Kushog Family Reunion

We had our annual family reunion at Kushog Lake.

It was a smaller group than previous years, but we still had fun!

 

Of course the first thing everyone wants to do is go in the lake

This has a big and deep lake so Katheryn was going to be able to try out all of her swim gear!

(Even though she doesn't look very happy, it is a "not another picture mom!" look)

 

Nick is finally cleared for some swimming, so he was all set to go as well!

 

The water was beautiful and they would spend all day and night in the water

Instead they swam back and forth between our neighbor and our dock

 



 

Nick found the flippers to get in the way more than help. So we took off his braces and flippers and he could move around much better

 

We were camping this year. The kids were really excited to be sleeping in a tent.

I had thought we would all share the big sleeping bag, but Katheryn wanted to be in her own space.
I hadn't brought an air mattress for her, so we ended up with a lounge cushion.

In the morning we had a tent-crasher! Jeremy liked camping
And Katheryn wanted to sleep with Nick and I the second night

Katheryn and I also spent some time Pokémon hunting

Rory found her lounging spot

 

We went first got to the cottage, Rory liked being on the dock. My father jumped into the lake and either she jumped after him, or she was knocked in. But she ended up in the deep water, and she wasn't happy about it.

She did swim back to shore.

 

 

Katheryn has been swimming so great with her life jacket and flippers that I wanted to see what she could do without the support of the life jacket

 

She needed ALOT of encouragement

But she did it!
I never had any doubt!
That girl is like a fish!

Once she made it to the dock and she was confident that she could do this. She was off! Swimming all over the place.
I think next year we will be swimming across the lake together

 

Nick did lots and lots of walking with only his AFOs, but it would tire him out a bit. So he did resting too

 

At night we had marshmallows and told stories around the campfire

And we played cards
Katheryn learned how to play Rummy with Laura and I.
And she WON!

Of course she wanted to play with us the next day
(She may not want to admit it, but she is a lot like me)

Jamie and the kids had a build-your-own lightsaber project

After 4 days and 3 nights it was time to go.
I had to work again Tuesday night, so we got to have a quick dip in the beautiful lake first

No one wanted to get out

When we started packing the car, Rory was all ready to go

I wish we could have spent more time this year. It doesn't look like we will be back this summer

More cottaging

It was our annual Phillips family reunion! 10th annual reunion, and 50 years at the cottage

There were some big events and lots of fun

Katheryn met a new friend

And really liked hanging out with all of the old kids on the water trampoline that we rented

There was mini golf set up through the while property

And a photo contest

More water trampoline

Some cousin snuggles

And a movie set-up with a couple of videos that I created to commemorate the cottage and our families. (we set up a projector and a sheet at the lake so we could all watch it outdoors.

And we had fireworks that Kyle actually enjoyed! Thanks to the headphones.

It was a great family weekend, and we got to catch up with my cousins and their kids, and aunts and uncle. First cousins, second cousins, it is great!

I look forward to this weekend every year and we always have fun.

Family, family and more family!

The August long weekend means that it is time for our annual Philips Family Reunion!

I don't remember what year we started doing it, but it is the one time of the year when all of the family can get together, catch up, show off, watch grow and relax.

Kushog Lake is a beautiful swimming lake, BUT it is deep and Katheryn was well aware that she needs to be in her life jacket whenever she is close to the edge. (I may have stressed it a little too much, a week ago Katheryn woke up from a bad dream because she was near the water without her life jacket on).

The cottage hasn't grown in the last 50 years or so, it is a 3 bedroom cottage. But the family has grown significantly since my grandfather built it. So when we all meet in the year we camp it!



The kids love camping!

The water, the outdoors.

Katheryn didn't want to actually get in the water, she was just really happy to fill bucket after bucket of water and destroy sand castles. And following around the older girls (who were a huge, big help).

But Nick was the water baby! We swam and swam and swam. (It was alot easier once I got a noodle to help support us). There was a pirate ship on the lake!
Nick and I kept watching out for Captain Hook

Every family dinner needs to have our picture. And since we are too big to eat inside, what better place to set up our photo than with our dinner table!
I think we are all here, except Katheryn was in the cottage napping and we are missing 2 dogs (and Nick is hidden a bit).

The weekend was supposed to have a rainy day, so I made sure we had a bunch of fun things to do when we were stuck inside! The goody bag came out a little earlier and our craziness started to show a bit!

We also pulled out the badminton set and the 'kids' had lots of fun bouncing a birdie back and forth.

The cousins liked playing together, and teaching the younger ones!

The beginning of the weekend was a little bit hectic, with lots of clinging and crying. But by the end of the weekend we were more relaxed. Nick started to relax, and while I could never be too far away, Nick did take some opportunity to get into trouble (like colouring all over his face).

Or doing some exploring!

The cottage weekend was a huge success, the kids all had alot of fun, relaxing, exploring and playing with their cousins. It seems like 3 days is just not long enough.

But we'll take the time we have to breathe and enjoy the peace and tranquility.