Having outgrown Rock Lake Lodge, we set out on the adventure of finding a new place to call our vacation home. We don't require a lot. Our goal is being together - the rest is mostly just details.
We are very happy to say that we found a wonderful place and had another fantastic week together making memories, being together, laughing, playing new and old games, and just having a blast in general!!
Though the meaning of Selah is not 100% certain, many agree that it means to "pause and meditate". I think it is a fitting name for a vacation place since when we are away from our daily routines, we take a break and pause and at the same time we consider the beauty of the creation and we call to mind how great our Creator God is!
I had the dubious privilege of rising early many mornings thanks to Konnor. Though some days I would have preferred the comfort of my bed (and it WAS comfortable!!), I wouldn't trade some of these early morning moments and the beauty of the sunrise.
Who wouldn't be happy to be awake and alive on a morning like this?!!
Selah is mostly cabins with a few campsites as well. We had two families and a couple boys in the camping part below . . .
. . . three families in this set of cottages . . .
. . . and the rest up the hill in this group of cottages.
Everything worked out really well in terms of sleeping arrangements!!
Just outside the dining hall was a big fire pit and we spent a lot of time here - mostly in the mornings and evenings, but it was also a cozy place to be at any given point in the day.
This is the dining hall where we played games at night when we weren't around the fire. There was always multiple games going on and it is a fun way to pass the evening.
We were able to eat supper outside every single night which was so handy!! Clean up was never a big deal, and with our kids crews helping out and the INDUSTRIAL DISHWASHER, dishes were done in no time. Each of us was in charge of one meal (with a partner or two), so meal prep was only a big deal one night. Because we all ate together, we were forced to be more efficient and more organized and it worked out really well.
Though we had no rain, we did have one morning when it was gray and looked like it might rain. The dads and most of the kids headed to the Bruce Caves to do some exploring. Again it was neat for them to see something different and something that testifies to God's greatness and power.
Most of our days were filled with swimming, floating, kayaking, canoeing, exploring, boating, tubing,sunning, gaga ball, soccer, spike ball, volleyball, frog catching,and relaxing. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.
Karter
Nora
Kylie
Karter
Isaac and Hunter
Savannah
Marshall
Reese, Karter, and Mason in the canoe with Uncle Matt.
Jonathan and Konnor
Christy and Liam
Spike ball - Tim, Kevin, Kate, and Jonathan in the front and Jeremy, Mary Beth, Kade and Christiaan in the background game.
Stephen and Finn
Isaac and Judah - this must be just before Judah broke his arm. He broke it playing gaga ball and spent an evening in Wiarton hospital getting x rays and cast and then the next afternoon/evening in Owen Sound in surgery to set it properly and cast it. He was super brave and a real trooper.
Savannah, Christy, Mare, and Becky relaxing and enjoying the sun on the tubes.
Tim, Kade, Kevin, James, and Kate - these "kids" are getting so big!!
Kate and MaryBeth out for a long float.
Kade having fun on the water slide.
Liam :)
Konnor on one of our "greet the morning"s.
Frog Kingdom and room for a snake in there too. . .
Blaire and Nora
Savannah and Mason
The kids spent hours catching and playing with frogs. It amazes me watching all these big and little kids carrying around frogs with no fear at all. It was not uncommon to see Keziah sitting at the waters edge with a frog on each leg and one on each arm.
Kade with the snake they caught.
Reese and Titus
Nora and Blaire again.
Gaga ball. This was such a fun game and it was a game that kids and adults could play (though you would adjust your game slightly depending on the age groups you were playing with). It is basically dodgeball in a pit but each man for himself. We all had a lot of fun here and MANY games were played and many calories lost. It is a tiring game!
The older boys and men playing World Cup Soccer
Matthew doing some life guarding with Mason and Karter
Nora
Christiaan and Kade
Many loads of people like this went out and we are very thankful to those who brought their boats. What a LOT of fun we all had out there!!!
Reese! This girl seems to totally have come out of her shell since last year. From super shy last year to talk to anyone this year, she cracks me up.
Konnor
Reese, Titus, and Savannah doing some painting.
Liam
Kade looks like he is up to no good.
Nora and Keziah enjoying the tubes.
Holly playing in the sand with Nora and Marshall.
Jenna and Christy.
The mud pit!!! We just had to try it out . . and it was totally worth it. We were told the mud was super good for our skin . . . not to mention it is just fun getting dirty :)
Kate with Blaire and Marshall
Holly and Nora
Kate and MaryBeth tubing.
I wish I had had my camera for more trips out on the boat, but only got smart this one time . . .
Oma tubing!!
Keziah enjoying the boat.
Mary Beth, Savannah, and Jo out for a canoe ride.
Beth and Christy enjoying the sun.
Our bird friend.
Karter, Matthew and Mason ready to head out on the boat.
Becky down the slide . . .
Jonathan and I in in the mud pit.
(Loser of the spike ball game had to do a mud angel . . that would be me!)
Another load headed out to sea . . .
Kylie
The dads headed out for some serious tubing . . .
Opa and Konnor (who was not feeling 100% and actually sat cozy for a long time!)
Another sunrise.
As we sat around the campfire one night, we were all supposed to share our favorite memory. Having come into the circle late, I wasn't greatly inspired and said "the dishwasher". (I did love that dishwasher!), but having had more time to think and ponder, my favorite memory is just being together with everyone and watching everyone be thankful for this time away and that we could all be together. I loved seeing people be excited and positive about being at a new place. Rock Lake had been our home for 14 years and for most of the kids and some of the adults, it was the only place we could ever have fun. We have so many great memories of Rock Lake that it was somewhat hard to picture going to a new place and having a good time. But we absolutely LOVED it here. We had so much space to play and explore and we were able to do a lot of new things and make new memories. Different was good. Change was okay. It was special to see people embrace this place and determine in their minds that it was good - not perfect at all, but very good.
So thank you to each one of you for another great year of fun, of growing closer and getting to know each other in different ways, of doing crazy things and having great conversations, of just being together. I am thankful to God for each and every one of you and thankful for the friendships each member of this family has with their cousins, brothers, sisters, and inlaws!
Can't wait til next year!
