Last Week of Summer

When did summer get so short?  It seems like only a week has gone by since the end of the school year instead of a whole two months.  Although I think we are all a little sad to see summer break go, we certainly had a ton of fun!

We went for a hike, where the girls pretended to be princesses with super powers that they gained by finding treasures in the woods.  Notable powers gained on the hike included everlasting life, gained by finding a bone; camouflage, gained by finding a mushroom; and super running power gained by I am not sure what, but it certainly came in handy toward the end of the 3 mile hike.

 

We also took the girls to the Tal WiWi for lunch and then over to Big Lake, so they could try their hands at fishing.  No fish were caught during our 3.5 hour stint on the lake, but Evie proved herself to be a dedicated fisher, which at one point had both of the fishing rods. (Fishing rods that were barbie and tinkerbell.... not sure when I've ever seen barbie fish.... )

I was also a pretty darn dedicated fisherwoman... The pole to the right of my foot is proof. While my dedication to fishing is clear, my skill at rowing leaves something to be desired.  At one point I was trying to row us away from other boats and ended up getting us even closer and then just twisting us around in circles for about 10 minutes... Luckily for us Patrick can row.

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of the fishing trip was getting Izzy back in a boat after her hour long bear hug of Patrick caused by an overwhelming fear of boats when we took her out in a canoe earlier in the summer. By the end of the time on the boat she was walking around, putting her hand in the water and generally just having fun.

After a bushwacky hike (where Izzy had on sandals... what a mistake... that I feel like we have made multiple times in our lives....) that has no photo record, but a big bag of limestone chalk to remember it by, Patrick spent sometime fashioning weapons for the girls out of willow branches.  Evie was very excited about her bow and Izzy is very fond of the staff that he made for her.

I am not much of a weapon maker myself, so the next day I helped the girls partake in one of my favorite cabin activities.... painting rocks. 

Finally, on our last night we braved the muddy, slippery road up to town to go to the candy shop (of course) and then out for dinner and a little music (and dancing!) I spent quite a bit of time up at the cabin practicing my banjo, so I particularly enjoyed watching the banjo player.  Patrick (I think) enjoyed his spicy elk burger and the girls enjoyed the free hot chocolate that the waitress brought out for all of the kids at one point.