A Second Trip to the Lake

 Picture overload here people.  Remember when I went to the lake a few weeks ago and had our family pictures taken.  What I didn't tell you about that trip is that I also lost my iPhone.  I had it with me almost the entire trip and then after we changed and went and our pics taken, in that one hour it got lost...well actually probably lost/stolen because I tried calling it almost immediately after I realized it was gone and it had been shut off.  And here is the thing about your iPhone...you know all that tracking software, well it is easy to foil it by just keeping the phone off and then jail breaking the thing when you turn it back on.  I will never again waste my money on apple care.  The only thing they cover...stuff that shouldn't have gone wrong with the phone in the first place.  I will probably buy my next phone from best buy and just spring for their coverage which actually covers things like getting lost or smashed or dropped in the toilet.  Ok, but that is a story for another day, but what isn't is I was kind of bummed that I lost the pictures on the phone....especially the ones of Peach doing the splits in the surf.  The girl is just crazy flexible and I catch her doing the splits pretty much everywhere, like she thinks it is a comfortable way to sit, go figure.  But right before school started my mother-in-law flew out and we decided to take the kids on one last hurrah to the beach and guess what, I got another picture of her doing the splits in the surf!  So please enjoy a million and half pictures of my kids at the beach!

I got these Puddle Jumpers this year for Peach and Cheetah and I love them!  I had sort of the opposite problem with the girls...Peach was overly cautious and wouldn't get into the water unless I dragged her in, Cheetah was running into the deep end and I can't tell you how many times I had to get her from a face down plant.  Then I picked these babies up from Target.  The nice thing is they keep the kid's face out of the water (for the most part, you still need to watch but it buys you a few more seconds).  Another thing I love about them is that because they are actually life jackets endorsed by the US coast guard you can use them places like public swimming pools and beach's that forbid things like floaties, noodles, rafts, or tubes.  It has given Peach the confidence to get into the water without me dragging her.  It has kept Cheetah from going under countless times.  Definitely worth the 16 bucks I paid for them!

So nice having grandma with me.  Those extra two hands were a life saver...and look I didn't lose a second Iphone :)

He was really pushing the boundaries of what I was comfortable with.  "Mom, can I go out this far?"  "How about this far?"  I think one of the most difficult things about motherhood is realizing how fleeting your children's childhood is.  Yeah sure, sometimes you could do with a little less pooh to clean up but the amount of time you have where you can protect your kids, it goes so fast.  In a blink of an eye he is nine.  In another blink he'll be leaving home for college and then another and starting a family of his own.  Soon he won't even ask me if he is out too far.  Goes so fast.

They found some drift wood to play with.  Man they love the stuff.  What can I say, kids and their sticks!

Oh look a picture of mom!  I've taken to wearing these really comfy lose long sleeved cotton tops over my suit at the beach or pool.  Then if I want to swim I can slip it off, but if I don't it keeps me cooler and keeps my shoulders from getting sunburned.  Thirty-two years old I'm just sick of dealing with sunburns :)

Captain E loves being buried under the sand.  We've found the best way to do this is to dig a whole first and then jump in.  In this case the rest of the family then just stood around kicking sand on him :) Oops got some in your ear, no problem, Grandma will scoop it out for you!  Do you like how his eyes are closed?  This kid is a nutter, if he knows you are taking a picture he just can't keep them open.

Here you go, splits in the surf.  Seriously girl where did you get the flexibility from!

Nothing like dipping your apple in sand and then rinsing it off in contaminate lake water....um, yum :-/

Peach is getting so much braver, she even took her puddle jumper and used some small waves, to swim up onto the shore :)

There was a huge dune that grandma nicely climbed with the kids so they could all run down it again.  And then again.  And then again.  Mom enjoyed not having to do it with them and instead watched Cheetah eat sticks while video taping.  

Peach and Cheetah...future life guards?

So it was cloudy the whole time we were there and even dropped a few rain drops on us, but I don't think it could have been a whole lots less beautiful.  I mean look at the sky and water....just gorgeous!  It was a great way to spend the last day of summer!

My happy little Peach!

My rambunctious little Cheetah!