We are on our way back from a long weekend at Lake Pickwick, the summer version of our biannual trip. On our last trip, Margaret was the newbie. This time Paige Bell was the new addition. That means there were 6 adults and 5 kiddos under the age of 3 years old in one cabin. We had thought about spreading out over two cabins, but with the early bedtimes and numerous different nap schedules, we decided to just pack it in, in favor of maximizing quality time.

I’m proud to say, there was never a time that everyone was crying at once. They all did a good job of taking turns at that… even if all other instances of turn taking were a struggle. My kiddos decided to pull a grand finale on the last night. Caroline didn’t want to go to sleep and woke up Margaret with her fussing. We sat outside on the deck listening to them both scream over the monitor, escalating one another. “I’ll never be happy again!” we heard Caroline cry at one point. I finally gave up, got them settled and called it a night.

For all the meltdowns, there was plenty of digging, rock throwing, zip lining, boat riding, baby snuggling, popsicle eating, and exploring to balance out in the positive.