Year 3, September 2nd, 2018: Labor Day Weekend, Part 4, Look the Gang's (Not) All Here!

After a rough emotional night, I was feeling off, so I stayed home. The rest of the gang went to a small local Wesleyan church “in town.” Actually, it wasn't in town where the grocery stores are, but just 10 minutes away here in Walkersville. Ron actually stayed back as well, but we stayed out of each other's way. I needed a little space before more company came in the afternoon, and I needed alone time with God, not with God and strangers. So I journaled and listened to my Bible while the boat rocked back and forth “on the stormy sea.” Well, not stormy, but there were lots of waves because of the other boaters. I nearly took a nap, too. But it was just what I needed. Jared said the church was about 60 people, mostly older folks, all hymns, basic sermon, and kids went to another room during the sermon part. Abishai behaved himself but ended up under the pew (they sat on the back row next to a wall thankfully), and quietly sang “The B-I-B-L-E” to himself! Cute!

When they got back, they all ate some lunch and then Nina took Justin, Luke and Keturah to the Dollar Store for milk, eggs, butter, and treats. Justin got a new set of earbuds, Keturah got sour patch candy, Clara and Abishai got MM's, they brought back a pop for Benaiah, and they bought me Twinkies, which of course I can't now that I'm back off of gluten, but it's the thought that counts. While they were gone, I got Abishai some lunch, although he was ready to jump in the water immediately of course. But the other kids were gone long enough for me to hold Abishai off until they all got home and ready for water play. Abishai played for a bit, but got really cold. After I got him out of his swim trunks and dressed into dry clothes he ended up watching a movie while he hung out with paci, blankie, and a jeep full of “friends.” (Clara's stuffed animals.) He is beyond exhausted. Grandma and Aunt Nina stayed with him, and Justin, while some of us went out tubing.

Uncle Mike, Aunt Pam, and their granddaughters, Abby and Becca (mom is Jared's cousin Kirsten who married Rusty), arrived shortly after 2pm. The girls got their bathing suits on, and Mike, Pam, Abby, Becca, Luke, Keturah, Benaiah, Jared, Ron, and I all went tubing on the boat. Well, only Jared, Benaiah, Luke, and Keturah actually went in the tube. Jared lasted for 15 seconds but was too bold and fell off. He got back up and finished the loop though. Benaiah also lasted only for 15 seconds, but he was just too big for the tube, so he ended up not going very far. Keturah was brave and did about ½ off of a loop while the boat was barely above idle. And Luke finished off Keturah's run. The boat was tipped weirdly because of where everyone was sitting, so we kept getting sprayed by the water coming through the side gate. I had to cover my phone and camera with a damp towel (nothing ever stays perfectly dry on a boat) to keep them dry. The girls didn't get on the tube, but they did try out the kayak and paddleboat. Keturah swam again, as well as Abishai and Clara jumped off the end of the dock. Luke and Justin had a pool noddle fight out in the deeper water. Jared was on and off the kayak as well. Leah, Pam, and Nina got on the pontoon when it was docked, but even that was too much for Leah. Even now as I'm typing this at 9:15pm, I kind of feel seasick and that the table is rocking. A little too much sun and too many boatrides I guess.

So, we are all exhausted from tons of outdoor time, which is exactly what we all needed. We are also sore from sleeping on weird mattresses and using muscles we didn't know we had. I think the kids have had their fill. It's time to go home. We had dinner with Uncle Mike, Aunt Pam, and the girls of chili dogs, corn on the cob, fresh green beans (you can always tell they're fresh because they are just a bit fuzzy like peach), noodle mayo pea salad, watermelon, cucumber, and brownies. And enough Vernors to wash it all down. Then the adults talked, Gary played nerts with Benaiah, and the kids played board games. Jared helped Ron put the cover on the plontoon boat because we all head home tomorrow and there's a big storm coming through tonight. Jared, Mike, Ron, and I cleaned up the yard while Gary and the ladies did the dishes. Abishai was here and there and even on the counter with his face full of brownies! I think he ate 3 of them! He didn't eat a whole lot of the supper food, so he was legitimately hungry, but still. He did love having new people today and decided to try to get them all involved in his play. “Look! New people I can charm with my cuteness and lounge all over and play with!” Fresh fodder! Lol.

