Is It Worth the Effort?

"Tell me again why we're doing this?" I'm not sure if it was Michele or I who voiced the words prior to 7 am on Monday morning, but we both echoed the sentiments. It was starting to drizzle outside, and the idea of watching Scooby Doo all day in a cozy home was sounding much better than driving 2 and a half hours with 5 kids to invade our friend's extended family's annual camping trip for the next 24 hours. The promise to our friend, and the thought of the wailing of our children if we had cancelled, propelled us forward to pack our minivan full of sleeping bags, mini-coolers and a tent towards Cultus Lake.

I'm not a huge waterski fan - I do not like cold water, or just being cold, and the year Michele learned to slalom, I was sidelined with a cast up to my thigh from a broken ankle. So, I do good on two skis, have successfully slalomed once, and get a bit of a kick out of wakeboarding, but it doesn't enslave me in its passion as it does Michele or my friend, Amy. I don't start to drool when the lake turns to glass, or nearly chip my teeth out from chattering when you're dong the 5th run of the morning and it's not yet 7.

It appears that at least 3 of the 5 kids have somehow taken on Michele's genetics (I know that's technically impossible since I've only given birth to two of them).... With Ellie, it's a little too early to tell, and Mikayla - I think she's becoming exactly like me - happy on the boat and on the intertube, but not a huge need for anything else. But, as for Traig, Nati, and Brayden - they've been bitten by the bug - and I'm not just talking about the mosquitos. Mom and Dad, it's time to get that new boat out on the water, because you've got grandkids ready to go for a ride.......

And, by the way, I think we figured, when it was all said and done, that the trip was worth it. I think the pictures do a pretty good job proving that.