I'm so thankful for another wonderful Deterding Family Reunion weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks! This was our third year being at Lazy Dayz Resort and it is the perfect place for our huge, crazy crew! One of my favorite traditions on this vacation is our fish fry. Cousin Nathan and Co. make THE BEST fish and chips and hush puppies. And the rest of us are really good at making all of the yumminess disappear quickly!
Nathan spoiled us once again by bringing his enormous smoker for Saturday's meal. I love how Violet always seems to be supervising the cooking.
Friday night is Karaoke night at Boondockz and our family always has fun with this! Uncle John is perennially one of the best performers and he pulled out two of his classics, "Gettin' Jiggy With It" and "All Star."
Syd & Calvin entertained us with some "Friends in Low Places" and Jack & Grayson brought the house down with "Don't Ya."
Vi had a great time listening to the music and getting on the dance floor a bit, too.
Such a fun time with cousins!
There was a new Shake Shack this year, and the girls couldn't wait to try one out. The "Cookie Monster" was a big hit!
As usual, the boys played plenty of pool and corn hole.
The pool got plenty of use, especially by the little girls. Evie and Kyla were in heaven with all of the littles!
For the adults, a lot of the time was spent just hanging out on the dock and in the lake. It's such a great time to relax and catch up each year!
It's crazy how quickly our 50+ family members can fill up the place!
We had the huge "lodge" again and we did spend some time there as well, visiting on the back patio, cuddling with babies, and completing the puzzle we got Mom and Dad for Christmas last year: "Lake of the Ozarks Deterding Family Tradition."
Some relaxing in the hammocks. . .
. . . and card playing (don't ask me what game the big boys are playing).
I just love the memories we make each year during our Lake Weekend!
Family is such a gift, and I LOVE that this tradition has continued through all these years!
