Lake Life 2018

warning! heavy photo post follows

As we have nearly every Labor Day weekend for the past 15 years, we headed to a resort with my dad's brother and his family for the long weekend. 

We ventured to a new resort this year, one that had more water activities for the kids than even they could've dreamed! It was certainly the most entertained they have ever been at the lake (in the water)....and we all loved every second of it! 

One of Lincoln's (and Regan's) favorite parts of this annual event, is to go fishing. From the boat or from the dock, they just like to fish. 

Regan found a nice spot to perch on the pontoon and her/Hope laid there for over an hour one day just chatting the day away. 

One of the many fun water activities: a water bike! 

They looked mildly ridiculous pedaling around on this thing, but we could hear their giggles on shore and I loved hearing the memories being made. 

These kayaks were awesome. See that island out there in the distance? There's another one a bit further over on the left. Hope and Regan decided to go for a l-o-n-g excursion one day and ventured out around BOTH islands. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell us just how far they planned to go.....We watched as they went further and further away from the resort. We watched as we assumed they were lost (it's a very long way and can be hard to remember exactly where you started from when you get so far away). Ben had to eventually drive the boat out to see if they needed to be rescued. Nope. They were just taking their time on the lake and enjoying the beautiful warm sunny day. 

Shhhh, don't tell anyone that Uncle Ben lets his nieces and nephews take the wheel and drive us around. By the end of the weekend, Lincoln was driving it solo (Ben was sitting beside him). We laughed as Lincoln would repeat over and over that we were "full rottle" (aka: Full Throttle).....keeping in mind it goes maybe 4 mph :) 

He liked to shift it from idle into gear. He channeled his inner Titanic movie self and hollered "Full Speed Ahead!" as he shifted into gear!
Love that boy. 

Huge Thanks to my brother for giving these kiddos this awesome memory. I remember being a little tyke sitting on my own dad's lap "driving" the boat.

I have no idea what type of lesson she was getting, but she adored driving the boat just as much as Lincoln. 

Regan was content at the front of the boat anytime we were anchored. I have to admit, it's a nice spot to catch some rays. 

More fishing. 

Bless my mom's heart (and Ben and my cousin's husband) for worming, re-worming and de-fishing all weekend long.
Ick, not my favorite part of lake life. 

Getting ready to go "Full Rottle!"

At one point, I looked over at Lincoln and honestly flashed back to my 4 year old self. I can actually remember leaning over the back of our boat growing up, watching the wake as we slowly made our way.
There's just something peaceful about seeing the water rush through the propeller as we sped away. 

Some of these most beautiful sunsets happened out over the lake that weekend. The colors were stunning and I probably have a total of 500 sunset pictures between my phone and my camera.

She enjoyed her lake life, and I suspect she would live on the water if it were possible. 

A trip to the lake isn't complete without several rounds of tubing. Lincoln joined in the fun this year, taking a turn sitting at the bottom of the tube. He was pretty apprehensive, not sure he wanted to go. Smart boy went his first round with Sidney and Olivia (neither who want a rough ride), but eventually jumped over to ride with the wild ones! 

We had to take him out at one point because these two were itching to be flipped...boy did they get close! 

I was spotter one afternoon and could not believe these two silly girls. I went tubing for probably 20 years of my life, and never once did I think to actually turn around!? They disliked the water spraying in their faces so they rode their entire ride backwards.
Goof balls. 

This crew makes my heart full. 

I have no fewer than 10 pictures on my camera of Lincoln making a tiger face. He cooperates for any picture, but then says "let me do a tiger" and proceeds to tell me to take his picture. 

The sandy beach area was well used by our group. The kids spent a good chunk of everyday jumping around from lillypads to water trampolines to slides to floating docks. None of them terribly bothered by the fact that it was a lake...with fish, and weeds underfoot. 

Regan was trying to do a handstand on the lilly pad and I snapped a picture at just the right right. She looks like she's levitating!

The fun moments and memories made were plentiful. 

We've moved through several lakes, experienced a lot of Labor Day fun, and I'm so glad to have these 4 by my side each year. 

More tiger Lincoln....

An extra special place for my mom who keeps this tradition going for us (and her) even though we're missing a key person in our lives. Miss having dad around at the lake, giving his brother grief, watching him venture out for early morning fishing and always knowing how to fix something like a boat or a circuit board or a heater. 

More tiger Lincoln. 

He had no clue his sisters were behind him making tiger faces too :) 

We all are counting down the days until next year, knowing it is always a favorite for all of us. 

It's always bittersweet, and Sidney picked up on that this year "I love going to the lake, but I don't like that it means summer is over". 

Got that right kiddo. 

Now, onto school....