September

 With crazy boat traffic on Labor Day weekend, the only time we were able to get smooth enough water to surf was right at sunset. We made the most out of our 30 minutes. 

There are a few boys Caleb's age on the dock and he always wants to hang out with them at night. Little brother just couldn't hang...

Luke and his friends didn't let the rain keep them from having the best Labor Day...they played all afternoon in the mist! 

Creed and I got away for a weekend at the lake without the boys. We made a fun run to Lee's Ford Marina with friends, which was a blast!

It's hard to believe how big my baby is getting! Thankfully he still likes to give out hugs and snuggle. 

The middle of the month Creed and I went to Eric Church's first concert post-Covid. We stayed with friends in Lexington and Lacey was in heaven playing with their three dogs.

I found Caleb out in the yard doing his school work. He sat there in the shade all that afternoon. :)

Spoiled Rotten 

On the 30th, I finally broke down and decorated for fall at the lake. 

August

 With lots of lake time, Luke became much more confident on the surf board and now always wants to take his turn. Getting up is a breeze and he is working on going up and down the wave.

On August 16th, the boys had their first day of (home)school.

5th grade

8th grade

They are excited about a year at home/lake, and then both want to return to WA for middle (Luke) and high school (Caleb). 

Kathy, Erika, Ava, and Claire came down and spent a weekend at the lake with us. The cousins had a blast at the pool and on the lake.

As of now, we've managed to avoid getting caught in a storm this summer (Although we have had to take cover at other marinas a time or two.) but this rain was a little too close for comfort as we raced back to our slip! 

We went on a houseboat dinner cruise with friends and seeing the dam all lit up at night was incredible!

Luke has been wanting hermit crabs since we saw them in the Keys back in February and we finally gave in. He researched everything they needed to be healthy and we ended up with a 10 gallon tank for Shelly, Kermit, and Clark. While they are not the most photogenic pets, we did get a good picture of Clark one evening.

School days at the lake are the best...

Clearly, clothing is optional at Fowler Prep. :)

The trees are just starting to hint at changing colors, but we are not ready to let go of lake days just yet!

July

Like all summers, July flew by in the blink of an eye. 

On the 3rd, we went up to the town square for a John Anderson concert. He sang Seminole Wind and Straight Tequila Night while fireworks went off in the distance. It was a memorable night!

PeePaw and Grandma Beth came to Louisville, and then to the lake, the week after the 4th.

Marshma is making up for all the hugs she missed in 2020.

Lacey and Hallie Girl had fun playing fetch together.

While Grandma Beth was at the lake, she redid our pie safe. The before:

And, the after! She did an awesome job!!!

Luke and his lake buddy, Cooper 

We spent the afternoon at Family Falls with friends and on the way out, Creed surfed their cruiser wave.

S'mores!

Caleb's lake buddy, Drew, usually spends at least one night each weekend with us. We are so thankful that the boys have made such great friends at the lake.

Evening surf run

Tilly came to the lake the end of the month and did great on Grandmom's boat. She didn't mind her life jacket and was happy the whole time.

The boys and I took Lacey to the shore one afternoon to try and get her to like the lake. She wanted nothing to do with it and wouldn't even look at her ball in the water.

The following day we took her back, but this time I put her on a float. We made three trips from the shore out to the island and back, and while she didn't like it, she relaxed a little more each time. 

Caleb decided to switch things up and do a little wake skating. 

Working on his Instagram profile while floating in cove...not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

On the way back to the marina, Luke had us drop him off at this particular shoreline because he thought it looked like a good geode spot. :) He ended up swimming a few really cool ones back to the boat.

July really did fly by! We were able to really settle in to the new house and even got new furniture for the living room ordered. We hosted family and friends, and spent the majority of the month at the lake, with Creed burning up the road between the lake and his work. We got the boys homeschool curriculum ordered, and I even got the first few weeks mapped out. While we are always sad to see August 1st on the calendar, we are counting on a lot more lake time.