ole schnikees: 2020

tuesday morning the kids and i went to river prairie with jodi and the kids while Al and grandpa peter looked at the boat. the kids had fun but we weren't there long before heading home for lunch. after nap, the kids swam again and grandpa peter came back over for supper.

wednesday was clean, laundry and packing day. we did get out to a playground, nature walk and to pick up school lunch. after nap, the kids swam again and then we drained and deflated the pool.

thursday after Al got off of work at 3 we packed up and headed to a cabin we rented with matt, jodi and the kids. after work, Al stopped at grandpa peter's for some bungee cords and then the volkswagen wouldn't start. we got a later start than we'd hoped but we made it, boat and all. we unpacked, ordered delicious pizza, i took the big kids kayaking (the cabin came with 5 kayaks), and the dads took the big kids fishing off the dock. it was a great fishing lake and the best catches were off the dock. after kids bedtime, the adults hung out and jodi and i made our way down to the dock to look at all the stars.

friday morning the big kids fished after breakfast, then we put our boat in (matt & jodi's boat was already in) and we all went out fishing until lunch time. little girls napped, big kids fished and played, dads fished some more, i took the big kids out kayaking again. matt decided he wanted to do a homemade friday fish fry so they ended up catching enough pan fish to do that. matt brought his deep fryer so he made fish chips and homemade french fries (it was delicious!) i brought a small blowup pool for the little girls so i set that up friday morning on one of the decks so it would warm up before the afternoon but it was still pretty cold water in the afternoon. after bedtime for kids, matt decided we were playing drinking war (card game) and we had so much fun! we made up new rules and laughed a lot. then jodi and i wanted to go down to the dock again and the boys came with too. we were just chatting when matt went back towards shore on the dock and said he was going swimming. we didn't believe him but sure enough he ran off the dock and cannonballed in. he did that many times! then i went in fully clothed in sweat pants even, and swam with him a bit before Al joined and eventually jodi! we had fun! then as Al was walking down the dock to head back in he looked up and Chloe was standing right in front of us, she'd scared him so bad! :) she just couldn't fall back asleep on the top bunk. we all showered and called it a night.

saturday morning we took boats out fishing again until lunch time and then we pulled the boats since it was supposed to rain saturday late afternoon/evening and we had to be out by 10am sunday. the kids enjoyed the blowup pool, during nap time i had the big kids help me put away all the outdoor stuff since it was going to rain, then i took them swimming off the dock (we did lots of cannon balls and jumping off the dock; trevor didn't want to at first but eventually jumped in a loved it!) the bigs kids fished again, it ended up raining just for a bit, then they fished again and the little girls swam in the pool. we also got some crafting done on saturday. the moms may have taken short naps as well. (Tova was up at 530a on friday morning and was up from 11p-2a friday night) we had tacos for supper, s'mores for dessert and the dads and big kids fished some more. we started cleaning up, doing laundry, bathed/showered all kids, and started packing some on saturday night too. saturday night after our kids went to bed, me, jodi, cam and chloe were snuggling on the couch and we could see someone a few docks away shooting off fireworks. we had a great view right from the couch; it was so cool!

sunday was only in the 50s in the morning so it was a great day to pack up. we had to be out by 10am but were ready by 9ish. jodi and i had one more dock hang and then we all headed out. it was a fabulous cabin, great company, gorgeous views, a little stress with the boat not starting often, but otherwise a great getaway from reality!

once home and unpacked and during nap/quiet time i decided it was great weather for hiking so i asked jodi if they wanted to go and they did. so after naptime, they brought matt's car over so Al could take that to work until the volkswagen's rebuilt starter comes in, and we all went hiking for a bit. it was so fun to get back out there since it wasn't too hot, and cool to see flowers and green everywhere.

monday Al was back to work. the kids and i did lots of crafting in the morning, then ran a couple errands, stopped at a park, and then picked up school lunch. after nap, we went to phoenix park in downtown eau claire and got mini donuts and walked around including on the foot bridge. the native/natural flowers down there are gorgeous! then back home for more crafts, supper, baths and bed.