At The Lake

A few weeks ago we were invited to go out to Buffalo Springs Lake by our friends the Stewards. I vaguely remember going out there once or twice as a kid...I think we spent as much time trying to get the boat going out in the middle of the lake as we did skiing or motoring around. Erin's family went to the lake a LOT when she was younger (evidence of that to follow...), but neither of us had had a "day at the lake" since we'd been married, and probably not even since before high school.

Our kids are no stranger to the swimming pool, and we've been to the beach several times in their young life, but this would be a new experience. They were both a little skittish at first. Having to constantly wear the life jackets lends a sense of impending doom to the preschool mind. There were some other factors as well that you'll see in the images to follow. Here was our day!

Geared up and on the water:

I don't know if you can tell, but the little one doesn't quite have enough nose to hold up those glasses.

Our crew rode in the tube (and I use that term loosely...it was more of a raft pulled at ridiculously high speeds designed to eject you across the surface of the lake...more on that to come...) on the way out to open water. Notice the little faces of concern. :)

By the time we got out into the middle of the lake they were feeling better about things.

The girls went for a ride next.

Once they unloaded Avery back into the boat, Bryan gave it a little more get-up-and-go from the Captain's chair. As a gauge, you can always tell the speed and direction of the tube in future pictures by Kayleigh's ponytail...

From there Kayleigh and Kade went for a ride...and there was no mercy to be found from Dad...

And ultimately Kade was destined for failure...

Clearly Kayleigh is concerned for his well-being. It's good to know they've got each other.

Stop! Drink break!

After that I got to ride with Kade. Apparently there's no need for weight balance on these tubes? Also, many thanks to the Stewards for the lovely pastel life jacket I was able to borrow from them. No lie, I had a pair of roller blades circa 1991 that would have matched perfectly.

The faces tell the story...

The following pictures took place after I may or may not have challenged Bryan to try and throw us out of the tube:

Yup, those legs are mine. But we stuck the landing. I would say that we won by managing to stay in the raft, but there's a chance that Kade may never breathe normally with his left lung again after I landed on him rather forcefully after a particularly nasty jump. But don't worry, I was ok.

Kade seems fine too I think. We'll laugh about this later, I just know it.

Bryan and Kayleigh were next, with Stacey driving. Normally the boat is safer than the tube in terms of feeling like you're not going to end up in the water, but, again, Stacey was driving now...

After that round it was lunch and swimming!

Earlier in the day, Avery's concern was 1) there are fish in the water, 2) you can't see the fish, 3) you also can't see your toes, 4) it stands to reason that the fish you can't see will be eating your toes that you also can't see. Eventually we were able to talk (or throw, I forget exactly how it happened) her into the water, and all was well!

Also, I have no idea who that woman is with Avery. Normally I would say it was Stacey, but I told her that I wouldn't take any pictures of her, and certainly wouldn't post any online. Wait, I think Erin took that one...

This was about Avery's speed...as in none...

After lunch we had a few more rounds on the tube. One of these boys is clearly more concerned for their future safety than the other.

Erin got to talking to Bryan and Stacey about how her family had skied a lot when she was younger, and they said they don't often ski, but did have some on board. From there, it was on! What follows was Erin's first try, by the way...

The day was just a ton of fun, and I think we were all pretty exhausted when it was over. Thanks a ton to the Steward family for letting us tag along, we had a blast! This blog and these pictures can also be seen over at www.DamonWestPhoto.com if you're interested. Thanks for reading!

Pool Party

For Independence Day this year, our family hit the road (wait...that's what we do every year!). The night of July 3rd we went out to my (Damon's) folks' house.

Cayden and Avery were pretty excited about getting their hands on the toys that stay at Nana & Papaw's house:

Entertainment for the evening was provided by The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly...powered by D'Lynn, and acting in conjunction with a song on a cassette tape. It's a doll that's almost as old as I am (she grayed earlier than I did, but I'm getting there) that was used in classrooms originally and now hangs out in the back closet at Nana and Papaw's. After hearing the sad tale of her eating all sorts of odd things (a fly, a frog, a spider, a horse, etc.) that ultimately ends in her death, we decided there was a reason kids didn't sing this song anymore. We now live in an enlightened age where everything for kids has to be politically correct and possess some degree of educational content (or at least involve a few Spanish words) in order to receive mass acceptance. Other than not eating bugs and farm animals - valuable lessons, certainly, but not nearly important as "please shut the door" in Spanish - The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly unfortunately falls short in this area. Oh well, here's a picture...

For July 4th, we headed to Gammy & Papa's (Erin's parents) and spent the afternoon playing in the pool. You may have heard, we had a world-class diving competition in the back yard. If you missed it, well, you definitely missed out. But there was a good representation of onlookers and spectators from all walks of life ready to witness the festivities.

A local Hawaiian princess:

White Tiger, equally at home on the picnic table as he is snuggling in bed with Avery. He's never had a bath. We just try not to think about where all he's been. Once we have to change his name to "Brown Tiger" or "Dingy Tiger" or even "What's This Stain on Avery's Tiger?" he's going to experience the inside of a washing machine.

This guy:

An excited little boy:

And the snail found a friend! I wish this had happened on its own, but it was completely set up. I like the duck's eyes looking up at him, they make me smile...

And with our audience gathered, we could begin the diving competition...

The Little One didn't have quite the variety of her brother, so just take the following and multiply it by about 50 and you'll have an idea of what Avery did...

This makes me laugh...she's down there...somewhere...

Papa got in on the action...a little blurry because he moves with cat-like quickness, but worth sharing nonetheless:

And not everyone was a willing participant. Don't worry, the wedding's still on...

And this guy wasn't much of a diver, but could swim like nobody's business:

Brief modeling intermission..."Hey ladies, when I'm not in the pool, I like to sit beside it..."

And the Little One ended up with my hat at one point, and clearly felt guilty for the theft:

When diving got boring, the children turned on me:

You can see all of the plastic balls floating in the background...they made fantastic weapons:

They could also serve as a muscle suit/flotation device if need be:

And they're not just for kids anymore! (featuring Justin, Andi's fiance)

Andi is clearly in awe...

And finally, here are a few pictures of the crew just hanging out:

Normally a July 4th blog would end with fireworks...this one ends with a drought and burn ban. Oh well, a good time was had by all nonetheless! All these pictures can be found in the Just For Fun Gallery of DamonWestPhoto.com, if you care to go comment on any of them. Thanks for reading!

Damon