A Day At The Beach (Part I)

Apparently some of my siblings are beginning to believe that I am morphing into some sort of caricature of my father, with the whole loving my children and enjoying family... While there may be a grain of truth to it, and it may not be in and of itself a horrible thing to become, I would like to point out my hairline. Anyhow, why do I bring this up? Because I have been mentioning going to the beach for a day (or longer) all winter and Cara keeps nixing it, as she isn't a big fan of the beach at the best of times, and that decreases exponentially with the lack of a washroom.

A few months ago during one of our moments of marital bliss Cara said I could bring the girls to the beach without her. A few weeks ago, I told Cara that I would be doing this (at this point she had forgotten the offer, but wasn't opposed to it). Today I got to bring my girls back to the beach. Teresa was exceedingly cute, as she has no concept of the beach not having a sandy front and water to run in. As such, she had been making plans about sandcastles, etc... I chose today because it was supposed to be +20C.

So with 23L of water, a playpen, my bike & child carrier, food, children and dog packed into the van we headed out to the lake. For some reason when fall hits, I get this end of season melancholy as I know the year is done. The drive up reminded me of this funk, especially considering how last year's season ended. The funk was not to last though as we pulled up to the (as Teresa said) "Brown and Red cottage with the palm tree on it" and we began having fun.

First it was warm the cottage up and give Frances her morning bottle. After that I took the girls down to the front, a seemingly easy task. I go out to the van, pull out my bike and the child carrier and then realize to my horror that I never re-attached the connector piece to my back wheel after taking it off in order to fit on to a wind trainer. So I go to the shed to grab the orange wagon. Damn it! No wagon. It's in the city as I got some metal welded to it. So I give the girls shoulder rides, often carrying them both. This was by far the most disappointing thing to me as I had hoped to toodle around with them. Once we got to the front, Teresa tested out the new play structure which is 'done' (the swings are too long and are missing 2 of the 8). Frances enjoyed being carried and Rowdy found another dog and just enjoyed life off leash.

I should note that we have had an amazing spring thus far. A few weeks back all the snow left our yard with +10 days. The rivers are beginning to break up (the Assiniboine broke today), but the lake is solid, and covered with deep snow by the cottage. This means I will never be able to extend my swimming into March. This disappoints me, having been in from April to November.

Frances ended up napping for a good couple of hours and I had a good nap too. Teresa? She got herself books to read and eventually caught a tiny bit of shuteye... We ended up staying for an unplanned dinner (pasta & sauce from a packet) and headed home after enjoying another walk and play at the structure. A successful day.  Teresa thanked God today for "the beach, where it is always icy and snowy"

OK, so we're here and there's snow.  I am not impressed.  And do not comment on my hair.

Shoulder rides make things better.  One mitt was lost on the way down (and found on the way back).

I wish I had two pairs of shoulders, it would make life easier...

...because when you put Frances down to put Teresa on your shoulders, she finds a BIG puddle.

This is a super picture.  These swings work because someone swung them over top one loop to shorten the chains.

Blue sky.  Dad will appreciate this.  When the sun came out it felt much warmer.

Teresa and Frances playing catch on the hill.

For the second trip I made do and pulled the carrier like a rickshaw.

Teresa now slides head first down slides.

When you ask Teresa to smile / pose now, this is what you get.  The good news is she will NEVER be a model.

Yes, that is a snowbank taller than Teresa still beside the cottage.

WARNING: GRAND BEACH UPDATE AHEAD. 

Here is the new bathrooms.  They were working on them today, so I hope they will be open on time.  The rammed earth wall is a nice way to hide a boring cinder block building.

Have I mentioned my general disdain for park rangers?  Between the no walking on the rocks sign and BARRICADING THE STEPS for winter any modicum of respect has now disappeared.  REALLY??  Are you that worried someone will slip on the steps (I would love to see the risk analysis on that one) or do you think no one will go around the barrier to access the 'closed' front beach.  UNBELIEVABLE!

Part II will contain video.