Our Vacation

    

Well, I’m finally getting around to posting about our last vacation/trip of the summer … CCL Convention 2010 in Green Lake, WI.  We left – twice - on Saturday, August 7th.  We had to go back and get the watermelon, which had been prepped for the trip.  After celebrating at a cousin’s 3rd birthday on Minnesota’s Lake Sally, we traveled to a hotel north of the cities (MN) to stay for the night.  The kids swam at Lake Sally all day and then I MADE them swim at the pool.  There was a possibility of ‘itch’ in the lake, so after precautions earlier in the day, I figured a swim in chlorinated pool water would take care of anything else.  (This is just my opinion, but no one came down with a case of the ‘itch’, so all was good!). 

A leisurely Sunday morning was perfect for our family.  We planned to attend opening Mass that afternoon, so we had plenty of time to eat and pack up the crew.  Ironically, our friends, the Goettle’s, whom we would be renting a home with at the conference, happened to stay at the same hotel!  Unplanned, but really cool to run into each other in the morning and have a good laugh.

Meal plans & snacks were decided upon beforehand, so each family stopped at a grocery store to pick up last minutes essentials.  By the time we arrived and registered for the conference, our house was ready for move-in.  It was a beautiful 2-story home with a wrap around porch, air-conditioning (an essential for me & nursing baby) and fully equipped kitchen.  Plenty of room for two families with a total of 10 children.

The Goettle’s & The Lahlum’s (missing Eric)

This is our third CCL convention.  I’ve enjoyed each; this was no exception.  The company was excellent and the speakers were inspiring and intelligent.  Each day begins and ends with Mass.  While I would love to be able to attend the morning Mass, that just isn’t practical with the ages of our children, so we went (as often as we could) in the afternoon.  The oldest four of our kids attended day camps, which they thoroughly enjoyed.  I was worried about Graham because he tends to be shy and reserved in new situations.  I was prepared to have him come with me on some days, but he did great and was excited to go each day.

Adults began the day with 3 speakers in the morning and then divided out into smaller workshops in the afternoon.  I heard most of the speakers in the sessions I had hoped to attend. Louis is such a trooper.  He took naps during the morning and afternoon; only once did I miss – completely – a talk.  The morning series of speakers was in a room large enough to push around the stroller, so as long as I kept moving Louis stayed content.

Eric’s National Sales Meeting was also this week, so he flew out on Tuesday morning.  Not ideal, but we’d had this trip planned since knowing the dates (and that was two years ago at the end of the last conference).  Yes, I am thankful for our good friends, the Goettle’s, who helped get the kids where they needed to go and for the ability to split meal prep!  I couldn’t have done this without them.  Eric would meet up with us on Thursday evening in Appleton, WI.

Morning speakers included Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, S.V.; James McKenna; Dr. Joseph Corbo; Bishop Ronald W. Gainer; Michael Schwartz; Dale Ahlquist; Fr. Tad Pacholczyk; Dr. Ray Guarendi; and Bishop Jean Laffitte.  I’m not sure I could pick a favorite, but I learned a lot by listening to Michael Schwartz talk about the health care bill, Dr. Ray is always funny, and Fr. Pacholczyk is incredibly knowledgeable about In Vitro fertilization and infertility.  Marilyn Shannon gave afternoon talks on nutrition for women and also for men.  I attended both and was very glad.  The women’s health topic is not new, in fact, it is a workshop that is generally very well attended.  However, when do we EVER see a talk on men’s health??  No, I wasn’t the only woman in the room.

The only workshop I regret not hearing was Dale Ahlquist’s afternoon session on G.K. Chesterton.  I sat in the lobby and let Louis crawl around while I visited with a young woman from NE.

Thursday morning, I was able to attend the 7am closing Mass (everyone else attended the 4pm Mass the night before).  I left Louis at the house in good hands.  Upon returning from Mass, both families packed up their suburbans, dropped off keys and made our way out of the resort.  The kids and I drove up to Appleton where we’d spend Thursday night.  We had a bit of time to kill between our arrival and check-in at the hotel, so we had a blast playing at The Building for Kids (that’s another post!).  We spent Friday night at my sister and brother-in-laws in Lowry, MN and finally arrived home on Saturday afternoon.

Above:  The youngest Mr. Goettle & Zeke.  These two are also inseparable and had a great amount of fun each and every day of our trip.

Above:  Angelina having a bit of fun with the youngest Miss Goettle!

 

Above: Miss Goettle & Angelina – these two have been fast friends since … well, forever!

Above: Louis & Dash relaxing on the porch.