What a wonderful mid-summer vacation to the lake! We spent 4 days at the cabin enjoying warmer-than-average temperatures and refreshing swims in the lake. It was also a trip with a lot of "first times". This was Parker's first time at the lake - something you can see he was very excited about!
After getting over his initial outburst of joy he prompty got back to doing what he does best - smiling, chewing on things, and sleeping. Ainsley's first request after she climbed out of the car was "Nana, can we ride the T?" (that's ATV for those of you who are not well-versed in 'Ainsley-speak'). Last year she was very nervous about the ATV, and she flat-out refused to ride Papa's tractor. Apparently a year makes a huge difference because this time there was no hesitation!
Riding in Nana's Ranger
Helping Papa drive the tractor!
One of many "T" rides with Daddy!
In addition to her newfound interest in riding on things with oversize tires, Ainsley also enjoyed fishing for the first time! Papa helped her with the worms and the hook but she helped bring in those big fish (3 total)! She was a little more interested in watching the fish in the bucket rather than waiting for the bobber to move. I guess patience is something we'll have to work on this year.
One reason we come up at the end of July each year is to celebrate my mom's birthday. Nana was so happy to be able to have both of her grandkids to help blow the candles off the cake!
That's one happy Nana!
The whole family spent some time at the Guest House to clean out some of the sheds and junk under the deck. Parker was a big help, as always.
Last year Ainsley was happy to play by the dock and throw rocks for the dog. This year she is much more confident in her swimming abilities, so she was ready to head out to the float. She helped Mommy and Nana pick lily pads from the path (making a nice salad for her "supper"). It didn't take long until she was climbing the ladder and jumping off, eager to splash whoever was near. That's our little fish!
Lila figured out it's much more fun to float than swim.
The past few years we've tried to do s'mores but it never seemed to work out with the chaos of dinner and bedtime. This year we decided to get the fire going early! Ainsley helped Papa collect sticks and then anxiously awaited her turn to "cook" her marshmallow. Unfortunately she was not as interested in eating it. Instead she picked marshmallows straight from the bag to eat. Oh well - at least she enjoyed the process and the rest of us got to eat the rewards!
This was after her marshmallow fell off into the fire.
Parker got to meet some family and friends for the first time - the Moomeys and Linaberrys (family friends), and Great Aunt Sue, cousin Lauren and Jim, and second cousin Kaitlyn.
The first weekend in August is always one of Susquehanna County's biggest events - the Blueberry Festival! Ainsley and cousin Kaitlyn enjoyed playing games, crafts, and of course, enjoying all things blueberry.
She got a hole-in-one on her first try!
Then she missed a few so Daddy had to step in and coach.
This fishing is MUCH easier!
In addition to riding the Ranger, ATV, and tractor, swimming and jumping, going for walks in the woods, fishing, and making s'mores, she even took a few minutes to enjoy a boat ride with Mommy.
Parker did what he does best - he watched his sister and smiled at her happiness. And he slept.
I woke up this morning and a feeling of helplessness washed over me. All the unknowns are creeping up and threatening to smother me. It's a wave that comes over and over again. I get to the top of one and then another hits. I have always been a planner. Sometimes I worry. But I very rarely have anxiety. I try to focus on what I know and what I have control over. What DO I know? I know what will happen for the next 4 weeks. I know the kids have school until May 22 and I will do my best to balance it with work. Got it. I can do that. But what happens after that? What will they do all day when school ends and I'm still working and camps haven't started up yet? What if camps never start? Do I cancel the camps now and try to get some money back? Or do I wait and see if they cancel and give me a refund? Do I move their camps to later in the summer when they're more likely to happen? But if I wait to see if the June camps are cancelled then all the July and August camps mi...
My baby girl is ELEVEN today!!! She couldn't have a big party, but she sure had a special day. We surprised her with yard signs ( cardmyyard.com ). We released the butterflies into the garden. They hung out on the kids' hands for a while before flying off. Her gift from us was a purple hoverboard - she is so excited! Her neighborhood friends came and secretly decorated the garage for a little party. She was so surprised and loved sharing cake with her best friends. THEN to add even more excitement, two of her best friends from school came for a 'drive-by' socially-distant celebration. She was thrilled to see them drive up - she hasn't seen them in person since March 6, before Spring Break!! Both sets of grandparents gave her a new bike (she will get to go shopping and pick it out herself next week). She has grown so much and is in desperate need of a new bike! My beautiful 11 year old... how time flies!
Ainsley's class spends time each day doing a Reading Workshop and a Writing Workshop. She has written numerous stories (and illustrated them too) and they are always hilarious. Every few months her teacher will send home a pile of them. I captured one here for your enjoyment. [One day I lost my first tooth] [Fortunately, I was so happy] [Unfortunately, I dropped it and Blue got ahold of it] [Fortunately, my mom got his toy and it made him drop my tooth] [Unfortunately, I put my tooth down to go eat dinner and my brother took it from me] [Fortunately, my brother gave it back and the tooth fairy came and took my tooth.] Note: This is not based on a true story. Although Blue and Parker do often take things from her.
Comments
Post a Comment