The days were full of adventures with Papa for the four boys! They were able to go fishing off a pontoon boat with a man who visits the church my dad pastors. The man graciously gave each of the boys fishing poles and a small tackle box, which the boys are anxious to have Nana and Papa bring to them the next time they visit Maine! The boys caught a lot of fish that afternoon, and they enjoyed a fish fry for supper. The boys also went camping with Papa, drove the four-wheeler around the yard (many, many times), helped pick and eat food from Nana’s garden, and spent the majority of every day outside!
I was able to catch up with several of my friends while I was there and although it is never enough time, I am thankful for the time. Jenna came over to my parents house on Wednesday morning with her three little ones, and Emma greatly enjoyed having her friends to play with! Jenna and I spent the morning talking and visiting like it wasn’t two years ago that I moved away. It’s a deep frienship that continues even when I don’t get to visit very often. I am so thankful for her. She also met me for an early morning breakfast on Saturday morning while the boys were camping with Papa. I’m thankful for each opportunity to visit with Jenna. She is a dear, dear friend to me.
Another dear friend, Gretchen, was also able to visit with me. We have the type of friendship that I can come over to her house to pick up one of her sons for a fishing trip with the boys, and while there I can open her fridge, announced I’m hungry, and make myself lunch! Gretchen has children that are similar in ages with ours, and her son, Ben, had several adventures with the boys while we were visiting. Gretchen is my friend with the gift of hospitality. She is always willing to open her home, have our big family over to visit, and we pray often for each other. She’s a friend that God brought into my life when I didn’t even know I was looking for a friend. Gretchen and Sean opened up their home to have us all over on Saturday night. It was also my mom’s birthday so my parents, my sister, Jen, and several other families came over to have supper at Gretchen and Sean’s house. It’s amazing to me how much her kids have grown and changed in a year, but I’m sure that our kids appear the same way to those that aren’t around them too!
We attended the church my dad pastors at on Sunday morning. Jen had come home for the weekend, and she was heading back to South Dakato on Sunday afternoon. Roger was also flying into the area on Sunday afternoon, and we were headed to South Dakato on Monday morning. Chandler and Wyatt wanted to go with Aunt Jen and since we would be staying overnight at her apartment on Monday night, we decided to let them go with Aunt Jen. My uncle, aunt and cousin had come down from Wausau to visit with us. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen them, so it was good to have some time to spend with them. Roger’s flight was late, but we did make it to church on Sunday night. We went to our home church and it was so nice to see so many familiar faces. It felt good to connect with people, and to have a chance to visit with so many. We were actively involved in that church when we were in Wisconsin, so it was good to visit with those that we worked with in Childrens church and other ministries. I had a short time to visit with a friend, Star, who is now the mama to teenagers. The older I get the more I realize that I don’t know! It was good to have a brief but encouraging conversation about the upcoming years of boys in the teenage years. Some friends I only had time to share a brief hug with or a few sentences, but I’m thankful.
After Sunday night church, we again went to Gretchen and Sean’s for ice cream and pizza! Several of our friends were able to join us, and it was a good time for Roger to be able to reconnect with some of his friends. Friendships are important to me, but Roger also needs good, Godly, guys in his life, and those type of friends seem to be hard to come by! It was a late night of fellowshipping and
laughing, but I’m thankful for the opportunities that God provided to encourage both of our hearts and the hearts of our children during our days in Wisconsin. My parents graciously allowed us to interrupt their lives, fed us willingly, visited with us, invested in the lives of our children, and we created memories to last until the next time.
We headed out the door for South Dakota early on Monday morning. It’s a twelve hour drive to Jens house, and we wanted to get there before it was really late. We left my parents house about 6:00am, and we made good time to Rapid City. Travel seemed so easy with only three kids in the van! We arrived early enough in the evening that everyone could spend some time out of the vehicle before settling down for bed. The boys and Emma were excited about the family reunion the next day, and Roger and I were making lists of the things we would need for a week of camping in a cabin at the reunion. I don’t think we would’ve been able to make the family reunion work without the help of many people, but especially my sister, Jen. She allowed us to borrow bedding, towels, camp stove, pots and pans, camp chairs, and anything else we needed for the week. She had already bought some food for us, and while we ate well at the family reunion, the boys made the comment that we ate very random stuff. Yeah, hotdogs for breakfast is not what we normally have! But no one complained, and everyone was fed.
