Lake Life

We had a fabulous weekend!

My sis and BIL have a lake house about 1.45 hrs away. We visited there once over a year ago when they had just purchased it. It is a really nice place but it was winter at the time so we could not do much. Then recently we went there when my parents had friends visiting from out if town. It was a day trip, and Beanie has a blast during the time we were there.

My sis would always say we could visit whenever, but given they don't live there its not like we can just up and go over. They have to be there too. So I finally just outright asked my sis when we could come spend the night. I knew Beanie would love it and given the fun she had there it would be nice for my parents and I as well.

So we set the date for this weekend.

We had a really fabulous time!! Beanie was super excited to go to the lake house on her first ever "trip" and yesterday as we were getting ready to leave was very excitedly packing her toy bag, putting in all sorts of things. Running over and asking me "can we take this to the lake house?".  It was so cute to see her scurrying around the house in her PJs getting stuff for "her bag".  We left home at 10 am and were on the road at 10:30am after picking up my parents.

We got there by noon. Beanie took a 45 min nap in the car.

It was very hot so we payed indoors for a while. Beanie was excited to set up her play area and loved having my sis's kitty there. We had my Mom's homemade chili and cornbread for lunch after which I took Beanie to a nearby park. She remembered it from the time before so it had to be done.  It was hot but the park is shaded so it was bearable. They have a small man-made beach there as well, so Beanie got to dip her toes in the lake water. After about 3 min in the water, she said "I am all done now" - lol.

We came home an hour later and she got some ice cream while I just lazed around, goofed around with her and chatted with everyone. It was so relaxing just staring at the water. I did not even bother looking at the clock while I was there.

For dinner we decided to get pizza and wings. We did not want my sis to have to cook, so I offered to go with her to pick it up from their clubhouse. Beanie came too and it was really nice to see my sis interacting with Beanie as she showed her the play area outside the clubhouse, the pool, etc. Earlier she had Beanie help her get the dinner for the cat (Beanie was so excited!) and they talked and worked together for a while.

We had a nice dinner and I got to have some wine. Beanie was full of energy and took no nap all day (other than during the drive in) and finally by 10:30pm was ready to turn in. She fell asleep very quickly and my Mom kept an eye on her while I went back up to finish my wine and chatted with my sis until almost midnight.

It felt really good connecting with my sis and seeing her interact and engage with Beanie (and even give her a hug) made me feel nice. I am super close to my sis's kids - always have been since they were born so I always felt bad that Beanie may miss out on that connection.

Beanie has been shy of my sis simply because she hardly saw her, but in the past month due to our friend's visit, birthdays, etc we have been seeing my sis and her family very frequently so Beanie is now used to them and does not dissolve into tears at the sight of them like she used to. Plus she is older now so she can talk and interact better and remembers more.


Today we woke early at 7am, but I got to do some quick yoga while looking out at the water which was lovely. We had a nice breakfast and afterwards I took Beanie out to walk around the property down to the  water. We played with a ball in the garden and then got ready to go on a boat ride. At first Beanie made a big fuss of not wanting to go  since I had mentioned the park but when she saw everyone around the boat she changed her mind. I was glad since I wanted to go on the water. I bought her a life vest that she wore without fuss.

We had a nice long boat ride. She was excited initially and was all smiles, but soon got bored and fell asleep. I guess looking at homes and trees can only be exciting for so long to a 2 year old!   She then woke up to have a snack on the boat.

We got home by 1pm and she ate some lunch, but mainly a cup cake (oh well.... it was a special weekend!) and then she and I went back to the park where we played for about an hour. It was much cooler today and was more enjoyable. We got home by 2:30pm and after a collapsing on the couch (me) and more running around and antics (Beanie) we packed up and headed out at about 3:30pm.

Beanie got into a cranky state just when we were leaving and was ready to take  a nap which she did the moment we set off for home. 

Overall it was really relaxing time and being away from home I was able to focus on Beanie 100% and not get caught up with home stuff like  - cleaning, cooking, etc. As a result, I felt that my interaction with Beanie was more fun and there was less frustration on my part which comes from wanting to get stuff done but not being able to.

Beanie had a BLAST!! 

She enjoyed every minute of it and loved sleeping away from home on her first ever "trip"!!  She was running around, laughing, being super cute/silly, talking/singing, enjoying everyone company, and feeling so much at home as though she had been living there. Having the cat there was the bonus so that kept her quite entertained as well. At the park she was saying "on my next trip maybe I will go on a ....um helicopter...or maybe a plane...or maybe a ship or a train". 

Ha - she is busy making plans!!!

Overall a really enjoyable weekend.