July 2nd - July 10th at the Cabin

Monday July 2nd 2012

This morning was a quiet one. Aunt Heather and the boys snuck out after they woke up and Cole and Alexis both slept in. Alexis until eight and Cole until almost nine. They both had motives – to stay up late tonight. They finally figured out that if they want to stay up, they need to sleep in. Alexis had her usual baby pancakes. Her plate was piled high, and the next time I looked over it was almost empty. Guess she was hungry. Cole ate when he and daddy finally decided to get up. They both came out of the bunk house in just their shorts, stood on the deck and both put on their t-shirts. It was so much the same it was if they had planned it. When I told Cole he was just like daddy – I got a big grin out of him.

Right after breakfast the kids went on a pinecone hunt. Alexis and Nolan were going to town finding as many pinecones as they could. Ethan on the other hand was so excited each time he put a new one in his bucket.

Cole and Alexis also played in the sandbox and were joined by Zephy who thought it was a cool spot to lie down and relax.

It was a hot night, and didn’t get any cooler by morning…so it was down to the lake for some swimming before lunch. Aunt Heather took the kids down while mom and dad gave all three puppies haircuts. They were pretty well behaved the whole time; maybe they knew they would be cooler without all that extra hair. As soon as all three of them were trimmed up they were put in the lake for a quick bath and to cool off. Mom and dad joined the kids, Aunt Heather and the boys and grandpa and grandma.

Lunch was grilled cheese, and it was yummy. After all the swimming everyone ate up. Then it was quiet time. Cole and Alexis watched Natasha and Craig play some checkers, and then it was time for Johnny Test to be on. Everyone else found some place outside in the shade until the noon sun got a bit lower. By three in the afternoon everyone was ready to jump back in the lake to cool off again. This time EVERYONE was down in the lake swimming. Aunt Heather took both Ethan and Nolan for a jet ski ride while the rest of us swam out to the buoy. The lots of splashing around, jet skiing and jumping off the jet ski out in the deep water. 3 hours in the lake went by very fast and everyone had a good time.

After dinner it started to get windy, a storm was coming in. Everyone went out in the dark to pick up anything that should be brought in. Then the power went out completely. The island was totally black. Luckily we had some flashlights and candles to keep us going until we went to bed. The power came back on sometime after midnight. None of the kids woke up – they were completely oblivious to the crazy winds and rain.

Tuesday July 3rd 2012

Mom and dad got up super early to take Ghettie back to the vet. They missed 4 of her front teeth when they did her teeth surgery the week before. Off to Iron River. The kids got up and had pancakes with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Heather, Ethan & Nolan. It wasn’t long after mom and dad got back that the phone rang. It was Aunt Christi waiting for a ride over to the island with Zola and Zoey! She must have gotten up crazy early to make it by 9 am! All the dogs were excited to see each other and the kids were excited to see Aunt Christi. It was already getting hot out.

Before long it was time to pick up Ghettie. Mom and dad went to pick her up and also brought back some A&W root beer. It was then time to head down into the water to play some more.

Wednesday July 4^th 2012

HOT HOT HOT!!! Time to learn how to ski! After breakfast Aunt Heather and daddy helped Cole try and learn how to ski. He actually did pretty well for his first attempt. He almost made it up! After Cole’s turn Aunt Heather went, but she didn’t get going either. Then daddy – and he actually got up and went around the island 2 times before coming back in. Craig was the last skier of the day and also made it up and around the island. The rest of the morning was spent in the water swimming have having fun.

Cole almost up!

Daddy skiing with Grandma and Mom in the boat

Lunch time pulled everyone out of the water to refill. While the kids all took a rest in various places the adults headed out into the shade of the big trees. Relaxing in the breeze and talking about family vacations from when we were all little. As soon as 2 o’clock rolled around Cole and Alexis wanted to watch Johnny Test, but that didn’t last too long since it was so hot in the house. They were back outside before too long. When naptime was over Grandpa declared it “shore restoration” time. That meant everyone went down to the lake to pick rocks from the bottom and put up along the shore to prevent it from washing away. LOTS of rocks of all sizes were picked. Cole and Alexis were big helpers, but were soon pulled out of the water when a large wall cloud was seen coming our way. More picking up and getting everyone out of the water.

For dinner we had a big turkey that Grandpa and Uncle Andy cooked all day in the smoker. It was yummy; I don’t think anyone went hungry. We also had smores for an after dinner snack.

Cole enjoying his well cooked smore

Alexis roasting her marshmellow

 The storm seemed to blow over and we were all set for fireworks out on the pontoon….then we saw lightening. Re-organize and everyone headed out to the shoreline to watch the big firework show put on by the lodge. Cole and Alexis were very excited, but waiting is hard. After they finally got going Alexis wanted to go inside and her and daddy watched them from the kitchen windows. The rest of us all had spots right on the shore for the prime time show. The lightening in the background was still going on – but again no rain. All and all, the fireworks were a great success!

