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Yep. That’s the family circa 1994 or 1995ish. I am not exactly sure which year it was but there we are in all of our glory outside a cottage at one of my favorite places on earth, Lakeside, Ohio. While we have all grown up and aged, this picture makes me smile. We have great memories of time together as a family at Lakeside over the years and today we are traveling to Lakeside once again.

Daddy and Mother set a tradition of family time at Lakeside when East Ohio Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church met there for their yearly conference. As kids we loved spending the week there where we had a lot of freedom to come and go as we pleased. Lifelong friendships were formed and we loved being together in the beautiful place that is Lakeside.

Now our week at Lakeside looks a bit different. It is just the 4 siblings and their spouses. We don’t plan out our meals and have lists divvied up for everyone to bring. We wing it. We do some things together but we have plenty of time to do things on our. own. We try to put puzzles together. Last year’s Starry Starry Night Monet puzzle went unfinished because it was HARD. We read a lot. Some of the gang fishes. There is lots of walking and visiting the shops that are still open. There are trips to the Marblehead Lighthouse.

The most important thing is that we block the time out and we make memories. It isn’t the same as being there for annual conference but it is still our happy place and time with family is something that is precious, don’t you think? So here’s to another wonderful week at Lakeside, making memories and enjoying being with my loved ones. I know Daddy and Mother will be smiling down on us as we continue to make memories as a family.