Fairies, Gnomes and Elves

We went to Moms and Kids camp again this summer at my parents' cabin. My mom has been organizing a trip to their cabin for several years as a getaway for me, my sister and our kids. Last year the theme was Smokey the Bear camp and we learned all about fire safety and Smokey's cool story. This year the theme was Fairies, Gnomes and Elves.

About a week before we left, a birchbark scroll arrived at our front door-- an invitation from the fairies to join them at the cabin for a week of fun. The font was fairy-like and included a few foot prints from the fairies and other gnome friends. My kids were so intrigued!

Upon our arrival at the cabin, we found orange t-shirts for all of us with a Fairies, Gnomes and Elves logo my mom had created. After donning the t-shirts, the kids remembered that they had been invited to find the homes belonging to each family of critters. Off they ran to search for their soon to be friends. Here's who we found:

The Treetrunk Elves live here. The door has a leather hinge that opens to a hole in the tree, about 6 feet up. Their ladder is made of leather and it looks like the elves spent a lot of time drilling little holes in the dowels that make up the rungs on their long ladder.

The Lake Side Fairies built this sweet home on a set of stilts so it hovers at the water's edge, hidden from view by the tall grasses. It includes little shells, glass beads and rocks. I think I'd like to live here.

The Stump Gnome lives here. I think he's into ladders too, just like the Tree Top elves, but this one is made from little twigs. There's a little door way that opens to reveal an inner world where the Gnome lives and plays. My boys say that there is a tunnel that connects this one to the Tree Top Elf house. One of the other boys at the cabin was going to jam a stick into the "tunnel" until his Dad said, "That would be like poking a giant telephone pole into our living room window. Do you think we would like that?" "Oh, maybe not, Dad."

The Woodpile Tomptes live in this little abode. The kids were quite impressed by their advanced roofing techniques employing pine cone petals for the roofing materials. Gus added the bark ramp for easy entrance and exiting. It was tough to find this one as it blended in so well with the wood pile.

Those little creatures were very busy creating our their homes and piquing the interest of our children. Their imaginations went wild creating their own fairy houses later, dotting the landscape around the cabin area with teeny houses at the bases of many trees.

Fishin' at the cabin

My parents own a cabin in Siren, Wisconsin. We've been going to the cabin for over 25 years. I barely remember my life before we had the cabin. It was an old fishing resort that was purchased by 10 families, most with kids, so it has always been a wonderful place to visit for kids.

The second generation of kids has fallen in love with the place, just as we did. Over Memorial Day Weekend, Ron had a lot of catching up to do at work and was hoping to spend some time at the office. I had other plans. The kids and I drove up with my parents on Friday night, stopped at Culver's Custard for a little "hangaber" dinner, then headed to Clam Lake. The boys couldn't have been happier with our weekend plans.

They love the cabin for many reasons... the lake, the double bunk beds that they get to share with Gramma and Poppa, the constant supply of red licorice, the buckets of wood scraps they get to build with, worms, bugs, playing with the other kids, but mostly, fishing. Yes, fishing. Neither Ron nor I am into fishing, though I once pulled in a big northern when I was a kid. Fortunately my Dad can be persuaded to pull out the rods for his grandkids and get excited about the possibility of a few fried sunnies for dessert after our main dish. For the past, well, 25 years or so, the fishing off the dock has been less than fruitfull. This weekend was a different story.

All the boys on the dock. Hoping. Wishing. Catching!

Carl and Poppa catch the first sunny of the day.
So excited to catch it, but please, don't make me touch it! A great day at the cabin.