Cabin Weekend II

Two years ago our friends invited us out to their cabin right before school started. We might have scared them off last year with our two two-year-olds, but they invited us again this year and we were thrilled to go up for a last break before we started teaching.

If you go back and look at the time we did this two years ago (and you can do that by clicking HERE), you will definitely note two things.
1. They were TINY (Clara wasn't even walking)
2. They didn't DO much.

What a different trip it was this year! Christina and Steve got to do their own recreation (Christina went walking/running, Steve went biking and swimming - between the two of us it was our own triathlon!) and the girls got to do their thing too. Their favorite? BOATING!

The first day they stuck to the paddle boat. They loved paddling and steering. But more than anything else they loved life jackets!! This is pretty funny, as they hated wearing them so much this past winter that we bought them specialty life jackets for this summer that don't even go anywhere near their necks. But we forgot them this weekend, and they just would barely take off our friends' various life jackets. Crazy.

This year the girls also played way more with the other kids. This is probably a function of them getting older and more able to do things, and the other kids getting older and more nurturing of little kids.

Charlie, Clara, and Elena came up with a funny game where they pretended to be puppies and locked one another in this dog crate.

This was such a heartwarming sight to us - our own kids, at the kids table! Like real kids! Big kids! We couldn't get over it.

Another stunning change from last time is that the girls could stay up for fun way later than they did the last time we were at the cabin. They went out to the campfire, and were pros at eating s'mores.

The next morning, we could barely keep the girls inside past 7am - they had to get on their life jackets and go DO something. So we helped them fish again. Still not catching any fish (they don't know that this has something to do with the fact that they have neither hooks nor bait on their lines), but still having fun.

Around 8am Elena started hounding us that she wanted to go on the BIG boat.

Clara wasn't about to miss that action, either.

Steve went with them - and they shot right off. They don't call it a speed boat for nuthin'! Christina's heart was in her throat, but everyone came back safely the numerous times they all went out. Thanks to Steve and the generosity of our other friends, motion-sick Christina never had to set foot in that boat, and the girls were happily entertained by everyone else.

They started playing a funny trick on Christina, though. She wanted to get a picture of them side by side in their life jackets, and the girls thought it was hilarious to pose, then as soon as the photo was to be taken they would whip around and show only their backs. We can't count how many times they did it - it was a hysterical joke to them!

Our friends' son, Grant, was just the sweetest to our girls this year. He helped them, included them, and always explained things to them. Here he came up to the cabin specifically to get Clara because he thought she'd like to see a perch an some crawdads that he had caught - and he was right. She trotted right down the path with him to see them.

With Dad in his wet suit and Uncle Steve ready to take her on the boat, Clara couldn't be more thrilled here!

It felt like we were there much longer than we were (in the best possible way!) so that we could have a real little vacation together before schedules get busy again. Hooray for friends!