Eagle River Vacation

I love Eagle River vacations.  A member of our congregation lets us use the family cabin for some time each summer.  I forget the exact year we started going up there for a summer vacation, but we've gone for several years now, and it always is a very fun time.  The first year we vacationed there, the four of us kids enjoyed exploring uncharted territory.  We discovered an island in the middle of Scattering Rice Lake and we named it Trinity Island for its three points.  We name each point according to a distinctive characteristic: Dead Wood Point for the dead tree located near the water, Lookout Point because that point provides a good view back toward shore where the cabin is, and Campfire Beach because that point is the only beach on the entire island and there is a campfire pit there.  I remember that we "adopted" a stray dog that year - Sammy.  That dog followed us around and wouldn't leave the property.  I think we ended up bringing the dog to someone we knew up there who could get it an animal shelter.  Of course, we did a lot of swimming and playing pool.  We even watched some great movies like Aliens and Independence Day.  And we also started a lot of awesome traditions. 

During the following trips up there, my grandparents started joining us, as did some good family friends.  Now it has become a much-anticipated, hopefully (but not always) annual event in the Koch (and now Frusti) household.  This vacation was much different for me than in previous years.  Normally I loved to be adventurous and busy.  My siblings and I would camp on Trinity Island, we'd make campfires, we'd jump off of the rope swing into the water, we'd go tubing, we'd play pool and watch movies, we'd basically do whatever we want and have tons of fun.  Now, however, while my siblings (and sometimes Gabe) ran off to do those things, I stayed behind with the adults (or sometimes just my mom and grandma).  It was my role and responsibility to be a mother to Jacob.  I was kind of depressed at first thinking about how quickly my life changed and I became sentimental when I thought back to all of the great memories I had of previous up north vacations.  It took me a few days to finally accept that motherhood is beautiful and just because I couldn't do all of the things I used to do with my siblings, they still love me and enjoy spending time with me.  Even though I can't lead the adventures, I still have an adventurous spirit, and can enjoy watching the fun they are having, and join in when possible.  Thankfully, my parents and grandparents were helpful in occasionally watching Jacob so I could take part in some fun activities.  And of course, Gabe helped out as well.  We also learned how to enjoy things in a new way as a family of 3.  In the future, I will try to enjoy those moments when I find myself thinking, "If only...then I could be..." and remember that one day my little one(s) will not be so little anymore and vacations will change all over again and we will be able to do more fun and exciting things.

All in all we had a lot of fun and in some ways it went by too quickly.  We did not get very many pictures because so many people had cameras that we just kind of forget to capture moments for ourselves.  Here are just a few highlights of vacation.  You can find a complete picture album of vacation here.

 Here are Paula, Hannah and Mary.  My two lovely sisters and one who is fast becoming very much like a sister.  

Here's Daddy and Jacob!

Classic shot of Phil.  Chopping firewood.

 

Gabe got a fishing license and put it to good use!  I am so happy that he had so many opportunities to do this activity that he loves.  

Notice that Jacob does not want to look at the camera...

Our little family of 3.

Some final thoughts:

Babywearing definitely came in handy on vacation - love it!

I'm excited that my family adopted one of the recipes that I have adopted from Gabe's family (I think his great Grandma!).

Losing power was not cool....but it could have been if we didn't have a baby who sleeps with a fan running.

It took Jacob several days once we got home to finally figure out how to sleep in his crib (and not with mommy) all night.

Kubb is still the coolest game ever.

Spending a day on a pontoon is fun and relaxing...but the water is really cold

And finally...laughing with my family will always always be one of my favorite things.