Weekend at the lake/4th of July

This weekend was absolutely perfect. We filled each day to the max and the girls thrived with all of the activity. We went out on Thursday morning minus the hubby since he still had to finish out the work week. My parents had set up a few new things to entertain the older girls. First, since they are adding on a workshop to their garage, they have a huge pile of rocks that the girls played in all weekend. Second, they rolled out a sheet of plastic to make a slip and slide. Hilarious. They weren't brave enough to actually run and slide, but we were able to give them pushes to get them going and they braved the freezing cold water like champs. 

We also rounded out the first day with a trip to Battle Lake for Granny's Pantry's ice cream cones. The kid's size cones were perfect for all of us. 

Amelia was fussy most of the weekend. I'm not sure if she needs a chiro adjustment or if she's just generally dramatic these days, but she was quite unhappy if I was out of sight pretty much the whole time. While it's flattering that she is so devoted to me, it was also pretty frustrating. I miss out on a lot of what the big girls are doing because I'm glued to the baby. Not only does she want me right with her, but it has to be on her terms whether she's laying down, standing on my lap, being held, etc. Really praying that an adjustment helps her chill out a little. She's so happy when she's in a good mood. The smiles are amazing and I just can't stop kissing on her, but unfortunately she's been having a lot of freak outs too. (Not to mention waking up every 1 1/2 hours the first night. Thankfully she stretched that out to every 3 hours the next two nights.)

On Friday, we headed to Glendalough State Park to do a little paddle boarding and kayaking. I mostly held Millie while the big girls waded in shallow water and played in the sand. We all took turns trying the paddle board and a few of us tried kayaking. The weather was beautiful. It was relaxing and the perfect way to spend the morning. We had a picnic in the sun before we headed home. 

That afternoon, we had a bit of quiet time (Josie inside, Audrey outside) and just continued to enjoy the perfect weather. I got the hammock out and that helped with the relaxing. ;)

On Saturday, hubby (who had come out late Friday night) and my dad went to work digging holes for the workshop footings. They hit the sewer drainage pipe (had to replace it) and a ton of rocks so the day was less than relaxing for them. They did break for lunch, but then continued working until 10:00 PM to finish it completely. 

My aunt's birthday is the 4th of July, so we threw a birthday party for her as well as for America. My mom set up a big picnic by the lake shore and ended up just staying down there the rest of the afternoon. It was so ridiculously humid that there was nowhere else to go. The breeze coming off the lake made it bearable, so nobody really moved. I can't say that we minded it all that much, since we all had tons of food at our finger tips, beverages, and good conversation all afternoon. 

Audrey has mastered her grumpy face.

See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil... thank you, blinding sun, for this perfect shot.

I spent a large chunk of this weekend holding Millie so she'd fall asleep/stay asleep/go back to sleep so I got a bunch of reading done on my kindle app via my phone. I don't mind holding her while she sleeps (it happens so rarely these days) but her piercing screams I could do without.

And finally, Sunday, we went back to Glendalough Park (this time with hubby too) and ended up on a different beach with a swimming area blocked off. We had the place to ourselves in the morning and fully enjoyed it. After working so late the day before, the men both took serious naps. My mom and sister napped a bit and Millie napped in the Beco carrier on me. Josie and Audrey swam almost the entire time. They alternated between water and sand play and also made a friend who happily joined in whatever game Josie made up. 

We headed back to my parents' lake in the late afternoon. Audrey fell asleep on the way home so she resumed her nap (rare these days!) inside and Millie finally got a decent nap in for the day. We took that opportunity to fish a little and hubby, dad, and I all caught a few fish. Could we ask for a better way to end the weekend? No, we really couldn't.