All Good Things

All good things must come to an end, and that includes vacations. When our vacation started (without electricity) at the lake, none of us knew how long we'd actually be there. There were times, especially those sitting in the bathroom of the hotel waiting for Luke to fall asleep, when we were ready to pack up and head back home. But, I am SO glad we all stuck it out.

It was a really fun week, one that we'll always remember!

 This riding horse was actually Grandma Beth's when she was little, and we'll never forget Uncle Matt riding it like a wild man, which is why the wood extensions were put on the front! This little wild man had to give it a try too!

Caleb talked me into tubing with him. My lower back still regrets that I agreed.

One thing I tried this week that I loved was the wake skate. It's like a wake board without bindings- similar to a skate board, but larger. Since it doesn't have bindings, it doesn't hurt when you fall. (That's why I love it- I wasn't scared to try things!) It is pretty wiggly, but still a lot of fun.

Creed got air on the wake board!

Luke loved Elmer, PeePaw's prize elk.

(Beth named him after she had to hang him in her living room.)

Til next summer...

Our Fourth of July

On the 4th we got the kids bathed and in their pjs early so they could both watch the fireworks. We knew people all over the area would be shooting off fireworks, so we decided to watch them from the middle of the lake. Being out on the lake at sundown was so neat and so beautiful. The lake was like glass and we did have the best seat. There were fireworks in every direction you could look! Caleb had a huge grin on his face the entire time and Luke had a genuine look of confusion the entire time.

Luke and Uncle Matt

Before heading out on the water we let Caleb do some sparklers.

Ready for the show!

Look!

Another Day at the Lake

Tuesday was another day spent on the water. Probably the highlight of the day happened as we were all floating on rafts around the docks. I looked up at the house and one of the outdoor lights was on! We all went crazy, screaming and cheering! That evening we packed up everything at the hotel and moved back into the lake house!

Caleb and his buddy, Annie

Caleb and Papa

An attempt at a family picture

Papa getting caught feeding Annie cheetos! With everything Caleb and Luke fed her too, she probably gained five pounds that week! She is a really, really good dog though! (She loves swimming, floating on her raft, riding on the boat, and even riding on the jet ski with Beth. It's hilarious!)

Papa and Luke retreated to the shade of the boat house for snack time and to watch everything going on.

Such a stinker!

Eating ice with Marshma kept Luke content for probably an hour!

( Luke loves eating ice out of the cooler, but it always seemed dirty to me. So, Grandma Beth cleaned out a cooler just for him to eat ice out of.)

Look closely...

That's Caleb jumping off the top deck of the neighbor's boathouse! Our fearless boy!

Deck Photo Shoot

My favorite...

More Fun on the Water

As I've said, much of our time spent last week was on the water. We were either swimming around the dock, riding the jet skis, or on the boat. Caleb loved doing all three, but Luke definitely preferred riding on the boat (although he didn't try the jet ski!) Luke was very intrigued with all the action on the boat, and never took his eyes off the skier. He even took a couple of great naps, which was great because that meant I didn't have to take him back to the hotel. (As of Monday, still no power.)

Mr. Cool

While he didn't love his life jacket, he tolerated it and didn't fight us putting it on. (His hair glowed orange in the sunlight!)

Uncle Matt took a turn surfing. (He dropped the rope and surfed, but since I was in charge of catching it and throwing it back to him, I wasn't able to take any pictures.)

Caleb's favorite thing to do was sit in the back and help out. He'd always yell, "Uncle Matt, are you ready?" (Yes.) "He's ready PeePaw!"

I LOVE this picture.

Check out the background...That's Uncle Drew on the stand up jumping the wake. He actually is on his way back down in the picture. By the way, the stand up was SO much fun, but probably the hardest thing I have ever done!

Fun on the Water

We all had so much fun playing on the water, and it was necessary since the house didn't have power! I think by the end of the week every single muscle in my body was aching, but it was worth it. We took a 9am ski run one morning while the water was still like glass, and spent most afternoons and evenings on the boat or in the water. Caleb was in his element and evens says that when he's grown up his lake house will be in Virginia too. I sure hope so!

Uncle Drew showing off his wake surfing skills.

(He's actually really good at everything he tries!)

Creed found the "sweet spot" on the wake and was able to surf too!

Ready...

Get set...

Go!

Excitement

We left home last Friday around 6pm and I think it was around 103 degrees. We stopped for dinner around Ashland and noticed that it was much cooler- only in the 70s, yet didn't know why there was such a change. After dinner I got a text from my dad that said they were huddled in the living room without power. (We later found out that they had been hit with 80+ mph winds, which knocked out power for over 500,000 people in the area.) We decided to keep going, because surely the power wouldn't be out long- Ha!

Saturday we tried to make the best of the no power situation and played on the lake. Dad also decided to go ahead and book 3 hotel rooms, just in case the power was off overnight again. Our real issue was no water. The lake house has well water, which is pumped with an electric pump, so we couldn't take showers, wash hands, or even flush the toilet.

Sunday was more of the same. Still no power, and we were finding out how bad the storm actually was. The boys took great naps in the cool, dark hotel room and slept wonderful night, which was a major blessing, but it still wasn't the vacation we were hoping for. We came up to the house for lunch Sunday and while we were eating the power came ON. We were so excited and decided to take pictures since we'd "weathered the storm" together.

A Group Shot

Luke was such a trooper! He just doesn't do well when he's hot.

Uncle Drew and his sweet girlfriend, Kaitlyn.

Uncle Drew, Papa, and Creed

Caleb loves his Marshma and Papa!

Seriously, I can't describe the excitement and relief we felt! Beth even planned a big dinner to celebrate. It was during that big dinner that the power went off again, a total of six hours since when it had first come on. The excitement was short lived, that's for sure!

Back to Life

We just returned today from vacation at Claytor Lake in Virginia. We spent the week at PeePaw and Grandma Beth's lakehouse, and also got to hang out with Uncle Matt and Uncle Drew. Marshma and Papa were even there too. It was a fun week, full of lots of excitement. Many more pictures and details to come!

For now, our view from the house...I loved drinking my coffee to this each morning!

Love, love life at the lake!