Long weekend fun!

It was a fun weekend for everyone

Including the furry-family

But I think everyone was tired - except for the kids

 They kept going and going and going

Stopping for a quick refuel - and yes Nick would have eventually made it through the whole bowl.

Hopefully this is the sign of the fun to come this summer!

 

Let the cottage season begin!

What better way to open the brand new cottage, then fill it with the family!

For the first long weekend of the 'summer'.

Over the years the Victoria Day weekend can be hit or miss. 

It could just as often been a cold and dreary weekend that you spend up at the cottage - because that is what we do - than a gorgeous sunny weekend where you need to make sure you don't get burned.

 I think that Nick agrees that this was a pretty good weekend!

The kids were right into the lake - regardless of the little squeals that the adults made when we put our feet in the water.

And in no time there were busy making potions and mud pies.

Going fishing

Captaining a ship

And flashing smiles that say "I am having so much fun!"

The kids loved being on and off of the boat.
They were careful (it's sitting in about 1 ft of water).

I was not so careful about the kids. See this picture above. The bare feed, the carpet. The position of the feet. 2 minutes after he got on the boat and was having fun moving around, he had a big sore on his foot. Exactly like last summer.
After a minor freak-out and berating myself for not recognizing that this would happen (in 2 minutes). We had it bandaged and socked up. Nick didn't care at all.
But at least we didn't get tons of splinters like last year during the long weekend.
And we had the knee pads that helped save the knee. I only used the snazzy baby ones, because they are so simple to get on and off. And we had Nick's old braces for him to take in the water with some water shoes.

Between all of the braces, socks, pads, shorts - Nick might as well have been wearing pants!
But at least the water cooled him off! Even if I was keep him dry standing at the side of the dock - and didn't notice he had shrunk until it was too late.

At the end of the day we just decided to all pile together for family nap time!

Intro to summer!

The holiday long weekend is usually a lot of fun. When I was younger it usually involved camping, lots of rain and drinking. As we got older if I wasn't working we were cottaging. Once we had our kids the may long weekend turned into our first family long weekend. Even if I was working I'd try to find a way up for at least one day.

It marks a turning point, from the cold winter and the dreary spring, to that first hint of summer, sandals, shorts and swimming. Before the AC gets started and when you want to be in the sun and not looking for some elusive shade.

The May long weekend (our Victoria Day weekend) is a glimpse into the summer to come. We've been doing the same thing for the last couple of years. We head for the cottage. Which sits on a beautiful, shallow, sandy lake, and where we are surrounded by extended family.


The first year we had Katheryn, she was about 8 weeks old. We were sooo cold, we had to pull out hats and sweaters. But we still weathered through.

The next may long weekend was when Katheryn took her first steps. And there was lots of family who got to share this experience.

Last May long weekend we had Nick. I remember it was our first trip away from home (but still 2hrs away from Sick Kids). And an opportunity to show off Nick to family - while collecting donations and spreading what spina bifida looks like. That was also a nice weekend where we got to go in the lake. Sit in the sun, try new foods (solids!!) And freak out about our constipation issues. wow has it only been a year?!

This year the lake continued to call for us. The first day I let Nick put his feet in, but thought it was still too cool to actually go in.

But we did make it completely in the lake. Nick LOVED it! He would have lived in there if he could. He kicked and he splashed and he sat up.

He also had fun with the big kid toys. The rocking horse thing, the slide, the swing.

And he got to explore the cottage. He was able to get into drawers, and the fridge! He could open doors and splash in dog dishes. Nick was able to get underfoot!!!
It was great!

And I love that I got to see the prequel for the summer to come!!!