Lake House Vacation, Part I -- Water Bliss

On July 3rd, Scott, Eli, Keira and I drove up to Lake Burton and spent a week at the Lake House. We enjoyed our visit, but definitely realized that a vacation is a little different with two kids. Fortunately, thanks to the sling and my family, we were still able to find enough time to relax and enjoy ourselves. One of the best parts of this Lake House visit, and any summer visit, is the water. The house is on the lake and we have a little sandy beach outside of the back door in one direction and in the other direction is the boat docks. Therefore, we all spend a lot of time in swimsuits. That was how I got this cute picture of Uncle Brian and his niece. He was taking a quick break from the water and she was between changes.


Eli loved the water more than ever this trip. We spent hours down at the water front every day. Here are some pictures I got of Eli and Scottie having a ball in the water and Eli playing with one of his favorite water toys -- his watering can.





Another of Eli's favorite activities in the water is riding on (or driving) Babo's boat. Keira rode on a boat for the first time and Eli got to practice his driving skills. Here are Eli and Daddy enjoying the view.


We rode around the lake, had a picnic lunch, then rode to the marina for some ice cream. Eli drove the whole way back from the marina and did an amazing job. He took his job very seriously. He was so competent, that as you can tell from the pictures, Babo rarely had to intervene. He gave Eli verbal directions and Eli would carefully move the steering wheel to change directions. It was pretty amazing to see. Eli had a great, confident smile on his face for most of the journey.




A new, exciting part of our water experience on this trip was the new jet ski. I went on my first adventure with Brian's girlfriend Kathryn. We both had no idea what we were doing -- I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. I was an especially horrible driver that first day, but I had so much fun. Then, a few days later, Babo took me out on the jet ski. Then, Scott and I took it out for a quick jet ski date while Grammie and Babo watched the kids at the waterfront. It was the first time that Scott and I had been alone, away from the kids together, since Keira was born. We took turns driving, and thankfully my skills improved dramatically. Scott and I had a great time. Being on the jet ski made me feel like a teenager. It's that crazy, roller coaster kind of fun. Eli was also enamored with the jet ski. I watched him playing imaginary games about the jet ski later that day, and he even said he dreamed about it. Which is really unusual, since he never seems to remember his dreams. Of course, we didn't take Eli out, as we figured he should probably learn how to swim first.



Finally, Keira and my favorite part of the water this year was sitting in the swing near the water. It was a great option to soothe her during her witching hour, which continues to be a little hairy. I love the view of the lake, and find sitting and looking at the view one of the most relaxing things to do at the Lake House.