And hey, if my child wants to top her ice cream with ketchup, more power to her! (She didn't actually get any out.)
We spent the first night at my dad's house who lives about midway between home and the lake house. He received quite the education on electronics the next morning.
Then Charlie showed off his checkers skills while the girls played upstairs.
Mark and Granny spent time talking outside after our wonderful breakfast.
Then it was time to hit the road. When we arrived at the lake house it was raining. This lasted about 10 minutes and was the only precipitation we saw (not to mention the only rain the town had seen in months).
When we arrived, we set out busying ourselves with our goodies from home.
Then we set out on the pontoon boat for our first of many boating adventures.
The next day we took the kids to the sandy area two docks down from ours.
Burying each other's feet was the favored activity.
The kids were interested in the water but not quite ready to go in it yet.
Then we attemped another boating adventure. Unfortunately our trip was cut short. Apparently the E on the fuel tank does not stand for 'enough'. Luckily their daddy is strong and towed us back to our dock.
After some rest and some lunch (and a trip to the gas station) we tried it again.
Again, the kids were not ready to brave the water, but Mark sure was!
In fact, we parked our boat while Mark swam to a big rock and jumped off. Our favorite antic of the trip was when Morgan said "you talkin' 'bout DaDa?" Taylor and I both agreed it sounded just like she said that and it made us both laugh!
The next day I entertained the kids a bit with my guitar.
Then it was time to hit the beach again.
Followed by more down time indoors.
Finally after lunch the kids were ready to swim! They had never really swam in deep water with life jackets before and once they figured it out, they loved it! (I stayed inside because Morgan was napping, but did manage to snap off two quick shots)
After dinner, we took the boat out again. This was much better, because the sun was on it's way down and it felt very pleasant out.
It was also quite beautiful.
We drove right up to a nearby island and parked the boat yet again. We had only planned on letting Mark and Taylor swim, but once her brother and sister saw her, they couldn't wait to join her.
We took off Morgan's clothes since she wasn't in a swimsuit. I wish I could say she kept this close to her daddy the whole time, but she did not. I also wish I could say I was a cool, relaxed mom, but I was not.
Meanwhile, Charlie enjoyed finding rocks and throwing them into the water.
When we returned home, we broke out the glow bracelets. Morgan is a huge fan of these.
We turned out the lights and danced to Spearhead while playing a family game of life on the ipad. (Yes, we are a multi-tasking family.)
On the last day, Mark took the kids fishing before breakfast.
Once they each caught a fish, they were done. Hey, I guess they got what they came for and were ready to move on.
Meanwhile, Morgan resurrected the previous nights glow bracelet fun.
After a quick bath and a quick lunch, it was time to pack up the car.
I did manage to get everyone to pause for a family photo before hitting the road.
It was a very nice trip, and we are so glad we made it happen. The timing was not the most convenient for Mark or me, but sometimes you need to just set your priorities and go after them. And this week it was about creating childhood memories. Mission successful!
