After a short trip to Decorah, we went on to Burntside Lake in Ely, Minnesota. This year was a little different than past years - we stayed 6 days, I am 7 months pregnant, none of Joe's siblings or parents were with us, we had the cabin to ourselves, and lots of Joe's cousins and aunts and uncles were on the island. So, it was different - but still fun! The boys were really at great ages for the lake - we can skip naps now if needed, they can go tubing, they follow the lifejacket rule without complaint, they can run with the 'big cousins', they can swim to Blueberry Island, and overall, are much more independent. I couldn't help but think to myself - 'wow, next year, we will have a 9-month old with us on this trip!' Here are a few of our favorite photos of the week!
We took a short fishing trip with the boys - the boys each caught a bass and put them back in the water!
Rib night was probably one of our favorite nights on the island....Joe and Ryan grilled ribs, while LJ observed closely! We grilled 12 racks of ribs and only had one rib left! As seen in the picture below, the little kids love eating them and getting so messy!
Joey will tell you that doing the sauna every night was his favorite activity. Joe would take all the little kids in the sauna and they'd get hot, then they'd jump in the lake, then they'd go back to the sauna and repeat the process forty-eleven times! At one time on the island, Joey had 9 cousins with him, most of whom will all be at Sacred Heart School next year - so it was great for Joey to get to know them a little better! Most of them are girls....but he didn't mind. However, after they sang Justin Beiber songs over and over and over, Joey turned to me and said, "Mom, why do they keep singing that? Why don't they just stop????"
Another classic moment was Uncle Larry and Aunt Paula tubing behind the pontoon boat. Paula was holding on for dear life, and was clutching a life jacket tightly in her hand!
Joe and Uncle Mike took Maddox on a fishing trip to Coo Lake - this is a trip in which you go with a canoe, have to track through mud and woods, and portage in...I was not convinced that Maddox should be going, and was awfully nervous (you can ask Uncle Mike about my fear of moose attacks). Anyway, Aunt Bobbye assured me that it would be fine, so I reluctantly let him go. Plus, Maddox was sooo excited to go with his dad that I couldn't say no. At about 3 p.m., the fisherman returned - I will never forget Maddox's face when he walked up to me. "Hi Mom! We're back! Yep, caught some fish. I will show you." He was so sure of himself, acted like he had just got back from college or something. He was SO proud of that fish! The truth was, he caught a big Northern on his Batman pole but the Batman pole couldn't handle it - and it got away. So, Joe caught this Northern and let Maddox claim this one. Maddox loves telling the story about his Batman pole bending!
Tubing was the huge event at the lake - especially for Joey - and I failed to catch a picture of him on the tube! Maddox did not enjoy it so much - he got scared. But, the rest of the kids tubed as much as they could, Maddox was better off as the "spotter."
Joe decided to do a cliff jump out in the middle of the lake. All of those people behind him are not in our family....they were from a different family and did chants for Joe. Once again, I did not think this was a good idea, but seeing that there were 7 year olds doing it, I couldn't really say no.
This year, we had a new pontoon boat to "play" with....Chance, Ryan and LJ purchased the boat for the island's use - it sure was nice to have!
Lots of good memories....and our last trip this year to the lake...with the baby coming, that 7 hour drive puts a little wrench in things. But, we had a great time while we were there! I do have a hard time relaxing when the boys are tubing, jumping, canoeing, swimming more on their own, etc....it is helpful to know that there were 3 doctors on the island with us...but I think it must just be the mom's job to be nervous, and the dad's job to roll his eyes and repeat the words, "They are fine."
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