A Week at the Lake

This past week we traveled down to North Carolina to have some fun at Jennie's Uncle Jay's lake house on Lake Gaston. We went with Jennie's parents, sister (Rachel and her family), brother (Spencer) and brother (Greg and his family) for a week of adventure, swimming, jet skiing and blowing off some steam before school starts back up in a couple of weeks. Jennie drove down with the kids and rest of her family on Sunday and I flew down mid week to join them. The weather was perfect and the lake water was surprising quite warm. The kids had a ton of fun and always love spending time; aka: having sleep overs, with their cousins. We are very grateful to Jay and his family for letting us spend the week on the lake and using their boat and jet skis. It was well worth the 10 hour drive and numerous bug bites. I don't think the kids wore anything other than swim suits the entire week. It was a lot of fun and we are blessed to have family with the resources to do these kind of things. The following are some pictures from our week.


This is just about everyone sitting on the dock. This dock actually has a bunch of fish swimming around it and you can bring bread and other things and feed them if you want. There were some pretty good size fish swimming around and we even saw a turtle and a water snake. It was kind of funny because we actually went there twice (because we forgot the bread the first time) and we told the kids to make sure they didn't fall in or the fish would eat them. Well the second night we went back Nolan got a little too close and ended up falling in. The water was only about a foot deep but he freaked out because he thought the fish were going to bite and eat his legs. The look on his face was priceless and I only wish I had the camera running when it happened. You could see the look of panic and fear in his eyes. It only took him a minute or two to get over it but he thought he was fish food for a good minute or two.


Maddux and Nolan climbing a tree down by the docks.


This was the first trip to the dock and Nolan and his Uncle Spencer pretending to feed him to the fish. He was actually asking to be hung upside down above them and then once he started he had other ideas. I bet if you asked him now he would probably have different thoughts.


We also did a little relaxing while we were up there.


Brooklyn practicing some volleyball with her cousin and Uncle. You have to love the outfit. There were a couple of days where this is all she wore. Nothing like some long chicken legs.


Jay's neighbor was kind enough to let us take his boat out on the lake one night to see the sunset and just cruise around.


The zip line was one of the highlights for the kids (and adults). I wondered if it would hold the weight but to my surprise it was very solid. We tried to get the kids to go from the top but most would only go half way up. I actually had Maddux up to the top and holding on the the handle and then he looked down and changed his mind.


Spencer and I launching the kids into the lake from our shoulders. I am not sure how it started but before we knew it we had all the kids in the lake asking to launch.


The raft was also a very popular attraction. The kids loved to play sharks and minnows with Grandpa and Spencer. Nolan didn't make it very long in this round.


Brooklyn swimming around in the lake waiting for someone to play with her.


This is the candy thank you that we made for Jay and his family. We were so grateful to them for letting us use the house and just wanted to make sure that we said thank you. I don't know how many times the kids tried to get the treats for themselves.


Nolan holding a catfish that Greg and the boys caught off the dock. He wouldn't hold it without the glove which is one better than Maddux who wouldn't even stand near the fish.


Maddux and Grandpa cruising around on the jet ski. I actually let Maddux drive with me on board and he actually did quite well. He drove all by himself and I just held on just in case. He had a lot of fun driving the jet ski and is a little speed demon in the making.


Here is the view from Jay's backyard and off his dock. It is really a very nice set up and perfect place to spend time as a family. Here are the kids jumping off the dock into the lake to cool off.


Maddux showing off his spinning cannon ball abilities.


The look on Cambrie and Payton's faces relays how the week went. There was something for everyone to do and everyone had a great time.

Again we thank Jay and the Rannels family for letting us come down and spend the week. We had a great time and was a nice way to end the summer. Now it is time to get back on a schedule and get ready to start school next week. Where did the summer go?