It has been our tradition to spend the week of the Fourth of July at Pat’s brothers’ cottage.  The family turns the cottage into a campground with our fifth wheel trailer, Welton and Mary Lee’s fifth wheel, and a number of tents for other family.  It is a great week of socializing and relaxing.  This year was special because our son, Scott and his daughters flew up from Mississippi to join us.  Our daughter, Elisabeth drove up from North Carolina, and our other son, Dave, was able to get time off from work in Lansing to join us as well.  As spread out as the family is, it is a rare occasion when we can get that many of us in one place at the same time!

The weather was hot, but that made the water that much more comfortable. I won’t say it was bath water, but it was very close.  We all had a wonderful time, swimming,boating,  building sand castles, and playing games at the cottage.  We had a campfire most nights and, of course, that meant roasting  marshmallows for “S’mores.”  For the adults, food is often considered the highlight of the holiday.  We had more than enough to eat every night, and the guys tried to out-do each other on the charcoal grill!

Going out of the lake in Wayne’s pontoon boat was a hit.  We always had snacks and drinks on board.  We would stop in the middle of the lake and everyone, including Wayne’s labrador, Zeke, would go for a swim.  Scott’s twin 5-year old daughters took to the water like fish and had no problems with jumping into the water in the middle of the lake.  Geri’s boat was the favorite for tubing, even for the twins.

Welton and Mary Lee brought our niece, Destiny who was visiting from Florida, with them.  Wayne and Mo’s son, Brian and his girlfriend were up for a few days.  Everyone is welcome at the cottage!

We celebrated the Fourth of July by attending Rose City fireworks show.  Rose City may be a small town but it puts on a great fireworks display.  It’s one of the best shows we have ever seen, and having your family to share it with is the icing on the cake.

One of the special events was meeting the newest member of our extended family.  Our niece Tara and her husband Ben brought their newborn daughter, Adalyn, to the cottage for all of us to see.  She is a precious little girl and was passed around for all to hold.

From the cottage, Dave went back to Lansing and we moved to Geri’s (Pat’s brother) farm in Bad Axe.  Scott’s girls thought it was great.  They had a chance to ride in a farm combine, pick fresh produce from the garden, and feed Geri’s horse.  The weekend was filled with games, playing with the dogs, and water balloon battles.  Bob, Scott, Welton, and Ben did some target shooting in the wood lot behind the family farm.  Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end.  Elisabeth headed home to Raleigh on Sunday.  Bob had to leave on July 10th for Pittsburgh for two days and Pat took Scott and the girls to the airport on the 11th.

The rest of the time at Geri’s was a lot more relaxing but just as much fun.  Pat helped in the garden, visited friends.  Bob did some work on the trailer and made a mount for the flags as he has been wanting to do.  All in all we had a wonderful time with family and friends.  On July 18th we headed up north, next stop Tahquamenon Falls near Paradise, MI.