![\"\"](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/IMG_0529.jpg\" "\\"IMG_0529\\"")
<\/p>\nWe 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. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t “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).<\/p>\n
Here are some of the highlights:<\/p>\n
* a visit to the library, which features a fun play-castle in the children’s department
\n* painting our fingernails in the fresh air (while Papa took a well-deserved nap)
\n* running up and down the dock at every opportunity
\n* after-dinner desserts out on the dock whenever possible
\n* 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)
\n* an early-morning bike ride to the local airport (though without seeing any planes in flight)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/IMG_6474.jpg\" "\\"IMG_6474\\"")
<\/p>\n
* a “minor league baseball game”:http:\/\/westmichigan.whitecaps.milb.com\/index.jsp?sid=t582 (a first for Rosie)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/IMG_6496.jpg\" "\\"IMG_6496\\"")
<\/p>\n
* playing at the beach on the one warm afternoon (and finding some adorable snail shells)
\n* buying an assortment of Disney princess coloring and activity books at Wal-Mart, then holing up with them on our rainy afternoons
\n* a family viewing of “_Ponyo_”:http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0876563\/
\n* french toast for breakfast one morning
\n* 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!)
\n* 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!
\n* a long, solo bike ride for Jon on the Hart-Montague Trail while the girls were at the petting zoo
\n* Rosie, while eating an ice cream cone from Tiny’s Tasty Treats, spotting a turtle swimming in the Muskegon river<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/IMG_0514.jpg\" "\\"IMG_0514\\"")
<\/p>\n
* Jon needing to jump off the dock — twice! — to retrieve items from the lake (a pair of favorite socks and a toy cell phone)
\n* the girls’ first experience sleeping in bunk beds — a success!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/IMG_6494.jpg\" "\\"IMG_6494\\"")
<\/p>\n
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!<\/p>\n
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!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/IMG_6462.jpg\" "\\"IMG_6462\\"")
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