My daughters are now 10 and 12 years old and I have officially entered the Tween zone! This is an area I wasn’t prepared for…I thought I knew what to expect at each stage of parenting but this Tween-dom has me perplexed. Gone are the days when I was interesting; no longer do I get gazes of rapture as I instruct them…now I am firmly into the bored glances as I talk to them and dismissive waves. These days my girls have their own schedules and getting them to take time out to bond with me can feel like I’m wrestling a bear.
I’m over here trying to keep the relationship between myself and my girls open, I want them to remember that although they feel grown…they aren’t but heaven help me if I ever said that out loud to them! Honestly it’s like walking a mine field…I don’t want to undermine them but want to BE there for them…le sigh.
Connecting with my girls is always at the top of my agenda and I do find creative ways to do this. This past March break I whisked them away with a friend each to Fern Resort in Orillia, Ontario. Our family has had the pleasure of spending time at Fern Resort last summer and knowing how family-oriented the place is I had high hopes for our 3 days away.
Fern Resort
Fern Resort is a popular destination among my friends in the Spring, Summer and Fall months. It was established in the late 1800’s by the Dowling family and has been family-run ever since. This magical place is steeped in history and shows it with the lovely sweeping architecture, the personalized services and overall attention to detail which one only finds in an established resort.
Located just 1.5 hours from Toronto, Ontario this family-friendly, all inclusive resort is found on the shores of Lake Couchiching where their list of activities is long and the accommodation styles fit all needs.
We have enjoyed Fern Resort in March in the past but this year the snow had thawed and many of the usual Winter activities (you can see them all by clicking HERE…can you say dog sledding?) weren’t available. This was actually an amazing turn of events as I had more time to spend with the girls!
Cottage at Fern Resort
We packed up the car and headed North with a 4 tweens and myself, it was a rowdy ride with lots of smiles. We arrived to find we were staying in a cottage right on Lake Couchiching.
Four very excited girls and myself quickly unloaded the car and settled into this cozy cottage. There was 1 bedroom with a double bed and two twins and also one which held the living room area and another double bed for ME!!
There was no way of getting the girls to move away so I could shoot some photos…so I ended up snapping away while they were unpacking.
There are fireplaces in each cottage or hotel room with fire logs being provided each night. We loved this!
The second bedroom was very spacious. The girls loved bunking together and we were awfully glad the adjoining cottage was empty because the noise levels of laughter must have reached record heights.
Food at Fern Resort
Dining at Fern Resort is always excellent. One thing to note is that all meals are on a set schedule which I actually appreciated because it gave us all a chance to regroup after the kids went to program.  You are given set seating which means that you’re at the same table with the same table for each meal. We really enjoyed getting to know our server and having her predict our food and drink choices. There is a delicious variety of choices with each seating to suit all dietary restrictions and tastes.
From Eggs Benedict to prime rib…we enjoyed it all!
Activities at Fern Resort
With the weather cancelling some of the Winter activities at Fern Resort, the Spring program had come into play a bit.
Kids programming was on every day, it runs all day (with breaks for meals) until the evening. I wasn’t sure if the tweens would be too “cool” to actually go but in the end they did and they really enjoyed the counsellors and activities. They played ping pong, pool, hockey, basketball and Fern Buck Bingo is always a hit!
The indoor pool was open which of course screamed our names! In between activities and meals we headed over to swim, sauna and hot tub!
We also went for walks together, this was when I saw the girls let loose and just enjoy being alive. We came upon the high-ropes course on one of our walks and we had so much fun trying to get onto the tire swings…it looks much easier than it is!
Great photo op!
We had a wonderful few days at Fern Resort! I’m actually very thankful that there weren’t tons of activities to choose from because it gave me a chance to connect with these girls in a way I don’t often get to. We laughed together, told late night stories by the fire and just generally enjoyed each other.
Thank you to Fern Resort for our visit, we will be back!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.Â
You are making some fabulous memories for your girls. We spent one of our anniversaries at Fern Resort and also had a great time. The food was amazing!
What a wonderful way to bond and make memories of a lifetime!