We spent our first extended time at the cabin between Christmas and New Year's.
It took a while to settle into the pace of cabin life -- relaxing, playing games, living in relatively close quarters with each other, generally slowing down from the super fast-paced semester that we had just survived.
We took with us our two cats and the new addition to the family, Maggie's hamster, Peanut.
I think what continually surprises me about the lake is how much it changes, even on a daily basis.
The first day we arrived, the lake was covered with snow.
We weren't sure about the quality of the ice (or how you'd even know how thick it is), but we could observe that snowmobiles had been out on the lake (both by their tracks and later, by actually seeing and hearing them zooming about). So we decided to try cross-country skiing on it.
As it turned out, there was about a foot of ice underneath six inches of snow and slush, which was scary because the slush gave the illusion that there was no ice underneath.
We met the neighbors, or at least the kids and grandkids of the neighbors, and made fast-friends. They were gallivanting around the ice and walking over to the island and ice fishing, giving us the go-ahead: the ice was safe!!
But a day or so later, it rained and the snow melted completely, followed by an utterly frigid day that made the lake practically an ice rink.
Sheila took us in to the town of Barron for lunch and for a little hike on one of the days to shake a little cabin fever.
It was gorgeous.
We still don't have a tv up there (to, apparently, everyone's shock) and what is funny about it is that the kids don't seem to care at all. We put together the newest Lego Hogwarts, played Clue and Dominoes and hide-and-seek. Oh, and lots of snuggling and reading, too!
Gaga and Papou visited, Cath and Bella visited and Tom and Joe visited!
The biggest food-related hit was that I learned to make bagels!
The bagels were followed closely by the homemade ice cream we made with the little ball that Santa brought Johnny.
Here are a few more pictures. On the rainy day we crossed the lake and explored the island!
