Memorial Day Weekend 2026

The official beginning of summer!  Summer holiday lake weekends are always a highlight of our calendars - mostly we love seeing everyone and hanging out.  

A few summers ago the boy started a men's golf outing and the girls are figuring out ways to do the same.  This year we opted for ladies happy hour on the gazebo.  No kids or boys allowed (if possible - lol!).

How could I resist a nice golden hour photoshoot with my honey - brought to you by Brittany, who of course knows the angles better than I do!  I love this photo!

Abby caught fish after fish, just as she manages to do each and every time we're there.  Somehow she has the best of luck - and really puts Ryan to shame because he's always said "there are no fish in the lake".  LOL!

Summer is here and now things get really wild with trips and plans and parties...if I know one thing for sure it's that I'll be posting Labor Day photos before I know it.  But, we work all year round and plan these fun weekends months in advance and now they are finally here and we get to enjoy them!

 

Memorial Day 2025

 

I'm just going to put it out there - Memorial Day 2025 - the holiday I only took two photos of the entire weekend.  So, this post will be short and sweet (especially since one of the two photos I took, was of the rainbow dessert I made for the weekend - LOLOLO!).  

I saw this on instagram a few weeks back and committed to giving it a try for Memorial Day - I personally hate Jello, but this is pretty, and I love rainbows and while it truly was a labor of love to make this, it really wasn't hard.  It just took a lot of time to layer the 12 layers of Jello.  I am glad I started it a day early because it fully took me 2 days to make this.  I'm not sure its a repeat dessert, but the kids LOVED it and the adults seemed to think it was pretty good.  It was a pain to make and a bigger pain to get out of the pan.  The recipe needs some tweaking, but I learned a lot and we'll see if this one makes a second appearance.

The weekend was cool (mid 60's) but mostly sunny so there wasn't much swimming and I don't think a single adult had a swim suit on.  The kids did some fishing and they did have the lilypad out at some point.  There were a handful of boat rides and the men got some mulch down and some outdoor projects off the list.  I'd say it was a pretty standard lake weekend - lots of hanging out, lots of laughs, lots of kids and lots of food.  It was pretty fun to have the holiday weekend right on the heels of the Maddie/Ruben Mexico wedding.  While there were a handful of work days between the two trips, it sort of felt like one big family vacation week.

The kids have less than a week left in school and Memorial Day always feels like the official kick off to summer.  The pool isn't quite open yet at the house and the weather has been pretty cool and rainy for the last two weeks but I can feel summer in the air.  We're just 4ish weeks out from our trip to Florida with Mom/Dad and Joey + family and we've got all sorts of things planned between now and then.  Summer is here and things are about to get busy!

Memorial Day 2024

 

Memorial Day 2024 - the weekend we gained a fisher in the family.  Well, that's not true!  Abby fell for fishing last summer when we were at Voyagers and she caught her first Northern, but, since then, she's been ready to pick up a pole whenever someone will help her.  And, Memorial Day weekend she caught a handful of fish right off the pier in the middle of the day.  Nick's girlfriend Jess was so sweet when she came down with a pole and nightcrawlers to see if any of the kids wanted to fish.  Abby immediately got on the train, grabbing her pole from the camper and the rest was history.

As you can imagine the kids flocked when the first fish came out of the lake and I'm sure there was a lot of pole and hook management happening down there with all the little swarming.  But, they all had a great time and Abby's got some good memories to go with it.

Lake weekends are always fun with all the family there.  Each weekend brings a slightly different collection of family, with the big holiday weekends drawing the biggest crowds.  I think this year we had around 15 people staying between the two houses and then Jenny and family rented one down the street bringing us to 20 total.  Actually one of the lighter weekends we've had in recent years.

The weather was cooler, and it rained at least for a few hours each day, but it didn't stop us from getting out on the pontoon or the pier when the sun was out and taking advantage of the sun and blue sky when we could get it!

