Lake Champlain, Vermont

I'm not sure if anyone can remember the exact year, but I do know that for the better part of the last 35 years my extended Woodworth family has spent the first week of August on the shores of Lake Champlain...simply enjoying being together.  We sleep in tents, eat at a dining hall, splash in the chilly water, drink coffee, play time honored games like bocce and shuffleboard, and have a really really really good time.  

This year we had the added blessing of being there with all six of my siblings and the seven (soon to be nine) grandchildren that make up my immediate family as well.  

We were all pretty sleep deprived by the end of the week (the one year olds must have conspired to make each night seem like it lasted forever...not in the good way!)...but we made a lot of wonderful memories and the joy of being together made the sleepless nights worth it!

Grant won the prize and got to travel with us for the 8 hour drive from PA to VT...he lived to tell about it, too!  Here we are crossing Lake Chaplain on the ferry - the best part of the trip for sure!

Quintessential Eagle Camp!

Cool guys on the hammock!

The kiddos with our waitress, Mckayla...who was verrrry patient and sweet with all of us!

My cousin, Suzanne, rocked some family zumba time one night after dinner.  (complete with glow sticks!)

Blast off! 

Sweet cousins and lifelong friends!  

32/52

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*Slices of Camp Life*

Elise:  Sweet seven year old smiles!!!!

Caleb:  Stopped by Uncle Steve and Aunt Ellen's cabin and met their friendly neighborhood chipmunk.

Lucas:  Future Shuffleboard Champ-In-Training!

Eden:  Just love watching her explore this great, big, beautiful world.  

31/52

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Elise:  Snack time with Smoky...so much fun!

Caleb:  Checking out the fabulous new deck at the cottage...he could have stayed there and watched the builders all day.

Lucas:  Decided he wanted to read "Go Dog Go" ...over and over...he was pretty excited about it!

Eden:  My sleepy little girl with an impromptu nap during our day at the cottage.

Happy 7th Birthday, Elise!!

Since our sweet Elise has already lived on 3 continents and called 4 houses "home," I suppose it's to be expected that we've celebrated both her sixth and seventh birthdays in the midst of moving chaos!  Thankfully we found a simple way to celebrate and say farewell to some of her favorite first grade friends on the night of her birthday. She was sooooo very happy and they were all soooo cute!

Dinner at Pop's Pizza...followed by frozen yogurt at Tutti Frutti.  (Elise's requests for a night out with her buddies!)

Oh, Elise...we love to so very much and loved celebrating your birthday with you and your lovely friends!

30/52

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Elise:  Our seven year old!  We celebrated with some of her best friends from first grade and had such a sweet time.  (**She also lost her front tooth on her birthday eve!!!)

Caleb:  One more play date with his best friend in NC!  (Lucas got to go along, too, since she has a little brother the same age.)

Lucas:  My Mac & Cheese man enjoying a plate of yum during our last trip to Foster's.

Eden:  Little one enjoying our farewell stop at Maple View Farms.

29/52

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Elise:  This girl loves her little sis and she's been quite responsible with helping take care of her lately.  (Most notably when they're both up at 6:30a.m. and Mom and Dad want a few more minutes of sleep!)

Caleb:  He and Lucas were hosting all sorts of World Cup events in the basement after a few weeks of watching soccer games on t.v.  I think the game they played the longest was a variation on "hot lava" with balloons and short wooden sticks.  And though I long to throw away all of our old trophies, they do come in handy when you have a World Cup Champion in the house!  (He followed me around for at least 15 minutes asking me to take a picture of him with his trophy and his champion face.)

Lucas:  "Tovi, don't climb up here where I am...it's too dangerous for little kids." ...says the three year old to the five year old...

Eden:  No crying over spilled milk here...poor little lady was trying to get herself something to drink.  "A" for effort!

28/52

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Elise:  As an early birthday present Hannah and Chris sent her a wonderful activity book with all kinds of crafts, experiments, and fun things to do!  So far we've made edible play dough, colorful volcanoes and finger and toe paints.  Lots of summer fun!

Caleb:  This boy comes from a long line of firework enthusiasts!  (Saw the sparkler "shield" on a blog and thought it might make playing with fire more safe...the jury is still out...)

Lucas:  I think this sweet boy may have been feeling deprived of playdates for much of this year.  (I kind of crawled into a hole!) He asked if Emily and the kids could stay until August and he was so sad when they had to go home. 

Eden:  Doesn't she look so grown up???  What happened to my baby?  Similar to Elise, she's really not interested in using any words other than "da" to communicate, but she's just started to chatter on and on when she opens a book or picks up my phone.  Love her!