Roger headed out to the family reunion in the early afternoon on Tuesday with the kids. I went grocery shopping and then Jen drove me out to the family reunion. When I got there about three pm., the kids had already been swimming in the pool. Emma had made a fast friend with her little cousin, Charis, and they were already playing “house” in our cabin. It was a busy and fast week at the reunion. About thirty of us climbed Harney Peak on Wednesday. Emma climbed about 75% of it herself, and I carried her in the carrier for the other percentage. It was a long hike, but the kids did great! We ended up at the top with our five kids and about seven other kids and Roger and I. Everyone was hungry at the top, and Garett said we didn’t bring enough food! Too bad son! The only way to more food is to get off the mountain and back to the vehicle! So down we went, and that is much harder on the knees than going up. Roger twisted his knee, and Travis got a blister on his toe. They walked a bit slower while I continued in with the other 13 kids that came down the mountain with us. They all did very well, but I made it very clear that they needed to be within eyesight of Roger or I. It’s one thing to be responsible for our own kids, but it’s another thing to feel the responsibility of other children! Hurray! We made it off the mountain! Chandler said that he didn’t plan on taking that long of a hike again for a very long time! We headed back to the campground for swimming and supper.
My sister had given us some tickets for a local rodeo so we had thought about doing that. It would’ve been relatively cheap as children under ten were free and adults were $10.00. We had thought that other members of the family would join us, but when it was time to leave, it was just us. We headed down the road for about ten minutes, before we talked through our decision. The purpose of the family reunion was to spend time with other family members, but this wasn’t working as it was just our family. We had some very disappointed kids, but the older ones understood why we were making a decision not to go to the rodeo. We drove back and Roger and the older boys got out of the van. I turned back to head into Rapid City as we accidentally had a phone cord that belonged to my sister. Travis and Emma rode with me and Travis was in tears for almost the entire ride. It sure is hard on a mama’s heart when you see your child/children upset. We dropped off the phone cord and headed back to the campground. I was thankful that my little ones fell asleep in the car. Roger called me to say that much of the family was headed to Mount Rushmore to see the light show, and I could meet him there. We headed to Mount Rushmore and met up with much of the family. I had never seen the light show, and it was not what I was expecting. I think I was envisioning fireworks, perhaps strobe or multi colored lights, but it was a plain white light on the faces. The honoring of the veterans and those in service to our country was neat though, and I certainly can appreciate the patriotism of the program! It was a bit of a late night, and we had some kiddos that were happy to get in bed.
On Thursday Roger went golfing with his brothers and Chandler was able to go along. Chandler didn’t golf, but he happily went along to look for golf balls! I think the other boys were a bit disappointed that they couldn’t also go, but Chandler had asked many months ago, and it seemed like it might be a bit much if all four of the boys went. The other kids stayed at the campground and played games with Grandpa and Grandma while the ladies headed to town to eat, shop and we did an Escape Room! I had never done one before, so that was a new experience for me. It was fun, a bit challenging, and it’s hard to separate needed information from just information! It was a good challenge. Wyatt told me that he had such a good time playing games with Grandpa, and Emma stuck like glue to grandma in the pool as Grandma would throw her in the water! We had dinner that night with Rogers parents and sister, Linda, and her son. It was another busy and full day! I also went for a walk with Rachel (Rogers oldest sister) in the morning. It was good to talk about many things from schooling to churches to our lives. I enjoyed the moments to catch up with her. Sometimes it’s hard not to feel like outsiders as we live so far away from everyone and I’m an in-law.
On Friday morning it was a quiet morning at camp. Most everyone had gone horseback riding, so there were only a few of us at the campground. The boys played frisbee with Grandpa, and Roger and I visited with Nate and Ruth for a bit. We decided to see about going to get coffee together, and Robin and Rachel came along also. It was a beautiful morning for coffee and talking, and I’m thankful that we had the opportunity to do that. Ruth and I had several longer conversations about everything from churches to raising children and I was thankful for the opportunities to visit with her. Friday evening found the entire Robertson family reunion on a chuck wagon dinner ride! That’s twenty three youth and children, and seventeen adults...I think! It was a lot of people! It was an opportunity for everyone to eat dinner together and have a horse drawn wagon ride.
Saturday dawned the last full day of the family reunion. By this time we had five tired kids, and it was family picture day! I’m thankful for the work that Audrey (our niece) and Dale (Roger’s brother) put into finding a spot for the family pictures. It’s a big deal to coordinate pictures for that many people, and I was thankful that it went as smoothly as it did. Chandler wasn’t very excited s out pictures to start with, but he did a good job cooperating...until he was chastised by someone who thought he was misbehaving and wasting time. He may have been, but with that child, it certainly wasn’t intentional! I can’t think of a single person who would want pictures to be done sooner than he would! It went downhill a bit after that with that son and Roger had to speak to him about correcting his attitude. However, it was a perfect opportunity to point out that life isn’t “fair”, and sometimes you just have to deal and move on! The day did improve for him though as he greatly enjoyed the afternoon activity. We went on an outing to the wildlife loop in Custer State Park. We saw buffalo, deer, burros, and goats. Grandpa rode with us first, and the boys have enjoyed visiting with him. Grandpa rotated vehicles at each stop and we enjoyed the time with aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. Garett had the opportunity to ride with one of his other cousins, so he enjoyed that. Garett had a great week with his cousins, but especially with Landon and Jeffrey. Chandler struggled to find a playmate his age that wasn’t a girl or too little. He’s not old enough to fit in with the older cousins, and the younger boy cousins are quite a bit younger, so he did shed some tears...growing pains.
