LAKE DAY (Gonna miss this - A LOT)

I've mentioned the Pughs in my 4th of July post, so you may familiar with the Lake House. Well, also, every Friday, and pretty much any other time we ask, the Pughs generously let us use their lake house to entertain the kids. We have been going for many summers now and it has really been a favorite part of our life here in Spokane. Some pictures will illustrate my point:

Here we have Ben and Jake Grover just hanging out at the end of the dock.

Joseph is a picture of joy and happiness when at the lake. Actually, he's more a video of joy and happiness since a picture is a still life and there is nothing "still" about Joseph. He even twitches when he sleeps.

Matthew has practically grown up on this lake. The summer he was almost two I left him the car, asleep, totally forgot that I didn't get him out. Twenty or thirty hot minutes later I realized what I had done and ran to the car, praying the whole way (30 feet) that he was okay. He was screaming in the car, with the windows rolled up and the car locked. I am getting panicky just remembering it. I brought him down to the lake and soaked him up to his chest and then flipped him upside down and got his head wet too. Whew! After that, I always unroll the windows and NEVER lock the car.

This is the first summer Matthew has really been into the water at the lake. Usually he just runs around on the grass. I love that he is jumping off, already riding his shark. Check out the busy explorers behind him.

The blow up sharks you will see in the some of the pictures were the best $1 I've EVER spent at the dollar store! I can smell the lake breeze looking at this picture.

This picture makes me wish I was a kid again, something about getting in and out of the lake, with a tube and a friend just says, "perfect summer".

Sari, Ashley Grover, Daniel, and Sloan (?) Kraus in the milfoil. Yuck. I wonder if they have ever thought about how many fish hide around there?

More of the summer and tubes and the swimming and happiness.

With my mad photography skills I managed to catch Derien Kraus mid jump. The kids like to throw their tube in the water and then jump inside the tube.

Joseph LOVES to fish off the dock. He must have lost 20 hooks in there by now. Again, the mad photography skills caught the bird flying by. I impress even myself.

Sometimes Joseph has company, this particular day Sloan Kraus decided to stop in and help out by holding the fishing rod.

Ashley, Courtney, and Sari solve the world's problems floating in the tubes in the milfoil.

Then they climb on the turtle log and fall over. Good times.

Daniel, Courtney and Sari swimming ashore.

Rachel and Ben on the dock. Rachel doesn't like to get dirt in her swimming suit and you wouldn't believe how long it takes her to do her hair, so she doesn't usually swim, but she does like the sun and the quiet of the lake.

Joseph and Rachel checking out the little minnows swimming around. Check out the view across the lake. I just LOVE it. Don't you feel better already - looking at the sun drenched lake, the trees on the far shore? (It's farther than it looks.) I feel better. Except, I may never see it again, so really, I don't feel that much better. In fact, I feel kind of sad...

When (and if) you tire of the water and the dock, there is always the AWESOME swing in the yard. Every single one of my kids love this swing. One of their favorite games is to swing someone really high and then throw beach balls at them. We love each other like that.

You just can't go wrong taking a sun nap with your blow up shark. (Joseph, I think.)

Ben and Jacob catch some rays - they really aren't THAT white.

See they have good tans, for white boys.

Matthew likes to be "burritoed" after swimming, then he collapses on the grass to get warm in the sun.

Sari, Ashley, Emma, Natalie, and Courtney after swimming.

Showing their tears... Sari and Courtney.

I love this picture of Courtney and Sari.

The view from the dock and my favorite part of lake day - Jan Pugh, Laura Shumaker, and Julie Grover. I LOVE hanging out with my friends, while our children run amok (no breaching the parental perimeter - although one of Laura's girls are) and just talking, or not talking. We read or crochet or whatever. It is the best. I will miss my girlfriends. (more people usually come, just not pictured)

Again, with the sad pit in my stomach... even the drive to Long Lake, the way we go, is so beautiful. Hills, pine trees, fields ... just a few of my favorite things.

Anyway, thanks so much, Jan and Rick! We love you guys!