The Cottage

Birds

It seems that for the second summer in a row we may (fingers crossed) have avoided having chimney swifts next in our chimney. The problem wasn't actually with them nesting in our chimney, it was that they weren't good nest builders. For a number of years, their nest fell down our chimney and we endured round the clock baby bird feedings, where mama and papa chimney swift flew noisily down our chimney to the squawking babies to feed them. This year, we have a much cuter and quieter situation. These darling birds have a nest outside of our kitchen door. It was so cold for the first few days of our time here that the mama bird didn't move from the nest. 

~ Becky

Dinner at the Cottage

Our group has grown so large that normal dinners out are nearly impossible, so we each host one dinner. On our night, we had to search to find dry (enough) land to put the tables in our swamp of a yard. 

It's my cousin Kelly's first time here. I'm not sure anything could have prepared her for life at the lake. On her first morning, for instance, she met a couple who have seen Big Foot. At least they claim to have seen Big Foot, which is a story for another post.

After dinner, the kids went on a photo scavenger hunt, boys vs girls. Despite knowing, from years of experience, that everyone would get a prize, they were quite competitive. The evening was not going to end well (for William at least) unless the boys won. The evening did not end well.

And, of course, S'mores! S'mores with peanut butter cups were hugely popular.

~ Becky

4th of July at the Lake

July 4th at the Lake was pretty much like it always is...except that the festivities actually happened on the 4th! The Midway Civic Club Parade, a Pet and Bike Parade, was the cutest ever.

Cousins started arriving on the 3rd and immediately ran off together to giggle, catch frogs, and play wiffle ball. These girls have so much fun together!

Pip had a little competition this year.

The three sisters.

And First Place in the pet costume contest goes to Pip! Well, not really. There weren't any awards. But we all know that if there had been, he surely would have won!

~ Becky

Party's Over

Sadly, our summer at the lake has come to an end. We've loved every minute. Kate took this beautiful picture on one of our last nights at the lake.

Picture from the Summer

We've had so many adventures this summer - some have made it on the blog, others haven't. Below are some pictures from random summer events.

Early in our time here, we went to a ladies' lunch at the Baldwin Reynold's House. The lunch was surprisingly delicious. A little glimpse of our table....

We spent a lot of time playing chess. Regular chess, speed chess, and online chess.

We also rediscovered vinyl and listened to records on the old Michael Jackson record player. Not the highest quality, but tons of fun.

S'mores!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Ben celebrated another birthday at the lake. We were thinking back, and we think he's spent all but one or two birthdays here. Most years we have an outdoor cookout. This summer, however, has been so cold that we've only eaten outside a handful of times. As Kate pointed out, the past few days here have been colder and rainier than our entire past winter in California.

Ben was a cheap date this year. His birthday happened to fall on Dollar Spaghetti Night, so that's how he chose to celebrate. After dinner, we went back to the cottage for Nana's traditional birthday angel food cake.

Quite different from past outdoor celebrations...we were inside, with sweaters, flannel shirts and a space heater!

Happy Birthday, Ben!