Dani and Al’s patience had been tried beyond belief on
their flight from Australia to Canada. Friends and family,
daycare workers and babysitters knew Finn as “The Happy
Baby”. Yes, like as all babies, when he was tired or sick Finn cried
but it never took much to soothe him into a smile. Unfortunately
for all three, Finn’s reputation was sullied over the 25 hour trip
where he decided to make his presence known to all aboard and
was unable to find his smiles no matter what Dani and Al tried.
A ten day stay at a cottage on Rice Lake near Gore’s Landing, was
the perfect recipe for the family to get over their jetlag, make peace
with each other and visit with family and friends. Dani’s cousin
Janet and husband Gianni generously loaned their cottage to the
McEachern family for their holiday.
This area had received plenty of rain and the lush green lawn
was a perfect new experience for Finn.
Hey Grandy, enough sitting around, let’s play!
What’s better than living life through the eyes of a child?
Kim and Ed arrive from Caledon. See Ed.
See Ed paddleboard.
See Ed teach Al how to paddleboard.
See Al paddleboard.
See Al teach Dani how to paddleboard.
See Dani and Al.
See Dani learn fast.
Finn and Dixie share secrets.
Al and Dani tell Finn all about the Ontario Cottage Heartbeat.
Dixie loves being by the water.
Playtime on the huge deck while dinner prep begins.
Francis and Jody pop over for a visit.
The cottage is famous for its sunsets.
Happy boy is ready to attack a new day.
This pool is more fun without water in it!
Finn can crawl as fast as a Cheetah runs; here he is in power-crawl mode.
Finn is back in full Happy Boy form.
Kim comes to say goodbye.
Even I got up on the paddleboard and had to do some yoga too.
Happy family cool off in Rice Lake again.
Fresh cottage air sure makes ya sleepy!
Hmmmmnnn...what’s this thing?
Wow, a bubble machine!
Hey, I figured out how to turn it on!
No, I am not showing off.
Trish, Sammie and Chickpea come up from Toronto.
Delicious food appears often during the cottage stay.
Nancy, Trish’s Mom, arrives from Ottawa
Everyone heads down for a cool off.
Three amigos take some shade.
Finn asks, Why are those girls ignoring me?
Grandy explains that Mom’s buddy time is important.
Dad comes to the rescue with some pool fun.
A good perspective of the cottage waterfront play area.
Hey Dixie, wake up and play!
Man, that kid has too much energy for an old girl like me.
Just another perfect cottage day!
An iconic Ontario cottage down the lake.
Chickpea has her first “swim”.
Al supervises “The Barbie”
Finn acquires some some barbeque tips from Daddy.
Sammie and Trish chill out.
Finn enjoys bath time before bed.
Good thing we shopped for alternate protein today.
The old folks head to bed while the 30-somethings play games into the night.
Looks like another gorgeous day!
Finn waves ‘Bye Bye’ to Trish and Sammie.
We had a fabulous tour of the Canoe Museum in Peterborough,
an hour’s drive from the cottage. The displays provided varied
hands on and visual exhibits of all aspects of the history of Canoeing.
There were many interactive areas for children to explore the magical
heritage and passion for the Canoe in Canada.
Canoe paddles from around the world.
A look at the historic development of the canoe designs and uses.
Full scale Birchbark Teepee.
Our little musical protégé.
Various Ontario wildlife puppets are available for aspiring puppeteers.
Hands-on education.
Grammy plays dress up.
Ok Daddy, I will let you play with me in the kid’s area.
Meanwhile, Dani and I salivate over some Vintage Melamine.
Named after its Moosonee Cree owner, this heavy hulled work canoe was
designed after the iconic bark canoes of the fur trade.
Now this beats those wood and deer-gut canoe seats!
After a pit stop, we headed out for lunch and
Kawartha Dairy Ice cream in town.
We were soon back to playing at the cottage.
Is Finn cute or what?
Finn decides if he will camp out tonight.
Yay, it’s time to eat!
Our last sunset.
Finn waits for cousin Genevieve, Aunt Liz and Uncle Curt.
Genevieve and Finn had not seen each other since November 2017.
Wow, more people to see me? I better not let this go to my head.
Chris and I had not seen the Bostoners for three years.
Cousins campin’ on the deck.
So many toys, so little time.
Sweet watching the sharing, teaching and learning.
Au Revoir little Munchkins….
Guday! Thanks for the memories!