Bonding in the Sauna

Well … for a hot second at the end of last week, I was caught up on blogging. Then we had a great weekend and eventful week and I’m back to my perpetual state of catch up. Such is the life of a blogger, it seems.

We headed north (yes, again) last Friday morning – this time bound for Grand Rapids. Our departure had a minor hiccup … as I hit the bathroom one last time before loading up and noticed that our master bathroom toilet was leaking onto the floor. So I proceeded to ruin Mike’s day by telling him that. And then hustled the children out of the house so they didn’t expand their vocabulary. Plumbing is never a simple fix, so he ended up just turning off the water to the toilet, putting a towel down, and planning to deal with it when we got home. Other than plumbing issues and Quinn being tired and wiggly, the ride north was pretty uneventful – just how we like it!

We got to Gma and Gpa’s, unloaded our stuff, stretched our legs, grabbed Auntie, loaded back up, and headed to the cabin. Because daylight was a-wastin’. The kids mentioned several times how disappointed they were that the cousins were out of town for the weekend and the cabin wouldn’t be any fun without them.

However, upon arrival, we discovered the new Maui Mat and the world became a better place because of it. Auntie had been told that the Maui mat was a relaxing flotation experience because the little cousins were not that interested in it. Enter Vannestes. Relaxation – HA! That thing was made for jumping, wrestling, and general craziness. Our shining moment of the day was when all six of us were able to stand at.the.same.time for a few consecutive seconds. It’s way harder than it sounds!!

We could hear thunder in the distance, so Mike checked his phone and decided we should walk up the hill to the cabin (a decision that no one makes lightly. that hill is a hike!) for snack. The kids discovered the train sets and had a good time playing and eating cookies while we waited for the storm to pass. Once the skies cleared, we decided to spend a little more time in the lake before heading back to town. We unrolled the Maui mat and played for about 10 minutes. Mike didn't like the look of the sky so checked his phone ... and immediately told everyone to get out of the lake and into the sauna.

We no sooner crammed six of us into what is usually a 2-3 person sauna when the storm hit. Big time. We actually lost power and ended up using our cell phone flashlights to ensure people weren't sitting in the pitch black. It poured for about 25 minutes, and the kids did awesome. We told them what fun memories we were making and how we would be talking for years about "the time we were stuck in the sauna." When the rain stopped, we grabbed our gear, picked up the little bit of stuff that was left, gaped at the washed out beach from the storm, and climbed the hill one more time to drive to town. Where it had not rained a drop. Sigh.

It was a low key evening and early-ish to bed for the kids. Auntie actually went back up to the cabin to spend the night - and verify that the power was back on. You'd think being chased out of the lake twice because of storms would have ruined the day. But it certainly did not. All agreed it was a great day on the lake.