The Noodle Exclusive: Lakeside Reunion

The blogosphere is about to be inundated with photos and stories from Lakeside Cabins Resort, so the editorial staff at The Noodle is excited to be the first to bring them to you.

The only other site that could conceivably scoop us is the fine, fine blog called From E to Z..., but it's not updated as of our publishing. The rest of the "competition"? They're all spending another night in Three Oaks.

On with the show...

Here's a shot of those responsible for producing the fine group of folks gathered together this weekend. That's Supa Busia with her eight children.

By my count, there was a total of 38 in our group. Twelve grandchildren. Six great-grandchildren. Even a couple dogs.

Here's some of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren hanging out on a firetruck brought in for a demonstration. There's more... the older boys were running around doing older boy stuff. I think this photo looks like Becca is the lead singer of an up-and-coming Disney band.

Zoe was continuously thrilled and really had a great time. Here she is on the playground with cousins (second cousins? third cousins?) Brianna, Sarah and Danielle.

Later, all the girls painted their own commemorative T-shirt. Zoe somehow ended up with her own handprint on her calf, too.

There was some good grub including, of course, corn-on-the-cob. The much-anticipated corn-off between Zoe and Becca was deemed a draw.

Zoe took a couple gentle pokes at the pinata:

But she didn't care much for the candy once cousin Derek busted it open:

We did some swimming, too, including this very brief solo effort. It lasted only a second or two before Mom yelled something like "Those wings are not approved life-saving devices." Moms say the funniest things, don't they?

So Zoe found a better way to stay afloat... one big toe in each of Dziadzia's ears.

Each morning, Zoe would open her eyes and say "Yoyo need my Busia." And, before you knew it, there she was! Here they are with Zoe in her new pigtails. Zoe said they were "funny and cute."

Busia and Dziadzia offered to have Zoe sleep in their cabin one night, but she never did. We appreciated the offer... but I think we passed because she was so well-behaved and acting so funny and loving that we just didn't want to be away from her. If she would have acted the way she did tonight, back at home... she could have stayed with Busia and Dziadzia all weeekend!

I'm sure her top-notch behavior had plenty to do with how much fun she had with her family. (Well, except Uncle Ted. She never did warm up to him!) Here she is sharing a goodbye hug with fellow 'Z' cousin, Zachary.

On the drive home, Sonja asked Zoe if she had fun with all her cousins.

Her response: "Not my cousins. Those my friends."

And that, in a nutshell, is why this tradition was born three summers ago. And why I hope it lasts a long, long time.

I had fun with my friends, too.