Time to Head Home

Sun. 7/12/09

We’ve had a great week. We’re all a little sad to leave, but it’s time to go home. We enjoyed our time at the beach, golfing, eating meals in the dining room, playing with Jenna and Sarah, and talking to friends and family.

Our most memorable Ruttger's moments of 2009:

Sarah - giving “high fives”, learning to “fist bump”, hugging all the kids, falling asleep 4 times in the dining room during supper, playing in the water and sand at the beach, learning to putt, eating a chocolate ice cream cone without a bib right before supper (thanks Aunt Cheri), sharing a king size bed with Jenna for several nights and then getting it all to herself!

Jenna - splashing with her friends at the beach, going down the BIG slide at the beach, looking for shells and rocks at the beach, writing notes to boys, getting kissed on the cheek by William (he’s 7), getting her own food at the breakfast and supper buffets, going to Kid's Kamp every day, making a tie dye shirt, and learning to use a hula hoop, sharing a king size bed with Sarah for a couple of nights and then deciding to sleep in the roll away bed instead.

Margaret - hanging out at the beach with our family and friends, having time to read a book, watching Jenna and Sarah have fun at the beach interacting with all the kids, playing golf, taking the annual photos in front of the fireplace and on the swing, watching the hummingbirds, hearing the loons, playing bingo, shopping at the resort stores, sleeping on the pull out couch.

Tim - playing with the kids, talking to friends, going to the beach, playing 5 rounds of golf, going to Auntie M’s to get a mocha, going to the Elvis show - NOT!, and feeling sick the last morning.

Last Day at Ruttgers!

Sat. 7/11/09

It’s our last full day at Ruttgers. The kids are going to spend the afternoon at the beach with their Aunt Cheri and Aunt Tami. Tim and I are going to play golf with Grandma Linda on Alec’s 9.

Sarah fell asleep during supper again! The beach wears her out every time. Tim and Jenna love eating ice cream sundaes for dessert.

Tonight is the “Woodstock Festival” with music and dancing. It should be fun.

“Mad Science” & Golfing

Fri. 7/10/09

It's Jenna's last day at Kid's Kamp. Mr. Dude, the “mad scientist”, will be showing the kids science tricks. After lunch, they’ll go swimming at the indoor pool.

Cheri is coming over with a friend and her kids to see the mad scientist, too. We’ll bring Sarah and meet up with her for the performance. Cheri is taking Sarah to the beach this afternoon so Tim and I can go golfing while Jenna is at Kid's Kamp.

Tim and I had fun golfing. The golf course wasn’t crowded at all. I hadn’t picked up a golf club since last year at Ruttgers. I actually got a par on the 2nd hole!! We lost lots of balls and found lots of balls. I think we came out ahead!!

We picked Jenna up at Kid's Kamp and took a couple of photos in front of the building. They got rice krispie bars for a snack today.

We headed back to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

I played bingo tonight. Didn’t win any money. I picked out two unlucky cards. Couldn’t even win loser’s bingo.

“Tie Dye” Day

Thurs. 7/9/09

It’s “tie dye” day at Kid’s Kamp today. Jenna wore the tie dye shirt she made last year. She’s pretty proud of it. It’s the first time she’s worn it because it’s still kind of big. Jenna is excited to make a new tie dye shirt this year. After lunch, Kid’s Kamp is going swimming at the indoor pool. Jenna loves the water and is very excited to go!

Today, the weather is cloudy, cool and windy. Not a good day for the beach. Tim, Sarah, and I hung out at our cottage. Sarah played with the toys in her backpack and snacked while Tim and I did a little reading and relaxing.

We went to the putting green after we picked Jenna up at Kid's Kamp. It's cool and windy. Jenna had fun putting, but her sister kept getting in her way. Sarah had fun waving her putter around her head and chasing golf balls around the green.

Jenna Goes to the Island & Carnival Day

Wed. 7/8/09

Tim went golfing with the guys on “The Lakes” 18 hole course. They started at 7 a.m.

Sarah and I dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp. They’re going on the pontoon boat to the Island this morning. We’ll pick her up at noon. It’s carnival day from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Sarah and I went to the kid’s playground. She had fun swinging, going down the slide, and playing in the sand.

Jenna wore her Dr. Seuss hat. She made it at Kid's Kamp.

Sarah and Jenna had fun playing games at the carnival. They won lots of candy.

Dad Goes Golfing

Tues. 7/7/09

Tim went golfing early this morning with a couple of other guys. They went out on Alec's 9 and were back in time for breakfast.


We dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp and then went to the playground. Sarah had fun playing in the sand, climbing, swinging, and going down the slide. This kid loves to be in constant motion!!


After lunch, we headed to the beach. Sarah couldn’t wait to get in the water. She played for awhile and then needed a snack break.

Kid's Kamp had a sand castle contest at the beach. Here's Jenna
and her friends with their entry.

I played bingo tonight. Didn’t win anything. Had a good time talking with friends.

