Cottage Life

Two Wednesdays ago, I closed on the cottage.  I told Todd that morning I was anxious, but as the day wore on, I realized I was excited.  Like a little kid the night before Christmas excited.  I went to the lawyer's office and came out with the keys.  I was ready to go there.

The next morning, I loaded up the kids and went up.  We had to turn off the breaker so the power could be turned on, but I really kind of thought I'd sneak up there anyhow.  

So... here it is.  The front door faces the private drive.  The bay is behind it and I am standing on the two acres in front of the old garage that we own.  It became clear fairly quickly that the land makes this place for the kids.

Adam headed to the willow trees on the yard side.

Abbey's new pass time is to pick up the rocks and put them in the survey post.  She actually checks every time she goes by to make sure the rocks are still there.

So Adam gets in there and starts saying "Oh Lorax!"

"There he is!"  (Then in another voice)  "I am the Lorax! I speak for the trees!"

We've been back twice, spending the last two Saturday nights there.  He heads to the Lorax tree a lot.  He also decided some gnome in the garden is the Lorax.

Here is a photo of the side of the garage...it faces the Lorax tree.  The kids LOVE that Santa is on it.  It's a bit rough and really needs a roof.  We are letting a neighbor store his boat in there for the winter...apparently he has paid to do it with the old owner.  He got my number from the guy around the corner that a guy down the street suggested I call to see if they'd take out our dock.  Yeah, it's Mayberry.  His name is Jim and he visited us this past Saturday night and told us all the gossip...including how the owners before the James Gates guy loved it and when the husband died, the wife sold it because he lied and said he'd use it for his family.  Apparently turning it into a rental was not popular in that neighborhood.  Explains all the nice woodwork in the cottage.

I am standing in the middle of the yard and that's Abbey in the center and the cottage to the left.  The kids love how they can run around and have fun.  And I can relax a little.  I don't feel like if they run off, something terrible is going to happen to them in two seconds.  Bailey loves the freedom, too.  That first day she ran all over and when I went to apologise to Bob, the year-round resident two doors down, he told me all the dogs run free.  This past weekend, she was TOO free, rolling in some disgusting rotting fish or manure. RIGHT into the bathtub with a not very happy Todd!

Close up of Abbey sorting.  She is a big sorter, organizer and collector.

In the background, you can see the semi-abandoned cottage next door.  It's the only mess on the block and isn't used.  To the right, there is shed turned into a bunkhouse.  Great place for guests who want privacy, though the bunk beds in there look like hell to sleep on.  Actually, so far, that's been our only real issue.  There are two tiny bedrooms and we've been putting the kids into each and sleeping in the living room.  The pullout was hell the first night. This past weekend, we each slept on a couch.  Not much better.  Todd took a nap on the double bed, and apparently it's supported with plywood.  So, we have to rethink how we will do this in the future.  For this weekend, we're going to put the kids in the living room near the heat since poor Abbey kept waking up and I didn't realize she was cold until I went in there and saw she had torn an old bedspread off the bed next to her and pulled it into her playpen to cover herself.

Standing on the side deck looking at our dock.  Love this area back here with the old tree and stone wall.  Needs some love.  All the landscaping and grounds do.  We had a campfire out here both nights. One of my MOST favorite things to do to relax.

Bobby came down that first Saturday to start weed wacking.  This is a cat tail area and in addition, the dry season has made it worst.  Jim down the road told us how it used to look when his friends owned it.  Like the pictures I stole from that guy's website.  They just never stayed on top of it.  Holly came out with Todd after work that day and her and Bobby went back to together that evening.  Bobby was too sick to come back out this past weekend, but Holly came up with Ron and spent the night.  Except, they slept in their car because the bunkhouse bed was too awful!  Yikes.  Felt kind of bad.  We would have prepared better had we known they were coming!!

Love this dock.  The kids do, too.  Especially Abbey.  She takes my hand and pulls me down it.  She sits at the end and would crawl down the ladder if I let her.  The bay is remarkably clear compared to the lake around here.

Adam playing "Ten Monkeys Jumping on the Bed".  That's another thing they love.  The rules are less.  There are no closed doors to them in this house and they can go outside and run around.  Adam was very excited when we got there this weekend "Lorax Tree!  Hi Cottage!".  Miss Abbey was saying SCHOOL SCHOOL all happy.  Guess she decided to call it that since we've been talking about school so much.  We love how much they love it.  And we do, too.  Todd says he feels relaxed there, and that is very important to me.  He works hard and deserves it.

Abbey asked to take a nap that first weekend.  She never went to sleep, but she was tired.  They both were by the time they went to bed both nights.  All that running around and fresh air.

I didn't take my camera at all this past weekend.  I found the weekend before I just took these last few.  It's busy out there.  We did our first cook out and I drove to the Chaumont IGA to get supplies...only to have to drive back to the area to get condiments (taking Abbey with me on the second trip).  Todd and I toasted cheeseburgers and looking forward to many fond years at our cottage.

But, boy, am I tired when I get back!