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| Not pictured: Beckie and Jacob |
One of my family traditions every year is done over labor day weekend. My family rents out four cabins in Heber where we stay from Friday afternoon til the next day. I loved this tradition and used to always look forward to it. We would play volleyball, make a campfire, and play games until well past midnight. I do have to say though that things tend to change as the years go by. This tradition is really fun if you're single, newly married or if your children are older and need less supervision. As a parent to a toddler though things can be more on the crazy side. Fun to me no longer means playing games until late, it now means bedtime before dark for the little one. I'll still look forward to spending time at the cabins every year, but I think we'll take a break from actually spending the night for a few years. Addie is just like her daddy and sleeps best in her own bed. It was hard to try and get her to sleep when others are in the cabin and when she can hear noises from the slightest movements on the air mattresses. She was so upset and would not calm down in the pack and play that we brought for her to use. I don't know if she thought we were going to leave her or what but she would not stop crying. At one point I made the decision that I would just sleep with her in the car. When I got back to our cabin to get Addie after getting the car I was met by Sam, Jacob, Pollyanna and Rick. I think they all thought we were trying to sneak out and go home (which trust me the idea certainly crossed my mind). They told us to stay and try again with getting Addie to sleep. Rick, Pollyanna and Aria joined Sam and Jacob's cabin which meant that we had the cabin all to ourselves. Danny and I tried putting her back in the pack and play but quickly figured out that plan still wasn't going to work. We took her out and laid her down next to us on the floor mattress, within ten minutes she was fast asleep. This was around 11:50pm but Danny and I were awake for several more hours as we tried our best to sleep. It was hard to get comfortable on that mattress and the fact that I'm pregnant in the third trimester didn't make it easier. I could hear people playing games in the cabin next to us and I couldn't help but think back on all the years where I was someone who very easily would stay up playing game after game. I feel like an old person now.
I still enjoyed being with my side of the family over this labor day weekend, if you just take away the fact that we didn't get any sleep that night. It turns out that every cabin had trouble sleeping. Well at least three of the four did for sure and I'm guessing on the fourth cabin. Sam's cabin was kept awake because of snoring, Jared's cabin was kept awake because of his poor girls who also had trouble sleeping, and I can't imagine that River's cabin didn't have trouble with any noises or disruptions. It is fun to see Addie interact with her cousins that she doesn't get to see all too often. Addie already loves Aria and during this trip I found her playing quite a bit with little Olivia. One of my favorite parts about being a parent is seeing her build relationships with others. This is why I still plan on attending the labor day weekend tradition at the Heber cabins every year even if we don't decide to spend the night.
