We spent the weekend at Grand Bear Lodge in Utica, Il with our family. We had one (Hailee) who could not come, one (Ashton) who got sick while we were there, and one (Wade) who cut his arm while roughhousing with his cousins. Other than that, it was a wonderful weekend with lots of interacting of all ages. It was their Christmas present this year from us, so it also saved me from a lot of shopping. The grandchildren seemed to have fun and I think will remember it much more than any gift we might have bought them.
Between my cheap camera and my poor photography skills, I don't have many good pictures to post, but here are a few I can share.
 |
| The kids did a lot of swimming. |
 |
| And of course we did a lot of eating. |
 |
| Jake won a cool game of chess in the arcade after he captured 4000+ tickets in one of those crane machines. |
 |
| Adrian teaching Kalyn how to knit. |
 |
| Sunday School |
 |
| Some of us went on a hike. It's shorts and no jackets on Dec. 1. |
 |
| These kids are the perfect age for Grand Bear Lodge. |
 |
The kids spread out and explored
|
Last night I tried to put up some Christmas lights outside. It was nice and warm so that was a plus. There were a few minuses, however. I started on a bush away from the outlet and when I got all done, I found out that I started out wrong and I had no prongs to plug in! I had to take it down and start over. By then it was dark outside and with the porch light on and the strings of lights, I felt very exposed to the neighbors and the road traffic as I struggled around. The ladder was scary, the hammer dropped a couple of times and the tacks I was using were flying away from me. I thought, "Everybody can see me up on this ladder!" and then I thought, "Well, at least they can call 911 when they see me fall!" It felt like I was out there for hours, but when I came in it was only 5:30 pm! Boy, it gets dark early! I need to go out now and put a little finesse on the job.
We're looking forward to the annual Klopfenstein Christmas Dinner. Hope to see you there!
3 comments:
I think your pictures are fine and that that was a great idea for a Christmas present!!
NogBlog, Good pics of what appears to be a fun time for the whole family. Grand Bear Lodge is a great addition to the Starved Rock area! As for your Christmas decorating with strings of lights, etc.? It is one of my least favorite Christmas chores...the lights seldom work from one year to the next. It can be very frustrating. Yes, we fought the lights again this year...the lights reminded me of our country's voting public -- 1/2 of them don't work and the other half aren't too bright!
Interesting analogy, Cleve. Does that mean if you are a voter that does work, you're not too bright? Maybe so, if those that work just end up giving what they make to support the rest. (Don't take this seriously. I couldn't resist.)
It looks like you had a really nice and memorable family event, Judy. Time (and money) well spent (in my opinion.)---Carol
Post a Comment