Parris Family Blog: Don't feed the bears -- or Maren

Last weekend we had some friends at the lake, and what did I walk into the cottage to find? 3 little girls and Maren all crammed under a little card table, feeding her bits of chips. Of course Kayla was part of the trio, and received a stern scolding afterward. 1 - she hadn't asked for chips, and 2 - she should not be feeding chips to her sister! I imagine Maren was sad that I came and broke up the party.

Halle and Maren:

After I disbursed the crowd, they sat outside on the deck looking in the sliding glass doors at Maren. She stood up banging on the window, and the crowd tapped right back at her. It made me feel like she was an attraction at the local zoo! Most of the kids were at least Kayla's age or older, and it was so interesting to see how they flocked to Maren. We even had requests to take her home to be their own baby sister.

Eventually, Halle expanded her ask to include a baby like Maren...that doesn't spit. Emma wanted a baby just like Maren...who doesn't pull hair or jump on her. (Note, both Emma and Halle have 3-yr-old little brothers at home! Sweet, little Maren was looking awfully good to them. I didn't care to mention that Maren will probably grow into the same type of "annoying" younger sibling they might be used to. Why take away the dream?).

We had a great day getting all of the families together. Lots of splashing, tubing, and jumping off the dock -- and Aaron let everyone else do stuff too! Bravery awards go to Jillian, Grace, and Halle for tubing with the best of them. Though Kayla went, I had reports from other parents that it wasn't willingly. I guess Aaron tossed her in screaming. Riding with Jillian and Beth smoothed things over though!

We are so thankful for the lake and all the memories we get to create and share with our friends and family. I often take it for granted, but after times like these I reflect on just how thankful we are for the lake!

Ethan shows off his big smile...