Family Weekend at Grand View Lodge

We took our annual family reunion trip this past weekend and had a really fun time!  This year, we moved out trip from Ruttger's Bay Lake Lodge (where we have gone the last few years) to Grand View Lodge on Gull Lake.  The resort was great and we really enjoyed the really nice house we stayed in, the variety of dining options throughout the weekend, and the fun activities to do there.  Sadly, the Kevin, Keng, and Owen were not able to join us this year due to illness, so it was just our local crew - my 5, Michelle, Brian, and Theo, and Nanny and Grandpa.  We had a fun, but eventful weekend.

Before we headed out on our trip, the kids and I had a pajama day at home and made cookies for the trip.  Sarah helped me make oatmeal butterscotch cookies while Trevor napped and then Trevor was the chef for the chocolate chip cookies.  He thought getting to lick the beater was very exciting!

That night, the little stinker got out of his bed and I heard him open his door and then heard his little feet pitter patter down the hall.  I went upstairs to put him back to bed and could not find him!  I searched for a while and called Steve upstairs to help me look. We looked in every room, under every bed, in every closet, etc. and could not find him.  I was about to go downstairs to see if he snuck downstairs while we were searching other rooms.  Right as I turned to go downstairs, I saw him out of the corner of my eye...IN THE DRYER!!  I had a heart attack, pulled him out and screamed at him, then put him back to bed and waited another hour or so for my heart rate to return to normal.  This kid is going to kill me with all his shenanigans!

Friday morning we headed out!  Unfortunately, while getting everything ready and all the kids packed for the trip, I forgot to grab the life jackets out of the garage, so after we got to Nanny and Grandpa's house, Steve drove back to the house quickly to grab the life jackets while we hung out on the driveway and had some fun cousin time.

When we arrived, we had a nice lunch on the patio (until the bees arrived and were very interested in our food and drinks, so we moved inside). 

 Then Grandpa put the boat in the water and we got in some tubing and skiing before dinner.

Nanny's littlest boater.

Most fun grandparent award goes to Nanny!  Tubing, water slides, games, etc.  No wonder the kids adore her!

Austin and Trevor tubing with Nanny.

 Then going a little faster just with Austin and Nanny.

 Sleepy baby. That boat engine and fresh air is exhausting.

 Trevor took a turn going slow with Nanny. 

 And Austin and Brian were whipping around in and out of the wake like crazy.

Boater babe Sarah!

 Since we stayed on the boat late, we ordered some pizza in to the house and got the kiddos bathed and ready for bed while waiting for it to come.  Bath time for the little dudes!

We had a rough night that night with Trevor falling out of the bed at 3 am despite him being in the center of a queen bed by himself (and never falling out of his twin bed without a railing at home!).  Sarah and Austin were in the other bed fighting over the covers and the space on the bed for most of the night.  By morning, they were ready for some more fun!

When we headed to the lodge for the breakfast buffet, the kids found the big moose on the wall and Trevor declared that it was "Moose A Muffin" (in reference to the book in the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" series called "If You Give a Moose a Muffin").  Here the kiddos posed in front of "moose a muffin".

Then we had some playtime on the playground while waiting for the weather to warm up a bit before heading out on the lake.

Sarah had so much fun pushing Theo on the swing. 

Our crew with the beautiful lodge in the background

It was still a little to chilly to get out on the water right away in the morning, so we took the kids to the indoor pool for a while.  They had a blast!  It had zero entry for the little ones, bubbler fountains, water guns, basketball hoops, and a big water slide.

Daddy got Trevor to go down the slide once, but he didn't want to go again.

Trevor had fun shooting people with the water guns, but wasn't super thrilled about the turnabout when the person he was squirting turned the other one on him.

Nanny, Sarah, and Austin went on the slide together again and again. 

Theo had fun in the water too...and of course has some smiles for Nanny.

Afterward, we had some lunch then tried to head out on the boat. Unfortunately, the propeller had gotten chewed up the previous day and the replacement one wasn't functioning properly, so an alarm went off and Grandpa had to take the boat back out of the water.  The weather also wasn't cooperating - it was cool, windy, occasionally raining, and the water was very choppy.  Grandpa had rented us a jet ski for that day too, but it was SO bumpy on the water that we didn't get much use out of it.

That night I got sick and the kids didn't sleep well, but we were ready for more fun on Sunday.  We headed to breakfast in the morning and then Austin challenged Nanny to a game of big checkers on the lobby tables.

That morning, the water was smooth and the winds were gone, but the weather was cool.  By then, the boat wasn't doing well and we didn't have the jet ski anymore, so we enjoyed more time at the pool after checking out of our cabin.

Trevor thought it was hilarious when I held him and stepped on the bubble fountain to make it stop shooting water, then moved my foot to have it shoot up in front of him.

I got snuggle hugs when he was tired and ready to dry off. 

We got changed into homegoing clothes, had a nice lunch over at the golf course, then stopped at the Chocolate Ox (the candy store and ice cream shop) for some ice cream treats before heading home. The big kids got rainbow sherbet, Trevor got a multicolored Superman ice cream, and Theo had fun sharing bites from everybody else's ice cream.

The big kids all wanted to share some with Theo.

Grandpa taught Austin how to play shuffleboard on the lawn.

And Trevor was chilling on a lawn chair.

We had a great time with family!  Thanks for the great trip Mom and Dad!  We missed the KBs, but we will see them in October for our next family trip to Florida.  Can't wait!