Grandpa and Grandma B - Fishing and Jetskis and Toobs (oh my)

2012-06-14 004

The next morning we enjoyed an early breakfast of french toast and sausages. I took the boys for a little nature hike while the guys were off buying gear and we found a turtle. We also found a Killdeer nest Once they got back and the poles were assembled we got the kids out to the pond for some fishing with grandpa. Each of the boys caught several perch and one big bass.  They had a blast!!  They also got filthy so their bath happened before lunch. The rest of the day was pretty laid back... getting everything ready for the Lake!  Grandma made her lasagna for dinner because she loves us ;)  We fell asleep to the smell of slow cooked brisket ::drool::



Our first day at Horseshoe Bend Park, which surrounds Beaver dam and lake, was nice and quiet.  There was so much to unpack and prepare... getting the boat and jetskis into the water, parking the campers, unloading bins full of goodness, getting everyone fed, making beds.  Plus we had taken our time that morning and hadn't left until around noon. Josh, Dad & Noah in the truck with the camper.  Gma B, me & the little ones with the jetskis.  It worked out great because we girls got to talk and really get to know each other better... we have a lot in common, other than us basically being married to the same man ;) LOL.  The kids did get to enjoy a little swimming and collected some shells and cool rocks before dinner.  We made smores around the campfire and were in bed by ten.
The next morning we discussed our plans over breakfast.  The wind was really strong so we thought it best to stay off the lake until it calmed down a bit.  We took a long hike instead, stopping at playgrounds along the way.  Once we got back the winds had calmed so we took the jetskis out, did some tubing with the boat, and a lot of swimming.  We all wolfed our lunch down and took naps.  When we woke up it was time for water skiing!  Josh did pretty well.  Noah tried with the little kid training skis, got up twice in fact, but he was not a big fan of the falling part so I don't know if he'll be skiing again anytime soon.  I ran up to Walmart with Gpa B so we got to have a little FIL/DIL time, which was nice :)  When we got back it was about time for dinner... hello brisket.  The kids watched in awe as the ice cream maker churned out dessert.  We all cuddled with each other around the fire, eating our ice cream, and were off to bed.


The following morning we had a big pancake breakfast, a morning walk, and were out on the water again relatively early.  The clouds had passed and it was really sunny... all of us got a little sunburned.  We took the jetskis further out on the lake and saw some amazing cliffs. Tristan and Noah got to drive the boat.  Josh and I got to get into a toob together and tour the Lake.  Noah got to drive one of the jet skis (he LOVED it).  Tristan never did get into the water.  We tried, but the furthest he got was his chest and he was not happy about it.  He was content splashing on the banks or sitting on the boat.  When we'd had our fill of the boat, skis, jetskis, and toobs they were taken back over to the dock and reloaded to save some time the next morning.  We took another walk, caught some lucky lightning bugs, saw some deer and squirrels. The boys were exhausted by time night fell so they went to bed pretty early.  


 As soon as we were up the following morning we started loading everything.  The boys played with the clay near the shore and splashed around a little.  We got a visit from some baby geese right as we were finishing up.  Bye Lake!!  Kim and I gabbed in the car the whole way home.  We talked about everything and anything.  We even caught ourselves stopping at lunch time, but not being able to stop talking and make ourselves get out of the car.  I'm so glad I had that time with her!  We eventually made it home and unpacked everything.  We had a leftover feast plus some deviled eggs that Gma B made especially for Noah.  It was Father's Day so Josh and I snuck off to make Dad a quick photo book of our time at the Lake.  Apparently Dad snuck off too and surprised me with an ice cream cake.  AWESOME! :)

2012-06-17 008

They also gave us a portable DVD player which made the rest of the trip in our entertainment-free rental far more bearable.  As the sun was fading Kim and I sat on the back patio and listened to the Montgomery Gentry concert wafting far off in the distance while the boys enjoyed their college basketball.

We had such a great visit, so relaxing.  The whole time we were at the lake I had no idea what time it was.  That was exactly what we needed after the international move we had just pushed through.  We left early the next morning (my 31st birthday), heading to Jessica's house.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Southwest Vacation - Arizona Part 3, exploring Walnut Canyon and Flagstaff

Image
After the Grand Canyon, we were fine with sticking closer to home.  I had found quite a few interesting stops in the general area, but we all agreed driving more than like 15 minutes was not going to happen.  The closest place was Walnut Canyon National Monument.



An ancient Native American tribe in this area, the Sinagua people, built homes into the rocks at around 1100 to save themselves from all the complications of living near volcanic eruptions (nearby Sunset Crater had a series of eruptions in 1040).  They only stayed in these cliff dwellings for about 4 generations (100 years) and then moved on.  There were little constructed rooms all over the cliffs.  It was fascinating.  And beautiful.  We were happy to be able to interact with the scenery.



Tristan discovered his eye for photography and took tons of pictures with my old phone.  He's got a really great instinct for framing photos and pays attention to foreground/mid-ground/background all at once.  He did it all: from textu…
Read more

I'm Writing a Book

Image
I've been writing a book for over 5 years now.  When I first started writing I would only go in spurts of manic typing followed by months of nothing.  Looking back on what I had written was always interesting because I don't remember what I wrote, and I am generally surprised at the insight and elegance of what I typed out.  I find old writings of mine all the time, and some of them I still get so anxious about sharing, but I noticed that comes with a theme of prior personal judgment of self.  One self in particular.  I have no faith in my inner teacher.  I am not the most confident person when it comes to sharing new ideas or my perceptions of situations.  Oh I'm definitely a bold and thoughtful person, but I don't want to discuss my reasons for my choices.  When I do, afterwards I get anxious about how others felt about what I said or how I said it.  I will tell myself I don't have valuable insight, everyone already knows what I know, no one wants to learn what I…
Read more

Southwest Vacation - Wrap Up

Image
We're back into our usual routines, looking for the next adventure.  The kids were a little apprehensive about "staying in some stranger's house" beforehand, but are now completely on-board with Airbnb stays.  Everything went so well.  We saved money by cooking and it was much less stressful than our other trips.  I have finally learned what works!  A few of these I just learned.

1. No car rides longer than 6hrs in one day.
2. Plan at least ONE day of absolutely nothing per week for mental and physical recovery.
3. Always bring: snacks from grocery stores (larger portions, smaller prices), collapsible coolers, and empty water bottles.  Freezing water and keeping it in a cooler for road trips saves a ton of money by eliminating gas station stops.  You also get healthier options.
4.Book and pay for every large important thing far in advance so there are no preventable surprises (flights, rental cars, hotels/places to stay) and you actually take the trip.
5. Always have…
Read more