a weekend.....but more like a week

we had a jam packed weekend this fourth of july....i'll just day by day the events

~~~~~FRIDAY~~~~~

mostly a normal day. we were going to leave for the cabin right after nathan got home from golf....but he ran a little later than planned. my parents were planning to leave at 6 or 7, so we just hit the road with them. but we didn't just hit the road. we stopped at lowe's and home depot for supplies. that's right, they're fixing up the cabin. i'm talkin' total renovation. so they borrowed mike's trailer and loaded it with appliances, cabinets, sinks, and doors. (mike and nic couldn't come up for the festivities b/c they already had plans..... :( .....) so we got a lot of the necessary stuff, hit applebees and hit the road. since we left so late there was hardly any traffic.
it was a bit rough on the little man....he didn't sleep well once we got to the cabin.....i think it was just b/c he wasn't used to it.

~~~~~SATURDAY~~~~~

started out with a quick pancake brefix and then demolition. my mom and i hit the kitchen and bathroom. we took everything out onto the back porch. before we knew it, the floors and cabinets were being ripped out. the kitchen and bathroom floors were totally ripped out, the cabinets were gone, and the bathroom slowly fell down. thankfully, my dad let us all use it one last time before it was outhouse city. of course, the door was totally off so it wasn't very luxurious. after demo it was off to traverse city for my dad's races. the race was delayed b/c of bad weather and the course of the race had to be altered b/c of choppy water across the pond section of the course. so they went up the river where the trees block most of the wind, and they did laps around some bouys.which actually turned out to be great for us b/c we got to see the racers more than once (which is typically what would happen in a short canoe race.) we were supposed to head out to our camp site after the race, but b/c of the weather (and probably b/c of connor....) my dad said we could stay in a hotel for the night...yipee!! but of course, on the fourth of july weekend in traverse there was not a hotel to be found. so we hit the road and headed to kalkaska (25 min. drive) amazingly we got a room (a huge room!) with two beds and a kitchenette for connor's pack -n- play to be away from the noise of us all. worked out perfectly.

~~~~~SUNDAY~~~~~

dad's race was in the a.m. on sunday. but this c-2 was a three hour race (vs. the 1-hour c-1 on sat.) so we headed to the river, and after the start my mom and i headed back to the park at the finish line. she was working the races this weekend so she had to go straight there and get some things ready. i opted to go with her so con-man could take a nap in the shade. nathan was going to follow the race and water the paddlers. let's just say the race wasn't the highlight of the day....dad and garth didn't do so hot.
the cool part of the day was at the park. once the race was over, they did a quick awards presentation and had sandwiches for the paddlers. that was when the best part started.......the blue angels were in traverse that day! we had great seats. not only could we see the show from our spot on the river....we could see them swing around and get into formation. that was amazing! they were perfectly in line....and super tight! i've never seen them so that was pretty cool. also amazingly, connor slept through the whole thing. every few minutes they would swoop right over us and he would open his eyes, but then shut them right away. i couldn't believe it. he's been super sensitive to loud noise lately...the vacuum gets fear and trembling, but the blue angels hardly get a nod. go fig. so after that we packed it up and headed out for some dinner and then back to the cabin for more destruction.

~~~~~MONDAY~~~~~

my job was to burn the cabin. everything that came out of it, that is. the floors, cabinets, walls, and yes, even the couches. i had quite the blaze rolling. let's just say i won't have to pluck my eyebrows for a while. mom and i had to drive to the hardware store and walmart for some supplies. which meant we had to drive to tawas and then hale....about 80 miles all told. that night, we hit a new-to-me place in oscoda...wiltse's family restaurant....fabulous steak! couldn't believe i was in oscoda.

~~~~~TUESDAY~~~~~

my mom and i had to drive to west branch to get some supplies at home depot. that took all morning. then we came home and found that the front door was being put in. that was an ordeal....a 2006 door being fit into a cabin built in 1930's/40's? i don't even know the right date quite honestly. after that we hit desi's (which is barely holding on to my first place favorite eats up north...wiltse's was pretty good), then it was time for nathan and i to head home (we left around 7:30 to miss traffic---but we couldn't leave without a stop at the bear store for some blue moon ice cream!)

it was a great trip to the cabin...my favorite place. and even though it wasn't a normal trip it was still fun.
out came the flooring.....

layer by layer.....there must have been four just plopped one on top of the next

next the kitchen got the ax....literally



here's connor getting a free ride from the hotel room....what a cheese ball!


the blue angels.....4/6 at least.....let me tell 'ya, getting this pic wasn't easy! i think nathan grabbed this one.


this was our spot during the three hour race. we were basically the only people there until the racers got close.


the last bath ever taken in the cabin sink *sniff, sniff, sigh*


connor was banished to his pack -n- play for hours upon hours....but obviously he was still in a dancin' mood. go connor, go connor......


my favorite spot at the cabin. we are on a lincoln log style bench that nathan made for me. he made it as a surprise for the weekend that we got engaged. he kept telling me he had a special present for me when we got to the cabin (of course, i thought it was a ring) and then we pulled up and there sat this bench. wonderful now, but at that moment all i could think was......oh, boy. this kid just doesn't get it! i wanted a ring!! little did i know it was in his pocket the whole time. :)


goofing off with dad at desi's


if only i could reach that salsa!

desi's is a mexican up north tradition. i love connor's face in the pic.....he looks genuinely excited. i think he was just smiling at the people waiting to get in the door.