J'elaxin' in July 2: Speidel Reunion in Emden Maine

The big highlight of July was meeting up with my family in Maine for our 2nd annual Speidel reunion. We had such a great, relaxing time last year that we just had to rent another cabin this year for some more relaxing and catching up! We had a kayak, a canoe, a hammock, a raft, and our float plane. We also found a few swimming platforms to jump off in the lake as well as a water trampoline:0) We spent our time swimming, playing with the kids, soaking up sun, playing games (including pool), rafting, hiking *, running, flying, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, watching movies, and even had a dance off with the Wii one night. It was a great time all around and I think we have finally found a vacation where everyone feels like they can relax, except maybe poor Grandma because the kids constantly wanted to play with her!

*Nate hiked 3 hard miles on the AT trail. Andrew only carried him a few times. I was having a hard time climbing over those boulders, and he didn't complain once:)

Kaitlyn and Dash in the motor home on the way to the watering hole (2 months apart!)

Kaitlyn and Dash on the way to our hike LAST YEAR in the exact same position! (they grow too fast:)

hiking to the watering hole

exploring the watering hole

Jake climbing to the top of the waterfall

quite picturesque 

Riley and Nate- best friends:)

Nate and Riley LAST YEAR!

The grand-kids couldn't get enough of Grama and Grampa! ( and the hammock:)

Grandma organized activities for the kiddos each day- they caught caterpillars!

Me and Hanza!

Nate liked being upside down more than right side up:)

Brr...it's cold!

Dash and Kaitlyn were in charge of moving all of the rocks to make us a sandy beach:)

When we couldn't find Doree, we knew she was out in the kayak or canoe

Beautiful sunset!

Getting our Bollywood on!

Yes, everyone participated in the WII dance off!

Jake trying to convince Dash that the water was not cold:)

We went down the river for 9 miles on these...

and in this! (the canoe, not the car:)

What a relaxing day on the river! (thanks for pulling us once the current quit Jake!)

Nate's face is hilarious! He's really wanting to make cookies and sick of waiting.

Grama's at it again- entertaining the grand-kids:)

We did a lot of chillin'

More chillin'

Dad and Jake flying the float plane

my view

this is us landing on the water- a little scary, but quite a thrill!

the evenings were always so peaceful, and everyone watched as the float plane landed each night

Hannah even flew the float plane! (Nate didn't want to go this year, sorry Han:)

Here is Kaitlyn's party #5: Grandma had a pinata for the kids and Ali made her famous chocolate cake to celebrate:)

Family Pics

the toy room kept the kids completely entertained- that alone was worth renting the cabin:)

This year's cabin was rustic and over-decorated, but we still loved it!

Jake described it as TGI Friday's

Our menu for the evening!

Here is the view

Although we loved the cabin this year, here are some things we missed from our cabin last year:

alright, the view was better last year

we had a speed boat the whole week...

so we could go tubing!

we all made it on the hike!

we exercised a lot more, even though Doree and I did run to train for our Ragnar Race!

Nate went in the float plane

we had cute chubby babies, and now they are toddlers already!

it was cool enough at night to make s'mores.

we had a porch swing,

and an enclosed patio.

but really what made the cabin this year so much better was that toy area for the kids. We'll see which cabin we'll choose next year...One thing's for sure, it will have fishing and boating and we will get plenty of R&R. Thanks for the great trip everyone!