fun in the sun

Sam found a perfect hiding spot

Several days ago we spent our Saturday with family on Lake Lanier. It was a birthday celebration of sorts for me and my brother. It was a cloudy day, which cooled it down a bit. The one rain shower that moved through happened to do so while we were docked for lunch. We spent most of our day cruising in the pontoon boat and introducing Jack to tubing. I'm pretty sure he's hooked.

His first go round was alongside dad. He kept yelling, "go faster!" And "don't slow down!"

Finally he agreed to take a break. After lunch, my brother and sister-in-law decided to take a turn. Jack wasn't as good a spectator as he was participant. He kept yelling (unbeknownst to them): "just fall off!"

Jack was thrilled when they decided they'd had enough. I decided I'd get on the tube with Jack this time, but before we even got that far he announced, "I won't be scared to do it all my by self.*" So, we put him out there alone. Partly because of his lack of weight and our lack of speed he fell off right away. I was afraid he was done. He did seem a little scared floating alone in that big lake, and yelled, "come back" as we circled back around. After swimming to the rope, he said, "I want to get back on, daddy!"

*I still love that he says "all my by self" instead of all by myself.  

going out with a bang

Our last full day in the mountains we traveled down to nearby Lake Lure.* The lake is located very close to Chimney Rock, and the backdrop of the mountains create an incredible view. We spent our first couple hours enjoying the beach area. I think Jack enjoyed being able to float, swim and jump around without having to worry about waves crashing around him. Although he will be quick to make sure you know we went to a beach with brown water, as opposed to blue water. The water was so cool, which was so refreshing. The boys also enjoyed testing the waters at the splash area beside the beach.

After packing up at the beach, we headed over to the marina and hopped on our boat for the afternoon. We enjoyed a picnic on board, and the boys loved the breeze blowing in their hair. It was one of the highlights of our trip. The boys took turns helping Josh drive the boat, and we cruised away.

*Fun fact: Many scenes from Dirty Dancing were filmed at Lake Lure.

At the Lake with the Girls

Friday and Saturday, our MOPS Steering Team had their retreat at Lake Burton. Since it was all day Friday and part of Saturday, I took Jack along. As usual, he was pretty laid back and enjoyed sitting in the floor playing with Mallory, Sarah's one-year-old, while the ladies tackled the agenda. They entertaining themselves. These two were so well behaved.

After dinner we had a chance to get out on the lake. I convinced Joni into tubing with me. She had never been before. She was pretty reluctant, but had a wonderful time once we got going. She even wished we could go faster. Jack enjoyed the boat ride. Although we must have been pretty boring, because he fell asleep while Joni and I were on the tube! As usual, there are lots more pictures

Sorry for all the hyperlinks...Blogger wouldn't let me upload any photos!