Weekend at Crab Lake

This weekend we took the girls to Crab Lake. It was quite the long trip for them, since the longest trip they had ever taken in our car was about one hour. We stopped in Stevens Point for Culvers (the first time there). The hardest part of taking the girls out is their unfamiliarity with so many foods, but a place like Culvers is nice because it has so many choices. The girls had a chicken dinner and ice cream, of course. The girls have pretty good appetites so we tend to spend a lot of money in food. The most difficult thing to find for them are drinks they like that are not sodas. In Colombia all juices are natural and have no sugar. Since most grocery stores do not carry such juices and they tend to be expensive, we have resorted to buying Kool-Aid and watering it down. I found out today they like watered down orange Kool-Aid. They also like Gatorade...

Back to the Lake.. When we got there the girls were very excited to meet their grandparents (Alex's parents) they ran to meet them with big kisses and hugs. I think grandpa and grandma were impressed. The girls are very affectionate, this has never been a problem. We then went to the little house and they chose their beds. It was nice to be back at Crab Lake, but to be honest, I felt a little cramped in the little house, since we had just returned to Colombia a week before and had spent almost a week in small rooms such as a the little house. Anyway, we were happy to be there, the girls explored their surroundings. Some liked Crab Lake more than others, but most liked the fact that they could swim as much as they wanted. The water was cold to me but not to them. Sis (Alex's mom) had gotten them life jackets so they could swam a lot.

Also, the girls got to spend time with their cousins Julia and Anna. They specially liked looking for cray fish with their cousins at the point since the water was so low, you could walk to look for cray fish. The first day they found a bunch, but left them in the pail for too long, so they went bad. But the second and third day they captured Sis cooked them and they ate them (Yuck, I was not involve with that.)

During the weekend they also learned to fish with Andy. They were fast learners at this, but were disappointed to find out that there were actually fishing rules and that there were some fish you could not keep. Sometimes it is difficult to explain the rules and why they are there. I myself feel there are too many rules in the U.S., some make sense and others not... but that is my opinion. (MM). Anyway, I always tell people that they need to learn these rules and that it is OK if they get frustrated with the rules, since they have to learn about them anyway.

The girls also got to meet Camille, a girl whose parents own Alpine Lodge. She is about 12 and came over to play. The girls enjoyed Camille and Camille enjoyed playing with the girls. We got invited to a bonfire to roast marshamallows. There were other kids staying at the Alpine Lodge and so the girls got to go on a paddle boat with some of the kids and they also got to watch people fishing there of the pier. It was great to for the girls to see how the people fishing there would throw their fish back, since this is what we had to explain to the girls before. I think it was then that they understood that some people fish just for the enjoyment of fishing, not for survival. This was new to them. Eventually Mirellen got her wish when on Sunday she captured a small Lake Perch that was cooked in butter. Since Alex and I don't fish, we are looking for a volunteer to take the girls out fishing.. any takers?

The only downfall of the weekend was the tick problem up north. We had to return a day early because there I was attacked my ticks 2 nights in a row while sleeping (pulling one of of my hair on Sunday night was the last straw for me). With two nights of no sleep I was done for the weekend. I had never had a single tick at Crab Lake in 18 years and in one weekend I had at least a dozen I had to pick . The girls were bit too, but what they enjoyed the most was the swimming. Without that, I think it would have been a boring weekend for them. It was nice to be with family, even if the ticks were annoying.

This was an important weekend for all of us and the girls had a blast. Since the girls talk to me quite a bit I hear all their stories about how much they were restricted while at La Casita. I don't blame them for doing this, since there are so many children and there is an urgency on getting the children prepared for Adoption. What this means is that every experience that the girls have is done with 'gusto' and enjoyment maybe more than kids their own age. We are used to this now, and we usually let them enjoy as much as possible, even if their choice of activity seem strange to us (filling buckets and water guns and getting wet right after the rain).

The girls also got to see Crab Lake's snapping turtle. We'll have to tell them about the snapping turtle at some point..but not for a long time....