First time for everything

So yesterday we inaugurated the first African-American President. In honor of this milestone, here is a recap of all the "firsts" from our weekend away:

• First time I took the Polar Bear Plunge. I went in to the river to retrieve a ball of Lucy's that I accidentally threw in. (See my post-plunge photo to the right.) Chad thought I was nuts, but I was feeling quite proud of this accomplishment until later that afternoon when Lucy nosed it down the hill herself and right back into the river. At that point, I was already dry and I was not going back in!
• First time dealing with a burst water pipe. (Fortunately, the owners quickly came to fix it and gave us a free weekend whenever we want to come back for handling it so competently! That made the 90 minutes we spent bailing water out of the basement and the kitchen well worth it.)
• First time I beat Chad at checkers. Ever.
• First time I got a fire started without a match. We used the coals from the day before.
• First time Janice and Nick joined us! Rachel and Paul came, too, though they weren't all there at the same time.
  
• First time I've been in a hot tub when it's 30 degrees outside. And it's awesome!
• First time Lucy purposely went to her bed at 3:30 in the afternoon and didn't get her energy back until the next morning. She loves being outside, and we kept throwing her ball down the hills, which wore her out quickly.