Family Get Together

 My side of the family wanted to get together some time this summer. It's difficult planning a weekend get-away with everyone's schedules. We had nailed down the time, but when we started looking at cabins/houses to rent, they were out of our price range. Some of them rented for thousands per week. There are 20 people in our immediate family, so we needed a large house. We had given up on vacationing together because of the price.

My mom found a cabin that was available and reasonable to rent in Chamberlain. We were able to go for the weekend at the end of June. The only one that wasn't able to make it was my older sister, Amber.

The cabin had three large rooms with bunk beds. Most slept there, but we also set up tents. There was a nice campground right across the street from the cabin. Mike even convinced me to sleep in the tent one night and I will never do that again!! At night, we sat around the campfire and had smores. Yum!

 Chamberlain is such a pretty town. It sits right on the Missouri river. Mike's parents live in Chamberlain, so we were able to use their boat and go tubing and skiing. We also spent time at the beach and the pool. It was a nice relaxing time. The kids had fun playing with each other and stayed busy the entire time.

 We split up the meals and each family brought the ingredients and prepared one. This made it as stress-free as possible. Once your meal was done, you didn't have to cook any more. Mike and I made brauts and Mike and his mom (thanks, Andrea) made a few different salads to go with them. We ate good home-cooked food all weekend.

 We set off a bunch of fireworks. The kids' favorite were the parachutes. Even the men got in on catching the parachutes. The poor kids were trampled if they weren't watching out for the "big" kids.

 It was fun seeing everyone. The summer has gone by way too fast. Before we know it, school will start. I love making memories like these. I still remember spending time with my cousins and shooting off fireworks at my grandma's house.

 My brother-in-law, Steve, was deployed a few days after our vacation. It was good spending the weekend with him. He'll be gone a few months so my sister, Sarah, could use some prayers while he is away. It's never easy being a single-parent.