation about the subject of Separate Classes and Twins, over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and glass of milk at 4am one morning (he was lying awake at night obsessing about it), Owen turned a corner and was fully ready to jump in with both feet. By the time the First Day of School rolled around, both boys were 100% ready to rock second grade in separate classrooms.

For the record– their classrooms are literally right next door to each other (only separated by a thin wall); they have math together everyday; they have recess together; and see each other approximately 100 times per day while at school for various other miscellaneous reasons. [It is not like they’ve moved to separate continents or anything!]

Yesterday morning K & O were nothing but excited for the start of the school year. They each have their very own new (awesome!) teacher. They each have their own classroom of friends. They each have the chance to thrive and to struggle through the ups and downs of whatever 2nd grade will bring, without the burden of the constant looming compare-and-contrast to their twin. And they each get the rare opportunity for a little break from each other for some of their day, 5 days a week, for the next 9 months.

And so, yesterday, we all jumped in to the year headfirst, with both feet, enthusiastically.

The rainy morning did not damper their excitement whatsoever. I got a lump in my throat as I watched these three heading off for the bus– they have been three-little-peas-in-a-tight-tight-little-pod this whole summer. It kind of kills me to see the summer end and see them each go off a little bit their own separate ways. It was time. But still. Mama had some emotions yesterday morning, and mainly they were around the loosening of the togetherness of the threesome.

But, quick as a flash, the bus came and went and we waved goodbye and good luck to K & O (Meera’s first day is Friday).

We waited in anxious anticipation for the dynamic duo to come home after school. They barely said two words to us because they were too busy talking a million-miles-an-hour with each other about their day. From what we were able to overhear, they each had a great day.

In terms of direct communication we got only the following: How was school? “Awesome!” How was it with separate classes? “Awesome!” And that was that. It was, apparently, all just absolutely “Awesome!”

Back home, later in the afternoon, it was time for a movie (they were exhausted, of course). I was working at my computer, but looked over to see this on the couch:

And that is how those two sat for an hour straight, with their other brother on the floor not very far from their feet. Three-little-peas-in-a-tight-tight-little-pod after K & O’s First Day of School 2012.

These two big boys start second grade tomorrow. They are so excited they can hardly stand it.

Tonight we had our annual Back to School Dinner (for past three years, click here). Tradition feels so important right now; I am so glad we had this little yearly ritual to anchor us in the midst of the massive transitions we are going through as we work on settling into life on campus. It was nice today to rely on this tradition. A reminder that back-to-school is still Back to School, and life trucks forward despite change swirling all around it, and MAMA CAN COOK (! even in a tiny kitchen), and some things stay solidly in place regardless of what else is happening. Our traditions and rituals feel like a rock-solid-dependable compass right now as we try to find our bearings navigating new terrain.

~ Menu ~

Pan Seared Steak with Herbed Butter*

Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Green Beans

Assorted Farmstand Tomatoes with Balsamic Drizzle

Ice Cream for Dessert

*This was soooo good!!! I used the Pioneer Woman’s ‘T-Bone Steaks with Hotel Butter’ recipe as a foundation, but changed it quite a bit. I used sirloin strip steaks instead of T-Bones. And for the butter, I used equal parts chopped fresh parsley and basil, and a smaller amount of thinly sliced green onion. So incredibly delicious!!! And importantly… no grill required! (Since moving, I’ve been missing my grill!)

(Adding to the craze and haze of this phase is the fact that our trusty “good camera” went and died on us the day of our move [literally, that day]. So until we replace it, I have only my “snap shot camera” — which is nothing to sneeze at — but still, doesn’t have the artistic edge that our “real” camera had… you’ll notice it in the pictures I’ve been posting.)

We spent our entire Back to School dinner reminiscing about the oh-so-many great times we had during our Summer of 2012. Major highlights were our beach vacation in Charleston, 2 different sessions of basketball camp for the boys, Maggie & Eric’s wedding in Colorado, our annual summer Haiti Reunion, our great summer babysitter Shelby (who I never even got to posting about this summer!), our longest (and best) trip ever to New Hampshire, and our move to campus. Somehow in between all those things we also seemed to spend a lot of time doing what summer is best for: a whole lot of not much. It was a really, really good summer for our family. I feel like we are more tight-knit and well-connected than ever. And we are also all ready for summer to be over.

