The Cottage

We played, swam, fished, went boating, slept, ate, drank . . . and were merry!

One day last week we got a call from Mike’s parents saying that there was a cancellation at a cottage in the park where they live. So we took advantage of it and in less than 24 hours were packed and on our way. And by the way, that’s no small feat for two adults and three children! But despite a chaotic few hours or more getting ready, we were glad we went. We had a lot of fun and the best part was seeing how excited the kids were. We were so busy everyday and pretty much every waking hour was spent outside in the fresh air that they all slept really well at night too, which is always a bonus when you’re away and no one is in their own bed.

Here are some pictures of the girls swimming in the pool. All three kids are getting more and more comfortable and confident in the water. They just started swimming lessons yesterday so that should help as well.


Samara’s favourite part of the cottage was the boats. She loved watching them go by on the lake and was thrilled every time we went for a ride in Grandpa’s boat.

Watching the kids fish was my favourite part of the cottage this time. They had so much fun catching sunfish off the dock. They were pulling them in one after the other and once they got over the initial fear of pulling in a real live fish that would flop around wildly, they enjoyed it. Victoria and Austin had fishing poles from Christmas two years ago but Samara didn’t have one. So for the first day or two she just used Mikes but there was the fear of her dropping it into the water. And of course she couldn’t just sit there and watch. After all, if her big brother and sister were fishing . . . then she needed to as well! We went into town on day three and got her her very own Dora fishing pole. It even floats if it accidentally falls into the water. She was tickled pink and caught a fish the second she dropped it into the water. When Mike tried to take it off the hook to throw it back into the water, she started screaming, “mine! mine!” She was not impressed that she didn’t get to touch it. She even made a kissing sound with her lips to indicate she wanted to give it a kiss. Too cute! Between the three of them though, Mike and I were hopping – continuously putting new worms on the hooks and taking fish off. What a blast!

Samara
Austin

When he caught this fish, he said, “hey look, he’s eating salad!”

Victoria



Here’s my man on the dock – I think he’s trying to keep up with the kids. No such luck though.

Here’s a nice bird that came by the dock once in a while to say hi.


A few nights Grandma came over to the cottage and kicked us out. :) Once the kids were all tucked in, she offered to stay at the cottage to babysit so Mike and I could go out for a boat ride and some fishing. Mike caught one decent sized bass but other than a few bites, that was it.




All in all it was a great vacation. Nice to get away and not to worry about the everyday tasks and routine. Barry and Peggy (Grandpa and Grandma) even cooked dinner for us every night so it truly was a vacation!