I've Been Waiting All Winter for This...

Jara started going through lake withdrawal in December.  She has been asking us since Christmas, "When can we go to the lake?"  "Why can't we go to the lake."  "I miss the lake."  You get the idea.  What do you expect when almost half of the year is "lake season?"  So, as we came over the hill looking down into Echo Bay Jara sighed satisfactorily and proclaimed, "I've been waiting all winter for this!"

Prettily posing and mighty pleased to be in her element

In spite of the hypothermia inducing water temperatures, everyone took a dip but me.  I prefer my lake water at a comfortable 80ish.  When the kids would get out they were so cold to the touch, I had to wrap them in a towel before I could hold them seeing as how they were little balls of liquid nitrogen.

Elise got an awesome lake mohawk and only ate one, okay maybe two rocks.  Success.  Baby loved splashing happily in the rocks.  We picked a rocky beach because the sandy beaches are few and far between, and I like the aesthetic properties of rock beaches, even if my feet were being overly exfoliated. Mucky mud beaches are no bueno.  Black mud reeks and I like to see when the fishies are headed for my neon pink toenails.  I like my lake water crystal clear and pristine AND 80ish.  (ok-i'm done)

When the princess became numb we shifted gears.  Time for contained water in a bottle versus free play water in a lake.

Jara and Jack played so happily together.  They played pirates, swam, explored, built rock castles and cozily sun bathed in the boat.  Hallelujah for sibling nicey-nice time.

Mama duck swam among us almost our entire stay.  She flew in from the West about thirty minutes into our visit and foraged Veggie Straws the rest of the day.  She was very entertaining.  I love watching ducks waddle, preen and dip.  When I went around the corner to find a "secret" place she followed me.  We bonded.

And here is my 3 year old SKIING!!!  That's right, Jack can ski!  My boy popped up like a pro the first time and did 3 laps around the cove.  I had to tell Jed to stop because he wasn't going to quit.  Part of skiing 101 beforehand was, don't let go of the rope, and bend your knees, because in every sport it seems like that is required.  I helped him start out from the beach and he took to it like it was his job.  The whole time we were out at the lake he kept telling me, "I want to skateboard" we didn't take him seriously but when we said it was time to leave, he insisted we take him "skateboarding."  So, we did and that was that.  Watch the video, its not the greatest but you'll get the idea.