Weekend Recap: Spring Has Sprung, First Boat Rides, Demolition

Here I sit on Monday evening, editing photos and reflecting back to our awesome weekend at the lake cabin. I'm sure everyone in the world is tired of me uttering those words week after week, but I can't help myself. We love our lake paradise so much.

This was the sunset over the lake Friday night. Andi and I were in the midst of bedtime routines for Tory and Aden when we both glanced out the window and seriously stopped in our tracks. The sky was painted in vibrant shades of blue, white, orange, pink and purple. As fast as Andi could grab his camera and run outside to snap a photograph, the purplish sunset had changed. He missed the sight we saw, but this photo is pretty remarkable nonetheless. 

Saturday and Sunday were a good mix of time outdoors (finally!) and spring cleaning / demolition around the cabin. This upcoming week, we're having a patio and outdoor firepit built, new stained concrete floor added to the middle level and granite counter tops installed in the kitchen and bar areas. Andi completed various demo jobs to get the floors and counters ready and of course, "helper" Tory wasn't far behind ... with purple princess wand in hand.

These construction projects are the first of many ideas Andi and I have to make the cabin "ours." There's even more we'd like to do, but we're planning to wait until off-season so we can truly enjoy the warm summer months without construction getting in the way of our play time.

In other news, the ice is off the lake! There's still a few small patches of snow on the ground next to shaded buildings and ditches, but with temperatures in the mid-50's and rain most of last week, I think it's safe to say spring has sprung. Andi put our dock in the water Saturday afternoon, then took Tory for an inaugural boat ride around the lake. Our pontoon boat is still in storage, so they went for a cruise in our new green canoe. Tory Bean was in heaven. She loved every second of the adventure and waved excitedly to Aden and I standing on shore. On Sunday, all four of us (five, if you count Chloe the dog) took the canoe out for a spin around the lake. I didn't capture any photos of Aden's maiden voyage though, so let's pretend his first official ride of the year takes place on our next visit to the lake.

Dad and Tory on a canoe ride

  

We spent the rest of the weekend going for Ranger ATV "truck rides" through the wooded trails, taking nature walks down the cabin road, blowing bubbles in the back yard, collecting pine cones, chatting with fair-weather cabin neighbors we haven't seen in months and having dinner with our friends Josh, Krista and their two little girls Hannah and Kate.

Spotted some deer tracks during our nature hike

Aden's first "truck ride" and he fell asleep in his car seat!

Tory and her best cabin friend Hannah
Tory insists on wearing a full face-mask and goggles, by the way

Sometime Saturday, Aden came down with a cold/fever which was the only bummer part of the weekend. I was up most of Saturday night with a sick baby, so Andi and Tory treated me to a homemade breakfast Sunday morning. We all enjoyed French toast, fruit, hash browns and coffee together.

It really was a (near) perfect weekend at the lake ... and oh my, is it good for the soul to finally feel the warmth of spring!