the fourth

We spent a nice relaxing 4th of July weekend at the lake.  We headed down Friday morning and stayed until today.  After we unloaded our car & got our stuff settled, we headed out for a little boat cruise...

My two favorite brothers enjoying the ride [sister was propped up in the front of the boat].

We have some friends with a cabin about 15 miles away [by boat & by car], so we ended up swinging by for a visit.  Mary Bradford was thrilled to see someone her her own age...

Banks was equally excited.  Between their cabin & ours, we had 7 kids under the age of 7.  Somehow the kids talked us into a little kid swap.  Jody and I ended up with short end of the stick and with the 3 five year olds and the Waller cabin ended up with the 2 seven year olds [the 2 toddlers stayed in their respective cabins].

Jody & I headed back to our cabin with Owen, Mary Reese, Gray & Jack around dinner time.  Jody grilled us some delicious steaks & the kids some hot dogs [we offered them steaks but they preferred the dogs]...



We made it almost to bedtime when Jack decided he need to go back to his cabin to see his mommy.  We all loaded up in the car and headed to their cabin [which was thankfully only about 15 minutes away].  Gray decided she could make it through the night and came back with us.

I got up the next morning before everyone else and enjoyed...

...a nice cup of coffee with a fabulously peaceful view [my favorite time of the day at the lake].

Once everyone got up, we hit the boat dock for the day.  Gray & Mary Reese loved having each other without their older siblings to aggravate them...

They are the best of friends who love to boss each other around...they never fight, just boss.

They also loved having some teenagers to hang out with.  Gray loved riding the jet ski & the tube...



Mary Reese not so much.  She was content just watching or riding in the boat.

Later that afternoon, Jody swapped the 2 five year olds for the 2 seven year olds.  Mary Bradford & Banks were thrilled when they got back to find some teenagers to take them on canoe rides to the waterfall...



...and tube rides.  Mary Bradford loving it...

...way more than Banks...

He rode it...he just wasn't thrilled about it!

Guess who else rode the tube?

Yep, that is Owen on the tube with Daddy.

He loved it.  We went slow and we were right by our cabin [not in a main channel].

Owen also loved playing with his best friend in the baby pool on the dock...

Those 2 are the best of friends [mostly because Owen shares ALL his food with Camp].

He liked to swim in the lake but hasn't quite mastered his life jacket...





He just rolls.  It is hysterical.  If we but floaties on too, he can balance himself.

Finally it was the 4th!  We always enjoy a big stack pancake breakfast on the morning of the 4th...



After breakfast, we swapped Mary Bradford back for Mary Reese.

Then Popsy got this beauty back in commission...



...and took Mary Reese on the first ride.  [The pontoon boat is 23 years old and holds so many memories!]  They came back with "Caberta" [one of the girls from Popsy's office who was at a cabin just across the lake].

Later in the day, they loaded it to max capacity and went cliff jumping.  They took my camera but no one took any pictures.

We all worked up a healthy appetite after playing on the water all day.  We enjoyed a fabulous 4th of July BBQ...



Jody smoked us a boston butt & some ribs.  I make potato salad, slaw & corn on the cob.  It was delicious, delightful & Owen approved...



We ended the night by watching a fireworks show given by all the cabins around us.

[Click here to get a recap of what the kids did at the other cabin.]