Where's the lake??

"My broccoli isn't doin' too good, but I think the cucumbers will do just fine" is the dinner conversation at the table next to us in a cafe in Brule, Wisconsin. Four hundred plus miles from the cool breezes of the island have us questioning the wisdom of ever leaving at all! Tonight's camp site is hot, humid, and swarming with mosquitoes, but better than the one we had aimed for all day. That campground turned out to be a hunters' campground, over six miles on a dirt road, ending in a low holler next to a mouldering piece of water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes. One of our better decisions of the day was to "move on". The next little town had a cafe (where the broccoli conversation and canned corn and mashed potatoes were served up with a tough little piece of chicken). We opted for a State Forest campground, also about seven miles off the highway, also hot and humid, but prettier, if that counts. At this rate, we may be in a motel tomorrow night, one with air conditioning! We'll keep you posted! Love, Liz

Woman of steel

Did I mention the water is FREEZING?

Our Youngest Member

This is Lacey, the 5 month old Golden Retriever puppy belonging to Jeff's family. What fun we have had watching this young life discover the world around her! She has no fear, lots of curiosity, and a disarming personality that, coupled with her cuteness, makes us love her. Puppies are a handful, though, which is why the protest sign of Jeff,s girls at the tie dye party said, "Lacey Didn't Do It!" Love, Liz

The Tie Dye Party

The project this summer, sponsored by Aunt Ada, was tie Dying. Ada brought with her a shirt for everyone, all the ingredients to do the project, and, most importantly, the two pages, small print instructions, written for us by Ada's friend Stephanie DuBois, a master tie dyer, herself. It took three days, and lots of participation and fun to make our shirts.

The culminating activity was last night's tie dye celebration dinner, which quickly morphed into a hippie theme, complete with protest signs (mine said, "Black Labs Matter"). We often refer to different Summer's together by the theme, as in: " That was the summer of the gnome party". Well, this will be referred to as the Summer of the tie dye shirts! Love, Liz

Imagination: A key ingredient

This year it is horses, little plastic ones, and each of the kids has one or more in her care. Every horse has a name, and a home in the forest AND a boat to go to sea in! In the picture Hanna is showing me her horses' home, and the boat she made herself. The horses have just come in from a boat ride, and are still in their corrals on the boat.

Under the Main House is a long work bench and a hundred years' worth of accumulated tools. The work bench was not built for little girls and boys, so stools are in order to enable the hammering and sawing necessary. Some parent always seems to be available to guide the little carpenters in their boat building endeavors. The boats are very creative! Love, Liz

Kids' Night to Cook (3)

The finished product! Love, Liz

KIds' Night to Cook - part 2

On the salad side of the kitchen, Katelyn Meyer and Hannah are seen here slicing and dicing a great salad. Only one cut finger, but band aids are found in the 70 or 80 year-old medicine cabinet on the left. The dog food can is collecting dripping water from the leaky roof! Love, Liz

KIds' Night to Cook

Lauren Meyer, Jeff's daughter, is about to turn 14. As the eldest of the generation 5 cousins, she was the Head Chef for the preparations for dinner. All the kids pitched in, doing an amazing job of slicing, dicing, stirring, baking, etc. Much was learned: how to time a meal so that everything is cooked and hot at the same time; what a rolling boil looks like, how to extract a meatball from the sauce to test for donness, etc.
While generation 5 is cooking, generation 4, all their parents, are enjoying a cousins night out, and generation 2, Aunt Ada, Grammie Liz, GramMart and Uncle Cary are overseeing the meal preparation, the 7 month old twins, 7 kids, and 3 dogs. Did I mention the lightning, thunder, and POURING down rain? It was a very interesting evening! Love, Liz

Camp Meyer - East

Eighteen family members on a beautiful island - who could ask for anything more?....some solace, maybe? That is where my van and my trailer in which Jeff and his girls are traveling come in. We have made a little camp in the woods that is peaceful and quiet when all the activity gets too much. We recently weather-tested it In a good rain and found ourselves dry under the awnings. Each evening Cinda and I retire to my van, my favorite "elevator music" and a glass of wine, and sleep peacefully under a starry pine scented night. Morning brings a new day full of memorable activities, but I do enjoy my quiet evenings! Love, Liz

Camp Meyer - East

Eighteen family members on a beautiful island - who could ask for anything more?....some solace, maybe? That is where my van and my trailer in which Jeff and his girls are traveling come in. We have made a little camp in the woods that is peaceful and quiet when all the activity gets too much. We recently weather-tested it In a good rain and found ourselves dry under the awnings. Each evening Cinda and I retire to my van, my favorite "elevator music" and a glass of wine, and sleep peacefully under a starry pine scented night. Morning brings a new day full of memorable activities, but I do enjoy my quiet evenings! Love, Liz

Trailer Life

Jeff and his girls, like Ada and me, chose to come to the Island by driving across the country. They had a wonderful trip, seeing all the sights...Grand Tetons, Yellowstone Park, Mt. Rushmore, and all the miles of America that feed us.
Dave and I bought this trailer a couple of years before he died. Buying my van was a great solution for my traveling plans, and I am happy that Jeff can make good use of the trailer. Once in Cedarville, the challenge was how to bring the trailer to Hatch Haven. We spent half a day trimming the forest back to bring it in, then our good friend and neighbor Tom Flood offered to bring it down with his tractor so that we could turn it around in our parking lot.
Jeff and I now are camping neighbors, though Jeff and his girls are sleeping in the Main House with all the cousins. We now number 18, so there is always lots of activity. Our day ended with a campfire and s'mores on the beach, followed by sand castle building for the kids and stories and laughter for the grown ups. I love this family! Love, Liz

More on the 4th of July

As the generations play out, while we were raising our kids, the three little Scott kids living down the island would come by to bake cookies with "Aunt Ada", and swim with us on our beach. Our kids grew up and have kids of their own. Meanwhile the little Scott kids grew up, and are all in college getting degrees in math and medicine, the fields their parents have excelled in, in their own careers. To our grandkids, the Scott kids, Ana, Sarah and Peter, are the heroes that swim on our beach, jump off the dock catching frisbees, and take the time with the young ones to encourage jumping off the dock, even letting the kids bury them in the beach sand. What fun we are having! I might mention that the water is FREEZING cold! Aunt Ada, turning 75, gets the prize for being the oldest person to get in that water and swim. Not being a contender for that prize, since I am younger by three years, I didn't even try! Love, Liz

Happy 4th of July!

Small towns across America are celebrating this Independence Day, but none more patriotically than Cedarville. The fire department did the pancake and sausage breakfast before the parade. Everyone was dressed in red white and blue. The town is a square- three blocks wide by three blocks long. The parade does the square, starting with a float handing out little flags to everyone with a message to "fly Our Flag to honor our Veterans. An old tractor pulled a flatbed of some family reunion group, all with the family tee shirt, with the kids on bikes behind. Old classic trailered boats carried the class reunion group, and other groups, all throwing out candy, much to the delight of all our kids. We have learned by experience to bring bags for the candy chasers. The picture shows Hannah's spot with a view. Following the parade and a visit to the craft show we returned to Hatch Haven for an afternoon on the beach. That story follows! It's great to be an American! Love, Liz