Canadian Lakes, Michigan

Will's aunt and uncle, Cap and Greg, have a cottage on Lake of the Clouds in the Canadian Lakes area of Michigan. Will spent many summer days there growing up and has been very excited to introduce the boys to one of his favorite places. With a long Labor Day weekend, we were invited invited ourselves up to the cottage! Luckily Cap and Greg were excited for us to come and allowed us to take over their home for several days.

We broke the trip up over 2 days on the way up to the cottage, and spent the night in South Bend, IN. I really wanted to get a picture of the boys with Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame the next morning, but was outvoted due to logistics. Wouldn't it be fun to send them off to Notre Dame in 17 years with a picture of them there as babies?! Maybe next year, when the boys can walk reliably...Instead, the boys enjoyed hotel living and were treated to breakfast in bed- waffles and their first round of sugary cereal. They are big fans of Fruit Loops!

Double fisting for breakfast

 To call their house a "cottage" is an understatement for sure. Cap and Greg have a beautiful home, right on the water. I was expecting very primitive accommodations, and Will did nothing to ease my anxiety in the days leading up to our trip. I was very concerned about the sheer number of guests for the weekend (around 15 people total, though not all stayed the night) and wondered how we would all fit in a cottage. Will later admitted that he liked getting a rise out of me, which is why he let me sweat the situation out a bit. In truth, the home had MORE than enough space for everyone and was fully equipped to entertain a large group all weekend. I loved hearing the story of how the cottage came to be, and am still in awe of the fact that Greg built it himself! I absolutely understand why Will was so excited to go back.

What a great place to relax and enjoy some down time. We quickly fell into a daily routine that consisted of breakfast and coffee, followed by a long walk in the wagon with the boys, exploring the many decks outside, then snacks and nap time. During the boys' naps we were able to get out on the water- either by taking out the kayaks or riding around on the paddle boat. When they woke up from their nap, the boys had lunch outside and then spent the afternoon playing at the beach, and most days, a quick ride on the pontoon boat. They LOVED playing in the sand- unfortunately they also loved to try and eat the sand so they had to be carefully watched. This wasn't a problem thanks to the plethora of aunts in tow over the weekend! In total boy fashion they loved to get dirty. Playing in the sand almost always led to wading and splashing in the water, which meant they got a bath every afternoon before their 2nd nap of the day. During nap #2 the adults had more down time to enjoy happy hour. Then the boys had dinner outside again before heading to bed. The fresh, cool air and lots of outdoor time ensured that we had 3 exhausted little guys who usually went down without much fussing every night.

Will (baby, not Dad) decided over the weekend that Cari was his new favorite person, and he was pretty much glued to her side the whole weekend. He would barely let Will (Dad) or me hold him, and certainly wasn't interested in letting anyone else holding him either...he only had eyes for Cari. There were lots of tears shed when we pried him out of her hands for diaper changes or bedtime. Griffin was our little adventurer, and absolutely loved being outside. He has pretty much no fear and made a beeline for the sand, water, porch, grass...basically anything to get outdoors. Thankfully he had no trouble finding a willing aunt to walk him around outside. Cooper was also spoiled over the weekend- he enjoyed a couple rounds of "only child" outings- once when Will and I took him to the grocery store, and another evening when he wasn't quite ready for bed when the other two were so he got to stay up late.

I'm so glad that the boys adjust well to new environments. They actually enjoyed quite a bit more freedom at the cottage than they get at home. There were no baby gates to contain them, so they were able to run freely around the house. They were introduced to stairs on their first day in the cottage, and all three boys quickly proved to be fast learners- they were climbing the stairs on their first try. Thankfully Cap had one lone gate that we were able to use to keep the stairs out of play for them. But the rest of the time they were happy to run around like crazy kids, while an adult chased after them. Thank goodness for extra hands all weekend! We were able to have man-to-man coverage for each baby.

And now, lots of pictures from the fun weekend!

Sharing is Caring

They loved playing in the sand, and climbing into the chairs (or wagon)

"only child" keeping close tabs on mama's wine

The first of many walks around the neighborhood

We took a trip to the Amish market and picked up this squash that was legitimately almost as big as the boys!

Playing with the produce

Trying out the apples

Cap and her adventure buddy, Griffin

Daddy and Cooper

Will and his BFF Cari

How the adults spent their evenings

Sand time

Another favorite activity: climb the chairs

His smile kills me- they look more and more like little boys each day!

Keeping a watchful eye (while holding a beer, of course)

Naked sand time

Splish Splash (Notice Will reaching for Cari)

Willing Aunt #1 to walk Griffin around

Willing "Aunt" #2 to walk Griffin around

Exploring the porch

Will and Cari...again

Little Adventurers with Carol and Cap

Will and Cari...again :)

Feeding the fish

Watching the fish

Exploring the castle grounds

Thank goodness for Cap- she always had snacks readily available for the boys (their parents were not as prepared!)

Castle

One of many, many wagon rides around the neighborhood

Feeding the fish

Mama got to relax, too!

The beach area was perfectly shaded every afternoon, which made for lots of outdoor time for the boys!

Gorgeous views!

Willing Aunt #3 to walk Griffin around (poor Will and Cooper stuck inside watching!)

More exploring

Future Kayakers of America

Once again, we failed to get a picture of the five of us together...we really need to be better about that! The boys are so active and on the go these days that it's hard to get any posed shots, let alone a picture with all 5 of us looking. We will definitely be back up to the cottage (if Cap and Greg are willing to host us again!) so we'll be sure to get some family shots next time. We had a really wonderful time and look forward to many more summer days spent up in Michigan as the boys grow!