Making Memories: Lake Francis Edition

For the last weekend of our August vacation we headed to Lake Francis in Dobbins, CA.

My friend, Heidi, had recommended the Family Camp Special here to me...actually a couple years ago.

So here are the details of the Family Camp Special:

Arrive at 4:00 Friday.

Deluxe 2 Bedroom Cabin for a family of 4.

Enjoy all of the ammenities,

including

Beach Volleyball

Soccer fields

Basketball courts

Playground

Lake with swimming and boat rentals

Ping Pong

Pool table

Swimming pool. (Which we never made it to.)

ALL of our meals included!

(You know what that means?!?! NO COOKING ALL WEEKEND!)

Leave by 11am Sunday.

All of this for $350 "Out the Door!"

(Additional family members are an exra cost of $80 per person, but we got EK in for

free since she's only two-years-old and still eats like a bird.)

 

The sign is right...this place rocks!

This clan had no idea what fun they were in for!

Upon arriving we got wrist bands and coupons for meals, etc...

And went to check out our cabin.

We were so pleasantly surprised as to the cleanliness of the cabin.

It had a nice balcony out front, 2 bedrooms at either end, divided by bathroom, kitchen, and living space.

Each bedroom had 2 sets of bunk beds, one of which had a double bed on the bottom.

Side Note: we almost cancelled this trip due to Emma Kate's lack of sleep while we were gone on our first trip of the week. But after much prayer and a purchase of an airbed with side wings, she actually slept! After coming to the conclusion that she is just too long for the Pack n Play we knew that we had to figure something else out. We put the airbed on top of the double mattress and she never even realized that she could get down. Thank the Lord!

Here's EK and J getting familiar with the sleeping arrangements.

Jeff and I slept on separate twin beds and Dom got his own room!

Here's a pic of the "square" surrounded by the restaurant, store, creamery, and game room.

(It was over 100 degrees, but we got to enjoy breakfast outside both mornings before it got hot.)

Friday night we walked over to the lake, which is right across the road, to check it out.

It was beautiful!

So beautiful that Emma couldn't contain herself!

Later we enjoyed the sports area...

We took our own equipment, but come to find out...they have everything available for borrowing!

 

We also brought games for playing in the evening... 

The cabin had air conditioning too!

But it's a wall unit in the family room.

It's very loud, which is actually nice white noise for sleeping.

But is super cold when you're sitting at the table playing games.

An extra layer was definitely necessary...

These guys are so crazy!

(We would've just turned off the air, but it was still pretty warm in the bedrooms.)

 

Saturday morning we rented a row boat for an hour (included in our package is a one hour kayak, canoe, row boat or paddle boat rental.)

We thought getting out early would help us beat the heat.

Nope!

One spin around the main part of the lake and we were done!

So was Emma.

She whined the whole time:(

Dom rowed the whole way.

Thanks Dom! 

But the lake was the PERFECT temp for cooling off.

One of the great things about this lake is that there are no motorized boats.

Which means no big waves.

And we could take our rafts all the way out to the middle without being worried.

After a long day at the water we played some ping pong. 

And ate ice cream. 

And we threw the kids in jail! 

We even saw Heidi's parents who came to the restaurant for dinner!

 

We closed the day playing out on the basketball court and soccer field in the dark with a ton of glow sticks/bracelets/necklaces. We threw them in the air, made jewelry, and elaborate designs. It was an awesome way to finish up the day!

 

The best part about the weekend was that we got to spend some amazing family time together.

So much of the time we go do things with other family or friends.

Barely ever do we get out, just the 5 of us.

ALL 5 of us.

It makes me sad to think about how much I miss out on with all the business of everyday life.

How many times I tell the kids, "Not right now" when they ask me to play, because I'm cooking or doing laundry, or vaccuuming.

How quickly they are growing.

As we look toward the beginning of another school year, I am forced to come to the realization that I only have 2 short years before Dominic starts his first year of college!

Connor is about to start his first year of being in school all day.

And Emma will be starting pre-school next Fall.

 

But for this one weekend we were able to shut out all of that stuff, make time stand still, while we enjoyed each other, right where we're at;

and Make Some Memories to last a lifetime.