We are ready to move on. Which means it must really have been a great summer. Because that’s how it should be: it should be so good that it fills up every part that needs filling, so that by the end you are ready to leave it behind and go forward. And that is exactly where we are.

And I know that. For certain. And yet, still, I worry and question and ask Braydon incessantly, “The kids are alright, right? They’re all ok, right? They’re happy and whole and intact, right?” And he says, “Yes.” That’s just part of the territory of mothering, right? To worry?

I worry so much about my kids, trying so hard all the time to do right by them. And this move has really been a challenge for me to listen intently to my kids and to trust what my gut intuition is telling me about my family and to act on it despite what the rest of the world might think (the vast majority of people seem to think we’re absolutely certifiably nutso for making the move that we have made, and many of them tell us so straight to our faces).

My reassurance is that my three most precious ones show the telltale signs of happiness and contentment and wholeness. They are the compass for me way more than any sets of traditions and rituals could ever be. If I listen carefully to what they say or look closely at their faces, I can know if we are on track or not.

Tonight at dinner, while talking all about our summer, I asked Owen what his favorite part of Summer 2012 was. He thought about it for a minute then said, “Moving to Lehigh.” I couldn’t believe it at first (I expected him to say something about boogie-boarding in South Carolina or the Pike’s Peak cog railway in Colorado or waterskiing in New Hampshire), but I quickly realized he was being completely sincere.

My three are so happy to be right where we are. We’ve got great stuff behind us, and a whole lot of great possibility laid out before us. The end of a great summer, and the start of a whole new school year.

We are on track. At least for now.

Major bonus of living on campus = extremely cool experiences with super cool college students.

Yesterday Mackey McKnight came up to our “dorm” and played basketball in the parking lot with Kyle and Owen. I had planned this with Mackey (he’s a student of mine), but waited until lunchtime yesterday to tell K & O of the plans (because I knew they’d be ecstatic and not be able to think about anything else once they knew). The looks on their faces were priceless when I casually said, “So, guys, today at four o’clock Mackey McKnight is going to come up an play basketball with you guys.” Kyle immediately said, “Four o’clock until when?” I said, “Four o’clock until five o’clock.” Kyle let that sink in for a minute and then looked me straight in the face and with the most sincere look ever said, “One hour of paradise!” From that moment on they were counting the minutes until Mackey’s arrival.

I wasn’t there to see it unfold because I had to go teach a grad seminar. But Braydon took some pics.

For the past week we’ve been catching as catch can as far as food/eating/dining is concerned. There are always glitches in every move (everyone who’s moved knows that!), and one of the glitches in this move for us was that for our first week in our new home we had no stools/chairs for our dining table/peninsula. They had been ordered, but arrived late, and then were the wrong height, and had to be re-cut to the right size, etc., etc., etc… it doesn’t matter… the bottom line is that for our first 9 days we had nowhere to sit down and eat as a family. Finally today all was resolved with the stools/chairs, so tonight was our first ‘real’-sit-down-around-the-table-together-“normal”-in-our-new-‘normal’-Family-Dinner.

This morning, in a sweet act of kindness, the fabulous Karl Brisseaux, who is one of my favorite former students, who now works at Lehigh, and who just happens to be Haitian, brought us a housewarming gift. He brought us a big pan of Haitian Rice & Beans, made lovingly for him to give to us by his mom. She was visiting him this weekend and he called her in advance and asked her to bring this gift for us. Can you imagine?! It totally warmed my heart and soul.

I had to have a little taste, so right after Karl left (this was 9:30am), I warmed up a tiny bowl and gave it a tasting. OhMyGoodnessGracious~~DELICIOUS! I gave K & O each a spoonful and they, of course, went crazy for it. We’ve tasted lots of Rice & Beans, but this is the very best to ever hit our tastebuds. Right then and there I decided that our first ‘real’ dinner was going to be based around this Rice & Beans loveliness.

We did a grocery store run and by early afternoon the Chicken was already marinating and the Pikliz was pickling. So, tonight we kicked off our new ‘normal’ with a little Haitian Dinner:

• Mrs. Brisseaux’s Rice & Beans (THANK YOU KARL!)
• Haitian Chicken (recipe here)
• Haitian Pikliz (recipe here)
• Watermelon
• Rum Punch

Slowly but surely it is beginning to feel like home.

I’m not sure how long ago it started, but it seems like forever ago that Kyle and Owen got it into their heads that they wanted to have a lemonade stand. I think that probably just about every kid who catches wind of the idea of the Classic Americana Childhood Lemonade Stand at some point dreams of having their very own. And the bambinos are no exception. They wanted a lemonade stand, and they wanted it badly. Kyle especially.

