We just returned from our annual Olson family camping trip to Elbow Lake or "Camp Corbett". It was a disappointment to only have 3 nights together as compared to 5 or 6 during previous years. Less time meant that every moment needed to be appreciated. It was early evening when we arrived and so tents needed to be set up, suitcases unloaded, and food hauled into the lodge. It was too much of a temptation for Ben to unload the kayak and not immediately try it out!
Grandma's new camper was just right. I had to take a picture of it because it is so cute! Grandma's faithful companion "guarded" the entrance.
The kids finally got their tents up and their contribution to unloading the vehicles was done. They could not wait to swim as darkness fell. I love these big kids. Little kids at heart and in spirit. Is this our 12th trip together? Have I seen this image 12 times already? Kids jumping into the water as I'm thinking, "it's really getting pretty dark and it's kinda late"... and they wholeheartedly disregard my concerns and swim and laugh and thoroughly enjoy each other!
Kruta's brought their adorable puppy, "Rylie". She was everybody's buddy and enjoyed Sam's lap for a bit.
This 'posture' suggests that Sam just beat his dad in badmitton.
Good ol' uncle Brian patiently pulled teenagers on the tube over and over again. It's Isaac and Dominic's turn.
Darling little boys. Not so little, I guess... Dominic just got his driver's permit and Isaac will soon be 15.
Becca and Sam are next.
Sam is demonstrating how tricky it is to maintain your balance on the wildly rough lake. ha!
The boys are almost as tall as their dads now.
Ben and Kathryn go flying across the water!
easy conversations...enjoying the presence of each other...
...love this shot! I could walk around ALL DAY and take pictures of 'stuff'. People, shoes, leaves, rope, puppies, sunsets, reflections... and on and on.
Ben and Kathryn...
Oh my gosh these girls are so cute... inside and out!
Did I mention how cute my nieces are?!
This poor cat is a stray and the caretaker said that it has hung out here all summer. It made me heartsick to think about it not having a home. I tried to tell myself that it probably likes it's freedom and is probably happy with it's situation. But it was incredibly clingy and seemed to crave human contact. So I continued to feel horribly sorry for it. It got plenty of love while we were there. I love how it is napping RIGHT next to Becca and Kathryn as they play cards. Any closer and he would be on top of the cards!
3 days is not a lot of time to do all the things you are used to doing over 5 or 6 days! It's tradition to tip a canoe over and then spend the next couple of hours... not really sure what they do but that's how long it takes!
Sam, Dominic, and Isaac... I took a ton of pictures while they monkeyed with the canoe. It was so funny to watch!
Kelli and Jill take their annual canoe ride.
Lots of reading goes on while we camp. Ben is taking a break to stare at the activity in the water as his book rests.
Guess where the boys are:) and the canoe mysteriously drifts closer and closer to shore!
They are so funny!
Dock fishing... always time for that. I remember the years when these peanuts would cast off the dock for hours, luring in dozens of tiny fish with kernels of corn. And I would watch with eagle eyes as they leaned over the dock. What different days they are now. They are big kids now and I watch in a new way. Not with a veil of concern for their safety tight over my eyes but with easy glances and a grateful gaze.
Steve, Ben, and Isaac head out for a few hours of fishing. There is a great spot in the bay where they are hoping to catch a few.
Sam chooses paddle-boating with Becca.
Sets of shoes and flipflops can be spotted all over...
Mackenzie and Sam floated alongside their floating cousins:)
I love the colors and textures in this photo.
I didn't have a book this year to read. Last year, I finished The Hobbit. I had about 15 pages left of "The Art of Racing in the Rain" but hated to bring it camping. It's Ben's book and he is very careful with his things. I can be hard on books so it stayed behind. I finished it the night we got home. Instead, I flipped through some of my old gardening and summer magazines and enjoyed them as if they were new.
Boys return with a stringer of fish. I'm sure Steve doesn't get to fish as much as he would like as he is busy steering the boat and netting fish.
The water was like glass and the light was magical. I frequently refer to light as having a magical quality. Some sunlight can only be described as 'magical'.
"Tent City" is what the kids call this section of camp. 7 tents house most of the kids and our family. Other Olsons stay in campers or the cabins.
You are so cute, Sam...and I love the "EXTREME" label. :)
Did I already say how cute these guys are?
Isaac is practicing his fileting skills demonstrated by Grandpa Don during our trip to Babbitt.
The fish station... this is where the work really begins.
This was the last evening before we all had to leave. And this is the beginning of the water balloon attack. The boys are closing in on the girls who are floating on rafts...Ben in his kayak, Sam and Isaac in the paddle boat (water balloons in a Hugo's bag), and Dominic in the canoe. Taylor is on the pink raft and Becca and Mackenzie are on the other raft.
The water balloons are released! Where did Becca go?! :)
Boys are having fun... and the girls?
Dominic is having fun! Mackenzie is still dry and on the raft... where is Becca?
See Becca in the water and Ben in his kayak?
See Ben in the water and Becca hanging on Ben's kayak?!
Sam, Isaac, and Dominic make a getaway.
The boys return. Dominic and Isaac load up with more balloons. Ben and Sam attempt to throw Becca and Mackenzie off the raft... as the little boys clobber them with balloons! Poor Mackenzie! She just got blasted on the head with a balloon...and then she is pushed in!
And now it's Becca's turn! Does Sam push her in?
Yes, he pushes her in and the big boys try to take control of raft! The little boys scoop up Taylor's pink raft and retreat.
Girls try to regain control of the raft!
The boys finally leave and the girls get their raft back. :)
A view of camp from our boat. I fished for awhile with Steve and Ben and I caught quite a few crappies! Between all of us, we had enough for a meal when we got home.
I tend to take a lot of pictures of feet and shoes.
And then our trip ends. For 12 years our families have gathered together during the summer. I look at these big kids...kids that have become adults, kids on the brink of adulthood, and kids that are moving through teenagehood.
But when I listen to them laugh and play, these are the faces I see. They once again become our little children as their laughter and chatter echo through the lake air. We see our mature children but experience them as they were years ago. They will leave and interact with our world and their lives will become more complicated. But while we are here, our world is small and simple and intimate. We are forever connected by our experiences together at "Camp Corbett".
