The Treadway Chronicles: Loon Lake Final Days Part 1

So much happened in the last week or so at Loon Lake, that I think I'm going break this final Loon Lake blog post up into two posts. As I'm sure you'll agree, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I think I'll just jump right into the pics and caption from there. You'll see a lot of the fun we had, including when Daddy finally arrived. It was awesome!

The deck finally got finished and we immediately used it for just about every meal. It's so nice to sit outside, and it's cool, because you're right up in the woods so it feels like a tree house.

On Thursday night, Julie arrived at the Nest. It is always so nice to see my big sister from Colorado.

Then on Friday, Connor and I drove down to Albany to pick up Daddy Jeff at the airport. Connor was resting up before he saw his Daddy. We hadn't seen him in almost an entire month so we were both very anxious.

I think you can see in this picture, but I made him a shirt that said, "Tugboat "hearts" Daddy" and then I included the date. It was pretty cute.

We had to stop by the grocery store on the way home, but they had fun reuniting. As you can see, Connor is doing really well walking with just the assistance of one hand. Daddy was really surprised by that.

Once we got back to the house, we all played on this abandoned tennis court.

Grandpa has been working very hard on "baby boot camp" so I give him a little credit for the improvements Connor has made in his walking skills and definitely his waving.

Are we happy to have Daddy back or what?!

That night we had a nice dinner and celebratory campfire. Welcome to the Nest Daddy Jeff. We missed you so much.

There is no rest for the weary. The very next day after Jeff arrived, we had arranged to participate in the "Race the Train." It is an 8.4 mile race between two nearby towns, North Creek and Reparius. Here, Jeff and Connor are riding the train to the starting line.

Me, my Dad, Jeff, and my sister Julie actually did the race. My Mom and sister Erin (who sadly was injured) watched the kiddos while we ran.

And we did it! The first mile and a half was uphill, but then it was rolling up and down and most of it was in the shade and really pretty, so amazingly we finished with a pretty decent pace. I was amazed. I felt pretty proud. I'm not sure if I'll do it again next year, but I'm glad I can say I finished the race and I am sure proud of my medal.

We didn't let Jeff rest much before we put him back to work. After just a quick nap after the race, he was already back to work cutting lumber. What a trooper.

The next day we went to a small carnival at a nearby town called Horicon. Connor chowed down on his hot dog.

He always loves cruising around a good picnic table. He loved the carnival too.

More walking practice with Daddy.

As the evening was coming to an end, there was live music and we all grooved along.

Erin and her kids even got up and danced.

That night, my Aunt stayed with the sleeping kids so we adults could go watch the fireworks that they had as part of Horicon day.

Jeff and I, still happy to be reunited. Can you believe we're in long sleeves? It was actually really chilly at night. I am missing that considering it is 99 degrees and humid here in Houston today.

The fireworks were awesome! We couldn't believe that this small town had such a great fireworks display.

We were all amazed. We even gave it a standing ovation.

Julie and I tried as often as we could to take the babies for a stroll. It's always so much more scenic and relaxing to walk up here.

Connor looks like such a mountain man with his stick.

A lively campfire.

Libby and Connor checking each other out in the tub. It was really cute, they would take baths together almost every night. What happy little cousins.

This is usually what Connor looks like right before bed. He's all wound up and giddy. We get lots of giggles. We probably should be calming him down, but we can't help but love the happy times before bed. Luckily though, he settles himself down and falls right to sleep. Good boy.

We needed to have a party to celebrate the dedication of our new place, or at least all the remodeling. We call it the Nest. Here we are setting up the decorations.

Rob the builder holding Connor the tugboat.

Connor showing off his new found waving skills. We all had these Nest Dedication shirts made up. Here we are modeling them.

Erin and I found this great book called, "In My Nest" and we read it at the dedication party.

A picture of Rob the builder and Erin who did almost all of the designing.

A champagne toast to The Nest.

Great Grandma Saunders came down to the lake one afternoon to check out the fun.

Here Daddy Jeff goes skiing.

Connor was very proud of his skiing Daddy. Obviously, Grandma was pretty excited too.

Now Aunt Erin is skiing on one ski. What a pretty scene.

Here I am waving before a ski. The water felt a little chilly at first, but it warmed right up. It was great.

It was a successful ski.

Jeff found a nice seat for Connor. Don't let go!

We ended up serving Connor dinner in the lake that night. He seemed to enjoy it. He was totally lounging out. It was really funny.

Here is another one of our many floating happy hour stations. Yum! Winnie had a front row seat.

Having fun in the lake.

Connor was getting chilly, so we stripped off his bathing suit and snuggled him up in a towel.

I like snuggling with Daddy.

After the snuggling, he walked around to keep warming up. He always looks so cute in just a diaper. You get to see all the chubbles on display.

Happy sisters reunited.

Now all the Roach ladies.

One of our good family friends, Kathryn Ford came up to the house for a few days. Julie and Kathryn met in preschool. She has always felt like a sister to us.

A happy Connor enjoying the new deck.

One of our caterpillars hatched. This is the coolest part. When it first hatches, it is still getting used to it's heavy wings, so it lets you hold him while it warms up to the idea of flying. I feel like a child again as I hold the butterfly.