The problem was, our ‘old house’ (we’re trying to get used to calling it that, but that is what it is so we’re calling it that) was not located in a place conducive to lemonade-stand-ing. Our house sat on a dead-end cul-de-sac road with almost zero traffic in a very quiet neighborhood. Lovely for pushing baby twins in double-wide strollers, and teaching kids to ride bikes… but not even close to ideal for putting up a lemonade stand.

So, once we knew that we were moving to campus, a major excitement became the chance to have a real true lemonade stand that might actually get some traffic. This lemonade stand was the topic of many conversations in the weeks and months leading up to our move. How much money should we charge? How many people do you think will come? How much money do you think we’ll make? It was all very exciting.

Saturday was the day. It was “Move In” day for upperclassmen at Lehigh. There was a lot of traffic in Sayre Village, where we live, and where students had to check-in for on-campus housing. Lots of families moving their kids in, students picking up keys to their dorm rooms, and many Gryphons (Lehigh student Resident Assistants) taking turns working shifts.

Their sign read: “Gryphons are free” and “If you have no money a Lehigh beat Duke shirt = free.”

They ran their lemonade stand from approximately 11:00-2:00. They gave away at least half the lemonade for free (turns out they are real suckers for anyone declaring, “Sorry! I have no cash on me!” and/or anyone seeming remotely friendly). They got a few hefty tips. They made $41. They loved having a lemonade stand (especially Kyle). They made quite a splash on campus.

Well, we did it. One week ago today we moved to campus.

This was 10 months in the works, so the five of us had a lot of time to wrap our minds around the idea. It was/is a big idea. And now a new chapter has begun for the J-Ms.

After months of purging (I estimate we gave away at least 1/3 of our earthly possessions), planning, prepping, and packing, our big Move Day was this past Saturday. We hired four big strong guys from the Lehigh Wrestling Team to help us with the actual move. They made short work of it and I’d venture to say that we all actually had some fun that day.

Kyle, Owen, and Meera have been unbelievable through this whole thing. We spent much time talking and processing together in the weeks and months leading up to this move. What a huge transition for these three kids. And for their parents. We’ve got three big things going on here:

1. Drastically dramatically radically downsizing from a 3,200 square foot single-family house on 1.4 acres with an in-ground pool and every amenity imaginable… to an 800 square foot apartment.
2. Moving from a bucolic suburb-esque ‘town-and-country’ Bucks County residential neighborhood… to a dorm on campus.
3. Leaving the only home our kids have known/remember… to start a new and unknown chapter of our lives.

We have a lot going on!

But every step of the way these kids have completely amazed me with their embrace of all this, their openness to this adventure, and their enthusiasm for every bit of it.

I expected that we’d all be homesick. I always have been every time I’ve ever moved before. But this time, at least so far, none of us have been. It is shocking to me (I was so prepared for it that it has taken me by surprise that none of us five have had any feelings of homesickness). I keep waiting for the let-down. But so far it hasn’t come. Exhaustion, yes. But depression, no. I can’t quite explain it. Except to think that –yes– we were all really ready for this, and this is right for us.

The bambinos are loving life on campus. I honestly have never seen them happier. They are now officially Campus Kids (three of only six children living on Lehigh’s campus– the others are the President’s two teenage children; and the baby daughter of the Director of Jewish Student Life/Associate Chaplain who is the one other Residential Fellow). They are quite the sight walking around campus as if it were all their very own big back yard.

We have a volleyball court right outside our front door. Long before we ever moved in here I knew that it would only be a matter of hours before Kyle and Owen were playing volleyball with the big boys. Sure enough, it was exactly the case. I think they’ve joined in at least one game every day so far.

And I knew that the sidewalk in front of our “dorm” would be a dream come true for chalk and scooters. And sure enough, that is exactly the case.

For the past week I’ve stayed very close to the bambinos. I’ve consciously and purposefully been like a mother hen pulling her three littles tight under her wing. We’ve slowly ventured out and about, attended a few events together, and last night we had our first dinner in one of the dining halls on campus (which went about as perfectly as I could have ever imagined). Things are going well. Very, very well.

