Category: Family

The kids enjoyed the sun and the sand at their grandparent’s cabin during our vacation.  They spent hours playing in the sand, fishing, tubing, catching frogs and feeding ducks. 

We saw three ducklings without a mother on our first day at the cabin.  They kept swimming by the shore, stopping to eat and sleep under the dock and then were back out swimming along the shore.  We saw them several times during the day, but still no mother.  We also saw a bald eagle in a large white pine tree on the island near the cabin.  We were fairly certain that we knew what happened to their mom.  Another mother duck swam by with babies of her own that were larger than the orphan ducklings.  We hoped she would adopt them, but she only frightened them away so that her own babies could eat.  We didn’t see the orphans on the second day.  We were hopeful that they were okay on their own.  On the third day, we saw a mother with six newborn ducklings…and the three larger ducklings.  The orphans were following the family around.  The mother seemed fine with her newborns and the bigger ducklings. They had been adopted!

We also saw this guy walking along the shore looking for fish and flying by throughout our time at the cabin.

The kids did a bit fishing from the dock while we were there.  They caught sunnies and rock bass and Mike pulled in a decent size northern pike.  Big enough to fillet – much to Sophia’s distress.  “Why are you cutting off his head?”, she asked.

One of Sebastian and Sophia’s favorite things to do at the cabin is to catch frogs and toads.  They have it down to a science.  After breakfast, the first thing they do is go down to the lake shore.  There is an old fishing boat laying by the shore that the frogs and toads like to hide under.  They have an adult flip the boat over and then they grab frogs and toads like crazy with their bare hands or with a net until they can’t hang on to anymore.  They are usually very successful as you can see from the pictures below.

We had a great 4th starting with a neighborhood parade.  There were babies in strollers, kids on tricycles and bikes, parents, grandparents and everyone in between.  Sophia tricked out her bike in honor of the special day.

I think Sebastian was mainly there for the refreshments. 

We were invited to our neighbors’ in the afternoon to celebrate the holiday and their daughter’s 2nd birthday.  No pictures from that, but we had a great time, enjoyed wonderful food and the kids loved playing with their dog.  Sophia insisted afterward that we really need our own dog.  I think we’ve heard that before.

I made this patriotric treat for dessert – the cupcakes at our neighbors’ house were not quite enough.

We finished the evening at the Rose Garden watching fireworks next to the Aerial Lift Bridge and a nearly full moon.  It was a great day!

Next year I will remember to bring a tripod so that I don’t have to rest my camera precariously on a fence to get a halfway decent shot.  I may also do my homework on fireworks photos before I leave the house. 

Here’s a shot of the full moon from our house.  This picture is actually from two evenings later, but seemed like a good fit for this post.