Lake of the Woods Family Bubble Up

Our family arrived safely from Winnipeg and our bubble up vacation began. We were so glad to see each other again. We soon filled our days with playing with Elias (almost 2), hiking on the local trails, swimming off the dock, delicious BBQ dinners, beach time and even a round of golf. There were paddle boards and kayaks available and a rubber raft and slide. In the evenings we would have long camp fires complete with smores, then story time with Elias and family card games like cribbage. Elias was a champion eater and sleeper all week. At dinner he would clasp his hands together waiting for grace and then clink glasses with us all before eating. It was so cute! The weather was great and there were no bugs at all to spoil our bubble up.

Although he cannot speak yet, Elias communicates his needs very well by pointing, smiling or frowning and grunting in sentences and even paragraphs. He understands simple questions about who is who, where is this or that, when to be careful, stop, go, yes and no etc. He never panics when his parents aren’t around. As you can see he loves getting his hands on cell phones or TV remotes to push the buttons and have make believe conversations. He adores his Gran Marie and Poppa Dave and we him. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. This was the second time we got to see him and Kyle and Ashley this year. We are so grateful and can’t wait to do it again.

Ashley’s Dad, Rick paid us an overnight visit, driving his motorcycle up from Winnipeg on a perfect day. Elias’ little face lit up when he saw his Granpa Rick arrive. We had a great day together swimming, joking, eating steak and then smores and playing cards. It was a a great visit that passed much too quickly. Rick likes to drive his Harley whenever he can. He confesses to going to Sturgis, SD each year for the annual motorcycle rally there that attracts 500,000, and this year was no exception.

Probably the most fun everyone had was down at the dock swimming, paddle boarding, watching Kyle take Elias down the water slide and just hanging out in the warm sunshine. Elias had little floaties on his arms and went into the deep water bravely with his parents. Yours truly tried the paddle boat with mixed results.  Kyle and Rick swam about 500m to an island and Ashley joined on paddle board. The water was great and seemed even warmer then our local Madawaska River. There was some green algae around one day that disappeared quickly the next day. It was hot and we enjoyed the cool off.

Then again, the camp fires were pretty special too.  We gasped as Elias when flying high up in the air, his little arms spread wide and a grin on his face. 

The hiking trails were fun too. We found one suitable for families and Elias loved every minute of it. On longer ones his parents took turns carrying him. One day Kyle and Ashley went to Kenora and Elias became Marie’s little companion for the day. Another day Kyle and Dave went golfing at a lovely little 9 hole country course an hour west called Spruce Creek Golf. Ashley, Marie and Elias spent a day at the equally lovely Caliper Lake Provincial Park beach. All this activity increased our appetites for smores.

It is safe to say that everyone had a good time and if it were not for Covid, we would not have done this. We hope to repeat this experience next year. Thanks be to God for our safe family bubble up in pandemic times. Stay safe yourself and enjoy a family bubble up too!