Family Vaca 2011

We just got back from a lovely vacation with Thads family at Lake Siskiyou in N. Cal. All of his siblings, parents, and both sets of grandparents were able to come.24 of us in all. Sadly I have zero pictures. But it's not because we were lazy this time. We took Thads water camera with us and the first day in the water, either one of the seals went bad, or the battery compartment got opened while submerged. Either way it  means the camera is dead. So any pictures we did take are stuck, and we were out of a camera the rest of the week. Boo.
But we had tons of fun without documentation. We started the trek a day early so we could visit Tenille & Matt and see their cute house, and tow their boat to the lake. Once we got to the lake we had a bit of a fiasco getting settled, but once everything was resolved we had a great week. Lot's of swimming in the lake,building sand castles, fishing trips in the boats, walking in the pooky borrest(sam for: spooky forrest), campfires, crafts, and even a talent show. We ate way too much great food, stayed up late every night, and laughed a lot. We saw deer right behind the cabin, and had a nightly visit from a brown bear, which was caught on Billy's trail camera.
I learned some interesting things about my kids this trip. First, on the way up the DVD player wouldn't work. I did not pack any toys in the car because I just thought they'd veg and snack and sleep. So 30 minutes out of town I go to start a movie and panick a little when I realize we had 5.5 hours to go without entertainment. But they were fine. They sang songs, and played with each other and we only had to stop once for the potty. Then at Tenilles they were sharing a bed for the first time ever. I put them down fully expecting it to be a marathon night of putting them back to bed over and over and telling them to stop playing and go to sleep. I was shocked when they went right to bed and stayed there till morning. This new discover opens up a whole new world of travel possibilities with them. We also learned that we should never take them lake fishing again. Andi kept asking if there was a fish on her line about every 10 seconds, and Sammy just kept saying faster because he wanted the boat to get going again. We also found that Andi is insanely afraid of bugs. After a few freak outs that almost tipped the boat I had to hide her under towels so the mosquitoes wouldn't "suck all her blood out" and the dragon flies couldn't get her. Thanks Billy for putting up with them!
All in all it was a great way to end the summer.