Cottage Love

It looks so peaceful and calm doesn't it?

Well, I'm sure it was...

before we got there. 

Holy geeze, we learned a lot about having little kids at a cottage this past week. 

We had a great time, yes we certainly did. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But man, we really weren't prepared. Since we went to the cottage with three kids under the age of 3, we knew we were in for a busy, loud, chaotic week. But we also just figured that we didn't have to worry about bringing much to entertain the kids since, well...the cottage would entertain them, wouldn't it? Wouldn't they just play outside or swim all day? That's what kids do at a cottage. 

So we brought a few toys, and figured that the rest would just work itself out. 

Well...it didn't, exactly. 

With cold weather, the lake wasn't exactly appealing to little bodies for too long. And playing outside worked for a while, but then playing with a few toys and some grass and sticks got old pretty quickly for a two year old and one year old. While leaving a 10 month old to crawl on cottage grass meant that a 10 month old is now trying to eat sticks, rocks and anything else that he could get his hands on. 

So we learned a lot. 

Our kids are still super super little and need more planned/organized activities..or they'll spiral downhill QUICKLY. 

Meltdowns? Oh yea. There were plenty. 

Oh, and the kids had some meltdowns too.  

But hey, we braved the cold water, even if it was only for a few minutes. 

     

And memories?  We still made plenty of great ones.

These little siblings cousins experienced things this past week that they'll never forget, which is really what it was all about.

Campfires and s'mores.

Ice cream by the water.

And moments with Nana and Papa that remind us all how lucky we really are to have parents who love our kids so very much--chaos, noise, meltdowns and all.

So when babies napped on their daddy's chests...

and hide and seek made us laugh with the great hiding places that were chosen

(because if I can't see you, then you can't see me...right?)

 

it made us realize that cottage life doesn't just have to be relaxing and calm in order to be wonderful. 

Through the noise and chaos, we learn that day trips were critical to keeping little ones entertained. So we took off to find new adventures...

and brought the kids to Santa's Village (an amusement park designed especially for little ones)

where airplane rides that went round and round were the biggest hit of the day

and climbing up the huge rope wall was pretty much the greatest moment of their lives.

So as we're home unpacking, unwinding and doing millions of loads of laundry, we're exhausted but fulfilled. It was a great week. An exhausting week. A busy week. A week at the cottage that we all won't ever forget.

Terry and I are already mapping out where we'll one day buy our own cottage so we can experience this wonderful chaos for years to come.

Thanks Arthrell family for sharing your amazing cottage with us--you've given the little ones in our family (and the big ones!) memories that we'll never forget.

Erica xo