Our NY Vacation

The start of the Heikoop family vacation.

We were all supposed to meet up by 11:00 a.m. at Henry and Heathers...and we pulled in at 11:30 a.m. - and were first.... and everyone started trickling in until 1 p.m. But he, that's just life. :) We visited, and eventually, we all rolled out.

The caravan of cars gearing up to go.

Dear Diane.

During the car ride.... it took about 6 hours to get there. Some bathroom breaks and snack moments helped make it doable for the kids. We got to the cottage when it was dark, so we all unpacked, and had a comforting supper Heather had made for us... the start to a week of great food. :)

The cottage we rented. It had so much for us to do there - fire pit, sandy court for volleyball, horseshoes, 8 person hot tub, games room, a nice open area in the cabin - 5 bedrooms (not soundproof ) and one creaky bed. :) (that was ours)

Laura getting into the cottage owner's DVD collection.

Sorting through to find some good ones... (both pix taken by Tim)

Looking down at everyone.

Opa and Erik playing catch.

All the kids had their life jackets on for most of the time, when they were outside.

Volleyball time!

Lydia  - love this shot of her. Must have been a powerful shot cause the ball is not in the picture.

Tim and Brad bumping.

Serving

Henry showing off his fashionable clothing.

Meanwhile, Opa took a bunch of the younger ones for a pontoon ride. That boat got well used that week. Safe and not too fast. Perfect for the kiddo's to ride in.

Off they go.

During a supper time - the cousins.

Enjoying everyone.

Miss blue eyes.

Dad working on his latest art piece. Always amazed at his handiwork.

Enjoying the hot tub.

Adorable boy - he loved the "warm tub".

Diane.

Pretty Sarah.

Rob, Lyd and Hendrik fishing off the dock. There was a prize for Henry's kids - whoever could get the biggest fish of the week, won. Hendrik was so diligent - and he won the $10. :)

Nathan - working in the sand. It got well used over the week. As the waterfront didn't have any sand area, this worked great - and was safer as we didn't have to watch over them quite so closely.

A pita meal - with sweet hot pepper mustard sauce.

Other evening meals included:

-hamburgers

-chili and potatoes

-cheeseburger and dill pickle soup

-coconut chicken curry with rice

Eating outdoors - the food lineup.

Four kiddies in a little pool. Mom Heikoop brought a few outdoor toys for the kids to play with. She's always so thoughtful of them.

Nail session - Lydia did most of our nails, but Deanna did Brad's... :) William wanted camo but don't think he ever got his done.

Matching girls - Julia and Nelly on Nel's last day before she left to head back to Manitoba for one last year at school. Vacation wasn't the same without her...

Cute bug crawling up momma.

Julia in the fun sprinkler from Oma.

Elita and Katy

Erik loves water in a controlled enviorment - not so good with the open water.

Goggle eyes.

One of the mornings James and I took the four younger ones (Julia, Nathan, Katie and Erik) out across the lake, to a little waterfall area. I read for a couple minutes in some of the photography books I had brought, while James took them for a little walk through the stream. Then I followed them, as I took a few pictures.

The mini waterfall.

James took a shot of just me. :) Since I wasn't in too many shots :) Sweet guy.

Just to prove I did go on vacation.

My man. :)

Climbing and sliding around the waterfall.

Cousin picture. Right before Erik started fussing. Amazing how a shot can look so lovely, and the next second, the tone can change. A good reminder that it's not always as perfect as it looks. :)

Inquisitive Nathan - always with something to do and something to think about.

My favorite quote of his for the week when he was consoling Katelyn about her missing out on something... "well, a hunk of meat is a hunk of meat." :) Like - it is what it is. :) Profound boy at times.

On our way back from our waterfall excursion, we met up with Brad, Tim, and the girls. Lyd, Rach and Hannah were all going water-skiing - and all got up and had a great time skiing.

The nephews dirt bikes (and Sarah's quad) was brought down, and they guys went biking a few times. Erik got to go too - cute shot, but he didn't go alone on these machines. He loved it!

After breakfast...helping him with those last bites.

Hannah, Lyd and Sarah - matched that day.

Uncle Henry and Vanessa - we all got some sweet baby cuddles in this week.

Dad suddenly went on a posing with stuffed animal spree - first the deer head...

...then the stuffed quail...

...then he brought down the skunk by Tim and Hudson...

William, Sarah and Tim were a team for a couple meals - this is their breakfast they put on.

With flair.

Since the kiddie grass skirts didn't quite work around their waists, their legs worked.

Our Hawaiian themed breakfast.

Smile. :)

Smile again.

Serving up the omelets with yet another smile.

All the brunches were always so lovely to wake up to... :)

-omelets, croissants, potatoes

-sausage gravy, toast, scrambled eggs

-ham and egg casseroles

-pancakes, eggs, French toast fingers

-and more..

Dad and Brad got into another stuffed animal thing - so off we went to make it look realistic.

Kinda worked.

Overkill attempt.

(James trying to hide)

The kids and James made a huge sandcastle and moat in the volleyball court.

Lots of sand was eaten that week.

We girls had just finished swimming back from the middle of the lake one last time, and headed straight into the hot tub. That was awesome. Going from cold to warm.

We would dive...okay more like jump, off the pontoon boat and do some great swimming in the middle of the lake. Too close to shore was muddy and shallow. I would say that was one of my favorite times of the whole week - swimming and trying to dive. :)

Kisses from Erik.

Cousins Hudson and Erik playing together after supper.

One of our last meals together.

Chilling by daddy. :)

Elita's basket ride on Aunty Sarah.

Then Saturday rolled around, and we packed up, and off we traveled home. Stopping on the way for some groceries, and lots of potty breaks before we made it home.

The end of a great week.