This, as best we can figure, is our 8th year of Zoller family vacations. I've never written about them because they aren't really that type of vacation. We don't do anything exciting or go particularly far from home. But what we have is so special and precious to me that this remains my favorite week of the year. And this year I thought I'd share some of the pictures.
The point of this vacation is lots of family time. My side of the family rents a large house, most recently in North Conway, and we all live together for a week. As many people as can make it come for as long as they are able. This year we had 17 people staying at the house, 5 people who came up only for a day, and 8 people who weren't there at all.
This year we went back to a house we've stayed at before and loved. I'm including some pictures I took of the house before we all got comfortable. This was the first time James and I have ever made it to the house first, but all of us were very motivated this year. James and I have stayed in 4 of the 9 bedrooms here over the years.
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The kitchen has two dishwashers, a lifesaver!
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| The pool room is a big hit |
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| This is a nice livingroom but it needs more light! |
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| Ryland enjoying the water |
This was Zilly's first vacation here and honestly most of my pictures include her. She is always a delight and was thrilled to be around so many people who love her. I only wish Daniel, Lauren, and my nephew Val could have come, we really missed them. But next year I expect Zilly and Val will be toddling around terrorizing everyone.
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| Chillin in the living room |
Our tradition on this vacation is to all take turns making dinner for the family. Breakfast and lunch we do independently, we all buy food which is available for whoever wants it. But dinners we do together and since we have some great cooks in the family, we always eat well. This year was Jon's first time making a meal for the whole the family.
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| Dinner together on the porch |
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| Zilly tries ribs for the first time |
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| Don't worry, she didn't take a bite, just enjoyed the sauce |
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| She loved them! |
Christian and Isaac brought their bikes and went on numerous riding expeditions. There is a 3 mile trail that runs from Cranmore Mtn to Walmart and it is well away from the road so it was perfect for biking. At first James drove them to the trail but we soon discovered a back road that the boys could take to get there themselves.
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| Isaac looking cool on one of his rides |
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| Playing in the yard |
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| Emmy reads to Zilly |
Chatterbox
Game nights are one of our staples on these vacations. We didn't play as many as we normally do, but we still got many good games in and had a great time playing together. We also failed to complete one puzzle, and did many crossword puzzles together. This is our second year without Uncle Duncan here and he was very missed. He and Aunt Nancy have been the heart of this trip from the very beginning and they have always loved playing games. Uncle Duncan was the champion at Liar's Dice. The first year I think we had 13 people playing together and Uncle Duncan crushed us all.
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| Monster Mayhem |
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Isaac was a menace in this game!
He killed me right away. But oh he had so much fun doing it. |
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| Zilly and Uncle David play with dice |
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| Liars Dice |
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| Zilly really wanted the red cups! |
One night we had a campfire. And one night Uncle Jacob organized our yearly night time hide and seek game. That's a favorite with all the kids. We very much missed Will who wasn't able to make it this year. But Jon stepped up and he and Saph took Isaac, Ryland, and Christian to the Army Supply store, another family tradition. Jon and Saph also got out on their own and took Zilly to see Cathedral Ledge. And we were so happy that Danny and Delilah were able to come up and introduce us to Delilah's boyfriend, Richard. Although we all learned not to bet against Uncle Danny in pool!
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| Delilah and Richard get some baby time |
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| Sitting by the campfire |
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| Delilah after she takes a shot |
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| Uncle Danny teaches Isaac some tricks |
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| Dada and Zilly |
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| Mama and Zilly |
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| Beautiful girls in a tree! |
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| That tooth! |
The mornings were full of little kids while many in the house slept in. The afternoons were for reading, napping, talking, a game or crossword, or general relaxing. The evening usually held a group activity, we had a movie night, campfire, and games. Then of course time in the hot tub talking. Elisa and I finally got to watch Anne of Green Gables, something we'd been wanting to do for years and years. (It is SO good! Megan Follows is the perfect Anne)
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| Ryland at Diana's Baths |
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| Elisa helps Lily down |
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| Josiah gets the picture |
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| Aunt Bethany and Lily |
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| I love this girl! |
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| Christian and Isaac at the very top pool |
Unfortunately we failed to get a family picture. We were waiting until the maximum number of people were there, but some people had to leave earlier than expected and others came a little later, so we never got the group together. Hopefully next year! For now I'll leave you with a picture of Echo lake at night. We never got to go during the day, but James took Christian fishing there a couple of times.
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| Goodnight! |
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