Labor Day-Idelwilde

Every year, we look forward to spending Labor Day weekend at the lake. We pack up our entire house and make our way to Osakis/Alexandria area. We've moved resorts once or twice and I suspect we will move again in the near future, trying to check off a few more amenity boxes from all of the 21 of us that make the trek. 

We are happy as pie with whatever amenities are available, and just grateful to my parents for taking us along for the ride each year! Looking forward to the lake, the girls were excited to see some extended cousins, play with my brother's dogs and fish. Lincoln was super excited for the "boat" and spent two days prior saying "boat" non-stop. Every time we left the house, he thought we were finally going to see the boat. 

Jon and Ben brought their two fur-babies all the way from DC, and boy, those two puppies sure got a lot of loving from our crew. They were pet, played with and walked countless times throughout the weekend. When the heat got too bad outside, the girls would retreat inside and have some fun with the dogs. Lincoln impressed us all with his patience and politeness around the dogs. He's cautious with animals (and I think this is a big bonus), never ever touching until he's gotten a good look and the definite go-ahead from a nearby adult. 

Regan tried displaying her responsibility trait....man does that girl want a dog!

Given that Sidney's birthday tends to fall close to Labor Day, we always take the opportunity to celebrate her big day. My mom made a cake safe for Lincoln too and Sidney enjoyed decorating each piece with sprinkles as she served them. After we sang her a quick "Happy Birthday", Lincoln was fussy and asked to be held. I couldn't get him to stop whining (Jon thought there was a teradactyl in the house with his screams!) and finally, I realized he wanted me to sing to HIM! That sure made him giggle with delight :)

Regan is our little fisher-woman. She baits her own hook and casts away. Unfortunately, despite fishing many times, both off the dock and in the boat, she caught one measly tiny fish all weekend long. Poor kiddo, she didn't get frustrated though and was always the first to ask "can we go fishing!". 

Hope took up residence for the weekend on one of the couches in my parents cabin. With all of the bedrooms full, she didn't mind one bit sleeping on the couch (a true college student!). We were thrilled that she came along for the fun, and I think Lookie enjoyed napping all morning long beside her. 

I had found a fun idea to write wishes and fears on rocks and toss them into the lake. Sidney was nearby and looking for a change in play-time so her and I had some fun as she wrote out her 'wishes' (ie, a unicorn!) and 'fears' (ie some dogs). 

We took them down to the dock, and one by one she tossed them in. And now she keeps asking when her wish will come true...meaning that darn unicorn! Oh brother. 

In a fleeting thought moment as I packed up the truck on Friday, I grabbed Lincoln's trike and hoped it would fit. My goodness was that a bright idea! He cruised around on that thing each and every day! He loves his "bike-a" and willingly went for a daily walk, even when the temps and humidity made it oppressive to be outside and the bugs could've carried us away. 

His little sandals are pretty beat up because he drags them with every push, but I'm holding out that this weather isn't going to stick around long and we'll be packing up all of the sandals for the season.

I just love the lake. For so many reasons. It gives us time to sit back and relax and just take in all of the scenery around us. Don't get me wrong, I don't get to actually sit much because I had to chase Lincoln all over the resort, play at the playground and keep him out of harms way. But it's a fun busy, instead of a clean/cook/chauffer the kids to activities kind of busy.

On Saturday, while my mom and Ryan met up with a buddy from home for a round of golf, I took the 3 kids to meet up with his wife and their 3 kiddos at a nearby apple orchard. This airplane ride was an enormous hit. Tyler (the oldest) would make an exaggerated THUD every time the teeter totter went his way and the kids started giggling. As they giggled, he grew louder, and eventually, Lincoln was laughing so hard I'm certain he peed himself at that very moment :) 

They played King of the Mountain (not really!) and got out their wiggles for a couple of hours. 

There was a corn pit and a slide and although we were all sweating, the kids didn't seem to mind and had a great time tossing the dusty corn around and later picking it out of their clothes. 

When we weren't fishing or boating, we found some fun on land playing catch or chasing bubbles. The bees made it mighty difficult to enjoy being outside at times, but if we kept moving, they couldn't keep up. 

Lincoln was a complete ham when I perched him upon the picnic table and asked for some pictures. He now says "cheeese" and tilts his head to the side with a semi-fake smile (side note: we should find a different word, because he always thinks we'll give him real cheese for the picture and he can't even eat cheese!). 

We climbed these steps at least 2 dozen times over the course of the weekend. They led from the cabins to the docks and he adored going near the water. The docks on the other hand, he could've done without. They're a bit unstable and wobbly and he always requested to be carried, especially on the long fishing dock. 

He was pretty upset when we went on our first boat ride. The boy wants nothing to do with a life jacket. Never has. But it's the law and so I insisted. I even donned one myself in hopes it would brighten his mood. He got ticked at first, but then as soon as the boat started moving, he giggled and was in love. By his second boat ride, he climbed aboard and pointed to his life jacket knowing he needed to put it on or we couldn't move. Every time Ben would slow down the boat, Lincoln would sign "more" and he would speed up again :) 

His hair turned into a complete fluff and we all got a good laugh out of how puffy it was. Hope had to snap a few pictures but they just don't do it justice! 

Every year we take a few pictures on this picnic table just before we head back home. This was the most beautiful morning out of all of them, we were all incredibly sad to leave. 

Hope and I didn't climb up on the picnic table but we snuggled up tight and smiled for the camera. I'm so happy that she took some time out of her busy work schedule, just before her junior year of college was to begin, and joined us for the long weekend. 

We all will spend the next 364 days looking forward to what next year's lake experience has to offer! Thanks a million mom and dad (and the rest of the fam) for helping to build these memories!

Hope you all had a fantastic Labor Day weekend!