Weekend at the Cabin

We spent the weekend with the family of Dr. Peds at the cabin near Perham, MN.  I was undecided about whether Squirmy and I should join in on the journey, but at the last minute, I finally decided to pack up a suitcase and join in the chaos.  We had a wonderful time.  The cabin is a get-messy, don’t-shower-for-days-on-end, be-outside kind of place.  The weather cooperated nicely, and there were lots of memorable moments.  A good, long shower felt marvelous when we returned home.  There is nothing like a hot, steamy shower  at home after a camping trip or a few days at the cabin.

Here are just a few things that are worth remembering from our weekend:

• Everyone likes going to the cabin, but Mr. Sneaky Pants just thrives there.  It has everything he likes to do all in one place:  kayaks, water to swim in, jet skiis to ride, a campfire to poke around in, fish to catch, freshwater clams to discover, sand to play in.  It really doesn’t get better for him.  He was joyous the whole time we were there, except for a few minutes before we needed to leave.  Not only were we leaving, which was sad, but we couldn’t bring along his live clam collection in a zip lock bag filled with water, which was even sadder.
• Jana (pronounced “Yanna”), everyone’s favorite puppy was present and loved.  She spent one of the days in Minneapolis (or a suburb) getting certified to be a pet therapy dog.  We knew she’d pass all of her tests.  She’s such a careful, good listener.  The kidlets and their cousins showered the dog with Milkbone treats.
• The Banana loved walking Uncle Don’s dog Pepper on a leash.  Pepper got a bundle of doggie treats especially from The Banana.  The doggie treats have been sitting around in our garage for months.
• There were boat rides and jet ski rides galore, and lots of time to be pulled around on floaty things by motorized water vehicles.
• Mr. SP is one amazing kayaker.  He’s better than me, but I still enjoyed a long, wonderful sunset kayak ride all by myself on a smooth lake one evening.
• We ate delicious ice cream cake to celebrate Auntie Dot’s birthday.
• I helped all the kids make Smores at the campfire.  It was a little overstimulating, but we managed just fine.
• The kidlets lived in the water all day, every day.  I’ve never seen YaYa so exhausted in her whole life.

Stay tuned.  I have some good stories from the cabin to share over the next few days, but for now, here are oodles of images from our time with family: