July 16: Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam....

Everyone had a good sleep in their own beds.  We spent the day after vacation unpacking, grocery shopping, and recovering.  The kids kept wandering around the house talking about how BIG our house was.  After spending a month packed into the same room, they were really glad to be back to their own spaces and being able to spread out.

Four weeks worth of mail.  It was actually less than I
thought it might be!

Benjamin and his BIG leaf
that he picked in Ohio at
Rachel's farm.  It came home with
us, but we told him he couldn't
keep it forever.

Almost 5,000 miles and a month of travel were well worth it.  We made lots of memories and had a wonderful time as a family.  Can't wait to do another one!

July 15: Home again, home again

No one wanted to get up in the morning after our long day of fun.  But we eventually dragged the kids out of bed and went to breakfast.

Sleepy boys!

Breakfast ended up being a big rotation of family members coming and going.  We enjoyed spending a little more time with everyone before we left.

Benjamin checking out
how tall David and Ken
are.

We'll miss this view!

We finally got everything loaded in the van and said our good-byes.  Then it was back across the lake and headed toward home.

Driving over the bridge away from the lodge.

Admiring the lake as we drive.

The weather was beautiful and we made good time on the drive.

We thought that Texas was really lame at welcoming people.
Was this really the only sign?

Now there's a TX sign on the bridge...

Oh, finally we're being welcomed to Texas!

We made it home about 6:30 and got the car unloaded.  Vacation officially over!

July 14: The best last day

My dad's cousin and her husband rented a boat for the morning to take anyone interested out on the lake.  My dad and his siblings got up early to go on the first boat excursion.  Emily decided to go along with them.  (She was really enjoying being a "grown up" on this trip.)  While they were out on the boat, the rest of our family got up and had a leisurely breakfast and got ready for the day.

Thanks to my Uncle Andy for the pictures from the first boat excursion!

Emily in deep conversation with her Popo.

Emily was super brave and got out on the tube.  She
hadn't ever done it before!

Emily was doing great, but wasn't heavy enough for
the tube--it tipped down on her.  She ended up rolling off
and waited in the water for the boat to come back for her.
Everyone was really impressed at how well she handled
the situation!  She admitted later that she was scared
but made herself stay calm.

Emily got back on the tube with Uncle Martin.

And then she went tubing with Aunt Leslie.  No hands!

We headed to the boat dock mid-morning.  The first group was happy and full of stories about their adventures, especially Emily.  She was all ready to go for more boating!  We loaded up and got everyone into life jackets and then we were off.

Happy children.  Benjamin stole Mack's hat.  He ended up
liking the hat so much that Mack gave it to him.

The dam that keeps the lake as a lake.

Jonathan loved the feeling of the wind in his hair.

We threw Jay on the tube first.  Mack tossed him around
a little, but didn't manage to throw him off!

Emily was an old pro by now, and had fun tubing with her
dad.

Patting your head means everything's ok.

Mack piloting the boat and a distant view of the lodge.

The lodge where we were staying.

Emily and Kathy.

Benjamin checking things out.

Abigail loved being on the
boat!

Ben designated himself
co-pilot.  He's peeking out from
the captain's chair.

Jay and the kids took a break for a swim in the lake.

Jon and Emily piled on with Jay for more tubing.

Benjamin helped drive.

Abby finally got brave and decided to try tubing.

No hands!

Beautiful!

Water+Sun=Tired boy!

We made our way back to dry land, where we had to say good-bye to Kathy and Mack and Kara, as they were heading home.  We got some lunch and went back to our room to relax for the afternoon.

Happy boat crew!

My grandmother with my dad and all his siblings.
Back row: Richard, Andy, Leslie, David
Front: Melanie, Grandma Jan

All my aunts and uncles, my parents, and my sister.
Back: Alan, Richard, Leslie, David, Ken
Front: Susan, Melanie, Grandma, Martin, Rebecca

At dinner time, we met up with the family who were still there.  By now, our kids were very comfortable with all the extended relatives, which was a lot of fun.

Uncle Alan showing off his fancy lefovers.

Abigail and Grandma Jan
became best friends.

Grandma and her great-grands.

Four generations.

Jonathan comparing heights
with David and Ken.

The kids talked us into one last night of swimming, so everyone went for a dip in the pool after dinner.  We all agreed that our last day of vacation couldn't have been much better!

Benjamin had to go to bed
wearing his new hat.

July 13: Digging for Diamonds

We slept in and then had breakfast in the lodge, which consisted of huge portions of delicious food.  It was lots of fun staying in the same place with all the extended family as we got to see a lot of everyone.

Grandma, Great Uncle Bob, and Mack looking at family
history.

After breakfast, most of the family had set up in one of the conference rooms.  My dad's cousin Cathy is really into family history and genealogy and brought in lots of old family books and heirlooms to share.  We stopped in to visit for a little while, but sitting and looking at "old stuff" wasn't really something our crew was interested in.

Map showing where diamonds
have been found in the crater.

We decided to head to Crater of Diamonds for the day to see if we could find our fortune.  (Just a few weeks before, someone had found an 8.5 carat diamond, so we were hopeful!) After the fun we'd had crystal digging, we were looking forward to more fun.

We didn't realize how many people would be at the park.  The parking lot was already busy when we got there, and it was super hot.  But we decided to give it a try.

The first problem we encountered was the sun.  There was no shade anywhere in the crater and it was hot.  So everyone got tired and unhappy pretty quickly. The second issue was that they hadn't turned over the dirt for awhile and it was dry and packed hard.  We persevered for about an hour, trying to find something other than dirt, then decided it was a lost cause and headed out.  All of us agreed that it wasn't a place we need to visit again!

Crater of diamonds.

When we got back to the lodge, we were all tired and hot. We took the afternoon to relax in the room in the air conditioning.

That night was the main dinner for the family reunion. We had a great meal and visited with our extended family, most of whom I hadn't seen in years.

It was especially fun to watch the kids get to know my grandmother and aunts and uncles.  As the only kids, they felt a little left out some of the time, but it was great to have them meet all the relatives.

After dinner, we went for a long swim.  Everyone knew vacation was drawing to an end and wanted to get the most out of it possible!