fishing and the last week-end before school

The kids had the most amazing time last Labour day week-end. We spend about 4 days at our friends cottage with other kids and boats and forests and water and fire works and good weather despite the dismal forecast that was warning us not to head out of town. I'm so glad we did not get scared off by the weather forecast!!! Kaspar was probably the only one that caught any fish the whole week-end, but everyone was happy just fishing, none the less. It was very hard to come back to the city and get back to the schedule, start school, daycare ... but I'd say the hardest thing was starting another week of WORK!!! I'm allowed to complain, too!

We have been going to the Lake house on Healy Lake for years now ... and it was fun reminiscing with my friend Christina about the times before kids and the times, when we went up there with the kids as babies. Times change. Kids grow. So fast! Last summer Kaspar was still unsure about the water, this summer we could not get him out of the water. He spent hours and hours swimming and snorkeling and playing. Stella was always cold and still only floating in a life jacket. I bet it won't be long before she trades the life jacket for water wings and then swims on her own. Emils is already old enough and serious enough to take the others (even little Stella) on a little canoe ride along the coast of the lake while we sit on the deck watching! What a great few days... I will miss summer.

The kids also went on a long hike with dads one day and brought back not only snake skin but two gorgeous deer antlers! That was quite the find. I went mushroom hunting, but despite my somewhat decent knowledge of wild mushrooms in Latvia, I did not dare pick any, even though I could no complain about the finds in the vary small radius of the little cottage property.

We took a whole ton of pictures and avoided a whole many storms. And besides fishing and swimming - ate well and stayed up late and talked for long hours and laughed a lot and argued well, too. The kids had a time of their life - learning to ride a boat and learning to dance with sparklers, building fires and peeing n trees and sleeping in hammocks and sharing sleeping bags at night. Riding the boat under the stars and star gazing off the dock. We will have awesome memories for years to come! Thanks CGZ and EZ and EGZ and MGZ!!!!!