The first time all four of us headed up to Ben’s family’s cottage was last year around this time, and based on how little sleep we got, we swore we would never go up with both girls again until Eloïse was considerably older. Despite that less-than-ideal initiation, we recently decided to give it another shot.
We kept the menu simple, and bought a few things at a local market on the way up, namely fruits, vegetables, and an assortment of cheese. The market has a little farm attached to it, complete with rabbits, chickens & roosters, alpacas, and peacocks. For Aurelia, it was most definitely the male peacock that stole the show.
She had a million questions, and was fascinated by the way he fanned his plumage, and even the way he squawked. She was sad to leave, and for the remainder of our time away, the peacock became one of her main topics of conversation, including when we would see him again. Luckily, the excitement of getting to the cottage gave her something to look forward to.
The cottage is located deep in the woods, and can only be accessed by 4x4, and in the winter, by snowmobile. It is an old hunting & fishing club, without electricity, built over a hundred years ago, and sits by a lake where no other cottages can be found. Trying to describe it in a way that gives it justice is next to impossible. The first time I visited, over twelve years ago now, I was blown away that such a place existed. A great number of friends have spent many, many weekends here, and it’s pretty safe to say the place has become legendary. For many years, Ben & I headed up to it every chance we had, sometimes even leaving late at night on a whim. Now, with two little ones, the opportunities to head up together are rare, but it remains one of our favourite places. For Aurelia, it has quickly become one of her favourite places, too.
When we finally pulled up to the cottage, and settled in, we headed right to the lake, where we got down straight to the business of hunting for frogs.
We got lucky with one, thanks to Papa’s skilled hands, but after the girls examined him a bit, we let the frog “go back to his family”.
“Bye, bye Fog!”
We spent our time relaxing, eating a mainly-cheese menu, and exploring our surroundings with the kids. We took a canoe ride around the lake, headed to the beach, captured &examined minnows, bloodsuckers, lilypads and dragon flies, caterpillars, and just savouring every little moment.
Bliss.
We strolled down the path through the woods with the hope that we would have more luck finding frogs in puddles. The frogs weren't plentiful, but it didn't matter: splashing in puddles was just as fun.
The girls both loved taking turns swinging on the porch. Wait, let me rephrase that: they loved to swing, but had a harder time with the "taking turns" part. Nevertheless, their glee was hard to contain.
Despite being a little concerned before we left how our little family adventure would go, everything went smoothly. The children even fell asleep easily, and slept through the night, giving Mama & Daddy a little break. It was sad to leave after only having stayed a single night, but since it was all we had planned for, we had little choice. We headed back home, with a quick stop to visit the peacock one last time (a visit that would be followed by watching several YouTube videos of peacocks.
Do you realize just how many peacock videos are out there?).
This trip provided a little glimpse into the future and to hopefully many, many more cottage adventures. Seeing my little girls at the cottage together, witnessing them having so much fun living out the simplest of childhood adventures, like hunting frogs, was so awesome, I can’t even begin to describe how it made me feel. I love that they have such an amazing place to discover. Although it already held a special place in our hearts, this little piece of paradise has suddenly come to mean so much more to us, because of two very special little people.
