Lake Week!

We left the Bed and Breakfast on the Sunday after Leah and Bill's wedding and took off to the lake for the week with Grammy, Papa, Leah and Bill.  We were all excited to have A/C back!!  :-)

Lunch and a movie on the go

We arrived at the lake before everyone else.  Leah and Bill went back to their house for the night and Grammy and Papa stopped by their house to unpack, pack and clean up the mess in their house in MD (which was also out of power and stayed out until Thursday! - almost a week!).

Anyway, we unpacked and settled in and then took off to dinner and then quick grocery trip.  The kids were a little excited.  :-)

That next day was Noah's birthday, so I decided to decorate a bit after the kids went to bed.  :-)

Noah was so excited that it was his birthday!  How did he become 5 years old??  I just really can't believe the years flew by so fast.

He loved the balloons.  :-)

At breakfast that morning, he wanted me to take a picture with the bananas ???  :-)  Kylie was pretty cute there, too.

After some playtime, we took off down to the beach.  On the way, we saw a bunny!  Kylie pointed it out first.  I thought maybe she was just pretending but then I saw it, too.

Beach time!!!

Noah got this snorkel from Nana and Grandad at the end of the season last year.  He knew just what to do with it and had so much fun!

Happy Girl!

Grammy had fun kayaking

Picnic lunch on the beach

After lunch, we got ready for Noah's big birthday surprise and let him open his present.  We gave him a pirate outfit with a pouch with a note in it saying 'Please help me find my gold dubloons'.  Then he had a clue that led him on a scavenger hunt ending at the beach where he dug up a treasure chest with stuffed animal Angry Birds (something he requested) and of course the gold dubloons!  He had so much fun!

When he first opened it, I think he was a little disappointed  :-)

Until he realized there was something more...

Then he was excited to get started!

First clue sent him to the flower pot on the porch (I was quite proud of my drawings, by the way - well, some of them)

The next clue sent him to our van

Looking under the car

Must be inside

Papa's boat was the next clue

Off to the boat!

Kylie really enjoyed it, too!

On the boat, he found a map of the beach

So, off to the beach!

X Marks the Spot!

Digging for the treasure

Mommy helping

Angry Bird and Pig!

We found the gold dubloons!  What a fun adventure!

Back at the house, it was time for Noah to open his present from Grammy and Papa.  It was kind of a pirate theme day!  :-)

A tad excited.

A pirate ship!

Dinner was as requested by Noah - hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and cupcakes

Silly faces

Sweet faces

Aunt Leah and UNCLE Bill arrived before dinner and gave Noah their gifts.  Noah was excited again!

A ball toss toy!

And a kickboard!

As requested, a birthday cupcake.  :-)

(he got a 'real' cake at his 'friend birthday party this past weekend)

Tuesday morning, we had a lazy morning and then took off for a boat ride to the marina in the afternoon.

Always have to feed the fish and ducks at the marina

The newlyweds!

Relaxing after a game of cornhole

Sleepy girl - the kids slept when and where they could this whole week!

The next morning, we were back at the beach for what else, more play time!

Fun with Grammy

Papa decided Noah should try to kayak on his own

He picked it right up!

A pro

Leah was standing on Bill's shoulders in the water (we didn't get a picture of that!) so Noah decided he wanted to do it also.  He surprised me when he said he wanted to dive off.  He did great!!

That day was 4th of July, so we dressed the part!

For dinner, Leah and Bill made yummy tacos - no better way to celebrate American than with Mexican food!!  :-)  Afterwards, we went down to the beach and built a bonfire to roast marshmallows (although we were so full, I think only the kids ate them.  :-)  It was fun anyway....

Waylon and Papa playing washer toss

Mama's girl

Hanging with Aunt Leah

A rare shot of just the two of us!

Grammy helping the kids roast marshmallows

S'mores!

We let the kids stay up late to watch what fireworks we could from the beach and we did sparklers.  Noah was VERY nervous about it all but Kylie jumped right in (not surprising).  It's interesting to watch how they react differently.  This is typical for them but on the other hand, Noah will talk to anyone - never met a stranger - and Kylie takes a long time to warm up to people.  So interesting!  :-)

Noah got into it eventually but was still a little reserved

Observation

Aunt Leah and Kylie

Happiness

Daddy got into it also!

The big ones

I like this shot cause it shows there reactions perfectly!  :-)

The next day,  another lazy morning.  The kids played with the water table on the porch for a while.  Love this shot of Kylie that my dad caught.  This is just pure joy!!

Just before lunch, we took off the marina again to eat there.  Kylie took a little snooze on the way.  You can tell they were pretty worn out by this point!  :-)

Cranky  :-)

So sleepy at lunch!

 Before heading back, we all needed to cool off a bit, so we took a dip in the water...

When we got home, Waylon and I packed up and took off back to MD to prep for Julie's wedding that following weekend!  Leah, Bill, Grammy, Papa and the kids stayed that night and my parents brought the kids back the following morning.

We enjoyed a leisurely drive home with no kids to attend to.  We actually had a lot of fun on the drive, laughed a lot and it was almost like a date!  :-)  Pretty sad but we get what we can with little ones, right?  That evening, we met my old friend Keri and her husband, Chris out for a few drinks - they actually live in Raleigh but were in town in MD for Julie's wedding, too.  Such a fun night.

The next day was the beginning of Julie's wedding weekend, so stay tuned, that's up next!  Phew!  :-)