Cottage Vacation

We went up north last weekend with my good friend Leslie, her husband Tom and their four kids. Leslie and I headed out on Wednesday with all the kids and Logan and Tom drove up the next night after work. We decided to go up on Wednesday as early as possible so we could enjoy the beach because...of course...it rained the rest of the weekend.

So we spent several hours at the beach at a nearby state park. We also had ice cream.

Leslie has four kids 8,7,5 and 4 and her life, I learned after our weekend together, consists of a lot of tattling, time outs, preparing meals and cleaning up after meals.

I know we all knew this already but I'm a parenting wimp and watching what Leslie's day is like every day...yeah I just don't know how you do that and don't kill anyone. Then again most people aren't as tightly wound as me.

Here's a helpful tip I learned from Leslie and you guys, it's crazy how this works. Well it at least saves you from having to intervene in 482 altercations a day between your four kids.

Kid: "So and so took my shovel!"

Leslie: "So tell him not to do that."

Kid: "Okay"

And that's it...it happened over and over again and every time I was in awe.

The second day we were there, it rained (of course because that's what happens to us when we plan fun outings) so we put the kids in the car and drove up to Gaylord to see dead animals at Call Of The Wild. I know you're jealous.

Luckily the rain stopped but it stayed cold so we were able to have campfires and when the dads arrived we let them be in charge of making smores. Leslie channeled her inner Pioneer Sister Wife and started the fire before they got up there. I sat...on my ass.

The next morning Logan made all the kids into Burritos.

Here's another thing about having 6 kids running around. When you do something fun with one? Pretty soon you've got an hour or three of "Do It To Me Now!" "It's My Turn!" "Me Next" coming at you.

At least they were cute burritos.

The next day the dads took the kids fishing and Leslie built a barn out in the backyard while I sat on my ass. I'm the worst Sister Wife Ever.

Ironically the smallest fisherman caught the biggest fish.

Maddie, oh Maddie....is cursed by being the oldest of all my closest friend's kids. So she is often stuck at parties with 3-5 preschoolers stuck to her legs and she's not exactly a fan of being the idol of all the little kids. So she was somewhat dreading this weekend. 

She just sort of sucked it up and suffered through.

I felt terrible for her and all the suffering she did.

I just hope next year she has a tiny bit more fun.

Comments

[rbiggs]

My daughter is also always the oldest idol of all children. She ends up surviving the "torture" too. Sounds like you had a good time despite the weather of this summer.

[katrina]

Looks like everyone had a ball, it's great when things like that happen!!

[Woman with Kids]

Boy 1 is in that position, always the Pied Piper of the little kids. As much as he complains, I catch a small smile every once in a while.

[erin]

The picture of Maddie and Max with the bear is priceless! There is a similar picture my family has from a vacation. Glad you are enjoying your summer.

[The Bug!!]

Your kids are just so cute - I love to see pics of them.

I was usually the oldest cousin at our gatherings - & I was BOSSY! I don't know how anyone stood me. Well, if they'd left me alone to read I wouldn't have been forced to try to make them do everything my way.

[Kym]

Oh, Call of the Wild. Do they still have the display of the deer that is actually a deer standing in the middle of a road with two "headlights" shining on it, just like it is in nature?
I love our state.

[Lisa]

Our oldest (now 23!) was always the oldest in the land... and even the oldest cousin. I know she had some miserable times, but she also enjoyed being the idolized oldest.

[Lyndsay]

Oh man, you were only about 90 minutes away from me, LOL. Looks like you had fun :)

[Carrie at Rhubarbsky]

Holy crap, that picture of your children with the bear is pure genius. . .GENIUS!

[AmyinMotown]

That's wonderful, that your kids get to grow up in that sort of familylike environment. I know they don't have cousins per se, so I think it's so cool that you guys have created a family of friends for them (and you, for that matter). And Maddie will love having those little kids worship her when middle school gets tough.

[Vanessa]

I'm 8 years older than my brother and was also swarmed with toddlers and preschoolers at every party. The great part was that I had a built-in clientele the minute I was old enough to babysit - I really raked it in from about age 12 on!

[Subtle Glow]

The picture with Maddie, and *that look* had me thinking, omg bershon. I figured someone would have said it in the comments already, and then I cracked UP when I hovered over it and saw the link to flickr.

Bershon! too funny.

[joaaanna]

Yup - I was going to say Bershon too!

[Nicole]

For a while now, I've been trying to remember the word that perfectly describes that look that only a tween/teenage girl can give. I saw Maddie's picture and it came back instantly: bershon! And yes, I hope the dear child has a better time next year. The suffering!

[WindyLou]

A few somebodys beat me to it - that photo is so Bershon!

[Meredith]

I am a huge fan of Leslie's parenting style. This summer I decided I was not a referee and made it a point to help my two kids resolve their own conflicts. They are (usually) surprisingly good at it.

Glad you had fun. I love cutie pie burritos.

[Tracy]

Looks like a great time (mmm, s'mores). My daughter is the youngest of the cousins on both sides and it sucks in its own way.

[emma]

You are just so great. It made me sad to see the previous post and think people were mean. Because how can you not have a girl crush on a woman who writes like you, talks about sister wives, and there's your friend out building barns in all her free time? I should be mad since that made me spit out some wine (alcohol abuse!) but your brain works in fantastic ways and I admire you for your wit and intelligence.

[Jen]

Totally off topic:

What brand are your new favorite shoes? I think they'll be my new favorite shoes, too.

[Lynda]

Great photos! The ice cream shot is amazing!

[Bree]

Call of the Wild! Is that still there? I grew up a bit south of T.C. and I remember they used to take us up there for field trips.

[Lisa]

My daughter is the oldest too. Fortunately she has dreams of becoming a teacher so she tends to enjoy it, but only for so long (she got none of that patience from me).

Aaah, Call of the Wild, gotta love that place and it's total cheesiness.

[jg]

In re: to negative comments, I am convinced there are few hundred drunk people who think/say "You know what would be fun! Let's peruse blogger pages and unnecessarily criticize and tear down the writers! We don't know them personally, so we suffer no consequences! It's like the perfect crime!"

Seriously. I am not joking. I think this really happens.

[Silindile Ntuli]

Very cute Burritos indeed.

[Vacation Cottage finder]

hey lovely cottages...people really need these type of cottages during vacation.