Thursday July 5th 2012

Another windy and almost stormy night out. It seems like it might be getting a bit cooler. The kids slept a bit later since they were up so late the night before watching the fireworks.  The usual of pancakes was served up for breakfast. Then down to the lake for some swimming and a bit of bathing.

But not too long because we had to get ready to head into Superior for movie time. Mom and the kids went to Brave with Aunt Heather, Nolan and Aunt Christ while daddy went to TED with Uncle Andy, Uncle Allen, Uncle Craig and Natasha.  Mom really liked the movie but Cole and Alexis thought it was too scary with the mom turning into a bear and all. On the way out of town we stopped at Culvers for some ice-cream and treats. Then back to the island where it didn’t take the kids long until they were ready for more swimming! I swear they could live in the water – maybe they are even part fish! More shore restoration took place while Aunt Christi worked with Cole and Alexis on swimming without lifejackets. Alexis was very proud to show mommy how she could swim with just a kickboard. Very impressive! We didn’t come up for dinner until almost 7pm! That meant it was going to be bedtime before too long. Cole read a few books to Nolan while mom read to Alexis. Both Cole and Alexis fell asleep pretty fast after such a busy day and late night the night before.

Saturday July 7th 2012

It was up early for everyone to head into Lake Nagagamon for the Dragin Trails race. All of the kids ran in the race – and Cole even got second! They thought it was so much fun that they want to do it again next year! Aunt Christi and Aunt Heather ran the 5 mile race that started an hour later. While we waited for their start time everyone got treats from DQ and a new book from the book fair from Grandpa.

Alexis coming in for the finish

Cole in second place - he will not be beat by a girl!

The metal winners!

After we got back the kids played legos and did some swimming. After lunch Grandpa left to head to our house to teach a class (and hopefully check on mom’s garden!) Cole and Alexis were bit sad knowing this was the last night with their cousins Nolan and Ethan. They just have so much fun together!

Sunday July 8th 2012

Today much of the family had to go home. Uncle Allen and Nolan left early to head out to meet Nolan’s other Grandma and Grandpa. After lunch Aunt Heather, Ethan, Craig and Natasha left. Things seemed a bit quiet as those of us still enjoying the island hung out in the lake.
We did go swimming (of course!), even Zoey and Zephyr did some swimming and fetching in the water. Cole was so excited because he really wants his dog to swim with him!

Around 5 pm mom and daddy left to head into Duluth to pick up a first time guest – Nana! Cole and Alexis stayed at the cabin with Grandma, Uncle Andy and Aunt Christi. They were allowed to stay up as late as they could – but both of them fell asleep in the main cabin before mom and daddy got back with their new guest.

Monday July 9th 2012

Nana is on the island – Yea! The kids were excited to see Nana in the morning. The first thing Alexis wanted to do was eat breakfast with Nana, which can ONLY be yogurt and fruit. Luckily mom had picked up some yogurt on the shopping trip in Duluth the day before. Cole was able to convince Aunt Christi to make him some buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. As soon as they were done eating, it was time to give Nana the big tour of the island. The kids had a route that they insisted we take, first around the middle cabin and then over to the far cabin. It was a pretty relaxing day of swimming in the morning, lunch, rest and more swimming before dinner. I think Nana enjoyed her first day on the island in true relaxation.

Tuesday July 10th 2010

This morning was a bit of a lazy morning. Both of the kids slept past 7. Alexis was the first in to have breakfast with Nana. Yogurt and fruit is the ONLY thing you can have for breakfast when Nana is around. Cole came in shortly after and was excited to see mom had purchased a box of cookie crisp. After breakfast Alexis and Nana played a game of “go fish” – then Cole joined in and they started a game of Uno. Mom worked on sorting patterns while the games seemed to go on and on. After games, Nana had both Cole and Alexis writing various “games.” Alexis worked on the alphabet and Cole did some fill in the blank stories. Then the real fun started. Nana said something about a scavenger hunt…well Cole and Alexis knew exactly what that was about since they had written one with Grandpa a few weeks ago. Nana wrote the first set of clues and hid them around the yard. The last clue had them playing hide and seek to find where Nana had gone. They immediately wanted a second hunt since the first was so much fun. So Nana wrote a second hunt. That hunt was also a blast and ended with the kids finding a candy bar hidden behind daddy’s iPad. Lunch crept up on all of us and we all filled our bellies. Rest time today was more of a treat than a real rest. Daddy found Men in Black was on TV and so they were allowed to watch that during their rest time. Mom and Nana went for a paddle boat ride while the movie was on. After the movie mom and daddy got some shelving built – and after that it was time for playing in the lake. It was warm down on the dock, and the cool water felt good.

Bathing Beauty

Daddy and Uncle Andy picked some more rock for the shore while the kids played on the tubes in the water. Zephyr also floated around with Cole for awhile and Zola peaked in on the rock picking from the shore.

Dinner was meatballs and Cole was trilled. He’s been doing better about trying new things, but is always happy to have a familiar dish that he knows he likes. Then it was time for AGT. Late night for both of them as they fell into bed just after 9pm.