We love Henderson Harbor!

With kids, vacation is sort of just a change of location- you still do the same things, have the same routine, fight the same battles... just in a different place. So while the girls and I are still carrying out our daily lives, we certainly appreciate being in such a nice place to do it.

My mother remains the prime documenter and photographer, so I only have a few shots of the fun until I share her pics. Before Patrick left for St Louis yesterday, he and my dad- and Mariel too- got in a good amount of fishing time.

My mom (the elementary school PE teacher) also has all sorts of exciting toys and activities. She had the parachute from school here to get cleaned up over the summer but it got broken out for a bit of playing, too.

Everyone's grandmother should be a gym teacher!

Noella (while not fishing or parachuting) is also having fun. She does not stay still for long, and is definately an advanced crawler. She is also quite good at pulling herself up to standing, and seems to think that she should be allowed to stand on her own.

Asking for some prayers....
We are all (at least briefly- Patrick leaves tomorrow) in Henderson Harbor, enjoying a brief quiet time. It has been a busy and emotionally draining week. On Saturday my parents threw my brother and I a wonderful graduation party- lots of food, drinks, and friends and family. By the end of the day we even got a little sun.
On Sunday and Monday, members of my father's family all headed home to the Catskills to honor his step-mother, Florence, who passed away on July 3. Florence was a wonderful mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother (at latest count 15 great grandchildren!) and lived a rich and full life. We will miss her, and we are glad that we shared the joys that we did. She is buried in Youngsville, New York, next to her first husband Al Berberich. In one of those wonderful quirks of small town life (and death), their graves are immediately next to those of my grandfather and my grandmother (she passed away in 1968), Irv and Winifred Boxberger. So Florence is actually buried next to both of the men that she shared her life with.
Tuesday and Wednesday were nice days at the cottage- lots of fishing and playing and enjoying life.
This morning we got news that one of Mariel's preschool friends, Arianna is in the hospital in St Louis. Ari is in the process of being diagnosed with cancer, although it is not yet clear what stage the cancer is in. A difficult time for anyone, much less a 3 year old or her family. So if anyone has prayers or good wishes to spare, send them their way.