#CottageWeek

It's hard to sum up a week like we just experienced. Seven days filled to the brim with friends, family, fun, food, fires (brrrr!) and more.

We rented a cottage last summer too, and it's one of our most favorite vacations. The kids run free, the adults get to relax, and no one cares if you rarely shower and never change your clothes. Ahhh, now this is living. 

Monster cookies. Protein, check. Oatmeal, check. Chocolate, check check.

 Heading up north is serious business. We packed this full size truck to the brim.

 Want to know what's even more fun than the Fun Deck? Running out of gas in the middle of the lake with 14 people aboard. Start rowing, boys!

One of my favorite cottage week memories: biking 15.5 miles (round trip)
with T to Moomer's for an 11am ice cream treat. Hills, thrills, near-spills. 

Because everything is funnier with a bike helmet on.

 Lakeside living: fishing...

...and some tubing too.

Captain Mady!

 Communal living at its best: one mama does the work of three,
reading bedtime stories to six kiddos at once.

 Not exactly how I thought I'd spend my August, huddled under a blanket next to a fire at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, but it made things more memorable!

 It was my birthday week too! No day was complete without at least one round of the Pirate 'Stache birthday song.

Moomer's: three visits in seven days. Don't judge.

 Late night shenanigans after the kiddos were tucked snugly in their beds.

Enjoying a day trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes. We drove along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in the drizzle...

... and the kids loved hopping out along the way to see the sights.

A yummy lunch at North Peak filled out tummies (white cheddar ale soup!)

Capping off a great week (& my birthday!)
with one more visit to our moo-cow friends.