Then just as the storm was rolling in, Uncle Mike, Aunt Pam, and the girls left, and Uncle Ron and Aunt Nina took Luke and Clara home. Luke's dad RJ, and Clara's mom, Michelle, where supposed to come up, too, but she had to babysit. Luke and Clara are half siblings. Ron and Nina will be back tonight and will probably clean and close up the cottage in the next day or two. Benaiah forgot to ask off work, so he has to work a 3-10pm shift tomorrow, so Gary and Leah will leave with him at 7am. And in the midst of everything, I didn't think to take a family picture until it was too late. From now on, we are taking a family picture as soon as we arrive someplace (if it's daylight) and everyone has used the restroom. I'm tired of not getting those Christmas card worthy family pictures! And we will hit up JCPenny's for regular portraits, too. Anyway, it's been a long day, and both Jared and I are in some real physical pain. His sciatica is through the roof, and my shoulders, ears, and knees are bothering me. I'm not used to climbing stairs anymore! I could feel them throbbing at dinner time. So I put some essential oils on and took some pain killers.

Family dynamics are decent here, but you can tell that some of us are really stuck in our thoughts and habits we've had for years, from the topics of conversation, to who does what to make supper happen. They've all been married around 40 years, so they've known each other for that long and have had many, many memories of summer and winter trips together. And they all had babies soon after they got married, so the cousins were all about the same age. And to some degree, the cousins got married about the same time and have kids around the same ages, well, some of them at least. It makes it nice for when we do get together. I wish we did get togther more often. But most of the family lives up here and doesn't travel much. One cousin lives in Florida, so her family goes to visit her often. Ron and Nina go to Florida for a month or so in the winter, too. And then there's us, and all the cousins, and we are all too busy to make the effort to go far without parents orchestrating it. So, we don't. But it's great when it does happen. And I am grateful to have a real chance to get away and do a whole lot of nothing. We got here Thursday night, and I haven't set foot in a car, and won't until late Monday morning. That's my kind of vacation. Or a bunch of field trips exploring an area. One of the two, lol. It's a lot less stress to stay in one place for several days because then I don't have to drag my stuff (medicaitons, food, camera) everywhere and plan ahead. You unpack and repack once. Ah, that's the stuff dreams are made of!

And tomorrow we head home. We might stop in Muskegon, Gary's birthplace and the city where his parents were born, lived, and died in and both his brothers now live, if it's not raining and if Jared's cousin Donna is around. We also might take a quick jaunt through the collage where CIY takes place for the boys and stop by Benaiah's favorite coffee shop. I'm very disappointed he won't be with us though. I was looking forward to doing that with him, and no, I won't go to CIY and embarrass him. Then it's back to school for everyone on Tuesday. I think we'll be ready. I did get the school prep I needed to do, done, while we were here. I even finally picked up an easy to read novel that I had borrowed from the library and read some of it. I might just sit down and read a bunch more of it tonight unless everyone goes to bed super early, lol, which most are doing that. 9:30 pm just seems way too early to me, but then again, it is the norm for a lot of people who get up early. I just have teens now that stay up late, so I stay up late. We do end up connecting that late at night, so it's worth it. But I'm exhausted, so we'll see. Now I'm rambling. And tomorrow night I can start processing pictures. And putting the blog together. This was perfect, typing the main portion of the blog as it happens and working with the pictures later. Much more manageable. Yeah! And this is the end of our 2018 Labor Day happenings!

Video playlist:
Labor Day 2018 Day 4

Aw, the stuffies have sweet rides!

I think Justin is taking after Jared here out in the wild woods of Michigan.  While Benaiah used to be more active, he just doesn't seem interested.  But Justin was willing to get out there and try.  Look at him, go!  Actually, Uncle Aaron was/is very active with the outdoors, too.  He owned a canoe at some point.  Yeah for Justin!  Ron's boys don't come up very often to the cottage because they work a lot, so I think Ron was very happy that everything was getting use this weekend.

Oh, Keturah got out there, too!  Way to go, water bugs!

As soon as Uncle Mike's family came up, they were all out there in the boats, too.  Well, not Aunt Pam, she has autoimmune issues like I do and isn't as active as the rest of them.

