At the cottage

So, this is an old post that should have been made ages ago. Sorry about that.



This post is very long, and incredibly picture heavy.


This summer the Llama Papa got a few days off and we all piled into the car and drove up north to visit family. But instead of staying in a hotel like we usually do, we got to stay in an awesome cottage right on the St. Lawrence! My parents had rented the cottage for almost a full month to celebrate my mom's retirement, so we hustled to get the time off so we could go and visit.


Since no trip up north would be complete without some weird car malfunction, the driver's side window decided to fall out of its track while paying a toll, and we ended up driving the last (very frigid, and slightly drizzly) half of the trip with it wide open. While the Llama Papa and I were miserable, the Llama himself was having a Blast! The wind blew his hair all over the place and he laughed maniacally for a good portion of the ride.


Once we arrived at the cottage, the first thing the Llama did was to give Sam the basset a biiiig hug.







Then we went out to explore. The rocks were a bit too slippery to actually get into the water, but the Llama had a great time tossing pebbles.







My parents had gotten him a new 3D book about animals, and he spent the rest of the night wandering around looking at everything in 3D







After such a long and exciting day, the Llama settled into his room surprisingly easily and we all had a pretty good night's sleep.


***


The next day was picnic day, but first we went to visit the Llama Papa’s family.







They had gotten him a bubble whistle, and he had a blast trying it out.













After a while we wandered down to the river and the Llama got to explore, throw more stones, and sit on a boat with Grandma.
















The Llama Papa's brother and his wife were also visiting (but couldn’t make it to the party) so we had to take bunches of pictures with them too
















Then it was back to the cottage for the Llama's half-birthday picnic party!
We got to visit with my friend Momo, her husband and her daughter (who took an immediate liking to the Llama's bubble mower)







and the Llama got his big present: a shiny new tricycle!







He was in love, and was very sad when it was time to put it away and go back inside.










***


The next day wad supposed to be farm day, but instead we spent most of the day at the mall waiting for the Llamamobile to be fixed










Luckily, the Llama is easily entertained.


We finally made it out of the Mall, and along with my Mom and Aunt Mary, to Old McDonald's Farm. The weather had turned drizzly, and we got there just before closing, but we were not to be deterred!


First the Llama got to brush butterscotch the plush horse while we bought our passes.







Then it was off to feed the goats!










Then after an interval to chase some ducks, he got to visit some sheep, and Guinea hens, and feed the bunnies and piglets.



















Then there was a barn full of horses and donkeys, and some emus and even reindeer. Then the Llama got to feed some cows and visit a few of his namesakes, and then he got to pet some goats!
















I have to stop a moment and say how awesome the staff was, even though it was so close to closing time, they still insisted on opening up all the barns for us and even urged us to stay as long as we needed once closing time had passed.


Finally after all that it was back to the cottage for one last night before heading home in the morning.


Overall it was an amazing trip, and the Llama had a great time visiting with family and all the critters. We definitely want to do it all again next year!