Wednesday. All day at the sandbox. Some of our group went to the Umbrellas; G, Nana, & I stayed back to play in the sand. G & I (momma) went for a SeaDoo ride at G’s request). Ethan came back and caught minnows with us at the beach- so fun! G got to help Ethan dig his little sand hole for the fish. (We really love ‘Ethie’!) A bit later Jen & Ethan caught a little fish off the dock… only to have it eaten right off the pole by another, even bigger, fish. Allie, Randy, & I ran in town during nap. After dinner we took a full boat trip to Cragenmore for ice cream… only to find out that they were closed. Late night for all kids; in bed by 10:30! Finally talked to dada… so glad he could take our call & say goodnight- now that he’s back from his long guys’ weekend adventure in Bar Harbour. (Sorry… didn’t take a single picture today!!!)

Thursday. Morning in town for storytime at the library (grocery store, pizza place, dropped Jen & Ethan at the Island Queen). Sloweeeest boat ride back to the cottage. Perhaps we bought too many groceries. Swimming at the beach with a water snake spotting. (Sorry grandmas!) Mixed grill over the firepit. Swinging & sliding. New flowers in hanging baskets. Playdough after dinner. Stolen cookies; we’re still not sure how G managed to get W’s chocolate chip treat, but he ate it as quickly as he could manage.

Friday. Time at our sandbox, turkey dinner, the big storm hits & power is lost at 11pm. Heavy rains, thunder and lightening late into the night. The storm arrives quickly & unexpectedly in the evening as we were getting ready for bed. Momma and G run to the cabin between ‘rumbles’ with G hidden under a towel. We read books in bed & he doesn’t seem phased  by grumbles and gusting winds. (Another day without photos! Eeks. Never again.)

Sat. The big storm! We wake to no power, but no rain either. The power company has a recording that anticipates 10pm this evening it’ll be back on. Food in the fridge slowly starts to warm. Nana, Aunty Allie, kiddos, and I head to town. We get water and run errands (including a stop at the library). Then, out for lunch we go. We learn half of Parry Sound is without power & cottagers have nothing. We see lines down, trees snapped in half, and remnants of heavy winds throughout town. At dinner we debate opening the fridge with the risk loosing food… or open the fridge and eat it all! We resort to opening the fridge and pulling out dinner options and anything that would spoil by nightfall. These are serious times at the cottage. By 9pm power had returned. We’re saved! 

Sunday. Overcast in the morning. SeaDoo ride with momma and we took out the aluminum boat for the first time together. There’s a trip to the beach on Parry Island with cousins, Uncle Randy, & Ba. “I lay down,” is the announcement as G gets comfortable in the soft sand. 

Back at the cottage there’s some ant hunting with Wylder and some dragonfly nymph shell discoveries with Ba. 

A dip off the dock turns into a first swim in the life jacket with momma, Uncle Randy, and cousins. Whoa! He likes it! 

(But his regular diaper has exploded and looks like a giant snowball; next time we use a swim diaper.) Cousins take showers; G takes a bath in the sink. Then it’s time for dinner: hamburgers… with pancakes, olives, pb&j, and chocolate milk. Mmmm. Someone has worked up an appetite for cottage living at its finest! Before heading over to our cabin G makes his nightly request to nana for breakfast the following morning. Tonight he’d like toast… but on second thought, makes it his regular… “pancakes… mmmm syrup… mmmm butter”.