This year we tried something a little different!  A ladies trip to two wineries about 45 minutes away to celebrate Meg's 40th.  We got a good little group together, rented a little mini bus to drive us around and spent a lovely afternoon together just laughing and chatting and catching up.  

We really had a great day!  The bus was a little hard on me with my motion sickness and it turns out Meg might have the same "itis"  - but we made it home and out of the van without anyone getting sick.  

We won't be back to the lake until Labor Day, but we've got lots of summer to live between then and now and I'm looking foward to everything in between!

New Years!

There were a lot of years that we spent New Years Eve a the lake when we didn't have kids and then even when we did...but they were too little to be able to get a sitter and go out (did I ever really like going out on New Years?).  But, it's been a long time since we got a crew together to head out there for the holiday.  It usually depends on the timing of New Years Eve.  Since Ryan's mom's side of the family always does New Years Day on the southside of Chicago, going to the lake makes a lot of sense.  We drive right through that area to get home.

Long story short, this year NYE was on a Sunday so we got a small group together (Meg/Greg/Jenny/Jack) and headed to the lake with the kiddos on Saturday for a chill weekend with the cousins.  Having enough bedrooms so rarely happens at the lake, that we all felt like we were living in the twilight zone!  We even had a few unused rooms in the end.

During the summer weekends there is plenty to do right at the house without ever feeling like we need to leave to find activities to keep everyone occupied.  But, on these long, cold, dark days of winter, I start to feel a little trapped without a reason to go out and get some fresh air and some new scenery.  So, we decided to take the kids bowling early Sunday afternoon (NYE) before all the crazies came out.  

The kids did a great job bowling.  We got the three older kids a lane to themselves.  Put the 4 younger ones on a second lane and then the 6 adults did our best to bowl and help the little through their game.  I think we stuck it out for at least 2 hours, maybe longer...I can't remember!  I remember the days the we struggled to get through one game before everyone had lost interest and lost their patience with the place.  

Ellie with her breadstick rolling around on the floor was a vibe I just couldn't resist.  

And, you know what else happened?! I think I might have bowled my best game ever!  That's right, that 138 up there, that's all me baby!  Is it a good score?  Nope?  Is it my personal best?  I think so.  Am I bragging...?  Yup...sure am!

Mother's Day

 

We spent Mother's Day weekend at the lake and it was so wonderfully low key.  It ended up being just the 6 of us and it was a great way to spend the holiday.

We got the pontoon in and did a few small projects around the house - well, by "we" I mean Ryan and Dan....Erin and I just hung out, managed the kids/dog and made food for the weekend.  Division of labor!

With gimlets...of couse!

The big lake weekends are always fun, but these low key ones are so refreshing.  We're headed back there for Memorial Day and I can't wait!  We're so close to summer!  Just a few more weeks of lunches/bus schedules and end of school year activities.  I am so ready for the summer season!

Memorial Day

 

The office start of summer (in our book) and often the first big lake weekend of the season kicks of with Memorial Day.  We love this holiday.  It's typically the first time we get the whole crew back together after the cold, dark winter months and this year, we rang in summer with a bang!  We have 35 people pictured above (beating out last year's photo which included 34)...but, not pictured are Sarah, Dan, Aiden and Auntie Erin!  They were all there on Saturday, but missed this photo we took Sunday morning.  I wasn't sure how we'd pull off another huge group photo but earlier that morning when Henry was showing me the drone pictures he'd taken of the lake, we hatched a plan, I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out!  You might see more of these in the future because it's a great way to get everyone in the photo.

No lake weekend is complete without some ladies chat's on Aunt Terri's deck.  This year Liz and Meg hosted a mini lake bachelorette party for Gina, appropriately themed "Girl Gone Mild".  Liz coordinated a cute little Jeopardy game,  we drank champs, laughed, talked,  opened a few gifts and generally just enjoyed a little kid free ladies time!

Ten little cuzzies all sitting in a row.  I think the only one we're missing is Aiden, darn it!

I just love the photos from the summer time so much.  Sun, blue sky, water, bright outfits and tanned kids...you can't go wrong!