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Here are a few more cottage pictures. The girls are getting ready for their show that they put on for us on the one rainy day we had. Sam and Gabe cooled off with squirt guns on the beach. Here Kevin is reading to Elinore and Toby, and it is hard to estimate how many books were read during the week. Molly got her first taste (literally) of Lake Michigan beach sand.

Sleeping and Eating

One of the good things about a vacation is the more relaxed pace of life--being able to nap anywhere, anytime, together (Eric and Molly) or alone (Noah). Another great memory is all of the good meals we enjoyed. The four families took turns preparing breakfasts and suppers with others assigned to clean up. One night, Brian and Amy prepared an appetizer buffet which offered a delicious variety. Many cartloads of groceries, but the results were always worth it!

Cottage Caper

Before summer ends, I want to post some pictures of our July week at the cottage with all 17 of us. Although it was probably the hottest week of the summer, being close to Lake Michigan made it much easier to take. I can't remember the last time we went swimming at sunset with no one needing a towel or shirt to warm up. We were able to swim early and late, missing the punishing noontime sun. Everyone enjoyed the sand--although Blaise wasn't sure that it tasted all that great.

Since we were on a boardwalk, wagons were used to get everything to and from the cottage--and for Grandpa to give rides to the younger grandkids. I enjoyed seeing the multi-tasking in the last picture. Ang is braiding Jen's hair while Jen is putting sunscreen on Elinore. We had a wonderful week, and pictures bring back sweet memories. I will share more soon.

Harvesting Onions

 
 
 
Here are my kiddos harvesting young onions! We volunteered at one of our farms today. It was a perfect job for them. I loosened the dirt with a shovel, they pulled them out, Blaise slept on my back. We had fun!
What good workers they were. 336 onions AND good attitudes!

More of Angkor Wat

Eric and Gabe climbed up these stairs to the top of one of the temple ruins--and then had to turn around at the top and come down. We were fascinated by the way the ancient trees grew around and into the remains of the buildings.

Several countries have "adopted" a certain temple and are paying for its restoration. Wherever we saw scaffolding and green netting, we knew that work was being done, and there was usually a sign identifying the country that was paying for the work. It's good to know that care is being given so that these structures can "teach" future generations.

Angkor Wat

One of the highlights of our trip to Cambodia was spending a couple of days at the Angkor Wat ruins in Siem Reap, several hours north of Phnom Penh. The more than 100 temples of Angkor were crafted of sandstone between 802 and 1220 AD. Our English-speaking guide was able to explain the history of the Khmer civilization as depicted on the walls of many of the buildings. Buddha's face is carved everywhere. Angkor Wat is the Cambodian site most visited by tourists--and it is easy to understand why. We have never seen anything even similar to it.
We traveled from our hotel by tuk-tuk, but as you can see, there were several other ways to get there.

Testing

After several failed attempts to post, I gave up trying for the last few months. This picture is of the entrance to the Angkor Wat temple ruins in Siem Reap, Cambodia, truly one of the wonders of the world. If this post "works," I'll write and post more pictures of our trip there.

Christmas in Cambodia

After too long a delay, I want to share a few pictures of our Christmas in Cambodia with Eric, Ang, Gabe, and Molly. In the first two pictures, Molly is wearing the dress Gabe bought her for Christmas with his own money. He told us he got a very good deal on it. We had fun exchanging gifts, including Hope shirts for everyone. Ang made the traditional monkey bread, and we enjoyed a warm Christmas in January. It's snowing here again today, and our trip there seems almost like a dream. We do remember clearly though how much Molly had grown and how she interacted with everyone. We remember playing games, watching Toy Story3, eating interesting foods......and so much more. Thanks, Eric and Ang, for the memories!

Blizzard 2011

 
 
 
We sure are digging ourselves out today. You can see that it is about level with the top of our picnic table and almost covers the top of the picket fence! The kids are having a blast!! The middle picture is the wall of snow Kevin cut with the snowblower on our front sidewalk.

I think this is the first snow day Kevin has ever taken!!

Worker Guys and Other Gifts

Although January has brought us to Cambodia and back, I want to share a few memories from December. Two-year-olds Noah and Toby both love pretending to be "worker guys," and Grandpa could not have given them a better gift than a (toy) chain saw. It has a working rubber chain that makes noise as it goes around, and it comes with safety goggles and a repair tool. They have "fixed" many things during the past month (and replaced a few batteries).














The girls enjoyed their sets of magnetic paper dolls--which were a bit more quiet than chain saws. Paper dolls are great for imaginary play and have remained popular for generations. Mine were not magnetic but still worth hours of fun.

December's greatest gift was baby Blaise Michael, born to Kevin and Jen. He slept through most of the festivities, but we know that his second Christmas will be very different. He's already smiling and is more interactive.
In a later post, I'll share some pictures of our Christmas in Cambodia.