Memorial Weekend

The weather was uncommonly warm and sunny for a Michigan Memorial Day Weekend. (The hallmark of this particular holiday in Michigan is a sharp 30 degree temperature drop accompanied by precipitation in all its forms flying in sideways in a 40 mph gale)

Samuel loves to swing. The life jacket is just in case he flies off into the lake.

Abigail has a good view of the hike from her perch over my shoulder.

Samuel goes to camp

This past week Samuel went on his first camping trip.

Sand Lakes Quiet Area was the destination.

Several discoveries were made throughout the trip. Some by Samuel (the wilderness isn't plumbed with flush toilets, and it's encouraged by my dad to go pee in the woods), and some by myself (pyromania is linked to the Y chromosome, as is whacking things with sticks and throwing rocks into perfectly still lakes).

A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz.

Monday Grandpa Wagner took the family to the ballpark.
Hot dogs, popcorn and fellowship were shared by all.
Samuel and cousin Peyton enjoyed the rides more than the game,
but that should change when Samuel develops his curve ball and can locate his change-up!
Tigers lost 2-7.

The Cottage

Our weekend at the cottage.

Samuel doing some birding.

There are wild raspberries right across the road from the cottage. They seem to have more flavor than garden grown berries. This explains why Samuel had a ring of red around his lips and we ended up with about half the berries we picked.
The turtle trap. Samuel, my dad, and I built this gizmo a couple weeks ago and it has proven to be irresistible to the shelled beasts. We caught 7 turtles over its first weekend of use and another 5 this past weekend.
Samuel snacking on a boat ride. (Not pictured here is the Mason County Sheriff who kindly persuaded us to put a life jacket on Samuel.)

We built and hung a tree swing. It doesn't take too long sitting in a swing to come to the realization that it is a cottage essential.

A more aesthetic view of the swing.

A more aesthetic view of the family.

The Great Ohio'an Adventure

This past weekend we made the trip to the lake house per the invitation of Kate and Ryan.

We loaded up the jalopy like a tibetan sherpa and updated our passports with an Ohio stamp. Friday morning we piloted our motorcoach South by Southeast.

Day 1:

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We didn't have too many miles under our belts before we encountered some wildlife of interest. I have a habit of photographing outstanding mullet haircuts. So when we stood in line at McDonalds for coffee behind this stunning specimen I completely gave in to temptation and snapped this nice candid.

Then it was back onto the highway. We made it to the lake house where some introductions were in order (Abigail's first meeting with some native Ohio'ans)

Then it was time to eat some lunch and play trucks.

Day 2:

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Samuel starts off the day by brewing a pot of java for the fam.

Our bellies were filled to carrying capacity with breakfast so we figured the best thing to do was to spit in the face of sea sickness and go for a boat ride.

A trained goose made a great babysitter while Abigail took a nap.

The afternoon was consumed with working on the tan and looking at the boats.

Day 3:

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The water was calm for skiing in the morning.

Samuel took the jet-ski out for a cruise and encountered a piece of Marblehead, OH history. The smallest lighthouse in the universe. This is not trick photography this microscopic beacon of saftey is roughly 6 inches taller than Samuel. A boat captain needs the vision of an eagle to avoid this landmass.




















This concludes our adventure. The remainder of the day was occupied with the journey home. No photos or commentary will accompany this event as it was filled to overflowing with cranky tired children. We are currently praying that our memories of the return trip will be obliterated completely.