Lake Life

We just got back from vacation!  A wonderful, relaxing 4-day lake retreat on the Chain O'Lakes in Waupaca, Wisconsin.  You might remember that last year Natalie and I were able to make the trip up north for a few days, but Eric had to work.  This year, all four of us got to go!  Once again, we had great company.  I usually like a faster-paced vacation, but with the kids this is the way to go...a rented house, a boat, the lake, and nowhere to be:

Nat made sure that all the water balloons awaiting launching on unsuspecting 

kayakers and boaters were nice and clean.

then she showed them to Ben for inspection

our own private dock to swim off of

the house

Ben wasn't really into the swimming part of the trip--he actually only got in the lake once--but he loved cruising along the back seat of the boat watching all the traffic on the lake.

Mr. Congeniality perfected his wave this week, and was generous in saluting anyone that passed by!

Nat loved swimming just as much as last year

Great Aunt Theresa, Aunt Jen, Nat, and Nana made a chain so no one drifted away

dada and Natalie

Papa had a remote control speed boat...he was buzzing the swimmers.  

Of course, Natalie loved being splashed as it went by.

then he put a bubble maker aboard!

the weather was so nice...

perfect for snacks and lunches outside in between swimming

Aunt Jen and Ben

my boys

Ben didn't love swimming, but he sure did like the boat.  I even took him out on a paddle boat ride.

Natalie with Nana & Papa

Ben actually napped on this trip!  Unfortunately, he missed out on the family pics.  By the way, we were so surprised that Aunt Emily came on our last day.  

Nat couldn't stop talking about spending time with both her aunts!

We are in full post-vacation chaos right now.  Both kids are still kind of wiped from the trip.  Eric and I are both tired.  We have learned that driving at night just works better for our poor car travelers, so it always leaves us a little drained.  And, to make matters worse, we pulled into our house at 5:30am yesterday, and I left for work at 8:00am.  Today, we are napping, cleaning, doing laundry and catching up on yard work.  

Eric has also been busy working on a little project that has been a long time in coming...last year for his birthday, I promised him a shed.  With it being so near the end of my pregnancy, it all got pushed back. Finally we got the shed the day before we left for the lake!  Full details coming in our next post!