Wow, Uncle Mike's granddaughters got big!  I remember them years and years ago as like 2 and 5 yr olds.  They are now 8 and 11.  And they are super tall!  Not sure where the tallness comes from because everyone else is average height.  Hm,...and the younger one looks just like her mama, cousin Kristen.  Her sister, Kelli, lives in Florida and they are going to have their first child, a boy, in December.  Aunt Pam will fly down, but Uncle Mike has never flown and will not fly, so he usually takes the bus or even the train.  Remember, Uncle Ron is older than Gary and Uncle Mike is younger than Gary.  They had an older sister that died at birth or very young.

I absolutely love this picture because it emphasizes the risks this little one takes.  Big leaps of faith jumping into every aspect of life.

The wives chillin' on the boat.  We've all been swimming many times in our lifetime, so no need to do that now. 

Where did Abishai go?  The tube is so tall, but it has a full bottom (not like an inner tube), so he could potentially sit in it and not all out.

She made it all by herself!

It was much cooler on Sunday, so Abishai got cold quickly.  His lips were blue and he was shivering.  He knows he's shivering, but he finds it hard to resist the call of the water.

Kristin's girls on the kayak.

Justin and Luke having their last time to hang out in the water.  I don't think they can bottom here.

Trying to warm up the little guy.

I finally took him into the house so he could rest and warm up.  He's exhausted from all the physical activity, despite sleeping well at night.  He's got Clara's little stuffed friends watching a movie with him.  He lined up the chair and the jeep to face the TV.  I think he was watching Super Mario Brothers cartoon from the late 80's (which I saw as a kid in the 80's.  My brother liked it) or the newer Stuart Little movie.

Nope, I won't smile for the camera, Mom.

She looks a bit different without her glasses.  Her eyes still cross, too, although she can see well now with the glasses on.

Brothers! Middle on the left, youngest in the middle and oldest on the right.  Definitely related.  Very deep Sweedish roots.

Oo, look who decided to join us on the boat!  Benaiah came out for one final boat run and then decided to take a turn on the tube, despite being in his day clothes.  Keturah was ready to give it a go.  The other girls were ready, too, but chickened out once we got out on the water.

Jared's first time, too, on the tube.  He stayed on well and made great use of the wake and waves!

There he goes!

Uncle Mike, Benaiah, Jared, and Aunt Pam.

Bathing beauty.

Abby, Kristen's oldest?  Man, her legs are long! 

Aunt Nina and Abishai watching the boat with binoculars!  He looked so cute trying to see us.

Benaiah's first attempt.

He last all of 10 seconds.  He was laughing too hard trying to keep himself positioned right and he is just a bit heavier and built slightly different than Jared, so he was just too big for the tube.  Uncle Ron said he'll get a bigger tube for next year.  The men were plotting a Johnson reunion of sorts for next Labor Day weekend.  I'd love that!

Brave, courageous Keturah.  She was very scared, but she hung out for dear life and lasted 1/2 of a lap.  We didn't go up much past idle, which meant the water was choppier than it would have been at regular speed.  She was grimacing the whole time.  But she made it!

Baby girl at idle speed.

Clara, Aunt Nina, and Abishai awaiting our return.

Justin finally got Luke to play monopoly with him and then Abishai had to go and get in the middle of it.

So exhausted!

I think this one, too, is exhausted.

Becca and Abby.  Becca is the one that looks like her mom Kristen and Aunt Pam.  Sweet, quiet girls.  Abishai was all over them asking for playtime.  "Oh, look, new playmates!"

Sunday supper with everyone.  I can't believe we are all related and we don't even have all the cousins!  3 sons/3 wives, 3 girl cousins/3 husbands, 4 boy cousins/3 wives, 5 grandsons (by birth, not the other children that are step children), 7 granddaughters equals 31 people currently in the Johnson family.  I think the other adults included the step children because they said something like 35 or 36 in all if we did a reunion of sorts next year.  Like the Cook family, the elders of the Johnson family have never divorced and the lineage isn't complicated until our generation, and even then, only two members on both sides of the family is on their 2nd marriage.  That's amazing!  Especially considering the number of marriages that fall apart after kids have left the nest and our generation having divorces/remarriages left and right (at least 50% do).  I attribute that to our faith and for really strong grandparents.  And we all get along, too!  That's the thing!  Sure we all have quirks, but that doesn't split us up! How cool is that?!  I think I married into the right family, lol.

