Our Place At The Lake

I've been joining Jared & his family at the lake since the very first summer we started dating, some thirteen years ago {Yikes. Typing that made me feel really old}. And even though more than an entire decade has passed by & time has slipped through our lives much too swiftly, the lake has mostly remained the same as how I remember it from that very first summer as a 19 year old girl. Of course there have been a few slight changes to the scenery of our lake adventures. For instance, the two little tots that now make the trip down with us, kicking their feet & squealing from the back seat of our loaded down SUV. There are tiny little life vests that are carefully chosen & stamped with COAST GUARD APPROVED that we squish & squeeze their little bodies into. And there is the new Safety First mentality Jared & I have somehow acquired that never seemed to cross our minds back when we were busy getting black eyes from crazy tubing shenanigans & visiting the E.R. with concussions from our wake-boarding incidents. Gone are the living on the edge days.

But other than those few slight changes in things, the lake still remains as it always has.

The shotty cell phone service {which I actually quite love. Sometimes being "unplugged" can be such a sweet thing}, the convenience store where everyone seems to congregate, the slow pace/no rush necessary mindset, the way strangers pick up friendly conversation & are eager to lend a helping hand. That's all exactly the same.

There's still the orchestra of locusts & crickets that begin their crescendo at dusk & play loud into the night, a reminder that you're far away from any hustle & bustle of city life.

The simple pleasure of diving off a boat dock & swimming circles round it.

Mornings spent on the deck, waiting for everyone else in the house to wake up {& quit burnin' daylight! *wink}, a cup of coffee in hand, enjoying the last few minutes of cool before the sun pops over the tree tops dressed in full summer blaze.

Dinner at the local cafe'.

Sunkissed noses.

Returning home with trails of chigger bites.

**

We had our final hoo-rah of the summer this past weekend, spent at the place that has dug its way into my heart over the past thirteen years. A place I love bringing my children to. A place that is rich in childhood stories from my husband's past.  A place that holds so much history...& offers even more future...

our place at the lake.

Meet our "captain" for the weekend.

He called himself the "captain" the entire weekend & couldn't wait to get his hands on that steering wheel to drive the boat all by himself. Drive he did. In circles. Until we were all about to puke from our dizziness. But would ya look at that face? It makes up for every bit of sea sickness.

Little Lulla hated the life jacket. It squished her cheeks & made her topple over if she wasn't propped against something. So we did our best to make her happy--with cookies.

Little water bug. Once out of that pesky life jacket, this girl had a ball. Splishing, splashing, squealing. This girl is our lake girl.

He looks so long legged to me here. He is growing so fast.

Coach brought a new Lego set to work on in the evenings. Two peas in a pod, these two.

Snuggles from Gigi

I wish I would have captured his first jump off the dock. It was fearless. A big run. A big splash. A very proud Momma, Daddy, Coach & Gigi!

This picture makes me chuckle. Coach is docking the boat & Jett's just chillin', eating a box of Cheez-Its.

It's a happy place. A place of rest. A place to come for rest & relaxation. A place for sunny adventures. A place to capture memories & relive old ones. It's one of our favorite places in the whole wide world.

It's our place at the lake.