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Getting away for the weekend takes a bit of effort. I spent the bulk of our Fridays ensuring laundry was ready to go, grocery shopping was done, and everything was packed up ready for loading by the time Geoff got home from work. The kids were always responsible for packing their own backpacks so that they had a few things to do in the car during the ninety minute drive, and they always included a teddy or two in their collection of treasures. I typically packed sandwiches, fruit and water bottles for the road, and this way we ate our supper on the road shortly after Geoff arrived home on Fridays.
Here's our lineup of things to be loaded up on one Friday afternoon.
Here's our lineup of things to be loaded up on one Friday afternoon.
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On one of our earlier weekends at the cottage, we loaded up the kayak, which had been brought into the city earlier to be used elsewhere. Seth wasn't wild about being 'shut away' in the corner behind the kayak, but he survived the ride - here he is straining to see overtop.
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The cottage and property, from the lake.
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The property, looking down from the cottage deck, over the rocky Canadian Shield towards the water.
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Much of our time was spent on/in/near the water, and the kids really loved that. Whether it was swimming, boating, kayaking, canoeing, tubing, or relaxing on rubber inner tubes, they were the happiest by the water. My niece was with us for a couple of weekends, and our kids loved that, too!
We're very fortunate that all three kids really love the water now. The two younger kids still wear life jackets while in the water, but Seth could really manage without one now, from a swimming perspective...he's just a little too wild for my comfort yet sometimes! Here they are waiting for the boat to be ready for tubing!
Geoff spent a lot of time in the driver's seat of the motor boat this summer; he got his boat licence a couple of years ago and has become really comfortable in, and an excellent driver of, the boat. He's particularly good at driving when the kids are tubing behind the boat...he's always careful to ensure that every kid has fun, and he's become awesome at giving them a great ride. Way to go, Geoff!
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Lizzie with Yours Truly...not a flattering picture of me, but oh well...I'm rarely in the pictures because I'm always taking them, so I'd better put at least one in of me! I was usually the spotter in the boat when the kids were tubing.
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Early in the summer, Geoff picked up a few large (discarded) inner tubes from a trucking place for virtually nothing. He filled them with air, and the kids loved tying them to the dock and just floating around and relaxing in them.
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Seth.
Matthew...now, doesn't that look relaxing??! What a life!
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Lizzie mostly preferred being in the boat instead of being pulled behind it, though she also went on her share of tubing runs. She loved sitting in the boat watching her siblings and/or cousin being pulled behind on the tube.
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Here Seth's working up a bit of courage to jump from the stopped boat into the middle of the lake, so that he could join his brother and cousin on the tube being pulled behind.
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He did it, and off they went...flying!
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WOW, the kids all loved that tubing thing!
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Another huge love of the kids has become kayaking. Geoff has enjoyed lots of one-on-one time with the kids this summer by taking them on 2-hour-long kayak adventures...they explored various islands and paddled around big sections of the lake and they've all loved it.
Here's Geoff paddling away with Matthew on one of their adventures.
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Matthew is now very adept at using a kayak, whether it be the smaller kids' kayaks or the full size orange one below.
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Just a couple of weeks ago ago, even Lizzie got into the kayaking fun. This little girl who said she would never, ever get into a kayak voluntarily and happily did so a couple of weekends ago.
One day, Lizzie suddenly just climbed onto the back of Seth's kayak and decided that it was time to try it out. I was so proud of Seth - he helped her every step of the way as she became more and more confident on the kayak and, as a result, she ended up just loving it!
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After spending some time on the kayak behind Seth while he paddled around, her next step was paddling near the dock with Seth while they used their hands instead of oars so that she would get more comfortable with the motion of the kayak and its stability.
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Lizzie's next progress step was all Seth's idea and implementation...smart boy. He encouraged Lizzie to climb into the other kid kayak and then he tied a rope connecting her kayak to his - then he ventured out a little further into the bay, paddling her around in whatever direction she wanted to go. Can you see the rope connecting them below and how carefree she looks?
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Lizzie visibly relaxed over time, and began loving just to be in the kayak, playing on it and jumping off of it. One moment they were sitting in their kayaks...
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...and the next, they were jumping off of them into the water. They must have done this fifty times!!
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And at some point, Lizzie was simply ready to climb in on her own with an oar and start learning how to use it to steer herself around. She was awesome!
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As a result, Lizzie and her Daddy even got to go on a couple of kayak adventure ride by themselves! She was thrilled! Here they are, in the cool of early morning, ready for their first ever outing together.
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Geoff even took along his coffee cup for the morning ride.
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And off they went!!
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One morning it was quite foggy over the water and it felt like we were in our own quiet little cocoon down at the water. It was a really lovely and peaceful morning.
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The boys became experts at tipping the kayaks and they did this over and over.
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The three of them must have spent an hour trying to get all of them onto the same kayak at one time. They never quite made it, because the weight of one or the other would eventually tip it over...but that was most of the fun!!
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The kids spent hours looking for water bugs and tiny fishies, using buckets to haul them in to examine them!
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And then, of course, was the endless jumping into the water and swimming. I'm sure I could have taken hundreds and hundreds of pictures this summer of the kids jumping off the dock in various maneuvers! They simply loved it!!
Matthew's specialty is doing flips off the end of the dock!
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Seth throws himself off in any old way!
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Even Lizzie was wild about this activity!
One more blog post with pictures to come...
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