Oh, Abishai, you are always up for some trick and love to get to people.  Poor girls!

Again, Abishai, in the thick of the action with the girls.  And the girls are so tolerant of it, too.  Great jobs, Mamas!  So sweet!

No night cruise for us, the storms came rolling in.  The past two nights we got to take a quiet slow cruise around the lake with all the adults.  Kind of bummed, but we had already taken the boat out earlier in the afternoon.

Someone fell in love with Aunt Nina.  He wanted to lie down near her.

So tired he's "melting" off of the chair.  Oh, and while we are here in the evening time, I guess I could mention that because the deck was so high off othe ground, the bugs weren't too bad.  We did have those "no see ums" but not a bunch of mosquitoes or flies or bees or anything.  Now THAT was a great treat!

Abishai, Pam and Leah hanging out on the deck.

Wonderful clouds!

I'm glad Jared and I both appreciate God's creation in the clouds and sunsets!

Kind of a funny picture, but there's a story to it.  Ron said that they don't pull their boat from the water until late October, but when they aren't using it everyday, he'll put the cover on.  While we were there, even if it rained, they didn't worry about putting the cover on because it's all water proof.  That meant that in the morning we would have to wipe the dew off, but that was fine.  I think it's a huge privilege for Jared to have been able to touch all the cool toys, especially this newer boat of Ron's.  I'm sure when the boys were in their teens, Ron wouldn't have let them go near it.  But he's softened as he's aged, too.  And again, I think he was just grateful to have a young guy around that actually cared about the cottage, the lake, the slow life, since he isn't able to spend that much time with sons because they work and have families.  Jared mentioned that Ron might have also been more than happy to have a helping hand reach over and snap all the buttons on the cover down onto the boat and crawl in and do the stakes to keep the cover up because he is getting older and his knee was bothering him.  But, here's a quirk for you, Ron made a comment about how blacks had to do all the bottom of the barrel chores in the Navy (I think Ron might have served for a couple of years) and he didn't understand why blacks were even allowed in the Navy because they can't swim.  Um, yes, Ron and RJ can be a bit racist, but we just eye rolled to ourselves and let it go.  Thank goodness the Johnson family doesn't talk about politics or religion because who knows where we'd end up with those.  Most of them go to churches, but who knows if they are healthy ones or not.  At least we are all on similar pages with religion. Anyway, the boat is now ready for a rest.

Again, Abishai putting his nose into everything!  By the way, Abby, the older one (and if I've messed up there names, you can change them in your minds), is much more extroverted and talkative than her sister Becca who hung onto Grandma Pam and didn't say a word.  She actually reminded me more of her Aunt Kelli who was shier when I met her.  I think she's much more open now that she's older though and we connect on Facebook often.  I don't see Kristen, the girls' mom, on there that much.  We haven't seem them in person in since Donna and Willie's wedding in 2012.  Wow, I thought it was longer than that.  Still, 6 1/2 yrs is a long enough time.

Always Nerts on vacation.  They tried teaching it to Luke but I don't think he's going to remember it next year.

Evening hangouts before the rain came and everyone went home.  Nina and Ron took Luke and Clara home as well.  RJ lives halfway between where they live in Muskegon and here at the cottage which is like 30 minutes from here.

Turned around to find this one on the counter literally stuffing his face with brownies Aunt Pam made.  He hasn't eaten as much food while we were here at the cabin because it's not his typical food fare and he can be quite picky.  So I'm guessing he was really really hungry.

Good night and good bye lake.  We forgot to take a family picture and I'm pretty mad about it.  Next year perhaps.

Late evening gaming.

Early morning cuddles.  He sleeps soundly, but moves a lot.

Yup, this is where I needed to be today.

He couldn't join us for part of the day because he had a sinus headache.

Benaiah flipping over!

A closer picture of Abishai with the binoculars.  How cute is that?

Jared?

So many cloud formations!

Aunt Nina helped us get this one.  I'm so not crazy about the angle and how round I look, but it's a picture.  It's better than not having pictures, so oh well.  Next time, we will get the whole crew up here!