Tuesday, July 5, 2016

A Rooster, A Baby Shower, and Family Shenanigans

June flew by in a whirl wind of stress so I was more than ready to kick off my summer break with time at Shuswap lake with my family. They say family is who makes you feel at home and not only do my biological family feel that way, but also my lake family too.  These are people I have known my entire life and who know me the best. It started years ago before I was born, my parents met this amazing group of people who became their best friends. These people had kids around the same time my parents did and in turn they became my other sisters and brothers. My parents friends became my aunts and uncles; people I can depend on and learn from.

So this weekend was nothing like I had spent at the lake in years. There were some strange occurrences that I would have never predicted.  The first being wild life that dictated how we operated in our daily lives at the cabin. The big brown bear that occupied the golf course and air strip meant that we had to be on alert in our yard, as we are situated between both locations. My nieces and my mom had a close call their first day there. Then the rooster, yes I said rooster, who was taking stake in the woods behind our cabin made sure we got up with the crack of dawn. My husband joked he was going to go up there and take care of it after the first early morning wake up call. I'm sure our dog would have loved the hunt.

The second weird thing that happened was my sister and I locked ourselves out of the cabin at 2:00 am. We were having one of our marathon chats on the deck and when we finally wrapped it up in the wee hours of morning we figured out all the doors to the cabin were locked. (I locked the last one). So while giggling our heads off we determined my sister could climb into the open window of her room. Something tells me we will never forget that late night gossip session.

The rest of the weekend wasn't strange but it was unexpected. We attended the best baby shower ever. I can say this as I traditionally hate going to them so this one surprised me. It was more of a party with the whole family, delicious food, sangria, champagne, a beautiful garden and a terrific couple who are about to have a baby. We ended the party with a spontaneous swim in the lake. I recall standing at the top of the embankment before I made my way down to the beach and took in the scenery. There before me, minus a few of our lake family, were the people I care so much about.  They were laughing, swimming and mingling on the dock.  To top it off Scott brought Triggs down for a swim and he had a blast.

Later that night another memorable moment happened.  Scott and my youngest niece chased one another in the moonlit yard playing a game of tickle monster and then before bed they coloured while discussing the art of camping. People worry that Scott and I are missing out for not having children of our own. I like to disagree. We have many children in our lives and lots of lovely family to keep us company. This weekend was a testament to that belief. I wish I had pictures to share but alas I got so caught up in the fun there was no time.