Memorial Day At The Lake

We decided to go to the lake cabin with my family over Memorial Day!
Most of the time, this weekend in the spring is for tidying up things around the property and we wanted to make sure to help out as much as we could.

But first, Greg mowed!

We were careful not to disturb Mama Duck with her babies all under her wings.

At this point, the weigela were just beginning to bud.  By the time we got home, they were crazy blooming fools! 

Same with the peonies!

Our hanging baskets lasted just fine - there was enough rain to keep them watered.

Honeysuckle we saw on a walk:

These lilacs are magnificent!

These variegated ones are my favorite!  I didn't even know this type existed until I saw these!

This tree was glorious.

We headed up on Saturday.

The Freeport water tower always makes me smile.

Mark and my Dad were trying to fix the dock, which had been dislocated and twisted by crazy winter ice.  My Dad gave Mark and Greg waders for Father's Day!

Look at how manly they are!

This dock is not broken; it was not in the water during the winter.

While the men were working on the dock and things around the property, Jillian and my Mom were cleaning, so I took the girls on adventures.  It was partially to help everyone else, but partially because I wanted to spent lots and lots of time exploring with them!

We kayaked to the sand bar first.  The first trip was Cora's first kayaking expedition in her OWN kayak.  We were tied together just in case, but she did all the paddling and steering herself.  I was impressed.  We saw a bunch of pelicans, but when we got closer, they waddled off, then flew off.

We beached our kayaks on the sand bar and waded around looking at balls of mud and seashells.

At first, Esme didn't want to get out of the kayak because she had gotten a leech on her ankle after wading in the mud that morning.  She's very brave, though, and got over it quickly.

Then we headed off to Lilypad Cove!

There weren't many lilies out yet, but we saw lots of turtles!

We headed back to the sand bar after lunch.

Here's the interesting current break:

We love the pretty sandy bottom!

Dinners were fun.  Everyone eats animal products except me (Greg doesn't usually eat any meat at home), so I'm always concerned about contributing enough to family food events.  This weekend, Greg and I took all the fruit and vegetables, which worked out GREAT.  I chopped veggies before each meal, made a lettuce salad one night, a fruit salad another night.  I made tater tots once in my air fryer.  So I felt good about the food.  

The girls and I enjoyed some food preparation together!

Here we are making spring rolls.

Here we are making fruit salad!

Here's the finished product!

By the way, if you've been around for awhile, you will maybe know that I don't eat many raw fruits and vegetables because of Crohn's disease.  The raw fibers make some things hard to digest for my sensitive guts even though these foods are VERY healthy!  But as I continue to get healthier, I'm able to eat small amounts of raw stuff and I do more of that when I'm at family gatherings because my family eats a lot of fruits and veggies and I see them and WANT THEM!

Cora likes to touch people she loves.  She often puts her cute little feet on me.

What a beautiful place!  We are extremely grateful to my parents for buying a family cabin purposefully so that we have a place we all spend time together.  

My Dad said this is an oriole nest!  It looks like a bat hanging up there!

The pontoon boat is up on its dock!

The last day of our trip, the girls and I did some art on the front sidewalk.

We decided to be inspired by the cabin itself!

Here's the end product . . . but watch the video for a detailed explanation of our art!

Grandpa and Esme did some tractoring!

We didn't stay up as late as we often do because the time was so full of physical activity.  We were still able to appreciate the sunset over the beautiful calm lake.

And the reflections of the clouds in the water.

Hope you enjoyed this break with us!