A Magical Weekend at WItch Lake

I don't even know where to begin to write about our weekend in the Upper Pinensula. I guess I'll start by saying after writing this post verrrrry slowly, almost all of it got erased when I was just about done, so that is my excuse for it taking so long to get this up.  I was so frustrated because of all the time I had spent on this post, so my second draft isnt nearly as good! But get comftorable, this is a long one! With lots of pictures!

I guess I will start with actually getting there!  We had been talking about going on a trip on an airplane to go see Rachel and Hobo get married so the boys were both very excited, and Eli woke up everyday the week leading up to it asking if it was Thursday yet because he knew that is when we were leaving. By Wednesday night they could not wait and were ready to go!

I was pretty anxious about traveling with two little boys being 34 weeks pregnant on two flights and a 2 1/2 hour car ride up to the Davis Family cabin.
Hobo's fathers family was gifted this property on Witch Lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan years and years ago by a family friend and all of his siblings built this cabin on the land and it has become their family cabin, and a little piece of heaven for all of them.
It has been a very special place for Rachel and Hobo since they have been together and it is where they got engaged.  Rachel always knew she didn't want a "traditional" wedding and they ultimately chose to have their ceremony at the cabin with just immediate family (with a big party in Austin to follow).  She had been dying for all of us to be able to go up there and see this little piece of heaven and knew that we would all love it up there.  She was right!

In anticipation of having a rough travel day I did a few things in preparation.  The first was putting together these little bags to give away to the passengers and crew around us.

We were thankfully seated by very nice and understanding people, but these definitely helped lighten the mood and got a dialogue started about how sorry we were in advance for any screaming, whining, crying or kicking of their seats.  I also had a bag of new snacks and toys to pull out when needed.
The boys were psyched about getting on the plane, this was Owen's first trip!  We woke up bright and early and headed to the airport.

Both flights went off without a hitch! I really could not believe how well they both did, it was a miracle! Eli didnt sleep at all and Owen only slept on the 45 minute flight from Chicago to Green Bay but they were happy the rest of the time.  Our little goody bags even got the boys each a pair of American Airline wings that have been discontinued for ten years! The flight attendant was so happy about them that he gave us two of six that he had been holding onto for something special for years!

We met up with Ethan in Chicago before we left for Green Bay and the boys were psyched to see him!

Green Bay had a suprisingly small and quiet airport, which was really nice. Everything was going perfectly, we were right on schedule, everyone was in a good mood, no meltdowns, we were able to rent a 12 passenger van so we could all ride together, our bags seemed to come out right away....except for two.
Rachel was told she couldnt gate check her dress and had to check it as a piece of luggage at the last minute, and wouldnt you know it, that was the one thing that didnt make it along with Ethan's luggage.  To say that she was livid would be the understatement of the year.  She did hold it together fairly well, and left it to Ethan and Blaine to figure out the details.  Turns out they were both on another flight and the airline was responsible for getting it to them once it arrived.  The only problem was that the cabin was litterally in the middle of nowhere.  Once you turned off the main road, you got onto a dirt road and twisted and turned until you made it to the cabin so we were pretty nervous that they would never find the cabin.
So while we waited, and waited to find out the fate of her dress, my mom helped entertain the boys.

And Rachel sat on the phone with a scowl on her face trying to get some type of address or GPS points to the cabin.  She would have killed me if she knew I was taking this picture at the time.

When things were sorted out, we were on our way and made it to the cabin.
Hobo comes from a family of six kids, in this order from oldest to youngest: Charlotte (who is married to Pete and has two boys, Sully (3) and Theo (16 months)), Hobo, Anthony, Phil, Maddie, Nick.  So as soon as we got there the boys didnt waste any time and started to get to know one another. But for the first 24 hours Eli called Sully "Silly" and Sully called Eli "That Guy," it took a while to get each others names down.

After covering themselves in dirt, they boys got their first bath in the lake.  And it was cold!

