Summer Finale

What is a vacation for us without a late departure (and thus, arrival). We told the kids to close their eyes and go to sleep at 11pm. Some of us were too excited to sleep!

Grandpa had been awaiting our arrival so he could build his step.

Please consider this formal notification of our certificate of title (of the property - not the step)How can Grampa say "No" to this:

We celebrated a triple birthday. How COOL is it that the twins were born on their Grampa's birthday. They think it's pretty cool.

Here's one of the Price Is Right Models exhibiting the birthday gift. Why not the twins? Well, they had anticipated the moment for opening all day. They were SO excited .... they imagined all the cool toys and adventure gadgets possible and then they opened this. Quinten had the most incredibley huge smile and stated, "I didn't want this." The emotion of speaking the fact out loud caused him to burst into tears. Mom failed this year. This needed to be next year's gift.
Here is the face:



But we still had fun. This is how they bath when we camp.

Then onto the true fun of the trip

Ryan's trick called the 360 degree wipeout

We're not allowed to stand in Grampa's boat but Sadie was concerned when her Dad fell. There was no stopping her standing to call over the side of the boat "Okay Dad?"

He always was

Wow, Ryan actually picked up the camera to share the fact that I am actually in attendance. I don't often see this side of the camera. None the less, all suited up and ready to go.

Yeh! we're feeling pretty cool by now. That is, until we look down the beach at our neighbors. The guys with the tunes blasting, the beach volleyball set-up, tons of friends attending and the boats parked. Huh? Parked ... What, Why?

The thing I'll remember most about this lovely display of equipment is that the music was hip and Sadie danced regularly on the beach.

I will also remember that each day 1 out of 4 boats went out to actually make use of their full potential. So I did some research to see the worth of this short season equipment.And this is how we feel about that.

We still found a way to have some fun. Thank you to Grampa and for the use of his boat. The boys felt pretty proud in their Grampa's boat.

I don't think Grampa needs an adult spotter anymore. Whenever Ryan fell, we had 5 little voices yell, "Down!" (yep even Sadie - proud to be a part of the routine).

Logan the old seasoned pro.

Colby and his Dad Kickin' it on the tube

Will decided to be Mr. Independant.

Sadie spotting for her Big Brother

And then it's just fun to splash around in the lake.

This manouvre of Sadie's had me on the edge of my seat.

Seriously serene.

and sometimes not.

Sadie manning the ship.

Logan and Shannon (Grandma & Grandpa's good friend) out having fun. Fun for Logan anyway.

The fan support

This whole process seems rather routine. I'm sure last year's pictures didn't display a huge variation from this year. But each year has it's own flavor. And it's usually defined by the personalities of the age.

I want you to know that I did have a large part in the creation of this castle. I don't stand back behind the lens all the time.

We also enjoyed our morning walks/hikes.

We enjoyed the peacefulness of nature.We found opportunity for hard work (hardly).We made friendsWe enjoyed companionship

with siblings

Sometimes when we take a walk we encounter funny things.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma. For hosting Casa Caos (as you like to call it).

Until next year: