Winter Weekend

For more than three decades, the family cottage at Burt Lake has been the scene of countless summertime gatherings of my immediate and extended relatives. We've spent some time there in the winter, too, but far more of our cottage days have been the barefoot, lake-splashing, mosquito-slapping, drape-yourself-over-a-lawnchair summer kind.

So it was wild to spend a weekend there in February this year, not with family, but with a whole crew of our friends from Traverse City. Worlds colliding. But in a very fun and toddler-iffic way. We filled up every bed in the house, which translated to 9 adults and 6 kids three and under.

As usual, the player piano got a workout. (So did Marty, who is pedaling in the photo below. Truly, it gets the heart pumping.) But the tunes kicked off first thing in the morning instead of lasting late into the night.

Next on the agenda was a ride on the sled train.

It was a warm-ish weekend, a little too slushy for skiing but just fine for pulling little people in sleds on a loop through the woods.

Little people whose grins made even a slushy slog quite delightful.

We did have to trade "engines" pretty frequently.

After a lunch and nap break, we headed back out in the afternoon for a bonfire and snowman-building party in the yard. Note that the sled train is still chugging along in the background. Front-and-center, that would be a snow porcupine under construction.

The soft snow was perfect for snowmen.

The larger of the snow-people even stood guard during a tree-climbing lesson.

When evening came along, we broke out the funny hats. (It's kind of a tradition.)

More piano tunes commenced.

Then it was bathtime. Three kids plus one duck in the tub.

Once all six kids were in bed, the grownups (those still standing) sat down to enjoy a board game. (Code Names, in case you're trying to identify it. Good fun for a group.)

On Sunday it turned colder and the slushy surface of the lake froze into a smooth sheet of ice. Perfect for sending toddlers careening in sleds.

Clearly Maya was having a ball. 

Nick and I put on our skates for some sustained sled-pulling, and perhaps you can see that Maya is leaning forward for maximum speed. This kid may be a bit of a daredevil.

That's really all there is to say. I just couldn't help but share these photos to commemorate yet another memorable gathering of good folks and fun times at the cottage.