Sunday marked the last day of the family reunion, and checkout was at eleven. It was a rainy, cool, morning, so it didn’t take us long to pack up. Roger really had to pack the van carefully though as we had two extra ice chests that I had brought when Jen had dropped me off. We had dirty clothes, camping gear, ice chests, five tired kids, and it was time to get ready to head home. The campground offered a pancake breakfast, so we ALL (as in the whole family) trekked up to eat pancakes. The lady helping serve pancakes was a bit overwhelmed by all of us, but we are nice people, (we try anyways). and she calmed down. Nate and Ruth and family needed to make it to Minneapolis to catch a flight to Georgia, some were returning to Wisconsin, some to Canada, some to Iowa, and some to Maine. We only needed to make it to Rapid City on Sunday as we were staying overnight with Jen before heading to Minneapolis on Monday. It was hard to say goodbyes, and I know Roger misses his family greatly. These are the brothers and sisters that he grew up with, the parents that raised him, and the bonds that will last a lifetime. Three years until the next family reunion seems like a long time away!
We got on the road to Rapid City about ten, and began the unloading process at Jens apartment. We had so much stuff to put away, laundry to do, and wow, did we have some tired kids?! Jen came home from church and offered to take the boys to lunch with her. We had been invited to join up with some of Rogers family that were still in the area for lunch. Emma wanted to come with us, while the boys wanted to spend time with Aunt Jen. We went our separate ways, and then came back for rest time in the afternoon! I’m thankful that Roger and I were able to have one more dinner with some of the family, as it’ll be a while before that happens again.
We enjoyed the afternoon with Jen, and then she had a fun adventure planned for us in the evening. In Rapid City there is an indoor water park. It is one of our kids very favorite places to go, and we often try to squeeze it in while we visit Jen. Jen had purchased evening water park passes for our family, and those kiddos we so excited! For four hours straight they tubed, and slid, and waded, and swam, and swung at the water park. Emma kept us on our toes as she now wants to do the waters slides with the boys, tube in the lazy river, and jump on the lily pads! It was a fun way to end the week.
Roger and I had planned to get on the road to Minneapolis fairly early in the morning, but by the time we got our act together it was already 9:30am. We had a hotel in Minneapolis and a flight scheduled for Tuesday afternoon back to Boston. Since it was an afternoon flight back to Boston, we were able to show the kids the Mall of America in the morning. Roger had taken Garett and Wyatt to return the car, and I walked over to the Mall with the other three kids. They were just in awe that a place could be so big! It was fun to see their expressions as we walked around, showing them the roller coaster, the mini golf, the LEGO Store, and so much more. I mean, the best part is that it’s free! Yeah, you could spend a lot of money in there, but it was free to get in and walk around. Emma wanted to go in the doll store, but her brothers told her that there was not enough time for that! We headed back to the hotel around noon to checkout and take the shuttle to the airport. We made it through security and to our gate and sat down in time to discover that our flight was delayed! Originally scheduled to take off at three pm, we eventually took off at about six pm. It made for a long day as we didn’t land in Boston until around ten, which meant we had missed the bus to Portland. There was one more scheduled bus to Portland at 11:25pm. We did get on that bus, and made it to Portland at about 1:45 am. Then we had to take a taxi from the bus station to the airport to get our vehicle (it was free to park at the airport), and by the time that was done it was 2:00 am. It’s still about a 1.5 hour drive to home, and I knew that neither Roger nor I were in any shape to make that drive. God allowed us to find a hotel that would give us a bit of a break since we were only staying part of the night. The first room they gave us had a big industrial fan blowing on the carpet that smelled like mold! Two of the boys had already crawled in the bed, but I asked roger to go see if a different room was available. The hotel was able to find us a different room with two double beds...and seven of us! The boys crawled into the bed horizontally, while Roger, Emma and I slept in the other bed. It didn’t matter as we could’ve all about slept anywhere at this point! I was the first one awake at 9:10 am! Thankfully the breakfast went until ten, so we were able to get everyone fed before heading HOME!! We walked in the door of our beautiful home in Maine at about one in the afternoon. Oh, how wonderful to be home! The yard may look like a hayfield, the laundry needs doing, the bathrooms need cleaning, but we are home!
I am so thankful for all those that made it possible for us to travel to the reunion. My parents, Roger’s parents, friends and family made sacrifices so that we could make it happen. It wasn’t easy, and at times it seeemed impossible. However, we serve the God of the impossible and I was reminded of that again on these adventures of the past two weeks. God is so good! I hope that you know Him as your personal Savior. Eternal life is not a gift just for me. Christ died for your sins too. (Romans 3;23; Romans 6:23, John 3:16). If you have any questions about how you can know Jesus, please ask. We love you,
Sarah
