wautoma 2012

the annual wautoma post is here!  for a little look back click here or here. note to self: go back and finish 2011.  the littles officially outnumber the grown ups now and we are ever-so-grateful to have had everyone able to join us this summer.  last year matt's parents put on a beautiful addition to the cabin and we feel so thankful to have the opportunity to take over the joint for one weekend every year.  thanks, k & k!  there is an obscenely long video at the end, so I'll keep the words to a minimum and let the pictures speak for themselves. this year's highlights include:
happy travelers- our three boys were top notch riders. minus a diaper change that warranted an entire wardrobe change for the peanut on our way home, we made it there and back with nary a tear. success.

delicious food - as per our becker family vacations, this year we switched things up and everyone served an entire meal. it's fun to see what everyone comes up with and it makes it so you only have to prep/clean-up one major meal all weekend!

swimming - the air temperature was to.die.for all weekend, subsequently making the water temperature almost unbearable.  the dads were nominated to take the munchkins swimming (you're welcome honey!) and they weren't exactly pleased, but I'm certain that the smiles on the wee ones' faces almost made up for the near hypothermia.

boat rides - the cabin/cottage/lake home (choose your fave) is located on a small no-wake lake in the middle of wisconsin.  as long as the christian camp is not in session, it is super quiet and very peaceful. it also means there is no water skiing, tubing, wake boarding, or speed boats for that matter.  we are all still able to ride on the pontoon together and go for a nice early morning breakfast cruise or pre-dinner turtle watching excursion. a special thank you to the parents who took all the walking/talking tots out for a ride while the rest of us packed up the cars. amazing what can be accomplished when there are no interruptions lovely little ones running around.

optional: actual boat movement


nature hikes - [nerdy teacher alert] I arranged for the little guys to go out on a nature walk to collect special things that could fit in their bags. my teacher voice came on full force as I passed out each labeled bag and gave directions for what should and shouldn't go into their sack. after being out of the classroom since april and not headed back for another year, I was pleasantly surprised that I still had "it" - woo hoo!  alas, a little dinner bell was being rung by my favorite four month old and so I handed over my teacher duties to matt, sarah, and shawn. sarah clearly took her teacher role quite seriously...I'm so proud.  after a little post-walk-we-saw-poison-ivy, hand washing session and some dinner, I took the six oldest out to the deck for craft time.  they all listened and followed directions marvelously...except my own two. isn't that the way it always goes? argh.  the end products turned out more adorable than I could've imagined and, more importantly, they were all so proud of themselves!

slightly insane parents - eight adults, nine kids, need I say more?

binocular story: sarah is taking her turn checking out the man who is fishing out in the middle of the lake in a small boat with two other guys. why is this a sight you ask? he is wearing nothing more than a speedo swim suit. oh and nice of him to stand up and put one foot on the edge of the boat for all to see. I mean, one wouldn't want to get tan lines whilst catching their dinner now would they?

family shots - we somehow got away without a bansemar family photo...how did I allow such nonsense?


trios
we managed to have nine kidlets in little bundles of three and each trio just happens to have one odd gender.  ironic...you'd almost think we planned it that way.  here are just a few of the many attempts at a group shot with each set.
the babies

the middle ones

the big kids

adorable children - and now for one of my favorites of each little in order from oldest to youngest.

in lieu of an entire group shot, here is one of all NINE munchkins sitting still and facing forward (notice I did not say smiling...we don't profess to perform miracles here folks).

and just in case the barrage of photos above are not enough for you, here is a little video I threw together.

Wautoma 2012 from robin kroening on Vimeo.

when irish eyes are smiling

while many people wear their "irish for a day" t-shirts, we can strut around in our green get-ups and proudly proclaim that we are, in fact, irish. okay, so we're not the o'donovans or o'malleys, not even close.  BUT my grandma was a Delaney. we are descendants from THE County Cork. my dad has kissed the blarney stone and my little sister is over the moon for Daniel O'Donnell (he's irish too, crazy, I know). and so it should come as no surprise that we enjoy waving our "I HEART IRELAND" freak flag every March 17th.

this year we shook it up and started the day with a little road trip to Lark Toys. if you are local and haven't ventured east to the banks of the mississippi and this little treasure of a toy store, I encourage you to check it out. there is something here for everyone:


(I spy a potential gift for mr. J)
in the "library" portion of the store, miles picked up "Ten Apples Up On Top!" and proceeded to read the first half of the book TO me. this kid is a book worm. the teacher in me is doing a happy dance and the momma in me is beaming with pride. it's a natural gift and I'm so glad that he's chosen to use it.

the next three pictures make me giggle every time I see them:

miles brought along his own money and chose to buy a (self-named) "compass whistle" - it's a blue whistle with a small compass on one end and it opens up to store whatever treasures a three year old can smoosh into it. the perfect choice.

as we made our way from the toy store to the highly anticipated hand-carved carousel, we couldn't help but stop to gaze into the display cabinets that line the meandering halls. they are chock full of old fashioned toys. most of them I don't recognize, but I'm sure my parents and grandparents would. (someday I'm sure there will be a cabinet devoted to my little pony, care bears, the smurfs, and he-man) there, among oodles of other old toys, was our santa. the same santa that my grandpa becker would bring out each year, insert new batteries, switch on, and carefully set down on the floor so we could see this little santa shuffle along ringing his bell. my parents proudly display that same santa each Christmas. such great memories.


those with not-so-queasy tummies bought a wooded token and hopped aboard this little gem.

the attention to detail on this thing is stunning.

check out henry's wooden token...I wasn't lying.


a special nod to the brave adults who were forced volunteered to ride along. this pregnant, motion sick momma thanks you.

it would be a tragedy to come this close to nelson, wisconsin and NOT stop for lunch at the original nelson cheese factory. climb aboard (in nana's van) and head over the river to the best cheese curds, eva.

did I mention the ice cream? it's prone to induce a giant perma-smile.

henry inherited my love of ice cream...and chocolate:

stop it. that's ice cream on my shirt. I know what you were thinking.
miles did not.


we managed to squeeze in a much needed nap on our drive home to ensure that we were all good and rested for the annual becker family st. patrick's day party.

my dad does an incredible job of entertaining the masses. he makes a heavenly corned beef (from scratch), delicious cabbage, ooey gooey colcannon, comforting mulligan stew, and an ice cold green beer. this year my mom surprised the two most Irish family members with a photo book of st. patty's parties from years gone by.

papa loves to entertain and the invitation is extended to many. what a blessing to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends.

did I mention that the kid to adult ratio is growing by leaps and bounds every year? so fun!

here's to another successful st. patrick's day celebration!

take note of the above mentioned "compass whistle" in miles' hand