Entering our 7th season at the cabin

 I started coming to this lake 38 years ago when I was 5 months pregnant with my 1st child Brianna. 

Rick and I pitched a tent at the church-camp just down the lake a bit from our cabin. The camp that Rick and his sibling grew up attending every summer. Then for about 25 years our family, along with several families from our church vacationed at the camp on the week when there was no organized camp. 

So many great memories! This is also the lake where Rick's family including grandparents aunts & uncles rented a cabin every summer since he was a baby until he was a teenager. So much history on this lake....

Never in our wildest dreams did Rick and I ever think we would be 

cabin owners on this lake that we call ours... 

 If you would have told us 38 years ago that someday we would own a cabin on Long lake 

we would have laughed and shook our heads. 

6+ years ago that dream came true in a way that seemed impossible. 

A beautiful cabin sitting near the lake on a prime piece of land with a sandy beach, a boat and a 2 car garage... the "asking price" more than we could ever pay, but we drove down the access road right next to the cabin (to look and dream) just for the heck of it.  Out of nowhere, the owner, an elderly Christian man named Dick appeared at our car window. He wondered what we were up to, so we told him we had been admiring his cabin (for sale) and that we had been "looking". Within a few minutes he had us in the cabin showing us around, I remember looking at Rick with wide eyes thinking, I love this place. Dick and our family all belonged to the "Church of Christ", we knew many of the same people and enjoyed our visit. Dick told us to think about it, and make him an offer..... 

Dick also told us that he wanted to keep the cabin "in the family". 

Long story short..... It fell into our hands, I believe God orchestrated the sale of this perfect cabin for us. 

We are still amazed going into our 7th season, we love spending time on this lake we call ours.  

Last fall, Rick's brother Brad bought a cabin on "our lake", about a mile north of us.

So crazy to think of us both owning cabin on the lake with so much history in our familes.

Yesterday Brad helped rick assemble and get our swimming raft in the water.

Brad brought along some grandchildren

My niece Kellie and her mamma Julie.

I remember Kellie was 2 months old the first time she came to Long lake for our family summer vacation.

I still feel like this is all a dream. 

God willing... 

we have lots of years and more generations to make memories and enjoy our time at the lake!

We are blessed beyond measure. 

Cabin opening and things...

Memorial weekend visit to the cabin

We were thrilled to have our "opening crew" here last weekend to help get the boat lift in!

 It's a 3 man/woman job so that's usually the last thing we have to do!

Gavin and Brice have got this, while dad holds tight to the rope to help ease this 

giant hunk of metal into position.

Fine tuning

and finally....the boats in!

Lewin has always fished on his tummy, he cracks me up.

It's always fun having the littles here, so much activity, laughter and giggles

Some coloring in the morning

and swinging by mid-morning

This is a tradition for Scarlett and daddy, 

he carries her out into the lake with his hip-waders on and she giggles. 

Teach them young how to start a camp fire

and eat lots of s'mores

He still snuggles up to his mama on boat rides. <3

Bubbles with some Rochester Friends whose grandparents own a cabin across the bay from ours.

This one is having a hard time leaving.....

After the kids left, Rick and I stayed for another 3 days.

We mixed fun with projects

This is our 1st summer with Rick Brother Brad and wife Julie. 

They purchased a cabin about 1 mile down the lake from us.

We happened to be out on the lake at the same time, so we stopped for a visit.

relaxing

A lunch date planned on the lake, we are being picked up by Brad & Julie

Fun to have family on the lake with us.

We have a lot of history on this lake and where our cabin sits. Who would have thought that someday we would own cabin's here and be neighbors? It's just so great.

Too cold to swim, but it's ok to swing my feet in the lake 

We head back to Rochester today, we've decided it's too nice to hurry out of here, so we will finish some things up and then head out later this afternoon. 

We miss our Rochester people...

Finishing up home-schooling for the year. 

Did I mention my daughter is amazing, 

Homeschooling was not something she planned to do but she does it so well,

all the while running a household and working as a nurse part time.

These kids are so lucky!