Bribes Work!

Our vacation to Hidden Valley, Idlewild and to the Pgh Zoo and Aquarium put us in stitches most of the time.  Gage was full of so many funny one-liners that there was hardly time to keep up with his wit.  At one point, he was talking about going fishing (something he's never done).  To keep the conversation and imagination moving, Austin kept asking him all kinds of questions.   In the end we learned that Gage caught some blue gill using green paper as bait. Gage is also positive that he's tall enough to ride on the big roller coaster because "he has big muscles and is growing because he eats", he was in heaven with riding on trains, and he couldn't get enough of sleeping at Hidden Valley (which we had to travel East to get to... something I had to explain because he thought we were heading west.  After telling him that we were going east, he said, "Like the Easter Bunny?"... and well, yes, east is like the Easter Bunny).  

Anyway, he enjoyed his Hidden Valley experience so much that he cried on the way home.   I learned on this trip that 20 minutes of Leila crying is much easier to deal with than 5 minutes of a fit in the car from Gage.  It got to the point where we knew we had to pull out our Bribe Book so we could re-establish an environment fit for Leila to continue her sleep.  After a trip of roller coasters, trains, and penguins, I knew I was going to have to reach deep:  

When we get home, you can take a bath at the lake, Gage!

You mean, at the beach?

Well, sure, you can take a bath at the beach.

But the beach is closed (the excuse I use most often when he wants to go to the beach and I can't take him).

Tonight, Gage, if you're well-behaved, Grandpa will open the beach so you can take a bath.

Giggles from the back seat relax all of us...

As Gage's little bum ran naked into Austin Lake it was a reminder to us how absolutely blessed our children are.  It was dusk, the beach was closed... and Gage got to skinny dip and bathe in absolute giddiness.  Grandpa and Grandma Cable joined us, Leila got her toes dipped... she got to watch with me from the Lifeguard Stand and we, at that moment, even though Austin Lake takes so much work from everyone to be a successful family-operation, had a family moment that illustrates that life, itself, is a vacation.

Because of Austin Lake, we get to bribe with rides on the backhoe, the Dump Truck, the shiny lugnut truck... the excavator, the Polaris, the Kubota... We get to bribe with dinner at the concession stand, trips to the different parks, rides in the ski boat, time for a hayride or for playing in the creek.  Literally, the list goes on and on and on.  Gage and Leila are part of the fifth generation of Cable kids at Austin Lake.  I think of the old Jon and Kate slogan... "It might be a crazy life, but it's our life"  

On the days that I have to explain our lifestyle and our roles here at Austin Lake (yes, even the Cables have to follow the rules... with the exception of maybe late night bathing in the lake) to my kids, I hope that they, too, always come to realize that they have always been blessed and surrounded by so many who only want the best for them!