Camp Lauer: Oktoberfest 2019

Thursday

Mama, so very sick, asks the 8-year-old to pack not only for herself but for her 6-year-old brother for a 4-day weekend trip.

Margaret (8): "Okay, Mama, I've got three pairs of underwear and leggings, plus a rough-and-tumble outfit for Saturday, a Mass outfit and a visiting outfit for Sunday, plus my outfit to travel home. Here is my nightgown. I've packed our toothbrushes and a toothpaste that we both like. Here are out stuffed animals and a tissue pack in case we get sick. I've brought my literature pack for school and I'm going to read this book aloud to Joseph. [Then describes brother's outfits in equal detail.] We are each bringing shoes fro Mass, for visiting, and for the mud. How did I do?"

(Note that she folded each individual outfit with a pair of underwear in Marie Kondo fashion.)

All I had to remind her to pack were socks and sweatshirts for the cooler northern weather!

Pop-Pops would be driving to spend the night here before the whole crew continued on, so Thomas and David sat on the front porch shouting for all the neighborhood to hear, over and over, "Pop-Pops, are you in our city yet?"

Grandfather arrived!

Friday

Chris, his dad, John (12), Margaret (8), and Joseph (6) drove to Buffalo in one straight 12-hour shot that Friday, arriving in the nick of time to meet the extended family for dinner at a restaurant.

Now, Joseph had been awake since 4:00 a.m., coming to ask me regularly, "Mama, is it time to get up? I think we should get up because it's time to leave!" and, shockingly, did not nap at all on the 12-hour drive, and then Daddy kept him out till 9:00 p.m. at the family dinner, so this child (and his sister) slept like rocks--and Joseph on the hotel windowsill, no less!

Saturday

Despite the short sleep, these two were up at the crack of dawn playing imagination games quietly on the windowsill while waiting for Daddy and Pop-Pops to wake up.

Saturday was the day of Oktoberfest at Camp Lauer! Many decades ago, two brothers (one recently deceased, May God rest his soul, and the other the patriarch of his extensive wing of the family) bought something like 100 acres of wilderness with a vision for the future. The property has since been sold and bequeathed to various members of the family with numerous younger generations buying in and improving the place so it is a true family campground for the local extended family to gather. At Oktoberfest this year, there were family members from Wisconsin, Georgia, and North Carolina joining the New York crew!

Starting the morning fire . . .

Tapping the keg and eating lunch . . .

Not drinking beer--but check out the personalized mug!

About half a dozen doggie pets joined the family . . .

Fun, games, and crafts . . . 

Going fishing . . .

Back at the campground after dusk to roast marshmallows . . .

Local family members have built cabins up at Camp Lauer while the out-of-towners stayed at a hotel at the base of the mountain.

Sunday

My dear ones started Sunday by attending the Latin Mass at the beautiful St. Anthony of Padua parish in downtown Buffalo. Then they headed off to visit Niagara Falls! I admit, I sorely wished we were on a whole-family vacation when they were texting me these photos!

My Joseph (6) wanted to go stand on the "Hurricane Deck" which is right below the falls and experiences hurricane-force winds. Now he's got the new nickname, "Hurricane Joe"!



Josey's smile in the second video is so cute to his Mama!



Then there was dinner at one family's home, and hanging out at another family's home, where they would spend their last night there. It was so good to connect with everyone up there!

Monday

Finally, my road warrior husband departed at 6:01 a.m. (but who's counting?) with two huge bags of soda and candy "fuel" provided by his cousin and took 13 hours to get home, where we met in the church parking lot. I retrieved kids and then he stayed for a mandatory meeting of parents for students receiving First Holy Communion this year, not getting home till 9:00 at night. What a hard worker for his family!

A wonderful time was had by all.