For August long weekend we were blessed to meet up with Jon's family at Manhatten Beach Camp in western Manitoba. Not only did we get to spend time with his immediate family there, but several of his aunts, uncles, and cousins too!! We were there for Gramma's family reunion and what a treat indeed!
Here are Jon's aunts and uncles plus the cousins that were able to make it out for the weekend.
Since Jon's aunties and uncles are spread out across Canada (and the States!) we typically don't get to see them very often. Needless to say, having a whole weekend together was wonderful! After connecting with them, being reminded of how sweet each of his aunts are, and seeing the girls quickly warm up and become "best buds" with a number of the aunts and uncles, it made me wish they all lived closer!! Every night we sat around the campfire and were intrigued with stories of the past. Gramma came from a very large, hard working farm family and to say life was "different back then" is an understatement... it sure makes one stop and think!
Jon and I walked away from the weekend feeling VERY BLESSED by the heritage that God has given us through Gramma & Grampa and the love for Christ that each of their families passed on to them. Since most of the family lives far away we feel EXTRA privileged to have them "just down the road!" We hope to spend many a winter evenings listening to more of their stories as the weather keeps us cooped inside!
We didn't have our own personal boat at the camp, but were able to take a cruise around the lake on a couple of occasions!
The girls soaked up as much time with Gramma and Grampa T. as they could! There were boat rides, swimming, trips to the park, bicycle rides, story times, and several trips to the ice cream/candy shop! :)
Jon grew up coming to this camp almost every summer, so it was really cool to connect visuals with all the stories I've heard!
The weather was perfect, so we went swimming both in the lake and in the pool.... though the term "we" is used lightly! There was no way I was going to don a bathing suit in my current state! Again, I'm thankful for family members who enjoy the water more than I do! :)
Alia was given this bee for her birthday, and though she enjoyed playing with it... it was LARREN who couldn't get enough! For a girl who is ALWAYS on the go, it was a welcome sight to see her so relaxed! It didn't matter if the bee was in the water or on the floor in our hotel room... she was as content as they come when the two of them were together!
We tried to get a family picture that was somewhat decent but between energetic kids, people looking at two different cameras, and being able to see who was holding the remote camera control... we decided to go for a "realistic look" this time around!
We'll have to try again at Christmas... though we do give credit to Joe and Matt in this pic!!
We would have loved to extend the weekend a few more days, and it seems that there is always more conversation to be had or activities to do, but it was nice being able to see the whole family again... just wish it could happen more often!!
* The original intention was to post this RIGHT after the Ohio one, cause they're both way OVERDUE! But ... to give you an idea, we went to Manhatten Beach camp and then left immediately from there for Ohio. The adventurous train story should be in the middle, but as I've said... it's still in the works! *
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