Sun, Jun 5, 2011

Vacation simplicity on the lake

Posted in Babies at 8:42 pm by Ann

We were back last week for a vacation at our favorite lake house, and what a lovely week it was! We kept things simple, and we find that leads to the most fun.

We hadn’t been to Fremont since 2009, and in the meantime, the girls have grown so much — so it was great to enjoy each other without worrying about scheduling mid-day naps or wrangling high chairs. The week began lovely and warm, then turned cooler and rainy — just in time for us, since we were actually ready for a bit of relaxation (and some TLC for Lucy, who was nursing a cold).

Here are some of the highlights:

• a visit to the library, which features a fun play-castle in the children’s department
• painting our fingernails in the fresh air (while Papa took a well-deserved nap)
• running up and down the dock at every opportunity
• after-dinner desserts out on the dock whenever possible
• baking brownies (and being so carefree and not obsessed at all about the lack of vanilla extract)
• an early-morning bike ride to the local airport (though without seeing any planes in flight)

• a minor league baseball game (a first for Rosie)

• playing at the beach on the one warm afternoon (and finding some adorable snail shells)
• buying an assortment of Disney princess coloring and activity books at Wal-Mart, then holing up with them on our rainy afternoons
• a family viewing of Ponyo
• french toast for breakfast one morning
• getting hooked on the Downton Abbey series with Jon, streaming video on his iPad at night (props to our friend Melanie for recommending this great show!)
• a “girls only” return visit to the remarkable petting zoo at Lewis Farm Market — where we got to feed a camel, a zebra, and a variety of hungry goats and donkeys and see the bunnies in their own village!
• a long, solo bike ride for Jon on the Hart-Montague Trail while the girls were at the petting zoo
• Rosie, while eating an ice cream cone from Tiny’s Tasty Treats, spotting a turtle swimming in the Muskegon river

• Jon needing to jump off the dock — twice! — to retrieve items from the lake (a pair of favorite socks and a toy cell phone)
• the girls’ first experience sleeping in bunk beds — a success!

One other element of interest was Lucy’s outbreak of what we believe was Fifth Disease — which basically means we noticed a mottled rash on her cheeks, spreading down her limbs. Once the rash shows up, she is no longer contagious, they say, and it disappeared after a few days. No problem!

Lucy and Rosie are full-fledged fans of the Lake House now. We’re already longing to go back next year! Bye-bye, Mr. Swan!

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