Happy Mother's Day

On Saturday we went to the lake to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom and dad. It was the first weekend out with the camper and boat, and the boys were soooo excited. We debated all week - do we go Saturday or Sunday? There was a small chance of rain Saturday, but it was supposed to be warmer. Sunday was supposed to be sunny, but it was supposed to be cooler and windier.


Ha. There is no such thing as forecasting the weather in the Midwest. This was pretty much our day.



9:30 - Head out for a day of fun on the boat and in the sand. Stop to get Mother's Day cards on the way because we had a serious lack of planning for this weekend.



10:30 - Arrive at the lake. Sit outside in the brrrrrrrr cold morning air with sweatshirts and blankets while the kids play in the rocks. Ahhhh, summer.



11:30 - Lunch. Inside the camper because it is still too cold to eat outside.



12:30 - The boys are begging to go on the mile long nature trail. So, we head out with the little one in the stroller, the big one on his bike, and three adults walking. It has warmed up some and is a little breezy, so it is now perfect weather for this venture. About 1/2 way through the trail, we realize that apparently not that long ago the lake had flooded. Big time. The trail was covered with logs, brush, and misc debris that had been swept on land with the flood. The 5 year old soon started walking, I was carrying his bike, and the 2 year old got airlifted in his stroller through most of it by dad and sometimes grandma. We needed hiking boots and all-terrain bikes.



1:30 - We arrive back in civilization and notice that the wind has completely gone down. We head back to the camper to beg grandpa for a boat ride while it was nice outside. He had been watching the weather - storms by 3:00 and 40 mph wind advisory starting at 4:00.



2:00 - He relents and takes us out. All the while my 5 year old says, "It looks like it's building up out here. Look at those clouds. We'd better head in." He has a future in meteorology. We headed in when we felt the first sprinkle.



3:00 - The boat is back on the trailer, the life jackets put away, and the tarp put back on. And none too soon. In not too long, the lake looked like this.




5:00 - My 2 year old wakes up from his nap and climbs up on grandma's lap. She discovers a huge, gigantic tick on his head. He comes to my lap. I discover a second smaller, yet still disturbing, tick on his head. The next hour entails lots of crying and screaming and frazzled nerves, but the tick removal was successful. I'm so glad my mom is a nurse.


7:00 - We finally made dinner, which was incredible in spite of not being able to use the grill, and enjoyed the last few hours of our day at the lake...ummm...in the camper. It was a good day in spite of all the crazy. At least there were no shortage of memories made.

However, I did enjoy my weekend just a bit more when my husband surprised me by lining up his parents to watch the kids on Sunday so we could enjoy a Mother's Day shopping trip just for me!