We were back last week for a vacation at “our favorite lake house”:/news/2008/vacation-for-four/, 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”:/news/2009/lake-house-2009/ 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”:http://boydsnest.org/news/2006/fudgy-mexican-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”:http://westmichigan.whitecaps.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t582 (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_”:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0876563/
* french toast for breakfast one morning
* getting hooked on the “_Downton Abbey_”:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606375/ series with Jon, streaming video on his iPad at night (props to our friend “Melanie”:http://www.melaniekeller.myarbonne.com/ for recommending this great show!)
* a “girls only” return visit to the remarkable petting zoo at “Lewis Farm Market”:http://www.lewisfarmmarket.com — 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”:http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/fifth.html — 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!
Looks like so much fun! Looking forward to seeing you guys in Madison next month! :)
We LOVED Downton Abbey! Fantastic series.
Sounds like a great vacation — I think the simplest vacations are often the best ones.
I’m SOOO pleased that you and Jon started Downton Abbey. It’s so good, right? I was thinking about it the whole time I was in Wales, looking at old estates and such. Kevin and I are desperate for the next season. It sounds like you all had a dreamy vacation, Ann. (and thanks for the link!) :)