Cottage Visit for Mom and Dad

As I posted on a previous entry, we had built a ramp at the cottage so that Dad might be able to get inside easier. Well, the time came for the ramp to be tried out on the weekend of July19 and 20. We decided together with Larry and Sylvia that it would be a good time to bring them down. It was a good weekend weatherwise, not too hot or too windy, but very pleasant. We left home at 9am on Saturday and arrived at the cottage in time for lunch. Dad was very pleased with the ramp and both Mom and Dad were very happy to be able to be at the cottage again. It was a good and relaxing time with Larry and Sylvia there as well. We enjoyed good food, thanks for the pea soup, Mom. We visited, we relaxed and caught up on sleep, enjoyed the hot tub and Mom and Dad even got in a game of UP and DOWN the RIVER with Larry and Sylvia.

As you can see on these pictures, Dad got to spend some time outside on the ramp and just enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and just being there. We headed home again late Sunday afternoon after a faspa of watermelon and rollkuchen in the screen porch. It was hard for Mom and Dad to say goodbye, not knowing when they would be able to come back again, but they really appreciated the time they got to spend there that weekend.

Funk Gathering

This year, it was our turn to host the summer BBQ for the Funk family. It is a fairly casual affair and usually held outdoors. This year the event took place on July 6 and we had a good time and good turnout of people. The day started cool and cloudy and so we were a bit unsure how everything would turn out , but by mid afternoon when familly started arriving it was sunny and comfortable to be outside. There is lots of sitting and visiting and catching up with family that we haven't seen in a couple of months. It is also a good place for the young folks to introduce their special someones to the extended family. We also had 2 new babies joining the gathering for the first time but unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of Norah, or of Jerrold and Brenda's new son, Malachi.

The younger set doesn't like to sit around and so they created their own entertainment in the front yard, and the 3 year old little girls found a lot to play with upstairs in the playroom.

No gathering would be complete without food and this was no exception, except that we did not barbeque this time. Having spent lots of time on MDS and coming up with new recipes from different cooks, we decided to change from tradition and go with Haystacks this year (Anyone wants to know what that is, please comment and I will tell you) which went over well with everyone. Of course, there is always dessert and coffee to end the meal. The mosquitos came out later on and the air cooled off as the sun went down, but the visiting continued so we lit a campfire and some of us moved over there to stay warmer. It was a good day and great to see everyone again as we had missed the Easter gathering, but we were tired and ready for bed by the time the last person drove off the yard, and the clean up was done.

July Long weekend

I thought I had better post some long weekend photos before July comes to an end. We had a good weekend at the cottage with Rob and Diane, Keith and Stacey, Nathan and Meghan, Erik, Amber, Hailey and Jayda, Kristy, Graham and Norah. There was some work done on some of the projects, (see previous posts), the grass got mowed, a couple of times seeing as how it was about a foot high when we got there. Nobody had been at the cottage for a month and so the grass had a good chance to grow tall and it looked quite wild when we arrived, but by the end of the weekend it was looking pretty good. The weather was good enough that we could enjoy eating and visiting out in the screen porch.

Diane and Meghan enjoying the newspaper.

Keith and Stacey enjoying the new deck.

Amber and Hailey spending some time out on the water.

It was good to spend time away with family and just relax and catch up on each other's lives again, as well as get some work done. The young folks spent some time out in the boat, skiing and wakeboarding, and the hot tub was enjoyed by most of us at some point. We had sunny pleasant weather, and all in all it was a good weekend. The next pictures of the grandkids were taken at the cottage as well.

Hailey

Hailey enjoyed the beach at the cottage and got into building sandcastles and rivers and pouring water and all the fun stuff that comes with beach play.

Here she is, ready to go out on her first wakeboard run with her Daddy. She had a lot on encouragers on the dock and in the boat and she did really well and enjoyed her first go at it, but knew when she had had enough and was happy to come back to shore in the boat.

Showing us some moves on the beach, in the new t-shirt that she got from Auntie Diane as an incentive to go out on the wakeboard.

Jayda

We are really happy to have the screen porch at the cottage so that we have a relatively bug free, read mosquito free, place to spend time. Jayda however really wanted to go outside . The world beyond the screen door looked so inviting so why was she being kept inside?

She does enjoy her games of peek and so could be distracted.

