A Day at the Lake

We had the opportunity FINALLY to get the lake this last week. I couldn't believe it was all ready coming up on the 4th of July, the day typically reserved as the halfway point for summer, and we hadn't been to the lake yet! The weather has been positively gourgeous around here, warm, sunny, and clear. Almost too warm! I don't think I could live in the south again with all the heat and humidity. I think our temps have been around 80 and it feels positively sauna like :) Anyway, after many delays in our packing (we couldn't find the cross bars for our carrier, then we couldn't find the key so we could put them on, the seat to the kayak was missing, etc etc) We gave up and just shoved the kayak up the middle of the van and shut the hatch. Surprisingly, it fit although it was a bit tight in the middle. After all that, we were on our way to one of our favorite beaches. We arrived around noon where we were a bit surprised to see we weren't the only ones with this grand idea. The parking lot was nearly full. Three other families we knew joined us. The kids took turns on the kayak, jumped off the log, ate lunch and snacked, and swam the afternoon away. The moms visited whilst keeping an eye on everyone and I watched the dog, Griffin, for most of the time. He had a great time digging in the sand and rocks before crashing under my seat. In the last week, he has been introduced to water in several ways: the creek, saltwater with waves, and the lake. He didn't know what to make of the waves, but seemed to enjoy the lake. He even got a ride on the kayak although he fell off and had to swim! It was so funny to watch him walk in the water. He would lift his paws up so gingerly before placing it in the water and he kept his head up so regally.
After packing it in after several hours of sunshine and fun, we stopped at our traditional "after a day at the lake" ice cream place. We enjoyed LARGE soft serve vanilla and twist cones for a very good price.
We are looking forward to many more days like this at the lake this summer. Maybe next time, I will get some more pictures for you to enjoy! In the meantime, just enjoy this one and try to imagine the lazy, hazy days of summer from your childhood :) (also try to imagine that this water is warmer than it actually is! Brrrr, very chilly).