We had the Davis Family cabin and one other cabin for the 19 of us for the long weekend.  Most of the kids shacked up at the Davis' and our parents went to the other cabin which was just a couple of minutes a way by car or by boat.  It was the first time Blaine and I had slept in a room with both boys.  I was pretty nervous the first night, and although they did great during the night, because of where we were in relation to the sun, it got light out at 5am causing a very early wake-up call.  We woke up to Eli  saying "Owey, wake up!!!! Wake up, its morning!"  We always tell Eli that when he wakes up, if he looks out his window and it is still dark, it is still night time, go back to sleep.  He followed our rule, it just didnt work in our favor on this trip.

Thursday night we all settled in and got comftorable and got to know each other a little better.  It was so beautiful and serene there and the weather was great.  It was unseasonably warm for them, but it was still a nice relief for us!

 This is Otto, the family dog, who is awesome!

After our very early wake-up call Friday morning, Charlotte and her boys were not far behind and we went for a little walk up the dirt road to check out the neighbors logging equipment.  Logging is a big business up there and everywhere you went you would see logging machines, and trains with piles and piles of nicely cut logs.

These pictures were taken right before we pulled ticks off of each boy!

 Hobo bought all the little boys their first fishing poles! So they learned how to use their poles, got some worms and headed down to the dock!

 And Eli caught his first fish!!!!!

After a little pregnancy scare later in the afternoon, and trip to the nearest town to get checked out, everything checked out fine after a few hours of test after test. I couldnt believe this actually happened, but I was thankful that I was able to relax and know that the baby was ok for the rest of the trip.  Charlotte was kind enough to drive me and my mom to the nearest town and stay with us through the tests.

As soon as we got back from the doctor, we headed out to a fish fry for dinner.  The Davis' really were such gracious hosts the entire weekend, and had planned out every meal for us.  They had gift baskets in our rooms, had diapers and wipes stocked for us, and had thought of every detail throughout the weekend.

Here is the giddy couple getting ready to leave for dinner.

Dinner was great, and once the boys had hit their limit, we headed outside to let them run around with the super hero capes my mom had gotten for them.

That evening we headed back to the cabin to just hang out.

 The news at night is a big event at the cabin.  The Davis family likes to gather around and watch the news together because the production is so low rent that they often have some hilarious blunders! The primary anchors (Greg Trick, Karl Bonak, Mike Ludlom) have been there since all the kids can remember and they have been consistently great despite the fact that they work with an army of interns who have to idea how to produce flawless, interesting news stories in a very dull area of the country.  So it was not odd that at 10 p.m. everyone gathered around the TV because they do that often. The news casters were chatting about something very mundane when they started to talk about two very special people who were getting married on Witch Lake.  Everyones ears perked up and we were all so surprised to see Rachel and Hobo's picture pop up on the news!

One of Hobo's brothers had been e-mailing with Greg Trick (who by they way, they have his picture framed on top of the TV, as a joke!) and got them to wish them luck!  

The next morning was early for us again, so while the boys and I played out on the porch, Blaine took advantage of the beautiful morning and went kyacking around the lake, which he did every morning.

 We did a little fishing and Eli caught a few more fish, he was so proud!

 Owen hung out on the dock and snacked, its what he does best. If he even hears the wrapper of something you are eating or sees you pick up a drink he immediately says "I want a sip a dat!" or "I want some a dat!" before he even knows what you are eating or drinking.

 And Peter took us out on the boat and gave us some history of the lake and its residents.

 When everyone else finally woke up and was ready to start the day, we all hung out outside.  It was the day of the ceremony and it was really a wonderful day.  Everyone was able to relax, swim, fish, and just hang out together.  Charlotte pulled out the little pool for the little boys.  Did I mention that Charlotte is pregnant too?!?!?

 And Maddie and I swam out to the island that was about a half mile away.  On the way back in, she caught the tiniest, little turtle we ever saw!

