Lakehouse Playdate

Two weekends ago, my friend Erin, invited us to spend the day and night at her lake house. The timing was perfect because Wayne was going to be out of town that week. I was smart about my planning though...I had Nathan and Charlotte spend the night with Mama and Papa Monday night (the first night Wayne was gone). That way, I was able to have the house all to myself (which never happens) get packed, clean, and catch up on some good TV. A night well spent! Then the next morning, I picked up the kids at Mama and Papa's house and hit the road. Alison and her two kids, Lauren and Trevor were there too. It really was Heaven because it was all about the kids having fun and no responsibilities...well, we had one responsibility (making sure everyone stayed on dry ground, but at least there wasn't any laundry or dishes to do).

The house was great because we had our own rooms, and the back yard looked out onto the lake. Erin also set up two pools (one for the bigger kids and one for Charlotte), a sand and water table, plus there was a swing set. If Nathan could design the perfect day, this was it...playing outside, getting dirty, eating whatever he wanted, being with friends, and not having to clean up...sounds good to me!

After playing outside for a while, we took a lunch break, and then headed back outside for more of the same. The kids also got to enjoy a drumstick for dessert.















We knew naps wouldn't work so instead, we set up a movie (Gnomeo and Juliet). And then it was time for more "Outside" time." Nathan and Trevor races on the different bikes, but what Nathan really loved, was Suzy's princess ("frincess" as he would say) 4-wheeler. Suzy showed him how it drive it and then he was off!








The day was great, but the night was a disaster. For dinner, we had a pizza picnic on Erin's pontoon boat. Afterwards, the kids were exhausted. We got their teeth brushed, pj's on, books read, and in bed by 8:00 (actually, I think it was more like 7:00). Lauren, Suzy, and Nathan went to bed early. Alison spent two hours trying to get Trevor to bed while Erin, Charlotte, and I stayed up talking. I finally got Charlotte to sleep after Alison came in to join us. The three of us were able to talk for about 30 minutes when we saw that Nathan was awake and had snuck out of the room. I spent another 30 minutes trying to get him to go back to sleep, but in the mean time, Charlotte had woken up in the pack and play. I finally got both Nathan and Charlotte to go to sleep by laying down with them (that was the end of my night of visiting with Alison and Erin). I found out later that while I was asleep with Nathan and Charlotte, Lauren woke up...along with Trevor and Suzy. Lauren and Trevor kept each other up. Erin moved Suzy to her room, but Suzy kept her up asking why she couldn't sleep with Nathan and Lauren, and on and on and on. Long story short, Nathan and Charlotte went to sleep with me in bed with them. Suzy eventually fell asleep with Erin, and Trevor and Lauren only fell asleep when Alison finally packed them up and took them home at 4:00am! She said they fell asleep in the car and then slept from 6 until 10 the next morning. BAD NIGHT!

So apparently, Nathan, Charlotte, and I had the best night's sleep... next time, I'm just going to have Nathan and Charlotte start out in my bed :)



Who would have thought that this sweet girl could be so difficult?!