There is a nice little ledge by the hot tub, just right for sitting on, and dancing on, but I didnt get any pictures of that. Hailey and Jayda both enjoyed performing for us and showing us some moves.

Norah

Norah is giving Papa Kerry a real looking over and imprinting his face in her mind.

Some of the time , when nobody was holding her, Norah was happy to relax on the couch and spend some time kicking and enjoying the freedom.

Norah still loves to snuggle and this was one of her favorite napping positions. Hailey is giving her a little loving and smothers her with many kisses, and also enjoys holding her. She really loves that little cousin of hers.

Cousins

Jayda is not quite sure about this new little person who has come to join the family........

but she is warming up to her and starting to interact with her. In a few more months she might find out that she will have a little sidekick that she can boss around, or rather , play with.

Hailey loves her little cousin and can't wait to be able to play with her, and was giving it a try but Norah had her mind on something else.

This book was and still is a favorite of Hailey's and so she decided that Norah should look at it too.

Projects: Cottage ramp/deck

Another project we undertook this spring was to build a ramp/deck onto the side of the cottage. Mom and Dad have not been able to come to the cottage much lately because it has been too hard for Dad to get into and out of the cottage. After consultation with them it was decided that we should go ahead and build a ramp to make it easier for him to get in and out, and maybe be able to come to the cottage again. Kerry and the boys made a trip south of the border to pick up decking wood and after getting all our kids together at the lake one weekend in May, the project got underway. Some of the planning was done before starting but some of it was done as the building progressed. Between Kerry and our 3 sons we have a good amount of talent and the work progressed quite well the first weekend, but we ran out of wood so it meant another trip down south for more supplies.

Work continued the July long weekend and again good progress was made but still not enough wood to finish the job. However the ramp/deck is looking good and quite useable already.

Finally, last weekend, Kerry and I were able to go out and finish the project. We finally had enough wood and on a sunny, pleasant day were able to complete the job, and the finished product is quite nice, if I must say so myself. With a few other modifications inside the cottage we hope to make it possible for Dad to come and have an enjoyable time at the cottage. He and Mom have spent many days and weeks at the cottage over the years and really kept the yard in nice shape and the cottage in good repair. They have shared it unselfishly with family and friends and many memories have been made here. They loved seeing their family come and enjoy it and watch the grandchildren have fun in the water and on the beach , or in the woods, and many fish have been caught off the dock, or through the ice in front of the cottage in the winter time. Mom and Dad loved their time here and so we hope we can bring them here again and help them to enjoy it some more. Times change but we just want to let them know we appreciate all they have given us and done for us with the gift of this place and time spent here with us.

Enjoying the new deck and ramp. (Sorry, this collage didn't work out very well)

Projects: Cottage Dock

It has been a couple of years already that there has been talk about rebuilding the dock at the cottage. This year it finally became one of those projects that got done. The work started in early spring when there was still ice on the lake. The first step was to go out and dismantle the old dock, and they wanted to get that done while there was still ice on the lake and easier working on ice than in the water. No pictures of that outing . Guess they forgot the camera. In April, Kerry and Shaun , Erik, Rob and Keith went out and got started on the new build. It looks like they had a lot of supervisors, but it must have worked because by the end of their 2 days there the new dock was mostly in place. It just needed a couple of more pieces of plywood, which got put on a couple of weeks later, and that's how it stayed for a couple of weeks.

Finally in July, we had the rest of the supplies and the manpower to finish the job. It was the July long weekend, and not usually a major work weekend but this time we needed to get some things done and we had a lot of willing helpers. The dock is traditionally been covered in rug and so we decided to go that route again. We had hoped to go for the retro look and get some green and yellow striped rug like the dock had back in the early 80's when Dad bought the cottage. No luck on that front so we opted for a plain green carpeting. The job was tackled by Rob and Keith and Erik and they did a good job. Before long the dock had it's new covering and we could cross it off of the list of 'to do' projects. The weather was a lot warmer for the finish of the project than for the start.

I didn't get any pictures of the finished product, I guess I still can, but it is great to have a dock that is solid under foot when it gets walked on. It is also our major tanning spot and hub of activity when the skiing and wakeboarding get going, so it is an important part of our cottage life. Hopefully this dock lasts as long as the original one did.