Wisconsin Vacation/Elsesser Family Reunion 2011

We spent this past weekend on Lake Michigan in Oostburg and Sheboygan (Wisconsin) with some of the Burge family. There were 13 of us that made the trip - Great Poppy, Marion, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Reno, Nana, Papa, Aunt Jeri, Uncle Mike, Aunt Lindsay, Dave, and the three of us. We rented a big 7+ bedroom house in Oostburg on Lake Michigan for the weekend. The house was beautiful! And it was so fun to stay in one house together.

The lake on Friday afternoon/evening... quite chilly, overcast, and a bit of a mist in the air...

The lake on Sunday... beautiful, warm, sunny, and perfect! 

We all arrived on Friday around lunch time. We immediately headed into Sheboygan to Gosse's for some amazing burgers, brats, and fresh lake perch. The burgers and brats in Sheboygan are always covered with lots of butter and are served on Sheboygan hard rolls. The best hard rolls are from City Bakery, which is where Gosse's gets them. Everything is very fresh at Gosse's, too. The lake perch is brought in fresh from the docks everyday, the beef and brats are delivered fresh daily, as well. Nothing is ever frozen. Everything is homemade. And it is all delicious!

After our meal at Gosse's, our next stop was, naturally, City Bakery, to put in an order for 10 dozen hard rolls. We used some on Sunday when we grilled at the lake house, but most of them were for my grandpa, aunts, and parents to bring home.

After City Bakery, we went to find the house my Grandma lived in as a young girl. Can you believe 12 kids were living in this house?

Seeing her house was kind of emotional. We all just wished we'd have returned together before my Grandma passed away last year... it had been nearly 30 years since my grandpa, aunts, and mom had been to Sheboygan (prior to that, they'd come almost every year). Carson was quite sad and shed a few tears, saying he missed Great Apple and just wished she was here with us. That was before anyone had even said anything about feeling sad ourselves. He is such a sensitive, sweet little guy.

Next we went off to find the discount liquor warehouse. Booze is cheaper in Wisconsin, so we were stocking up for the weekend and to bring some home, too. We also made a stop at the grocery store to pick up food for the weekend. Finally, we headed back to the lake house to play cards, visit, explore a little, and relax. It was quite chilly on Friday night, so we didn't spend too much time outside.

There was a lot of wildlife in the area.  We saw some huge raccoons, deer, cranes, birds, etc.  They'd come right up onto the deck, even. 

Saturday was the Elsesser family reunion - which was the purpose for our trip. We got up early and had a big breakfast. 

Then we made a run into downtown Sheboygan to pick up the hard rolls at City Bakery and to see the pier and lighthouse before the party. The waterfront is beautiful with so many gorgeous homes!

Then we headed over to my cousin Sandy's house in town for the reunion. We met lots of cousins that I had only heard stories about, so it was great to finally meet them and put names with faces. It was funny to hear so many Yooper accents. I never realized people in Wisconsin have Yooper accents. :)

My Auntie Ruth was able to make it, too! It has been about 12-15 years since I had seen her. She is my Grandma's only living sibling. Many of her mannerisms are just like my Grandma's - the way she smiles, the way she holds her hands, the way she laughs. She even has almost identical hand-writing as my Grandma. She looks great for 82 and she had such a great time. She was never without a smile on her face and she just loved seeing everyone!

There were 42 people at the reunion and we all had a blast. There were two other 3-year olds there, Dylan and Molly, so Carson had some playmates... although it took him a bit to warm up, but he did eventually. The Elsessers are so much fun! They sure have some hilarious stories! We enjoyed looking at all kinds of old pictures from when my Grandma and her brothers and sisters were younger. We enjoyed some awesome food - of course there were butter-dripping burgers, brats, and brat patties on Sheboygan hard rolls, plus some traditional German dishes, and, of course, some typical cookout food. The only downside to the day was the weather - it was quite cool... mid-50s and no sun. But it could have been worse! We still enjoyed ourselves and had an awesome day!

 The cousins... the children of the Elsessers... all of those in attendance, plus a poster to remember the cousins that have passed.  Of course, there are several more cousins not in attendance, too.  Nancy, Joanie, Ricky, Janice, Cheryl, Roger, Auntie Ruth, Sharon, Ozzie, LuAnn, Jimmy, and Jeri.

 The out-laws, as they are called... the significant others of the cousins... Mike, Nunzio, Sandy, Bill, Tammy, Clare, Auntie Ruth, Rick, Mike, Reno.

Auntie Ruth and her children and out-law... Cheryl, Jimmy, Clare, and Auntie Ruth.

The kids as we were referred to... the kids of the cousins plus our out-laws... Kristin, Dennis, Kevin, Amy, Sara, Kevin, Lindsay, Laura, and Auntie Ruth.

The grand-kids of the cousins... plus a couple kids... Laura, Dylan, Logan, Ethan, Auntie Ruth, Molly, Sara, and Carson.

The Michigan group... Auntie Esther's family, as we were referred to at the reunion... Carson, Sara, Jeri, Kevin, Mike, Jerry, Marion, Rick, LuAnn, Lindsay, Sharon, Dave, and Reno.

Auntie Sally's son Ozzie's family... those in attendance, at least... Amy, Kevin, Carly (dog), Ozzie, Tammy, Logan, Ethan, Laura, and Dylan.

Auntie Rachel's son Roger's family... well, part of it... Kristin, Molly, Roger, Sandy, Dennis.

Auntie Leah's son Ricky, daughter Nancy and her husband Nunzio.

Auntie Marie's only living family... Joanie.

 The whole group... minus the two taking pictures.

Saturday night, we spent more time playing cards and games and just visiting and relaxing (and warming up!) at the lake house. Carson got to try out the Jeep PowerWheel in the garage, too. He LOVED it! He got the hang of it so quickly and was tearing all around, having a blast! We really lucked out on the lake house. The owners have small children, so there were LOTS of toys for Carson to play with. He seriously had a ball. He loved the Jeep and the 3-wheeled scooter in the garage and he loved our bedroom, which was the playroom stocked with a play kitchen, remote controlled cars, puzzles, books, wagons, and tons of toys.

Sunday we woke up to a beautiful day! We spent the entire day outside. We rode bikes and scooters. Carson rode the Jeep down on the beach and in the drive. We all went for some walks/jogs on the beach. We laid out and got some good doses of Vitamin D. We read on the lounge chairs outside. We cooked outside. We napped outside. We played catch. We went hunting for treasures buried in the sand with the metal detector. We basically just had an awesome day. It was perfect!

In the early evening, we all got ready and headed down to the beach for a big photo shoot. We got some great pictures!

We spent the evening playing cards, looking at pictures, relaxing, and visiting. Then, Monday morning we all packed up and headed home.

It was an awesome family vacation! We look forward to the next one! And the next family reunion, too! We are already planning another one next year - this time at my Aunt Sharon's house in Fenton. The cousins all said they'd come! We can't wait!