We have had no childcare whatsoever for the past week (which has been so important and good for the kids’ transition, but so crazy for me because the fall semester is really ramping up with classes starting on Monday). Then yesterday afternoon, from 3-5, we had our first babysitter. A student of mine who had taken my Sociology of Children and Childhood course a few semesters ago (always good to have a babysitter who’s taken Soc of Children! 😉 lol!), came and relieved me for a bit. The bambinos had the greatest time, I got a couple of dedicated hours of work in (that weren’t between the hours of 9pm-1am!), and all was good. Here they were when I returned home to our cozy abode.

That photo above is a sneak peak of our new family room! I’ll try to post all about our new home sweet home sometime soon.

In other news: our house still has not sold. That’s the one real downer in this whole thing so far. We’ve had so many potential buyers come so close, but we have yet to get an official offer. Anyone want to buy a beautiful family home in PA?!

Lotsa posts from this trip! Here’s the Table of Contents:

Here!

First Trip to Fenway Park!

Storyland for Meera!

A Long Weekend with Sadie, Stina, and Mark!

A Trip to the ER

The Best Day Ever

Guest Blogger, MorMor!

Book Recommendation for Lake Wini Fans

The Things We’ve Handed Down

Painting of The Cottage, by my grandfather Carl, sitting in a tiny frame in the eaves of the cottage porch.

I look at my Popop’s paintings of The Cottage (he painted it more than a few times; I am lucky to have one of them hanging in my home), and I am amazed at his capturing of it. This one (above, which stays at The Cottage) is small and rudimentary. But I think I like it the best. It is perfect in its imperfection. That’s a theme for me lately — the perfectness of imperfection.

The cottage isn’t a perfect place. It is very unlike the huge flashy fancy lake houses with manicured lawns and state-of-the-art fixtures that have been built in more recent years (not that those are “perfect,” by any stretch of the imagination, but they do have all the modern amenities that anyone could imagine and — at a minimum — enough beds for the whole family). The Cottage literally and figuratively symbolizes all that has been handed down in our family — all the beauty and strength and incredible achievements of five generations — all that we’ve learned about goodness and grace from those before us — is wrapped up tight with the imperfection handed down in our family too. Our family has struggles and tragedies and failures and hard relationships along with all the good and easy and privilege that we’ve received — we inherit bad things with the good. The Cottage is a reminder of all of this. We can feel that as painful sometimes. I have bad memories of this place, along with the good. And at other times (luckily, for me, it is most of the time), I experience The Cottage as peaceful and soul-soothing. I like the reminder of the imperfection. I can see that it is in the imperfection that we keep going, and in the striving to better ourselves and do right by the next generation that we honor the past. It is in the imperfection that our yearly pilgrimage is so perfect. It is an annual reminder of where we’ve come from and where we’re going.

Three generations (Heather = Generation 4; Meera = Generation 5; MorMor = Generation 3), of the five generations of Johnsons who have been spending summers at The Cottage.

This is a matriarchal lineage– my great-grandfather built it, but then left it for his daughters, who left it for my mom and aunt. Matriarchal, yes. But the fifth generation now looks nothing like the first could have ever imagined, and includes two boys who just may love and appreciate this place more than anyone of any generation before them.

Any fans of Lake Winni out there? If so, this is a great book! I bought two copies of it during our trip to NH this summer– one for the bambinos, and one for my niece Sadie. We highly recommend this book! The author’s family, like our family, has been going to their Winnipesaukee summer cottage for five generations. The illustrations are beautiful (so realistically convey Winnipesaukee!). And the story is memorable– especially if you can go out on the boat to find the real “Witches” (an infamous group of rocks jutting out of the water near Governor’s/Timber Islands). A must-read for kids (of all ages!) who love their summers at Winnipesaukee!

The Witches: A Winnipesaukee Adventure, by Andy Opel, Illustrated by Karel Hayes (Peter Randall Publishers, September 2011).

10 people, 3 cats, 2 dogs 2 weeks at Lake Winnipesaukee 2012

So, so much fun (so, so very exhausting!)

Worms on hooks and fish caught; fishing lines tangled, smaller fishing poles purchased (Owen being happiest with Meera’s princess pole!)

Izze for the kids, chocolate milk for Meera and Beer and Gin and Vodka tonics (what did we do before the basement fridge?)

Tubing and waterskiing (over and over and over again!)

Don mastered each kids skiing speed (he is so patient)

Janet swimming to the point with the kids and them diving for golf balls (Kyle can really dive deep!)

