up nort’ for the fourth

The week before the fourth was a weird one for me.  On Monday, the girls and I headed up to DePere to visit my grandma’s and for me to drop the two older girls off for a week with Grandma and Grandpa Van.  It was oddly (but enjoyably) quiet on the ride home and for the next four days.  The girls and had lots of fun and Pip and I had lots of fun.  It’s so crazy how easy just one seems after you’ve had three – I still remember the overwhelming days when Cedi was my only baby.  Just having Pip seems almost like having no kids.  Anyway, on Saturday after Pip’s early morning feeding we packed up the van and headed up nort’ to Fence to meet the Grandma, Grandpa, and our two oldest girls. The girls were happy to see us but more importantly – they were happy to see Pip.   We had a lot of fun up north.  Gratefully, Grandma Van watched Pip while we took the older two girls to the beach to swim.   Cedi & Capri with ‘Dippy the Dolphin’ (named by Grandpa Van) I’m not sure if I’ve ever talked about this before but I LOVE to swim.  I truly LOVE it.  It feels like I never get to actually swim anymore since I always have to be within an arms reach of the girls in the pool which is usually only a foot or two deep.  This weekend that all changed.  The girls had their life jackets on and their hearts set on swimming to the raft.  We got there early enough that the ‘big’ kids hadn’t commandeered it yet so we headed out to the raft.  It felt so good to actually swim again – and we stayed in the water for awhile too.  The girls lasted in the water for as long as they possibly could.  We continually asked if they were cold and wanted to go in but they refused until you could tell it was time.  And then we headed to the sand, wrapped them in their towels and let them warm up on the sand.        Cedi could have lived in her life jacket if we let her…Saturday night was fireworks over the lake.  We all bundled up in our long sleeves (except my mom) and waited patiently for the fireworks to start.  They didn’t start until 10pm.  The girls had not taken naps.  On the plus side, I can’t remember the last time Capri fell asleep in my arms – she was out cold before the fireworks started.  Unfortunately she didn’t get to see the beautiful light display. Cedi lasted in Grandpa’s arms for just over half of the show and Persimoni made it the longest – lasting until just before the grand finale.  On our last night up north we had to sit by the fire and enjoy some s’mores.   Grandma did all the prep work and Grandpa helped the girls toast their marshmallow’s.    A delightful and memorable treat! I’m already looking forward to our trip next year to see what memories we make.