The first place that we parked has a stump near the edge of the water and the boys loved it they jumped off of it played on it and kept all of their weapons on it during the night so that they could find them easily the next morning. The stump provided hours of entertainment and I was very grateful that they found it.
Even Payton enjoyed herself at the lake thanks to the windows that she could see herself dance and the movies that would help entertain her when she wasn't playing in the water or up at the counter eating as many pieces of licorice she could before someone walked in and caught her and took the tub away.
Logan did well at the lake even though somedays were very hot and I am sure not the most comfortable for him. He is a great baby and was a great sleeper and for the most part very easy going while we there.
Since it was our last day at the lake I figured we had to at least attempt to get Carter to ski. Carter was not excited about this at all and when we put him in the ski he was crying and screaming so I thought that there was no way this kid was going to ski. When the boat took off he got up right away and he loved it. He was trying to make the ski jump and then he was doing tricks as he called them by touching the water and only using one hand and making the board go back and forth behind the boat. Then every time the wind would die down and the water would be nice he would tell Grandpa it was skiing water so he went out one more time and when he was doing one of his many tricks he fell down and then decided that was enough skiing for one day. I was so proud of him he did so good and it was so fun watching him have so much fun on his ski and then seeing how proud he was of himself when he was done.
So we are up at the lake again and I think the best part about this post is the fact that I am doing it from the lake. We came up here on Thursday and the kids have been having a blast and we finally got Jaxson up on the trainer skis. We did this after much crying and pretty much just throwing the kid in the water but once he was up he loved it. He also loves to ride the tube and so we made Carter give it a try also and we found out Carter doesn't share Jaxsons love for the tube yet. We had to put him on the tube and take off before he could climb off and then he spent the entire time on the tube giving us the stop sign because he wanted off. I know I probably sound really mean, but sometimes they are scared to try something and once they do it they love it so we make them at least try it once. Other then skiing and tubing the boys spend most of their time fishing and throwing rocks and Payton spends her time running around the boat and dipping just her toes in the water that is good enough for her and I have not been willing to push her to do anything more because once she is mad she makes sure that everyone knows it and that is a fit I have not been willing to deal with yet.
After watching the kids drive the go kart around now I know why my parents never had one of these while we were growing up they are great for the grandkids to use every once in awhile but I don't think I could watch them drive around in it everyday and not have some sort of anxiety attack. All of the kids have so much fun driving it around the yard and this time Payton even got in on the action and then we would have to drag her out so someone else could have a turn. Jaxson actually finally has the hang of driving and does really well. Carter tried driving for the first time and did better then I had expected thanks to Aunt Kelly for squeezing in the car and riding with him. All the kids were so sad when it finally ran out of gas and the parents were just relieved that everyone survived another day on the go kart.
This Weekend was our family reunion so while everyone was in town we decided to make a trip to the tide pools. The kids had fun looking at the starfish and the little crabs and as you can see Chris was also having fun as usual.
The kids and I packed up and headed to California and we are planning to stay for a month if I can make it without Chris for that long. Having four kids has made traveling a little more interested and definitely more exhausting I feel like I am running around all day. We ended leaving a little earlier then we had planned so it made everything a little more crazy. By the end of the first week everything had settled down and my Grandma was doing good so we decided to head to the lake with all the kids. All of us love the lake, but with 8 kids and 4 adults things were a little crazier then usually but everyone had tons of fun and the kids can not wait to get back to the lake and who can blame them. I love seeing the kids enjoy something that I loved to do growing up and hope that they have as many great memories as I do of the lake.
This was Jaxson's first time on the tube by himself and he did not want to get off. We are just hoping to get him skiing while his dad is here.
The four kids took off on the Paddle boat Kelly, John, Zan and I were all laughing right now it is just the paddle boat, but one day it is going to be the ski boat and we will be on the houseboat calling them and trying to get to turn down the music and come back.
I thought this picture was so cute when the kids woke up in the morning they all just sat there and looked out the window at the water.
