The kids and I spent a little time at the cabin while Sean is in Costa Rica. Instead of cramming everything they want to do (swimming, fishing, boating, tubing, camp fire, buggy rides, digging, etc.) into one way too short Saturday, we were able to relax a little and really enjoy each activity without feeling like we were missing out on something else.
We spent A LOT of time in the water. In honor of the Olympic events in London, I tried to organize a few events of our own. It didn't go over too well. Wes was the only one that would play volleyball with me. Elise just wanted to throw it and the splash through the water to get it.
The boys tried their hand at rowing.
Their tube didn't glide through the water quite like the sculls they saw on tv earlier in the week.
Monica was so sweet and took Wes tubing. Wesley is proof that 4-year-olds can't reason. The same boy who is terrified to swim in water deeper than his knees...
is more than happy to venture into the aquatic unknown in a tube.
Always the daredevil, Elise hopped right on for her first tubing experience. She did great, giggling and waving the whole time.
Monica finally got a chance to go tubing without a child in her lap. Our Captain was a little rougher on her without the kids out there. She was up and out of the water a few times during the ride.
An extended stay afforded us a chance to venture away from the lake and into town to the Crow Wing County Fair. While I'm sure the highlight for the kids was the rides (more on that later), I think the best part was the mini-farm they got to go through. As the kids entered, they each got a basket and a bag of corn.
As the kids navigated their way through the farm (stopping for photo opps, or course)
they were able to feed a chicken and gather its egg, feed sheep and pigs and gather their wool and hair (in paintbrush form) and feed a cow then gather her milk.
They also planted
and harvested some vegetables (some day a real farmer is going to have to explain to me how carrots and squash grow from corn seed).
If there's a board with holes in it, my kids have to stick their heads in and I have to take a picture.
Next we visited the barns. Just like their grandma...
the kids were wild about the goats.
Their next adventure included an encounter with REAL horses. Are we raising city kids or what?! They couldn't get over the fact that they were on real horses.
While I would have been content with their fair experience limited to virtual farming and pony rides, the midway awaited. With tickets in hand (7 tickets doesn't get you much these days, but I refused to have any more money spent on rides) the kids ventured down the blacktopped sidewalk to the roller coaster. All three of them marched up the stairs to the platform. Unfortunately, one of them had to march right back down.
Good thing Elise had her optimist hat on that day. Otherwise she might not have been so content with the duck ride.
She also clearly enjoyed this train ride.
We wrapped up our fair day with dinner at the cabin with some long-time family friends who shared stories about a recent trip to Israel. Some day I hope to be posting pictures of my own trip there. For now, I'll be content with family trips to the cabin.
No cabin vacation would be complete without some roasting. These lucky kids got to roast hot dogs for lunch and marshmallows for dessert over this fire that went all day and into the night. Jack was the first to give it a try.
Here he is with Evie while Grandpa finished the roasting... While Grandpa was on duty for hot dogs, Grandma earned a gold medal for her marshmallow roasting skills.
The smoke swirled all around the fire - no spot was safe. Needless to say, our clothes smelled like we'd been camping.
No campfire is complete without a little music. I don't know how many years it's been since my dad has played, but the kids were ecstatic when he pulled out the guitar and started singing some familiar favorites. After rounds of Jesus Loves Me, She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain and Wheels on the Bus, we put the guitar away and called it a night.
On a side note... My parents have had this cabin for 26 years now and some of the fondest memories I have are of my parents and their friends (and families) sitting around the campfire singing. Back in those days, my dad was more practiced so we weren't limited to Row Row Row Your Boat. I seem to remember Van Morrison's G-L-O-R-I-A coming up a lot.
As it turns out, a cabin isn't the easiest place to take a 3-month-old so she isn't in most of the pictures. But just to prove she was there, here is our beautiful Evie, enjoying as much of the cabin as she could. Next year, baby girl. Next year.
Can't you just see the wheels turning? What kind of mischief awaits us in the summer of 2013?
Nothing like an up-close-and-personal chat with your big sister.
And one more just because I think she's so darn cute (I take full responsibility for being biased).