Determination and success of waterskiing in and out of the wake (my rule is they have to be able to do this before they can ski double next year so that was the goal)

Taking the boat for gas became an every other day event with all the kids and Neptune (they give out ice pops and dog cookies!)

Washer and dryer in full use (guess how many beach towels a family can use in a day?)

Food was consumed in large amounts. Tenderloin steak, lamb chops, shrimp and pesto pasta, mac and cheese, hamburgers and hot dogs, marinated steak tips, salmon and swordfish, BBQ chicken, burritos, Lobster and steamers, salads, sandwiches, french toast, pancakes, blueberry muffins, english muffins… (grocery shopping more than once and the bill $$$$$!)

Ice for our well-deserved nighttime drinks (how many times did we need to run out for ice?)

Town Docks Restaurant in Meredith by boat and wow! do the boys love their Caesar salad with steak tips (how fun is it to park at the dock by the restaurant?)

Pop’s Clam Shell in Alton (great fried clams, fried shrimp, onion rings and fries (gotta do fried food once a year!)

Baileys Bubble in Wolfeboro by boat; Meera loves her vanilla ice cream with sprinkles; the kids get a kick out of Neptune putting his paws on the counter to order his vanilla in a dish! (just how many times did we go there?!)

Johnsons Restaurant in Alton for the biggest ice cream cones ever (did anyone finish their ice cream?)

Meera making friends with Jean and Artie our neighbors and their company and hanging out over there (Meera is so, so outgoing)

StoryLand with Janet and Braydon, Meera and Sadie (Sadie was such a big cousin helper so Braydon and I didn’t have to go on the spinning rides!)

Boston Red Sox with Don and Heather, Kyle and Owen (Don’s dream come true is having grandsons who love baseball!)

Owen and Braydon kayaking all the way to Diamond Island and back. Kyle and Braydon kayaking to Rattlesnake Island and back. (we bought a 3rd kayak this year so the boys would each have the same kind of kayak)

Playing baseball at “Little Fenway” in Alton (mud sliding one day and then “riding in the car back to the lake without moving and jumping in the lake clothes, shoes and all to rinse off!)

Hudson and Quinn joining our family for 2 years and meeting their “sister” Dottie for the first time (oh my 3 cats = once a day kitty litter cleaning)                   

Sadie getting to join her cousins for 4 sleeps, Stina, Mark and Charlie here for the weekend (having our whole family together is my dream come true)

Aunt Betsy and Uncle Ken coming for the day on Sunday (thanks for coming in off your sailboat on the Maine coast to see us – we love you!)

Videos and The Olympics (thank God for a few minutes of quiet now and then!)

Heather and Braydon relaxing as much as possible with their pending move on the horizon, work issues to deal with and the hopeful sale of their house on their minds. (I think I saw Heather read a few times and Braydon did leave his phone upstairs!)

Brand new couch (and cleaning it constantly – why did I buy a new couch right before they all came?!!)

Walk to Locke Hill, walks around the point, walks to ”little beach”, walks with Neptune (where are the boys anyway?)

Watching for the Mount Washington Boat to go by and going over the wake on our boat. Flashing our lights to it from the cottage at night (been doing that my whole life – still excited when they flash back)

And the last 3 days we got to spend with the 3 kids all by ourselves! They kids were so good, so much fun and so happy the whole time. Yes, they missed their parents but they were having too much fun to think about it. I slept in the bunk room with them, went to bed with them and got up when Meera did (she is almost always the first one up). We did all of the normal activities and even got Jean to be a spotter in the boat when Meera and the boys went tubing. My goddaughter Betsey came for the 3 days to help (so thankful for her help). Friday we met Braydon ½ way in CT and said goodbye until the next time. I cried for a while on the way home and then fell asleep. (not surprising huh?!)

What thrill for me to have grown up summers here and now to have my grandkids love it as much as I do. So many of my memories are their memories now too – how wonderful is that? So often over these past two weeks I have looked up and thanked my grandfather for finding this beautiful spot and I am so thankful to my parents for passing it on to my sister and I. A dream of mine had always been to have a close relationship with my kids and grandkids and I feel so very fortunate that they love to spend time with Don and I in this place.

As our cottage neighbors said after we returned from dropping off the kids on Friday “you ran a camp for the past 2 weeks and you both are unbelievable – it was go, go, go for the whole 2 weeks!” That may be the truth and I would have it no other way!! Can’t wait til the summer of 2013 – 3 weeks maybe?!