Also...Happy 4th of July!

On Sunday, we packed up the van and headed up to Anna's lake house.  It's a condo actually, which I can't recommend with five children under the age of 9.  You know, because of all the loud and all.  But, I do highly recommend having a family friend who lets you use her lake house condo for free on a holiday weekend.  The property is just above Strawberry, so it's about 2 and half hours.  Or, if you're traveling with my sons, around three years.  Stop talking.

 

I wanted Tommy to jump off the dock.  He was a little hesitant, so I showed him how it's done...

...then I did it with him....

...and here we go!  Once he was off and running you just couldn't stop him.  It sure made me miss the 4th of July's from years gone by (Tra:  We drove right past Don Pedro on the way up!!!) but it was also nice to be on such a small private lake, with no motor boats allowed.  It was incredibly safe and serene, with a sandy beach and surrounded by the mountains.  Heavenly, really.

Scotty was pretty excited too!  I also remember riding on my dad's back like this in my Aunt Patty's pool when I was little.  (Yep, Moose, it's true!)  He would swim down to the bottom,  and we'd wrap our legs around his tummy and go down there with him.  I used to pretend I was riding a dolphin!

Seeing Erik playing with the boys in the water reminds me of how safe it feels when your daddy is around, making everything all right. :)

Lucky for me, my daddy was there too!  My mom and dad surprised me by coming up with my brother and me.  My dad has been working so much (he's on this crazy Solyndra job, and it's nuts; the most time off he got was when the President came and they shut everything down for five hours!) and my mom has turned into a hermit.  Getting her to leave the house is like prying teeth.  She'll trot to the grocery store...if she has to, but forget everything else.  She had a rental for three days when my dad's truck went into the shop.  She returned it with 20 miles on it.  It's 8 miles to the rental place.  Each way.  

So, anywho, it was a treat to have them out and about!

Good times.

So  many new experiences!  Scotty just didn't want it to end.

Oh my goodness.  That nose!