Day at the Beach

Mon. 7/6/09

We dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp at 9:00 a.m. She knows a couple of kids from last year so she was O.K. with us leaving her. We’ll pick her up at 3:00 p.m.

Tim and I spent the day at the beach with Sarah. She was afraid to put her toes in the water at first. Sarah’s probably never seen a lake before in her life. It didn’t take her long to overcome her initial hesitation. She loved splashing in the water and playing in the sand. The day was warm and the sun was shining.

After we picked Jenna up from Kid’s Kamp, we all went back to the beach. It's a beautiful day! Spent the rest of the afternoon watching the kids play in the water and talking to friends.

We’re Headed “Up North”!

Sun. 7/5/09

Jenna and Sarah opened their last “Countdown to Ruttgers” gifts from Aunt Cheri after breakfast. They got cute stuffed animals. Sarah got a moose and Jenna got a kitty. The new additions will be traveling to Ruttgers with us.

Tim and I are both frantically trying to pack suitcases and all the other “stuff” needed for a vacation “Up North”. Why did we leave the packing until the last day? We’ll never learn!!

We were hoping to leave at 1:00 p.m. and finally left a little before 2:00 p.m. The traffic wasn’t bad. We arrived at Ruttgers around 4:00 p.m. We’re in Cottage #744 this year. It has a bigger bedroom with a king size bed, a much larger living room with 2 pull out couches, 2 bathrooms, and a large deck. We love it!

We unpacked the car and moved into the cottage. It took us awhile to get everything put away. Jenna is excited to explore. Sarah is just looking around and taking it all in. We wonder what she's thinking. We've only been home for 3 weeks and we're off again on vacation. Sarah has adjusted really well to all the changes that have been thrown at her in the last month.

We head over to the dining room for supper at the main lodge. Our dinner reservation is for 5:30 p.m. We love the breakfast and supper buffets. We have a window table again this year. We enjoy looking at the lake while we eat. This year there are hummingbird feeders hanging outside the windows.

1 Day to Ruttgers - Happy 4th of July!

Sat. 7/4/09

We still haven’t packed a thing for vacation! I’ve got a packing list 4 pages long and keep adding to it. The kids are “off the wall” today. It's hard to think about packing while trying to keep Jenna and Sarah occupied.

We were invited to a neighborhood Fourth of July celebration. We'd love to go, but it doesn't start until after supper. We decided it was better to keep the regular bedtime routine the night before leaving on vacation. Hopefully, we'll be invited next year.

The countdown to Ruttgers gifts are an Atlas for Jenna and a MN sticker book for Sarah.

2 Days to Ruttgers!

Fri. 7/3/09

Tim has the day off from work since the holiday falls on Saturday. We have lots to accomplish today. First stop is Target to stock up on supplies for our vacation. We also need to work in the yard. The weeds are taking over!

We haven’t packed a thing yet, but I’ve been busy making lists. Hopefully, I’ve remembered everything we need.

The kids opened their gifts from Aunt Cheri. They got crayons and cute little notebooks.

3 Days To Ruttgers!

Thurs. 7/2/09

We’re leaving for vacation on Sunday. Jenna has been counting down the days until we go to Ruttgers Resort on Bay Lake. I think we’re all excited to go. I’m looking forward to eating the breakfast and supper buffets in the main lodge. No meal prep or meal clean up. We only have to worry about making lunches.
It’ll be nice to see the same families that we’ve gotten acquainted with over the last couple of years. Jenna can’t wait to go to the beach, play with Grandma, go fishing with Aunt Lynne, go to the beach, play with her friends, go to the beach, go swimming with Aunt Cheri, go to the beach, go to Kid’s Kamp, and go to the beach!!

Tim is hoping to relax and play a lot of golf. Last year, he played with a couple of the other dads and had a great time. I’m hoping to relax, hang out at the beach, play a little golf, and look in the shops. We want to take the kids on the putting green. Jenna has her own clubs and we brought along a plastic putter for Sarah. Tonight the kids get Ruttgers t-shirts from Aunt Cheri.

4 days to Ruttgers!

Wed. 7/1/09

It’s a little warmer today, but still no sun. The kids played in the back yard. Jenna likes having someone to play with even though Sarah is 3 years younger. She likes showing off and doing things that Sarah can’t do – like sitting on the top of the climber. Sarah is a daredevil. She tries to do whatever Jenna does even though she doesn’t have the coordination to do it. Sarah has more bumps and bruises than we can count.

Whenever Sarah gets in trouble, she points to one of her many “boo boos” and makes a sad face. She lets us know in so many words, “Look, how can you get mad at me when I have so many bumps and bruises!” We wonder where she learned how to do that? Just one of the many mysteries we’ll never know about.

Tim took the kids to the playground when he got home from work. Jenna swung from the monkey bars the whole way for the FIRST TIME EVER! She was so proud of herself!!

It's 4 days to Ruttgers! The girls opened gifts from Aunt Cheri tonight. It's a puzzle for Sarah and "Go Fish" for Jenna.