Just like last year, we were invited to spend the weekend at the lake with some of our friends. We were the last to arrive Friday evening, making it there just in time for a pizza dinner. We ordered in and played around the house that night so that we could be well rested for a full day on the water the next day.
We rose early on Saturday to eat breakfast, make sandwiches, pack coolers, slather on sunscreen, and load up for the lake. Matt and I rode in the back of Justin's ranger down to where they keep their boats.
We had the best weather for a day on the water. The sun was out so it was warm enough to swim, but not so hot that it was miserable and unbearable.
The big kids could hardly wait to jump into the water!
Not totally eager to jump off the boat? This guy. My little Alfalfa. :)
Thomas enjoys boat days a lot like I do. We're just there for the snacks.
Levi (and Mason, though I didn't get a picture of him) was so brave he jumped off the roof of the boat!
Justin had a really cool inflatable slide to hang off the side of the boat, and Thomas warmed up to that. He thought it was way better than just jumping in.
After lunch, we split the two boats up so the bigger kids could do some tubing and the babies could nap. Since Thomas is just a year behind the big kids but two years older than the babies, he got to go on the tubing boat too.
The girls went first while the boys watched.
And then the boys took a turn. Even Thomas gave it a try!
We made a quick stop to fill up with gas, which was a good time to shoot water guns off the front of the boat.
Jeff let each of the big kids take a turn driving the boat.
We were just be-bopping along, enjoying the ride when I looked over and saw this. Poor T-man. He tried so hard to hang but just couldn't stay awake!
We made sure to recreate a couple pictures from last year for comparison. And this year we added Chase to even the siblings out!
Here is a year-to-year comparison of the big kids.
This year we added in a picture of the younger siblings, and the mamas and the daddies too.
What a fun day on the water we had! Sadly, we had another commitment on Sunday so we had to hit the road early the next morning and missed out on day two. We made sure to time our departure so we could stop at the Bulldog Cafe for lunch.
We are incredibly grateful to our friends Justin and Laura for inviting us to their house and out on their boats. Our kids are already begging to go back again sometime! Maybe next year...