Pimushe 2013

 Sarah was a tad too young for a 11 hour drive, so the rest of us opted out, but my family generously took Andrew along on a week of vacation at Pimushe Lake!  He's never been gone from us for even close to that long, but sounds like he barely noticed.  These are a few pictures courtesy of my sister Chris & my Dad.  Think he had any fun?

 Yes, that is two fish on one line!

 Mom & Dad with my sibs...
we'll have to Photoshop me in the back. 

All the grandkids, minus our girls, lined up in the order they were born!  My sister Melissa designed these fun shirts for the trip & we couldn't resist.  We each have a number based on the order that we either were born or married into the family.  I'm number 8... Sarah is 44!

Thanks so much for taking good care of Andrew, everyone.  We were there in spirit.  :)

Pimushe Lake

Ah the joys of vacation! We had such a nice time away. We enjoyed a week in two pretty cabins up by Pimushe Lake, Minnesota with my entire immediate family minus my newly ordained brother who was put in charge of his parish for the week. That's 32 people! It was a blast. Here's a few pictures to tell the story. We spent the 3rd of July at my sister Chris' home outside of St. Paul. There was quite the gaggle of kiddos & fireworks. Andrew & Rebecca were most excited to see all of their cousins & try out their "big kid" bikes.The next afternoon we arrived at Pimushe Lake. After a quick trip down the road to the country Church for Mass, we settled in to our luxurious cabins, pontoon boat, & perfectly zero entry beach.
Andrew LOVED fishing. He actually made the first catch of the trip! They spent a lot of time fishing on the boat & just off the dock. I've never seen him exhibit such patience!

With an adjustable basketball hoop next to the playground, the kids were actually able to successfully make a few baskets. Rebecca spent a good deal of her time on the swing.

Benedict & Veronica looking cute

These modified paddle boats were a big hit with the kids. Even Rebecca could do a pretty good job maneuvering herself.

She loved playing at the beach. Sand, water, toys...good times.

Here she is with Matthias relaxing by the bonfire before the Talent Show.

I don't have a big group shot on my camera, but here's one of my Mom & Dad with all the grandkids (well all except this one in-utero who must be doing some sort of acrobatics in there as I type.)

We left a two days earlier than the rest of the gang to have a little time to recover when we got home. On the way we stayed over night in Sioux Falls. We enjoyed yummy pizza that night & the up close & personal sound of airplanes landing pretty much directly over our hotel. : P The next morning we checked out what we could of the beautiful St. Joseph's Cathedral. The Marian grotto was beautiful...& a fun place to run.

The main body of the Church is under renovation, but we were able to visit Jesus in the Sacred Heart Chapel in back. The painting behind the altar was gorgeous!Afterwards we drove through downtown out to the Falls. Gorgeous. I was here about 15 years ago but they have done a LOT of work since then. There was an observation tower, restaurant, older buildings to walk through, & beautiful landscaping.

We finished our trek home Friday afternoon. What a great adventure!