Sunday 7/31

Ran in the morning then went down to jump in the lake and pretty soon everyone else had joined me! We paused briefly for lunch, my Grandma and Grandpa had come to have lunch with us and visit, then we all went right back down and literally swam all day long.

We got out in time to eat supper and meet the neighbors to go in to town for the water ski show.

Saturday 7/30

Saturday got off to an odd start. Ben, the kids and Matt tried to take the boat to a near by lake fishing and ran into problems with the boat. Some of us had errands to run and we were expecting company after lunch.

Everyone got what they needed done and got back for lunch and in time for the company to arrive to have a little birthday celebration for my mom (her actual birthday) and for Alex (an early celebration). Maya ended up missing the party because she very desperately needed a nap as she displayed loudly to most of the neighborhood.

Early afternoon a really intense storm blew in across the lake. It was so cool to watch but when some branches started flying we decided that being all pressed against the window maybe wasn't the best choice!

Later on it cleared up nicely and although it was cooler we still got in some swimming time and evening dock time.

After dark the kids went fishing and each caught a sun fish. I had just gone up to the house with my camera but I think Alex got a few pictures with his camera. I have to go through all his pictures yet and will post those separately.

Friday 7/29

Friday had a little bit of everything. Into town, run, bikes rides, swimming. Matt and Amy arrived and we all went out for a fish fry and got home just in time for another beautiful evening on the dock.

Thursday 7/28

It was really nice out when we got to the cabin. I think we unpacked pretty quickly and went right down to the water. All the island neighbors were out so we swam the shoreline and visited along the way. Charlie was excited to meet everyone and it became clear very quickly that he really likes to swim!

Maya had also become quite the swimmer while we were gone. She was wearing a lifejacket and just swimming all over the place, even in water where she couldn't touch.

Shortly before we went up to the house for dinner Alex had a big swimming break through. He figured out how to swim without his life jacket!! He doesn't go very far yet but he can do it now and he understands the concept and knows what it feels like.

Vacation interrupted...

Monday the 25th I said good bye to the kids and headed back home to work for a few days and pick up Ben and the dog.

The 8 hour drive is certainly different solo!

I worked Tues and Wed. Tuesday night we took advantage of the kidlessness went out and grabbed dinner and went to a movie (final Harry Potter).

Thursday morning we packed up Charlie in his new travel crate and headed back.

Meanwhile the kids were having all sorts of fun with Grandma and Papa and our lake neighbors. They had a pontoon boat ride, went hiking, went to the logging museum, went to the nature center and did some visiting.

7/24 - Black River Harbor

Black River Harbor has been a favorite of my family's as long as I can remember. I think I've been here in every season.

This summer the water was low enough for the kids to really explore and rock hop around some of the falls. Maya is quite a climber, she fell flat on her face on the level trail but was able to scale up just about any cliff or rock she wanted without trouble.

We hiked to all but one waterfall then went down to the beach. Alex found a ton of rocks and kept shoving them in the pockets of his swimsuit until he could hardly walk and his suit was barely on his hips.

The weather was just perfect, not too hot and a slight breeze and the bugs weren't even too bad.