 Blaine and my dad were so nervous about me swimming out to the island, they sent Ethan and Rachel out on kyacks to pick us up if we needed it.  Thankfully, we didnt!

 We fed the boys some lunch and put them down for naps to get rested for the big ceremony.

As soon as we got them down, it was time for the rest of us to start getting ready....

 After the boys woke up, we let them run around in underwear and play with the ipad until it was time to get ready.  Its a good thing too because as soon as I turned my head, Owen got ahold of my masscara and deciced it was a good idea to apply it, on his body, just barely missing his suit pants!

 The ceremony took place on the island that Maddie and I had swam out to earlier in the day.  It is some property of some very good family friends of the Davis Family.  Unbenonounst to Rachel, Peter (Hobo's father) and his brothers had built a chupah for them to stand under during the ceremony.  Hobo's family is Irish Catholic, so it was such a sweet gesture for them to do that, even though the ceremony had no religious aspect to it.
So Rachel, my mom and I headed over to the island to get Rachel into her dress and do some finishing touches while my dad and Blaine entertained the boys until it was time for everyone else to take the boat ride over to the island....such a fun and romantic way to get to a wedding!

They checked out the itty bitty turtle one last time before setting him free.

Hobo had bought all the guys matching ties, they all looked so handsome!

 The Dress

 The Shoes

 The Vows

They  wrote their own vows and both put them on birch bark without the other one knowing that they were both using birch bark!

 There was a quaint little boat house on the property where Rachel finished getting dressed and waited until it was time for her to come down to meet her groom.

 Everyone started to head over...

 ...and Sully tried to get a sneak peak!

 Hobo and his brother Nick taking it all in before he was "allowed" to  come in.

It was finally time for the ceremony to begin.  I dont have a lot of pictures from the actual ceremony because I was too in the moment to even think about pictures, but it was beautiful.  The  vows were heartfelt, funny, sweet, honest and just a wonderful personal touch. I was shocked that Rachel was able to get through them without a sobbing.  Anyone who knows Rachel, knows that she is a crier.  Oh and Rachel of course was stunning and beaming with happiness!

Rachel trying to hold it together while reading her vows

Im pretty positive I have this exact same pictures from my wedding with my dad. I just love it.  As soon as the ceremony was over and Rachel and Hobo had walked back down the aisle and Mr. and Mrs. Davis, the rest of us Krugers

 had a big family hug, all of us with tears in our eyes. It was such a moment, I wish someone had captured it, but I certainly will not every forget it.

After the ceremony we headed back to the cabin for dinner.  Mary (Hobo's mother) had brought in all her china, crystal, table clothes, candles, and decorations for the dinner.  But before we could have dinner, Hobo had one thing he really, really wanted to do....ski in his suit, and land back into Rachel's arms without getting wet.  Only Hobo.

 And who doesnt jump on a trampoline in the middle of the lake in their wedding dress??!?!?

Of course we got some family shots as well.  Ill leave the good ones to the professional photographer, but here are a few from my camera.

 We headed in for a wonderful dinner of a beautiful salad, short ribs, the best mashed potatoes I have ever eaten,  and asparagus.  Mary really outdid herself for the dinner.

 And they topped it off with not one, but TWO cakes! An ice cream cake with a Badger on it because Hobo is a huge Wisconsin fan, and another delicious cake that was made to look like Witch Lake off the dock of the cabin.

Some of the Davis kids had to leave on Sunday to get back to work and school, but the rest of us enjoyed the weather, the company and the scenery before heading back home on Monday.

 Owen checking out a little snake some of the boys caught and saved for the little boys to see.

 Checking out a crawfish with Dad

And Monday morning we headed back home.....we were all so sad to be leaving and that the weekend was over, but it was truly a weekend to remember.

 To top it off, the pilot pulled the boys into the cockpit as we were walking on the plane and let them push buttons, move the steering wheel, and play and sit in the pilots seat!