We packed up the Murano and left on Saturday morning, just in time for Natalie's am nap. We made a little pit stop in Sacramento at Chick-fil-a for a late lunch and arrived at the lakehouse at about 4pm. I was so nervous about the car ride, but Natalie did just fine. We stopped one additional time for a quick diaper change, and other than that, she either slept, chewed on her paci, or played with her toys. In fact, the only distressing thing about our ride up there was Eric's speeding ticket just five or ten miles from our destination... lovely way to start our vacation.
Chick-fil-a has these awesome big ketchup packets! Anyone who knows us knows how much we love ketchup! Eric's love for Chick-fil-a is definitely rubbing off on me.
Luckily we soon forgot about the stupid ticket. The house we stayed at was huge with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining table large enough for the whole family to sit and eat at, a pool table, and a large backyard with a spa. We had our own room with double doors out to the deck. We spent a lot of time out on the deck chatting with everyone and lounging in the spa. Dusty and Terrin brought a huge inflatable slide and set it up in the backyard.
While the majority of the family packed up the boat and spent their afternoons fishing or skiing, Elaine, myself, and a few others stayed behind with the babies. We had our own fun at the house having tummy time on the pool table, napping, playing in the kiddie splash pool, taking little walks, and resting in the spa. I think my dad had fun spending some extra time with his two grandkids.
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Eric's 31st birthday fell on Monday while we were there. So I tried to make the day special by cooking fajitas for everyone and baking a big batch of birthday brownies and mint chip ice-cream. Everyone switched off making meals for the family, which was really nice. It's a big job to cook for that many people, and it was fun to taste everyone's cooking.
My dad did take Eric, Elaine, Natalie and myself out for a little boat ride on Tuesday morning (Sally stayed behind to watch Stacie). Natalie didn't fuss hardly at all, unlike her last ride on the boat, until she realized how cold the lake was! Plus she was tired and well overdue for her nap. She fell fast asleep as soon as we wrapped her up in her towel! But I was really glad that we made a point to get out at least once. The lake was so beautiful with its lush trees and the water was so calm, quiet and full from the abundant rainfall this season. I really enjoyed relaxing in the water in my lifevest for a few minutes, just soaking in the sunshine and enjoying the lovely scenery.
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Here are the cousins playing in their kiddie splash pool. While Stacie seemed to enjoy it, Natalie just screamed! The water was really cold. Oh well. I'm sure they'll have fun playing in it next year when they're a little bit bigger.
Eric and I were hoping that Natalie would officially start to crawl while we were on our trip- she's so close to crawling! She can scoot, pivot, and lunge, but she's not quite making coordinated crawling motions just yet. She is, however, learning to pull herself up, as seen below when we were packing up our things getting ready to leave. It was a fantastic trip and I'm so glad that we were able to go. We're so thankful to my Dad and Sally for planning such a nice family retreat. We're already looking forward to next year!
The whole gang (from left to right): David and BreeAnn Kelly with their two kids, Jaxon (9) and Joelle (4); Us; Dad and Sally; Sarah Kelly; Katie Kelly and her boys, Nathan (8) and Kayden (6); Dusty and Terrin Kelly; Andrew, Elaine and Stacie Haupt (photo courtesy to Terrin Kelly).
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