Vacation

Ryan was on vacation last week and it was so nice to have him off work and around to help with Alyssa. Here is our vacation recap...

Saturday we had the Duncan Open, which is a big family reunion held every year by Rosemary's family. It was in Orillia, on the way to the cottage (where we were going for a few days) so the timing couldn't have been better. They had a huge family tree (and name tags) to see where everyone came from and how we were all connected that was quite impressive. Alyssa and I were on there, including the date we "joined" the family. Hopefully next year we can spend a bit more time at the reunion and perhaps join the golfers. Then we were off to the cottage. I should mention before we went to the reunion we packed the car for the cottage. We pretty much remembered everything, at least all the essentials. It took a LONG time and a lot of manoeuvring to fit everything in but somehow we did it (including Sam on my lap and a 28 of Coors Light under my feet, can't forget the beer!). When we arrived at the cottage Saturday night it was a big race to get unpacked and get Alyssa to bed at a decent hour. This involved blowing up our air mattress and getting our bed ready (we were sleeping in the same room as her so we couldn't do it later when she was in bed), getting the playpen ready, getting Alyssa bathed and fed, etc, etc. Saturday night was nice visiting with my family and with Ola who is home for a while now from med school in Poland, and Uncle Niels who is visiting Ontario for a month or so. The men enjoyed cigars (to celebrate Alyssa's birth perhaps a little late? Or just an excuse to smoke) and got bitten alive by mosquitoes on the deck that night while the girls chatted inside.

Sunday Ryan and I made a big breakfast for everyone, with my mom's help. We had prepared an overnight French Toast bake in the oven, did Peameal on the bbq and bacon. It was delicious. We were very happy that Alyssa had no problem sleeping in the playpen the night before (her first night/time away from home). Sunday afternoon everyone left and Ryan and I carried on our relaxing.

Monday the weather was sketchy. This seems to happen every time I'm at the cottage. It rained when we were on the dock and the sun would come out if we went to the cottage to escape the rain. We couldn't win. Carrying the baby, her things, the dog, getting the chairs out, etc. was a lot of work back and forth 4 times because of the rain.

Tuesday was our best day. It was sunny all day. We didn't go in the lake because it wasn't quite that hot but we enjoyed sitting and relaxing on the dock.

Wednesday we woke up to rain so we decided to come home. First I had to clean the cottage, and that seemed to take forever since Alyssa didn't want to nap. Finally around 1 p.m. all the cleaning was done and we were ready to come home. We fed Alyssa and the plan was she'd have her afternoon 2 p.m. nap in the car. We got the car all packed up again and then I locked the keys and the baby in the car (including the cottage keys which I didn't want to forget). Ugh. When we discovered I had done this (I was trying to not let the mosquitoes in) I had a melt down. Ryan kept calm and I went to the neighbours to call GM Roadside (at first we were just going to break a window with a rock but we decided to figure out other options). GM knew the baby was in the car and told us they'd be no more than 30 minutes (which I found impressive given we were in the middle of no where, or so it seemed). In that time Ryan found tools in the neighbours garage and broke in. By the time he had the correct tools he was in the car in no time (with no damage!). Alyssa was in the car about 25 minutes but at least it was running so she had her music and the a/c was on. We drove through major storms on the way home and were so happy (and in need of a drink) once that adventure was done. If my hair starts to grow in grey we know why.

The rest of Ryan's week off was spent doing a few things around the house. Ryan worked on staining our Pergola and installing a few cross beams in it so the lattice doesn't blow out during bad wind storms. I made a lot of baby food, which I really enjoyed. We have a vegetable steamer which really comes in handy (it has 2 layers so I can steam 2 foods at once). I purchased a Magic Bullet for pureeing which is also quite helpful. I made Alyssa a Chicken, Sweet Potato and Apple dish that is really good (I had to try the foods as I went along).

This week is back to reality, and a packed schedule. Friday I have a friend's birthday downtown, Saturday we have a Fabian family BBQ and Sunday I have Jenn's baby shower plus a little me-time hair appointment Thursday and a pedicure on Friday. I often wonder how I ever had time to work.