(They let the little kids off before doing the squashing part.)
Just like last year, the kids enjoyed making fairy houses (using bits and pieces of nature--bark, moss, sticks, sand, pebbles, etc.--to make a little "house" and yard/garden next to tree trunks). Others had made some and left them from previous weeks, and our kids (and cousins) changed existing ones and made new ones. This year Abby and Lydia got into it more, and I often found them quietly sitting by a tree trunk, arranging a fence or carefully placing sticks into a tiny fire pit.
Lydia on left, Abby on right
A fairy house
Crazy Aunt Bobo pushing kids in the hammock
Our niece Aria (a few weeks younger than Clara)
The big girls loved to dote on Aria (meaning they often treated her more like a baby and bugged her). She's talking much more than Clara, and she started saying "Abby" pretty early in the week. But she stuck to "Abby" as the name for both twins. When Andrew or Lisa would ask her to say "Lydia," she'd smirk and say, in her tiny little voice, "Abby."
I don't know why they think going down backward is a good idea (this is Abby)
Aria making a camera face, Andrew standing behind Abby and Aria
Clara and Aria decided they would push they big kids on the merry-go-round
Abby
What's a dangerous, old-school slide without crazy antics? :)
Aunt Bobo and Abby
What would vacation at the lake be without a campfire and s'mores? We made sure to fit this in one non-rainy night, and of course, the kids loved it. (The bedtime meltdown and sticky marshmallow hair were the downside.)
Aunt Rach and Abby
Josiah, Abby, and Lydia enjoy their s'mores with Grandma on the dock
Clara got graham crackers
Cousin Abbie with Clara
Josiah and his gang running races (?) or hurrying to the little dock to fish for crayfish?
He's getting too big!
My cousin's youngest, Cecilia--so cute!
Mary Grace, Josiah, Andrew, Justin, and Cecilia
Jeremy and Abby out sailing
Aunt Reenie and Clara
Josiah joined in volleyball for a bit and got a tutorial on serving
On our last full day at Lorien, it rained buckets and flooded the playground and lawns. Clara enjoyed stomping in the ditch, even though she was getting a cold. I'm sure getting soaked didn't help her recovery, but she certainly had fun!
Aria with her dad and mom (Andrew and Lisa)
Cutie cousins
Clara and PJ, one of my cousin's sons
Everyone loves Aunt Reenie!
The big kids rode their bikes through the lake of a puddle and river of a ditch, splashed through with their swimsuits on, and generally enjoyed getting soaked.
Abby in the ditch
As you can see, we all had fun at Lorien! Unfortunately we all came home with colds and had some cranky days adjusting back home (as was to be expected). But at least our flight home was much pleasanter than the flight to Michigan, and here we are a month back in Phoenix, finally starting to cool down and head toward fall.
